“Yeah, yeah, sure. It’s not a problem,” I said, smiling at him and holding his shoulder. One thing about me? I was compassionate. And I would sacrifice my laughter for someone else’s even if I did not know the person!David was a good example. Normally, I would have freaked out and gotten rid of him, but that didn’t seem like a good idea at that time.I suddenly remembered I was about to check my phone for the unknown number that was calling me.I opened my phone instead and read the text. “I know where your son is. He’s safe… maybe. But he’s not dead and you can get him by tomorrow but I need your help.” I read that out loud as David listened attentively.I gasped as I read the message, feeling a surge of mixed emotions. Hope, fear, anger, confusion. Who sent this? How did they find my son? What did they want from me?I quickly tapped on the message, hoping to see more details, but there was nothing else. Just a phone number that I didn’t recognize. I looked at David, who was still h
It only made me know that no matter what, he did not know my husband personally.“We are listening but this had better not be rubbish,” David said and I almost laughed at how well he was pulling off the fiance act. He was good.“I know where your son is,” he said and I had to strain my ears a little more to make sure I get everything he was saying.“Our son? How do you know he’s our son?” David asked, playing along.“Put the phone on record,” I whispered to David who quickly did just that.“Because I saw his birth certificate. And his picture. And his DNA test results,” John said quickly.I almost broke a bone laughing because my son was barely days old and wasn’t given a birth certificate yet because I had not even decided on a name for the boy yet. I instantly knew he was bullshitting probably for attention, fame or money because we were the most talked about in the entire country because of our predicament.David looked at me to confirm the information and I laughed shaking my head
“Answer it,” I whispered to David, urging him to find out.He nodded and pressed the green button, putting the phone on speaker as well.“Hello?” David said, sounding casual.“Yes, hello boss. What a pleasant surprise,” David said respectfully and politely. I bit my lip, feeling uneasy. Why was he calling Henry his boss? I thought he was just a guard working for him. But it was still something that was a little bit off. I couldn’t really place my hands on it but I didn’t really think much about it.“Oh, please David. You’re always very used to this. Always cracking jokes when no jokes are supposed to be made. How’s it going with my wife?” Henry said and they looked at me very nervously and anxiously. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Why was he sounding so casual with him? I thought that they were supposed to have a professional relationship. This seemed more like a friendship to me. A very close friendship by the way.“It’s actually going pretty well with your wife. I mean, we’v
“OK, let me know if she starts throwing those tantrums again. And also let me know when her meds are finished. Make sure she doesn’t miss any doses. It’s a very powerful medication and she has to be on it until I’m back, OK?” I heard Henry say over the phone as my heart sank to the bottom of my stomach. It churned and burned in rage. So after everything I told him about not wanting to take the meds anymore, he still thought I was crazy. That’s possibly why he brought in a bodyguard for me. Thinking I’m crazy. Not necessarily to protect me or be there for me while he’s gone. And what’s worse is that I don’t even know where he went to and I had no idea when he was coming back. That was so cruel of him.He didn’t even bother to say goodbye to me. He just packed his bags and left. He didn’t say where he was going or when he would be back. He didn’t say that he loved me or that he missed me. He didn’t say anything that would make me feel better.He just left me alone with David, his so-c
I looked at David with gratitude and admiration. He was the only one who understood my pain.“Look, OK, I have to tell you something. Something that you won’t believe. Something that will change everything,” Henry said over the phone and I felt a chill run down my spine.What could he possibly say that would make things worse than they already were?“What is it? What do you have to tell me?” David asked, sounding curious and wary.“It’s about the boy. It’s not mine. I know he’s not mine. I can prove that he’s not mine because I’m not able to produce children. I’m infertile. I borrowed a sperm box from somebody else. I don’t know who the person is but it doesn’t matter now. I did something terrible and that’s how she got pregnant with a child that is mine but at the same time not entirely mine. So I don’t really care about the boy. I’ve never cared about kids. I’ve never cared about having any kids but I thought I could see a future with Jane but it was all very far-fetched, you know m
He was slightly annoyed, I could notice that. But he didn’t hesitate to patronize me just because I was rich. After all, he also decided to collect the money at the end of the day. So did he really care about me or not?I took the money from him without saying anything. Yeah, I’ll take every bit of it unapologetically because none of this is my business, OK? But I will continue to talk some sense into his head because obviously he’s got none to spare.“Please come back quickly and explain to your wife. Make peace with her. Make sure you righten your wrongs. Make sure you straighten your crooked paths and all will be well with you.” He continued. “How do you intend to do this shit?” David asked. He looked genuinely concerned now.Everywhere fell dead silent.“Everybody knows you, Henry. Everybody knows you’re a top business tycoon. So how do you plan to disappear without a trace?” He asked.“you know… I care about anything else besides your lectures? I’d rather be going now. I have a
