"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
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"
"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
Chapter 1 “She had a long battle, Juliet. It was time for her to rest. I'm sure she is in a better place now” A sad smile appeared on Juliet's face as she looked up at her mom's nurse of two years, Gloria. Why did everyone keep saying that to her? Did They want her to feel bad that she was sad, was it wrong for her to be sad? Why couldn't she grieve how she wanted? Why did she have to pretend like she was strong when she wasn't? All she wanted to do was cry out loud, but she knew if she did so she would hear those same words again. “Thank you, Laura.” Juliet simply said as the older woman leaned in for a hug and left after saying a few more words. Juliet walked back towards her living room, where a few people remained after the wake was over. Mrs Willams From her mom's support group had a smile on her face as she gossiped with two other women Juliet could barely recognise. They were probably gossiping about her. Maybe not, but didn't they look so cheerful? This was a wake and not a
Chapter 2 "Are you alright, sir?" Patrick asked, his voice laced with worry as he scanned the deserted street for a safe place to park. He occasionally checked on his boss through the rearview mirror concern in his eyes. Alex's face twisted in a grimace, his hand clutching his chest as he struggled to breathe. "Stop the car..." he gasped, his voice barely audible. His face had turned pale, and he was fighting hard to stay conscious and get a hold of himself, but it was hard to do so because the car had suddenly become so stuffy, making it harder for him. Patrick slammed on the brakes, and Alex stumbled out into the night, gasping for breath. The place was on the opposite side of where he lived, but Alex didn't notice. He was too busy trying to calm his racing heart. As he walked away from the car, the streetlight above flickered, casting eerie shadows on the ground. Alex loosened his tie, feeling suffocated by the tight collar. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to shake off t
Juliet laid On her bed staring at her white ceiling. She couldn't believe she could be so careless and walk with a literal stranger so late at night. What if he had been a creep and tried to harm her. He didn't look like one but she still had to be careful. What if he had tried to hurt her or even worse? She glanced at her beside the clock and sighed. “I shouldn't have talked to him” Juliet muttered, remembering how she told him and how she had cried uncontrollably. He looked really confused… She Didn't Even cry during her mother's wake but cried when someone she didn't know asked her if she was okay. It felt oddly comfortable when she was with him. She could cry out and not bother about bothering him because he was a stranger and she would likely not see him again. That was why she couldn't control her tears. Juliet closed her eyes and tried to sleep but it was futile she ended up working the whole night, looking for some kind of distraction from her reality... But she couldn't see
Juliet watched as they lowered her mother's coffin into the ground. Not a single drop of tears left her eyes as she watched. Her eyes were empty as she watched, then slowly started to cover the grave, but her heart was the contrast. Her heart hurt so bad as she watched, and she wanted to rip it out of her chest so it would stop hurting… But she couldn't, and it only made it unbearable for her to watch. One of the men working asked her a question, but she couldn't process his words, so he understood and let her be… Florence, on the other hand, was a mess. Her eyes were completely swollen and red, and she was sobbing behind Juliet. Juliet sighed and turned to look at Florence. One would mistake her as the daughter at one glance. She patted her neighbour's arm, trying to console her, and it only made her cry the more Flo was the only one who had shown up. No one from the wake yesterday showed up, and she preferred it that way, but she wondered if her mother was sad that no one showed
Alex glanced at his watch for the nth time. The meeting was taking longer than he had expected. It had been over an hour and he wanted to leave already. He glanced At Patrick who had already noticed how restless he was. Alex brought out his phone and messaged Patrick. Alex: [Can you round things up for me here? I need to be somewhere right now] Patrick: [But sir you have a lunch meeting after this meeting] Alex raised his eyes and glared at his secretary and Patrick immediately nodded and knew not to ask any more questions. “I need to leave Mr Charles. Mr secretary will continue from here” Alex said and shook hands with the investor, who didn't seem a bit annoyed that he was leaving. Alex took the car keys from Patrick and left a bit in a hurry. He sighed deeply as he started his car engine and drove the car out of the parking lot. He just wanted to check… he just wanted to know if she was okay… Alex wasn't sure how but he could only think of the park where they had sat together
"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