"Lana, what are you doing?" Johnny said, startling lana a bit... her hand flew to her chest and turned to glare at him. "Don't sneak up on me like that," Lana said... "Are you slacking off now that he have part timers?" Johnny said in a teasing tone, and lana rolled her eyes at him... "I wasn't slacking off, I was just thinking about something or rather someone..." Lana said and sighed deeply... she was trying to place her head on something... she could feel it but couldn't place her hand on it... "Who are you thinking of?" Johnny asked a little curious and nosy... "None of your business," Lana said to him and stood up from her seat. She walked to the break room and sighed deeply as she made herself some coffee... "I've heard that name somewhere before, but where?" She muttered under her breath, and like a light bulb, it came to her... she gasped and immediately rushed out of the break room and straight to her desk... Johnny eyes travelled from his laptop to lana... he wondered what
"Are you sure you don't know who she is? The way she introduced herself that day made me think that way, " Lana said and handed juliet her phone where the picture of Michelle was on display... Juliet stared at the beautiful older woman but had no idea or recollection of who she was... she had never simply seen this woman in her entire life... "Maybe she mistook me for someone else," Juliet said, but lana shook her head. "I don't think she did. Why would she come to our work place and specifically ask for you then?" Lana was making more sense, and it made juliet more curious... "Did she drop a business card or anything of that sort?"Juliet asked, and lana shook her head. "No, she only asked of you, and when I told her you weren't in, she told me her name, that was all... she left after, " Lana explained... juliet sighed deeply at this information... she tried to think about everything as she said her goodbyes to lana and walked to the bus stop... the name Alex Graham kept popping u
"What?" Alex said and fisted his hand beside him. how did she find out... "Are you Alex Graham?" Juliet asked again, and Alex looked away and slowly nodded... "I was about to tell you about it tonight, but..." He trailed off and ran his hand through his hair... Juliet closed her eyes for a second and opened it... "You should have told me... you had plenty of chances to tell me... why didn't you want me to know who you are? " Juliet asked in a low voice... "I just... didn't want to complicated things between us, " Alex said and took a step closer to her, causing juliet to take a step back from him... "Juliet," He called out to her, but she shook her head and walked past him... Juliet walked into her living room so she could try to catch her breath... "I kept wondering why Michelle Graham came to my workplace... I had a little doubt, but I didn't dwell on it, and then lana..." She sighed and turned to look at Alex, who was standing behind her now... He looked truly sorry,
"Are you hiding anything else from me?" Juliet asked Alex when she had finally calmed down and was sitting close to him... he held her hand in his and didn't want to let go... Alex felt like a weight had finally brought his life off his shoulder now that she knew. "No, I'm not... I promise to tell you everything from now, " He said and brought her hand to his lips... Juliet managed to smile at him, even though deep down she was still worried... What if his mother decided to show up onec again... what would she tell her? What if everyone at work finds out... it would make things really uncomfortable for everyone... she didn't want them to ever find out about it... "How did you find out that I was Alex Graham?" Alex asked... and a smile appeared on Juliet's face... She never knew lana could turn into such a detective... "From a coworker of mine..." Juliet told Alex everything and about the time they had gone to the boutique before their first day... He listened to her silently, nod
Gina sat in her new place of solace... Charles bar... Thankfully, the room wasn't always occupied anytime she came... She had walked into the bar a while back, and her eyes had scanned for him, but she couldn't find him... She wasn't sure why, but her mood had become dampened... "Does he work somewhere else?" Gina muttered as she took a sip from her drink... A few minutes later, like her wish had come the door to the room slowly opened to reveal Charles... He had a deep frown on hisbface but stopped as he was about to enter their roon when he saw Gina settled there... Her eyes were slightly wide like she was surprised to see him... He was a bit surprised to see her too. no one had told him she was here and he had come to his bar so he could have some quiet time to himself... He couldn't even bring himself to tell her to leave because he was the one who told her she could come anytime she wanted... Charles sighed deeply and walked into the room... He took a seat at the end of the rou
"Have you called a taxi?" Charles said, and Gina swallowed... "I don't need to call a taxi. I only had a few drinks... I'm not drunk or even tipsy, " She answered, and Charles got up... he didn't look like he was going to let her walk out of the room so easily... He looked like he was about to scold her... "What if you get pulled over by the police?" He said... Gina opened her mouth to talk, but no words came out... "What about my car then, I can't leave it here." She finally found the words to say... She could take of herself... she has been taking care of herself... "You don't have to worry about your car. I can drop it over at your boutique tomorrow morning..." Charles took out his phone from his pocket, and Gina watched him do whatever he was doing till he was done... Her eyes travelled back and forth between him and his phone and it looked like he was texting someone... "I've called you a taxi... you can sit and wait till the taxi gets here, " He said to her and gestured fo
Juliet felt a piercing gaze on her body a few minutes after she had walked into her workplace the following week, and she knew exactly who it was, lana... she knew lana would be expecting feedback about her discovery, but juliet didn't want to talk about it... "Did you find out about Michelle Graham?" Lana asked juliet in a low voice a while later, not being able to keep her curiousity to herself... Johnny raised his eyes from his computer and stared back and forth between both women... he was right. something was up...he had asked lana when they both were in the breakroom earlier that morning, but she had brushed him off once again and asked him to mind his business... Juliet was aware that she couldn't avoid lana forever... she knew exactly how nosy lana was... She couldn't afford to let her know she knew Alex... "No, I think it was all a misunderstanding," Juliet lied, but lana didn't look like she bought the lie. She simply nodded and didn't ask anymore questions, thankfully...