Very typical of him to follow me. Not like I expected any less though. “Jane! Jane! Wait!” He shouted after me and I ran into my room as quickly as I could and shut the door firmly. I didn’t lock it but then he didn’t dare to try and open it on his own.“Please. Jane! I know I can’t say anything to justify my actions but please. Hear me out,” he pleaded from the other side of the door while I carefully sat down by the door and buried my face in my palmsI started sobbing and crying my heart out.Everything went silent the moment I started sobbing. I actually thought he had left me in the room to cry peacefully. I angrily hit my hands and my legs in a frustrated way, because yeah, I was truly and deeply frustrated because of everything that was going on in my life at that point. I was even contemplating becoming a nun for a while, so that I would have peace of mind and I wouldn’t think about any man or whatsoever. But yeah, that life was not for me. That’s basically why I had not ve
But of course, I knew better than to take my life. If there was anything I would never do in this world, it was definitely not taking my life. It was something that was ingrained in me as a child while growing up. No matter what it was I felt I was going through, all I could do was cry. Even if I cried for days, for weeks, for months. But one thing I wouldn’t do was to take my life. Because I did not give myself life. It’s not that I believed in God or any other creator for that matter, but I knew I was not the one who gave myself life. It would be rude, extremely rude, to take the life that someone gave me as a blessing. I would feel hurt if I gave someone life and the person decided to take it by force. It didn’t make any sense to me to do that. It doesn’t make sense. It will never make any sense to me. So suicide was off the chart, even though I considered it a couple of times. It didn’t matter as long as I didn’t do it.At that point, I needed therapy. But the therapist Henry h
“Well! Now, we’re going to have to make a new round of chicken,” I said, groaning angrily while he chuckled and pointed toward the store room.“At least we have a whole island of them,” he joked and I nodded, slightly feeling guilty about wasting food.I had grown up to know that wasting food was not an option and here I was, abusing the gift of abundance. I needed to retrace my steps.“Why don’t we just order takeout?” I suggested and he pondered a while over it before he shrugged and looked me in the eyes.“What?” I asked and he shrugged. “Well, why do you want takeout?” He asked and I rolled my eyes. He was literally impossible.“Don’t give me that look! I just want to know why. I can cook the food if that is what it’s about,” he pressured but I was already having a headache as he kept going on and on.“I didn't know men talk a lot,” I spat and he looked at me with a surprised expression.“Okay, I’m only talking this much because I want you to be comfortable with me. I don’t want
“Oh, I see. Well, it is hard for a guy to pass by you and not stare at you with his eyes or even make a passing comment. But that’s not what we’re trying to talk about here,” he said, noticing my uncomfortable look. “I’m sorry, okay? I just want to keep letting you know how beautiful you are and how lucky I feel to have you over. How lucky I feel that both of us are sharing the same house at the moment. How lucky I feel that I’m helping you with whatever it is that you need, okay? I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable near me. I want you to feel very comfortable because it’s going to be a long ride in the long run. But I need to remind you once in a while how crazy you drive me,” he said and I blushed again.“Okay, I’ve heard you. I’ve heard everything you said. Now, I guess it’s time to go and have dinner. Maybe. I’m starving,” I said to him as he nodded in agreement. “Of course, yeah, dinner. I didn’t even realize how much time had passed since I stayed with you. You make time go
“Alright then, we can drive there right now,” David said with a mischievous grin. I looked outside and saw that it was already getting dark. I just wanted to smile and relax and wait, because obviously he couldn’t penetrate that safe. And I made sure that it was a high-quality safe that I laid my hands on while I was at UNI. You know, that woman who first gave me those original documents? She also gave me that safe. Nobody could crack it open, not even the best programmer in the world. It couldn’t even be blown up by a bomb. It was just a safe, just the way it was. So I was less bothered about that, but what I was a little bit bothered about was the fact that he would go in there and probably start taking all the furniture and all his clothes and all that.“Don’t worry, there’s no rush. Revenge, especially the sweet ones, take time. We’re going to go tomorrow. It’s already getting late. We should make something to eat and go to bed,” I said to him with a smile. He smiled back
