Ally suddenly realises that her plan has just blown up in her face. She will not be able to tell Eric anything. Surely the other people in the church will realise that she does not look like Meg?Ally remembers her conversation with Ralph. He said Meg use to stay in her room. She only had one lady that was allowed to enter her room.“Nobody is going to know I am not Meg.” Ally mutter under her breath. She only realises that she said it out loud when she hears a soft chuckle next to her.“That is right Princess. This family’s secrecy will be their undoing.” The guard says before chuckling again. “Very well. Time for you to become Mrs Eric Symons.”The wedding march starts to play and all the guests stand up and turn towards the door at the back of the chapel. Patiently waiting for the bride to glide her way down the aisle. Ally stares out in front of her as she takes the first few steps into the chapel. She racks her mind for a plan to get out of this before she reaches the front where
Ally forces herself to remain calm and collected throughout dinner. When Eric finished eating, he excuses himself and leaves the room. If Ally did not know he was blind she would not have guessed it. Ally looks at Eric’s father. He stares at her with his cold disapproving eyes. Ally feels uncomfortable and excuses herself. As she pushes her chair out to get up a smile spreads slowly on the old mans face.“They usually die,” he says, rubbing a finger over his lips, “one disappeared, the rest died.”Ally looks at him with a shocked expression. His smile broadens.Is Meg the one that disappeared? Eunice died. Were there more women that did not make it out of this family safely? He sure as hell made it sound as if there were more deaths than disappearances. The whole thought leaves Ally anxious. She needs someone who she can talk to, but she thinks the only person who she would have been able to talk to, may have been Eunice.Ally quickly leaves the room and head to the room where she was
“Mrs Symons feels that she must leave this lovely home to attend to her day job.” Agatha announces to Eric. The way she says ‘day job’ is filled with disapproval in her voice.Ally stares at Agatha for a second. She turns her gaze to Eric.“No” Eric announces and turns to head back into his study. Ally quickly follows him into his study.“I have a job to do. I need to get back to the restaurant.” Ally tells Eric as he moves towards his desk.“You do not have a job anymore. It has been taken care of. You now belong to this family and therefor everything you do will be for the benefit of this family. You cannot leave the house. There are reporters everywhere.” Eric’s tone is void of emotion. He simply takes his seat behind his desk and looks out in front of him. If Ally didn’t know any better, she would be sure that he can see what is in front of him. She moves slightly to her left but his eyes do not follow.Ally looks over her shoulder to see how Agatha closes the doors to the study.
Ally wakes the next morning with less anxiety. She gets up and gets ready to do the rest of the dinner planning. She didn’t think she would enjoy it this much.When she gets to her office, she finds a package on her table. It is the invitations she sent yesterday to get printed. Ally is impressed with the printer’s turnaround time. She didn’t expect it to be with her so soon.She puts the invitations in envelopes as Eunice described at the bottom of the guest list. She seals each envelope with a wax bead after writing the name of the guest on the front of the envelope.Ally then attends to the menu and heads to the kitchen to discuss the menu with the staff. The head chef in the kitchen is one of the friendliest people Ally has ever met. It was wonderful talking to him.Dirk checked the menu Ally gave him and asked questions about how the meals should be prepared and plated. Ally is so grateful for her experience as head chef at the restaurant. She is not sure that she would have been
Ally stares at Eric for a moment. What could he possibly want from her.“What may I do for you?” Ally tries to keep the curiosity from her voice.“The whole house is bugged. So please refrain from trying to discuss anything of importance within those walls.” Eric pauses for a moment. Ally realises that he did not seer her nod. She makes a sound confirming that she heard him. “I suspect that the results form my medical tests are being kept from me. I would like you to get your hands on them and tell me what the diagnosis is. If I am to be blinded for life, I want to know it. If there is some kind of operation that can help, I want to know that also.”Ally quickly gathers that not even Eric trusts his father. She also realises that this may not be the best time to prod him on any other subject she may have theories on.“Where will I be able to find these test results?” Ally asks in a softer tone than she would usually use.“If it is not in my mother’s office, it should be in her room. I
Ally pretends to be interested in the herb garden a little longer after the girl left. She is genuinely impressed with the garden though. All her favourite herbs are being grown here. There is nothing that makes a dish stand out as much as fresh herbs. She rubs some of the leaves between her fingers and smells the fresh scent of the herbs on her skin. She longs to get back into a kitchen. She would love to cook a meal and bring people happiness. Ally decides to head back into the house. When she lifts her gaze to the kitchen door, she finds that Agatha is still standing there watching her intently. Ally smiles and raises a hand to wave at Agatha. As expected, Agatha does not even return as little as a smile. Agatha seems to have no facial expressions either. She always has the same expression on her face. Ally cannot even think what Agatha would look like if she smiled. She is sure it would look very awkward.Ally walks to the back entrance of the home and steps inside. It is too ea