Gina came out of the taxi Charles had called for her... She slowly started to walk to the front of her boutique but stopped in her tracks... Her heart was still racing after hearing Charles confession... She didn't give him an answer and was too shocked to speak...Thankfully the taxi had arrived and she left... She still didn't know how to react to his words... it was a mix of confusion, excitement, anger... disappointment... just so many emotions plaguing her all at the same time... She sighed deeply and ran her hand through her... she couldn't go back there again... she couldn't see him again.... Even though she felt the same way, she had to dimish the feeling before it grew... it was her sad reality that she had to deal with... Gian continued walking and was about to head straight to her office as she she walked into her boutique, but a familiar figure was waiting for her... "Gina!" She heard her name, and she turned to see Caroline staring at her with a bright smile on her f
"Do you think Alex would ever forgive me?" Michelle said to her sister as they sat in Caroline's courtyard for some tea... "What are you talking about? Are you worried now that he might marry that girl? I heard she moved into his penthouse. Do you think she is taking your son away from you? The two of you were never close in the first place, " Caroline said, her mind trailing to Charles and Gina... He had finally moved out of her house, and though they had spoken on the phone a few times. She barely saw him anymore. It broke her heart to know that her son, who she was always close to was slowly starting to drift away. She didn't want her and Charles's relationship to end up like Alex and Michelle. They were like an estranged mother and son, and if she hadn't been there and seen when Michelle was pregnant, one would have mistaken Michelle for an evil stepmother who disliked her stepchild. But she had been at the hospital when Alex was born, and Michelle had been elated... It made Carol
Alex held Juliet's hand as they sat in the private visitation room of the detention centre, waiting for Gerald to be brought into the room... Gerald stopped in his tracks when he walked in, and his eyes fell on Alex, and then the young lady that was sitting beside him... his heart immediately dropped, and even though he hadn't seen her in a year, he immediately recognised her... it was Juliet, his little girl. His heart felt heavy as he continued walking and then he took a seat, his hand still in cuffs... he hated that she had to see him this way... Juliet's eyes were on the man who walked in. Though he looked a lot older now, she could tell he was the one she had seen in the pictures that Gladys had shown her. he was her father, the man that she had vague memories of and couldn't even remember his face.... her grip on Alex's hand tightened A bit as they both stared at each other in silence. No one knew what to say to the other till Alex broke the silence... "How have you been"
"I have something important to tell you", Alex said as they both lay in bed. Juliet tilted her head to look at her. Her eyes filled with curiosity, and her heart raced. Did he finally find her father? A part of her feared to hear what he had to say... Alex turned so he could face Juliet. "I found your father", he said, and Juliet's heart dropped; for a moment, she stared at him, completely frozen, unsure of how to react or what to say, even though she had dozens of questions she wanted to ask... where had he been all these years? Did he even try looking for her? Or didn't he want anything to do with her? She had so many questions to ask him. "Where has he been all these years?" Juliet asked in a low voice, and Alex took her hand in his. "He has been in jail", He answered, and Juliet felt her heart drop even further. Was that why he couldn't see her? Alex went on to tell Juliet everything about where he had gone and what her father had told him about his relationship with Her mother
Juliet got back home from Gladys house late at night and walked into the dark and empty house... she turned on the light switch and sat in the living room, her eyes staring into nothingness... she missed Alex's presence... everything felt odd without him... juliet brought out her phone and called him up, but his phone was switched off... it made her even more sad that she couldn't hear his voice. Her stomach growled and reminded her she hadn't had anything to eat throughout the entire day. She sighed deeply and hesitantly stood up and walked to the kitchen to make herself some dinner. When she was done, she ate in silence... the whole house was quiet, and she wished Alex would just walk in through the front door or something or perhaps call her. She wanted to hear his voice. She called him once again, but this time his phone wasn't switched off... the phone rang and rang but she didn't get an answer. It made Juliet a little worried, so she called him once again, and the same thing hap
