ALINA POVOn Monday morning, I got to work later than I usually did."You're a bit late, Alina." Gloria, my coworker said when she saw me."Sorry about that, I think I overslept." "We shouldn't form a habit of arriving for work, there's always someone watching and if you keep it up, you could be leaving here far sooner than you think." Gloria said."Noted." I said and gazed around the floor I was in. The offices were full, employees were already in their offices working, with a laptop in front of them."Hello there." an unfamiliar voice said from behind me. I turned around and saw a man in a suit, probably a department head or assistant judging by his suit."Good morning." I replied.He smiled, showing a bright set of teeth. I had never seen him before. He had black hair, brown eyes and was about my height, he also had a very deep voice when he spoke. He was obviously an important person in the company so why was he talking to me? Was I in trouble already?"You must be Alina." He sa
TRENT POV"Trust me these burgers are good." I said as Alina and I took our food trays over to a free table in the cafeteria. "They do look pretty big don't you think?" She said as we sat down on a table and began to eat."This is just the normal size. I once had a triple decker. It was fantastic, although I needed about an hour of rest before I could do literally anything." She laughed as a few crumbs of bread landed on me."Oh my God! I'm so sorry." She apologized, getting up with a napkin."It's alright." I waved it off. "No biggie as long as it's not ketchup."After slapping off the crumbs from my jacket, I got back to destroying my burger."It's nice." She said."My shirt or the burger?" I joked."Your old looking shirt?." She chuckled. "I meant the burger.""The first time I ordered these, I had to order extra. When I was done with that, I went for one more but it was already finished. I remember being grumpy the entire day." I recollected.The entire day? Just because you cou
Alina's POV I watched Trent's body go limp against mine as he slumped to the floor. I had to use my body to brace his fall, allowing him to rest on my lap. I looked at his bleeding stomach, panic seizing my senses. Oh, goodness! Why did all of this have to happen? I was bad luck. Now, Trent was wounded and bleeding so badly. I was terrified but the little knowledge I had about these kinds of things was enough to let me know that trying to remove the knife all alone was a bad idea. I glanced around the dark alley and fear clawed through me. There was no one to call for help. The only person else in the alley was the other kidnapper that Trent had knocked out earlier. It was a miracle that Trent had come in at the time he did. Who knows what would have happened to me otherwise? Think, Alina, think. What was the name he mentioned before he passed out? Right, Gilbert. I pulled out his phone from his pocket and, with shaking fingers, opened it. I was surprised the phone had no pass
Trent's POVThe throbbing pain in my gut was the first thing I felt as I slowly regained consciousness. The repetitive beeping of the monitor that stood beside me soon became a nuisance. I just wanted it to stop. I glanced beside me and saw that I was connected to a drip. It was very early in the morning, I could tell because the sun rays filtered in through the white blinds on the automatic-sensor louvred windows. I was in a hospital, alright. The next thing that slammed into my head was the woman I had almost sacrificed myself for. Was she safe? Had those cruel men taken her?"Alina!" I whispered. My voice came out hoarse. My throat felt parched and I wondered why.Just as I made to get up and jerk away the drip from my hand, even though the pain in my belly at any slight movement was maddening, the door slid open. It was Gilbert. He looked surprised to see me awake. "You're awake, sir? Let me go get the doctor."I clenched my teeth to fight the pain and gestured for him to w
Alina's POVI watched Trent, fascinated as he wolfed down all the food I'd brought. He also fed Niguez bits out of his hamburger. Even though he still looked pretty banged up, hooked to all those machines and all, I was glad that at least his injury wasn't so bad that he couldn't eat. I was even more glad that I met him conscious. I don't know how I would have felt if he was still unconscious. As he ate, I had to hold back Niguez from climbing on top of him on the bed. He wanted to protest that I could leave him but then he choked on his food and began to cough. I poured him a glass of water. "I am sorry for what happened to you. It was all my fault," I said in a dejected tone as I watched him gulp down the water. He gently lifted my downcast chin to look at him. "No, it wasn't your fault. We should just be grateful that it didn't end up worse than this."His steady eyes bored into mine as if he wanted to swallow up all my guilt. I felt like I could get lost in his mesmerising
Trent's POVI flinched when a wave of pain sliced across my belly. The pain at the site of my injury had lessened considerably, but that didn't stop the annoyance I felt each time a little strain caused the memory of the injury to come rushing back at me.Currently, I was getting dressed to resume back to work. Thankfully, yesterday I was able to iron my shirt and pant for resumption. It was navy blue cotton pants and a sky blue and white striped shirt. Doing that helped me to save the time I was supposed to spend on that today. A glance at my phone's digital time showed that I would be late if I didn't hurt. After putting on my treasured bracelet, I dashed out of my room and headed to the kitchen.Gilbert was already up, whistling an off-key tune as he flipped pancakes.I cringed and rolled my eyes. This man never ceased to annoy yet intrigue me."Aren't you going home?' I asked him while I strode over to the cupboard to take a mug to serve myself the freshly brewed coffee. "I sh