“Jane, Jane, relax.” David said, as he rushed towards me. He tried to hold my shoulders, because I looked like I was going crazy. Like I was going mad. And he was probably very afraid at that point, because I was acting batshit crazy. That I was going to injure myself or him. So he held me firmly in his arms and made me look at his eyes. His caring eyes.I said to him, with tears in my eyes, “All the assets, everything I worked my ass off for, everything is gone. I have searched everywhere. I have checked everything. Maybe I misplaced it. But no. Henry has betrayed me.” I said in the most heartbreaking voice you could ever imagine.I was so heartbroken, because I never would have done the same to Henry. But why did he do this to me? He had stolen from me. And I would not stop until I had stolen back from him.“I always knew Henry was shady for that thing he did. Of course, it had nothing to do with getting married to you or you being a terrible person to get married to. There were alw
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I said, with a very nervous chuckle, as I tucked my hair behind my ears and faced forward, avoiding his gaze. But deep down, I knew he was right about what he was saying. I was just very afraid to admit the truth. He asked again, “Jane, look at me. We need all the information we can get if we’re going to get to the bottom of this. You don’t have to be afraid to release any information. You don’t have to be reluctant to do that, OK? I’m here, standing by your side. I’m always by your side and I will forever be by your side. Right now, we need all the information we can get. You’re the only one who can give us that information. Do you understand, Jane?” He asked, looking at me intently. I shook my head, feeling overwhelmed by emotions. I didn’t know how to feel at that point, because he was right. I knew so many things that could have made Henry make this decision of his. Or whatever it was. I knew quite a few things about why he may have lef
“OK, so I have some detective friends who could also help out in your case, but I need your consent with everything. I promise you it’s not an affiliation with anybody, not your ex-husband, not your fiancé. You know I just really want to help, just in case you need backup. Is that OK with you?” He asked, his voice gentle and reassuring.I looked at him, feeling a surge of gratitude and affection.His eyes met mine, and I saw a flicker of something else in them. Something warm and tender, something that made my heart skip a beat.I almost wanted to jump up and hug him, but I had to comport myself because I was a lady. Oh, fuck it, I thought, and jumped up and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me close.“What was that for?” He asked, sounding surprised but pleased.I smiled shyly and pulled away slightly. “Well, you care about me more than anyone else cared about me ever since I lost my child. So I think you deserve more than that.” I said softly.He took my ja
“Why don’t you call them to know what’s up?” He asked, looking at me with concern. I shook my head.“No, no, no, no. We already spoke about this. We discussed it. It’s OK. They will have to be the one to call me after the mission is complete. I can’t call them now. It would be destroying something in the mission.” I said, biting my lip nervously. I was already tapping my feet fast on the ground and grinding my teeth anxiously. Just remembering everything already brought a knot to my stomach and a lump to my throat. And I guess he noticed, because he reached out to my hands and took them in his. He rubbed them gently and gave me a reassuring smile.“It’s OK. I’m sure you’re going to get the text soon. But I need to ask you some questions. I don’t know if it will be OK for you to answer them for me.” He said and I looked at him. I hesitated a little bit, because I didn’t say I was going to trust anyone with the information that I had. But I was willing to give him a small chance. May
“Oh, not so fast, David,” I said, holding up my hand. “Not so fast. You have to take it easy with all this flattery. I’m very quick to fall in love, haven’t you noticed that?” I teased him and he looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes. His smile matched his eyes, bright and warm. It was one of the most brilliant features about him. Was I falling in love again? I had just promised myself that I wouldn’t fall in love so quickly, but I couldn’t help it. This man was amazing. So good looking… Even more good looking than Henry and Rick combined. And I had a very high affinity for very good looking men. And to be honest, at that point, I didn’t really care. I just felt that I should live life and just be who I wanted to be, when I wanted to be, and how I wanted to be.“Oh, I have noticed,” he said, leaning closer to me. “We did have quite the chemistry there when I first walked into the room. When I got coffee with you, you know… I felt it. It was kind of obvious. But I didn’t think anyth
I felt dizzy for a while because I was so confused. I was usually the one who said I love you first in all my relationships. I was usually the one who made the first move, probably because of my desperation. I hoped so much that this man wouldn’t see through my desperation, that he wouldn’t see how desperate I was to find somebody to love. But obviously, I was wrong because he saw it. Why would a man be telling me that he loved me on the very first day we met? And given the circumstances surrounding it, it was a big lie, at least in my ears. What did he mean by love at first sight?“Jane, Jane, did you hear what I said?” David’s voice woke me up from my little mini trance right there. I didn’t even realize that I had drifted off from the normal conversation that we were having. But in truth, I didn’t know what to reply to that because obviously, I didn’t love him. But I did have a little bit of liking for him. And if there’s anything I’ve learned over the past few months, it’