"your mother has been searching for you also", Alex said, so Gerald could feel a bit of guilt for not reaching out to his mother for so long. his intentions might not have been to make her worried, but not seeing or hearing from him for so long made her even more worried. She had no idea if her son was dead or Alive... it was heart-wrenching... "She must be old now..." Gerald had a sad smile appearing on his face as he thought about his mother and the last time he had spoken to her...they had had a huge fight and he had left without looking back and when he had ended up back in jail, he felt like he had failed her once again... he felt like he would only bring her pain by trying to meet her... Alex stood up, ready to leave, and Patrick stood up also "Who are you?" Gerald asked the first question he had when he saw Alex and Patrick... "I'm your daughter's fiance, I'm Alex Graham" Alex stretched out his hand and shook Gerald's hand that was handcuffed... Gerald was a bit stunned to kn
" What happened to her?" Gerald asked when he finally calmed down, the pain still in his eyes as he stared at her picture... "She was ill," Alex answered and sighed deeply, thinking of a good way to approach what he had come to say... "What about Juliet... how is she," he asked,,and Patrick and Alex immediately exchanged looks. "I should have called sooner. I should have called even though she told me she didn't want to speak to me any longer. I should have known something was up," Gerald said and face palmed himself... "Do you mind explaining to us what happened, " Patrick chimed in, and Gerald sighed deeply. He still had no idea who the men who came to see him were, but he didn't care about that any longer... his heart felt like a spear had been run through it over and over again, and he felt like breaking out of prison to see his daughter. "Juliet.i Ineed to see jJuliet," He said,,and Alex saw this as an opportunity. "Juliet is fine, but she has no idea you are in here. She has no
Patrick parked the car in the parking lot of a detention centre that was on the outskirts of another city. Alex had told him that they had to go on a short business trip, and he was surprised when they landed in another city that had nothing affiliated with Alex's business. He too was curious to meet Juliet's father... he wanted to know what he did and why he was in such a high-security prison, but Alex had not told him... he came out of the car and opened the door for Alex... the place gave Patrick and eerie vibe that made a cold shiver run down his spine... two men who were dressed in a type of uniform which Patrick assumed belong to prison guards were waiting and approached them when Alex came out of his car. "Mr Graham," one of the men said, with a welcoming smile on his face. "This way sir," he said and gestured to Alex to follow. Alex nodded and followed the man, Patrick behind him, as they walked into the prison... Patrick wished he could be anywhere else but there, but curiosi
"Have you found him?" Alex asked, and his P.I. nodded. "I found him, sir, but there is a problem," Collins said and handed Alex a document. Alex's eyes trailed from him to the document he was holding out. Alex took it from him and sighed deeply as he read through it, which contained a full background check on Gerald. "How long has this been?" He asked. "About ten years now, sir.. he had been in and out jail for the past twenty years, " Collins explained, and Alex dropped the document on his table and ran his hand through his hair. That explains why Gladys couldn't find him easily. he had not for once even tried to reach out to his mother or anyone while he was in jail. "When will he be out?" "In a few months, sir," Collins answered, and Alex nodded. "Can you arrange for me to meet him?" Alex wanted to know the kind of person he was before he met Juliet. He didn't want to upset her more than she already... "I will try to do that, sir," "Thank you," Alex said, and Collins left;
"Charles," Gina called out to Charles in a low voice when a few minutes had passed, and he still hadn't spoken to her. Even if she was afraid of what he was going to say and his reactions, she still wanted to hear it... Charles stood up and turned to look at her. His eyes filled with emotions that he couldn't explain. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Gina tried to hold his hand, but she was afraid he would let go of her hand... never in her life had she been so scared of losing someone. She didn't want to lose him. She stood up also, her eyes watering up as she stared at him, and the tears she tried her best to hold back fell freely... Charles felt his heart break as soon as he saw the tears in her eyes. Yes, he was angry, but seeing her looking genuinely heartbroken and remorseful about what she had done made his anger slowly start to dissipate. He had no idea what had occurred back then because he had not met her, but he knew that the Gina that was standi