ALINA'S POVHow did everything I worked and toiled for months all come crashing down like this?I pondered, as I balanced the half-full stainless bucket on the floor back to the center of the room I was staying in. It had been raining for the past few days and the leak in my room ceiling had been getting worse and worse over the months. How could I have been so blind?'You could borrow some money and go back.' A voice said in my head.I killed the thought immediately. I couldn't borrow money without a means to pay back, that would be very foolish. In fact I couldn't go back. Not like this. What would I tell my people? My parents. No puedo. The pain would kill them. The embarrassment they'd have to face all because of my stupidity.Gomes had ended things between us when I told him I was pregnant a few months ago. "How did you let this happen, Alina?" He had asked coldly when I told him. "I thought you girls took pills or something to prevent something like this from happening, so why
Three days had passed since I told Gomes about the pregnancy and I still hadn't heard anything from him. Nothing. I had tried not to freak out over what he had said that evening, he was obviously shocked and I guess any person might have acted the same way he did so I decided to give him time and space to think about it, to breathe. Maybe that was exactly what he needed at this time. I picked up my phone and dialed his number; No answer. I bit my lip and tried again. Gomes wouldn't do this, he wouldn't ghost me, he was the kind of person that always face things head on. "He didn't mean what he said that day. He was just surprised." I kept telling myself and dialed again, this time, an electronic voice told me I had been sent to voicemail. "Hello, Gomes I think we need to talk about this. Call me back when you get this okay? I love you." I said after the beep. I wiped the sweat off my face. No, he's probably in class or something, and with that thought I went to take a shower,
With the help of Vanessa and Charlotte I moved out of Washington after a couple of days. They promised to cover up for me when Hector— the landlord and Señor Alonso's friend— asked about me. I wanted to go to either Nevada or California, but I couldn't make up my mind. When I asked Nessa and Charlotte, they had each picked a side between the two, so the day before I left Pullman, I flipped a coin over it; heads for California and tails for Nevada. It landed on heads. That was settled.Vanessa and Charlotte had tried their best to make sure I would be comfortable wherever I decided to stay, they had given me powder, some clothes, oil and Charlotte even insisted on giving me some foodstuff."No. I can't take it." I protested when they gave me an envelope containing some dollar bills."Don't be silly, girl!" They had scolded me.I was in the fifth month of my pregnancy when I arrived in San Jose, California. In normal circumstances I would have been ecstatic about moving to the famous G
My water broke two months later, on a Thursday afternoon. After a long bout of pushing and screaming, I heard it—The cries of a baby, my baby— I was extremely exhausted but just that brought me comfort."He's a bouncing baby boy!" I heard Dr. Brown say happily."Can I hold him?""Of course." She wiped the blood off him with a clean towel and put him in my arms.I couldn't describe the way I felt holding my baby in my arms, he had caramel skin and beautiful brown eyes just like mine. He really was a gorgeous baby."What's his name?" A nurse asked with a register in her hand."Niguez." I said without thinking. It was as though the name had been on my mind forever. But I liked it. "His name is Niguez Dias."She nodded, wrote it down and asked me for Niguez so she could check his weight. He weighed exactly 3.2 kilograms.I waited patiently for her to finish so I could go back to holding my baby in my hands."You'll have to rest, Alina." Dr. Brown said when she saw me watching the nurse cu
It was a nice peaceful Saturday. Niguez was still sleeping, he had outgrown his cradle and was sleeping on the small bed in the centre of the room. I folded the little mat I had used to sleep on the floor got up and tucked him in so he would feel more comfortable. He had grown so fast, a few days from today he would be two, meaning it would have been two. Two whole years since I gave birth. Wow. I felt a bit guilty when I got up and saw him lying on the bed. I couldn't provide for him as well as he deserved, the dish washing and laundry job I was working didn't provide for any more than little food and rent. I had tried to start doing delivery services for a small firm some time ago, but it was a disaster because I had to pay for my own transport wherever I was going to deliver, at the end of the day the money I was paid and what I spent on transport was almost the same. I quit the following week. I opened the door and picked up the mail on the porch, the newspapers were always i
TRENT POV"What are you wearing sir?" Clarence's voice came from behind me."I think you mean just Trent, Clarence." I smirked. "You scared me there. What's up?" He looked confusedly at me. Probably wondering what I meant. Then continued;"I called you all day, sir. I have been looking all over for you since the afternoon. I had to hold a meeting between Otega Group and our board myself." He said frowning."And how did it go?" I asked seriously, even though I knew what was coming."We secured the deal sir, but it wasn't easy, I could have really used you there today.""Yes. But I wasn't there and it seems like you had everything under your control. That's impressive Clarence, I know I can count on you any time." I said, giving him a slight pat in the shoulder. He smiled warmly, Clarence always beamed when he was complimented for a job well done and I always appreciated his efforts.I had known Clarence for a while now. We had graduated together in the University Of England, and when
ALINA POV"Can I get everyone's attention please." Clarence Jacobs said as he stood in front of the crowd of workers in the firm's large hall. "Some of you might be wondering why I we are all gathered here today. The company will be throwing a party to celebrate the completion of our latest high-speed, 4G telecom tower in San Jose!" He announced.There was a loud round of applause from the audience including me. When the applause had died down he continued."This new tower will enable a faster, stronger and more secure connection for us to work better and more efficiently while also serving our customers better. It is a major breakthrough here in the minority part of California. There is no doubt we will be having more investors from far and wide and eventually overseas. So the management has decided to throw a bash tomorrow evening in honour of this achievement. You all deserve it." He said and there was another round of applause, and cheers from the crowd."Be sure to attend the par
TRENT POVGilbert had proposed that I moved out of the mansion for now go keep my cover hidden."Move out?" I asked, bewildered when he came up with idea."Not technically move out, just to find a place to lay low now that you want to keep your identity hidden." He said."That doesn't sound like a very good idea.""Just think about it. Imagine if maybe someone followed you and you were unaware of it. You'd lead them straight to this multi million dollar mansion here in the GRA. I don't think that's a good idea either." He pressed on. "Trent Williams is a technician working at Suntech right. But Trent O'Neil is the CEO, the main man, the alpha of the company. Keeping your identity a secret will not be easy but at least we can try. First off, you'll need to move to someplace less… exotic." He said, motioning around the living room.I thought about it. He was right. As always.If I stayed here, it would pose a bigger threat to revealing my true identity and as soon as it was out, the med
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