Ally wakes with a heavy feeling of regret and guilt in her chest. She couldn’t tell Eric that she is not Meg.Ally gets out of bed and takes a long hot shower. She cannot get her mind to think straight. She keeps thinking of how she lied to Eric. He will never forgive her. She needs to get hold of Meg. She needs to find out why Meg put her in this situation.Eric told her that there are no cameras in the hallway. Eunice strictly forbid surveillance in areas where she felt she spent the most time. This gave Ally peace of mind that there are also no cameras in her office. That must be the reason why Agatha keeps showing up in doorways. She cannot see what is going on without actually being there.Ally gets dressed and quickly walks down the hallway. She looks over her shoulder to see if there is anyone around before going into Eunice’s room. She closes the door behind her quietly and stands still for a moment. Ally takes in the scene in front of her. The room is elegantly decorated. It
For the next hour Ally sits in the dining room testing dishes Dirk prepared. Every time he brings one out, he quickly explains how he prepared it and asked if she would like to make any changes. Ally was impressed with every dish. She did not dare to give Dirk as much as a knowing look, for Agatha was patiently standing in the corner of the room, watching them intently.Ally feels irritated with Agatha. Being watched like this is unnecessary.After Ally made her selection of the dishes for the dinner party, Dirk clears up the table and leaves the room.Ally excuses herself from Agatha and leaves also. She tried so many dishes, she is not sure if she will be hungry by dinner.As Ally moves through the doorway, she notices that Eric’s home office door is closed. She goes to it and hears him speaking inside. Ally stands in the hallway listening for a second. She cannot hear a second voice in the room. She assumes that Eric is on a phone call.She knocks on the door softly. The conversa
Megan waits in her room most of the day. She looks up when she hears a soft knock on the door. Agatha stands in the doorway, waiting for her to acknowledge her. Megan stands up and takes a few steps towards Agatha.“Morning.” Megan tells her.“Good morning, Mrs Symons. The doctor is here to see you. Would you like to meet him in the downstairs room or should he come up here?” Agatha asks her. There is no emotion on Agatha’s face. She does not let it be known what she is thinking or feeling.“I will see him in the downstairs room. Thank you.” Megan tells her.Agatha nods and turns to go to the downstairs bedroom. Megan follows her in silence. Megan cannot ignore the pounding of her heart as she approaches the bedroom. She does not know how she will be able to get the doctor to keep her secrets. Agatha stops next to the open door and indicates with a gesture of her open hand for Megan to go in. Megan nods at Agatha and enters the room before Agatha pulls the door closed behind her.The
Eric wakes up the following morning. The first thought that crosses his mind, is that Ally has not been for a check up since she came back. He wonders how the baby is doing. When he found out she was pregnant, he was so excited to become a father. He could never share this excitement with her because she was not in a good place and when she was discharged from hospital, she was taken. Even when she came back, he couldn’t share his excitement with her. She was just not the same person anymore.Eric gets out of bed with effort. He will have to arrange someone to go see her at the house. He cannot trust her to go to an appointment. Eric takes a hot shower to force himself to wake up fully. He steps out refreshed and ready for the day. He gets dressed and ready for work. He smiles as he steps out of his hidden bedroom into his office. No commute today. He missed staying here. He lived here for a long time after he had a fallout with his father. He only moved back to the house after Ally w
After dealing with the staff member, Benson goes to Ally’s room. He unlocks the door and opens it slowly. He never knows exactly where she is. She may be behind the door. He enters to find her laying in bed. She has her back turned towards the door and is staring towards the window.Benson walks up to the bed and waits for her to acknowledge his presence. She does not.“Good afternoon, Ally” Benson tells her. She does not move or respond. He stares at her for a few more seconds. It irritates him that she treats him like this. If she only knew what he had to do to keep her alive after the stunt she pulled with Ronald. He was able to deal with Ronald, having him fired at the facility. He is not afraid that Ronald will ever come into her life again. He also got word that Doctor White was in on the plan and have dealt with her too. She will never be able to practice again in this country.“I would like to show you something.” Benson tells Ally. Ally lays in her bed. Not moving at all and