Alina's POVAs I stepped out of the elevator into the Non-administrative staff wing of the third floor, I tried not to let the scene replay in my mind but failed i woefully. Who did Sasha think she was to be touching another human being, without permission, like that?I don't know why, but I was angry. At her. And also at myself for being angry at her. Ever since the Raymond incident, I had been wary of how I related with my co-workers in this place, especially since I wasn't conversant with most of them. Sasha seemed sly to me, like a fox in female skin. It was a big surprise to me that she had remained a worker here despite her obvious incompetence, she was still working in the Customer Care Department. Well, her post suited her well. She had an enchanting look bolstered by expensive makeup and fashion style. Plus, with the way she had wormed her way into the minds of the top officials, take Raymond for a typical example, was fishy and I suspected she had given them 'benefits' t
Trent's POVWhistling to myself, I smiled as I pictured countless possibilities of how my lunch with Alina would turn out. I needed to make this one memorable to make it up to her. Honestly, everything else faded into oblivion whenever I thought of her. I was prepared to do something epic to surprise her. Nothing too extravagant of course, lest I give off my real identity. "The company shares are progressing smoothly sire," I heard Clarence say in his most convincing sultry voice from his office. "There's no need to be worried."Even though his words were spoken authoritatively, I could sense that he was suppressing his panic. I halted in my track and leaned nearer to the closed door to eavesdrop on the conversation. If this was about Suntech, then I needed to know firsthand what the problem was. "I don't know what crazy disappearance game he is playing this time around, but I can't afford to allow him to toy with this company as he pleases," a man with a slight German inflection
Epilogue | Two Years LaterNiguez sprinted down the stairs and skidded to a stop in front of Trent. "Hola, Dad," he grinned. "¿Cómo estás, hijo?" Trent leaned down, giving the kid a fist bump as they did their signature handshakes. Niguez frowned a little, finding it hard to understand Spanish. Trent grinned with a knowing smile. "Don't worry about it; you're in Colombia, so it'll come naturally."Trent had married Alina two years ago and adopted Niguez, vowing to take care of them for as long as he lived. He had amassed wealth, ensuring Alina's financial security. He still traveled to America for business but built mansions in Colombia, where they resided. At Alina's request, he started a small company in Colombia and sent her back to university to study Business, hoping she would become a CEO in a couple of years.The doorbell rang, and Niguez rushed to the door, hoping Alina was back. A tall man in a bright red suit, stood at the doorway with a small smile. — Clarence. "Hey,
—Alina pov I work in beside Trent. He give his sister Evelyn a hard stare and proceeded to enter the room, slipping into the chair opposite her. This is the first time that I met with her and for some reason, I didn't like the superior look she gave him. Did she even know who he was?He was CEO Alexander, everyone in America had heard of him. Who gave her the right to even stare directly at him?Then I reminded myself that she was his sister, and being directly related to him gave her that kind of leverage. From what I heard of her, she was a pain in the ass. And meeting her now, I didn't exactly have any reason to think any different. He promised me that this will be the last time she would come between us and I believed him. It was time we settled this matter for good.I already the basics about his sister she was beautiful and deadly with her brown hair and cunning blue eyes. I also knew that she was dangerous and mafe his life a living hell until he was forced to leave Britain
TRENT povI managed to control my emotions and look away from Alina. My eyes roamed across the hall and fell on Gomes Allen. The latter glared at me and I could see his muscles clench. Oh I was sure he could do without my presence. It made me smile a little. He should be shaking in his boots at the sight of me. His eyes narrowed on my expensive clothes that match his, my identity card as CEO Alexander in full view. That's right, enjoy the view mother fucker because I'm not hiding anymore. “Can I help you young man?” the judge looked up at me with a flicker of surprise. “I have evidence that changes everything. ” my hands tightened around the document in my hand. I had it printed out in the jet and made copies of it. Clarence was a real genius and I couldn't wait to see the look on Gomes' face when I pulled off his mask in front of everyone. I might have hidden my identity but he was the real fraud.I marched forward and stopped in front of the witness box. My eyes locked with