Benson sits at his desk in his home office. He watches the screen of his laptop. The security cameras he installed to keep an eye on Ally is displayed on the screen. He watches her lay in bed. She does not move around much. After he brought her home, he placed her in the same room Megan was in.She was distraught after Eric and Megan left the hotel, crying for days. She refused to eat and she spent most nights walking around in the room. Today, when her meals were taken to her, she ate some of it but not really enough to call it a healthy meal. If things go on like this, he will have to bring a doctor in to see her.Benson sees the screen of his mobile phone flashing on his desk. He takes the phone in his hand and reads the number on the screen.“Yes?” he answers. He waits a second before the person on the other side starts talking.“It’s Megan. We have a problem.” She tells him.“What is the problem?” Benson asks. He is a little tired of having problems. Nothing worked out the way it
Eric is furious. He cannot stand the way Ally does not care about anything. This selfish nature of hers is driving him up the walls. Eric looks at his desk, he already finished his work early this morning. There is nothing left for him to do in here. He refuses to go home and he cannot sit in this office all day with nothing to do. He cannot stand going back to Ally’s restaurant.Eric goes into his hidden bedroom and gets his chef jacket from his closet. He puts it on and takes the bandana from the pocket. Wrapping the bandana around his head to cover his hair, Eric heads out of his office towards his own restaurant kitchen. When he enters the kitchen there is a moment of quick silence. Eric walks straight to a young chef that is busy chopping vegetables. Her work is neat and her station is tidy. He holds his hand out to her.“May I?” Eric asks. The young chef looks at his hand and then at the knife in her own hand. She carefully hands him the knife she is holding. Eric nods and the y
Eric and Jane sort out most of the issues that Jane had within an hour. Jane looks a lot happier when Eric is done talking to her. He applies himself to sorting out the mess on Ally’s table. There are unpaid bills on her table. He looks through them and can now understand why some suppliers refused to deliver to the restaurant. Eric sorts out everything that needs attention. When he leaves the office, there is nothing left to do. Eric shakes his head as he enters the elevator. Ally could have sorted out most of these problems yesterday, if she had not laid on her sofa playing games.Eric stops by the kitchen to check on the mood. The kitchen staff is seemingly working harder than before. All the work surfaces are clean and the head chef is doing his rounds and making sure everyone is ready for tonight’s service. Eric is happy with the immediate change in personnel morale. It was a problem for him when he walked in here and saw all the doom and gloom in the world under one roof.Eric w
Eric walks into the dining area. He finds one of the waiters who are standing next to a wall with her hands behind her back. She stares out in front of her. Eric takes a stance beside her and stares in the direction she is staring in. There is nothing there.“Oh! Mr Symons!” the young girl exclaims when she realises that he is standing beside her.“Why are you so absentminded?” he asks the young girl.“I was just thinking how much everything has changed since I started working here.” The girl answers. She immediately regrets telling this to him when she realises that she is speaking to her boss’ husband. Why did she not think of this sooner?“How long have you been working here?” Eric asks in a soft tone. He has long since realised that when speaking to women, you cannot use your demanding voice. Except when you are in the kitchen. Those women expect you to speak in a strong demanding voice.“I have been here since the restaurant opened.” The girl tells him.“What is it that changed?”
Eric takes the number and dials it from his personal phone.“Good day, Mrs Johnson. This is Chef Symons. Your husband works in our restaurant.” Eric introduces himself. There is an immediate sense of panic from the woman on the other side.“Oh, no! Did something happen to him?” she asks quickly. Eric can hear the dread in her voice.“Not at all. Please do not worry. Your husband is fine.” Eric assures her as quickly as possible. He hears the sigh of relief over the phone. To Eric, this is a positive sign that this woman still loves this man. Eric is somewhat surprised that he is so invested in saving this relationship. Ally would do exactly this. Well, Ally that he married, would have done this.“Mrs Johnson, it has come to our attention that you and your husband has had a couple of difficult years. And to add to that, we have had an admin issue in our offices in the last few days that caused salaries to pay out late. I apologise for that inconvenience.” Eric tells her. He hears how s
Eric watches as all the staff members who have not received their salaries quickly take out their phones. Most of them receive their messages as they unlock their phones. The looks of relief on their faces gives Eric a sense of guilt. He did not know that these staff members were under so much pressure.Eric straightens his shoulders and claps his hands once to draw everyone’s attention.“Good morning chefs.” Eric says. He takes the stance he usually would in his own kitchen. His feet slightly apart and his hands behind his back. He looks at each of them, making eye contact.“Good morning, Chef!” they all greet in unison.“I apologise for any inconvenience regarding the late payment of your salaries. If you were affected negatively in any way, by paying penalties or anything of that sort, please report it to Mrs May. I will gladly compensate you for any of your losses.” Eric watches as some of the staff members start to smile with relief. There is always something that causes chaos wh