Trent pov A day had passed. I sat in the board room with Clarence by my side. We were around a big round table where about six powerful figures sat, trying to engage me in a conversation. I was dressed in a half a million dollar red suit and black pants, the CEO look complete with cufflinks and I might have taken extra time styling my hair that morning. I checked my swizz watch for the fourth time since the meeting. I maintained a fuck off look with an expressionless gaze that could pass off for bored. Your darling CEO Alexander was back. “Shouldn't we at least have an explanation for your disappearance for almost three years?” one of the men demanded. I seemed to remember him to be one of my long term partners... Now let me check if I gave a fuck. I looked up from my phone. It was still on my chat with Alina. I had been staring at it all morning, expecting a word or two from her. I would even go with “fuck you Trent.” Her silence was worse that her an
TRENT povWe sat in the restaurant, an unmistakable tension building up in the air. I wished that she would say something instead of looking at me with her lips slightly parted in confusion as she waited for me to drop the next bomb. I couldn't believe that I was taking Clarence's advice. It just seemed to be the best thing to do at this time. I knew that I could keep the truth away from her for as long as I wanted, but bit forever. For one thing, the company needed their CEO. Clarence never failed to remind me of that fact and the investors were starting to think that I was ignoring them. Nasty bunch of people that won't let me live like every normal human. I might have shrugged it off but Gomes fucking Allen could strom into the picture any time from now and I wasn't going to let him be the one to tell her about my true identity myself. “So... What's the matter?” Alina asked, breaking the silence between us. I took a deep breath. The waiter came back with our orders and pl
Alina PovI couldn't stop thinking about Niguez's birthday. My whole world has flipped from the minute he stepped a foot into the house and he would see me in court. Like hell he would. Who did he think he was, trying to take my son away from me?I was more protective of Niguez now, and it broke me everytime he went through the school gate because I knew that Gomes could come around now and steal him away whenever he fucking wanted. Everything was staring to seem real now. I stared at the last text I got from Gomes Allen just a few minutes ago. I never replied any of his texts but just left them on read and poundered over them, wishing that could slam his face against the wall. Just once. Just this one time so that I would watch in satisfaction as the smug look was wiped off his face and he saw what if felt like to be a human for once. His new text is not as threatening as the previous ones but I feel more scared, just by scrolling my eyes through it. It said that the day of
TRENT'S POV —I glare at the documents in front of me. Working from home and having Clarence over was the worst idea I had ever came through with. I left Alina at my apartment. It was safe to say that she needed some space. Plus I badly wanted to strangle the mother fucker Gomes Allen for daring to show the fuck up at all. I went to one of my mansions instead and Clarence was here to make sure I attend to the matters in the company since he won't let me off the hook even if I'm supposed have disappeared... Hastag no where to be found. Gilbert was here too. To make sure I had my usual does of coffee and didn't resort to smoking. Ah... Bad habits. As though on cue, Gilbert walked into the room with a glass of coffee. He placed it on the table in front of me. Clarence and I looked up at the disturbance and I might have glared a little. “Anything for you mister?” Gilbert asked turning to Clarence. “I'll have what he's having,” Clarence said, passing me some paperwork. “It's not
ALINA'S POV —Nothing was happening... That's usually my cue to figure out that there is something terrible going on in the background and I just don't know all about it yet. It was hard to actually think that Gomes was smart enough to heed to my warning and stay the fuck away from us. Not that I was complaining. After I deleted his number, I made a bold job in deleting him out of my mind for the second time, no questions asked. But I can't shake off the gut feeling at the pit of my stomach that something is still seriously off. “Happy birthday baby!” I hug Niguez to my chest and scream in delight. He blew off the candle on the cake sitting on the dining and grinned, revealing a pair of sparkling white teeth. “I'm a man now!” He puffed up his little chest, grinning with pride at the intimidating four drawn on the cake. I pulled back from him with a laugh. “Where do you think you're growing so fast to huh?”“Hell yeah,” Trent slip into the room and pick up Niguez, not without
TRENT pov“Alina? ” I called out walking into my apartment. She had suddenly disappeared during work and won't even answer my calls. I was starting to get really worried. I had already called Clarence and sworn a lot on the call warning him that he would lose his fucking job if he sent her somewhere else that was near Gomes Allen, the CEO of Star labs. I looked around and spotted her sitting on the chair in the dining, a plate of pasta in front of her. “There you are. Why did you take an early leave from work?” I took off my suit and dumped it on the sofa before walking towards her. There was no reply and I noticed the blank look in her eyes as she stated at the wall in front of her. She was shaking like she had an encounter with the ghost of her past. I stiffened, sensing the tension in the room. “Alina,” I tapped her shoulders, panicking a bit. Okay, a lot. She blinked and turned to me forcing a smile. “Sorry Trent, I didn't see you there,” she muttered, still looking shake