-- Alexander --The strong smell of sanitizer hung in the air as I sat down beside my mother's bed. I had barely touched the food beside me. All my attention was on her. I watched her chest fall and rise in rhythm as she breathed. She looked frail and old. The woman I saw on the bed was far from the vibrant assertive woman that I had known my whole life.The doctor already said she would gain consciousness anytime soon but it didn't make it any easier for me. The message on her phone was stuck in my head.'Spencer is not your real grandson. Your son has been lying to you. He's impotent and will never give you a grandchild.'My stomach twisted every time I thought about it. Whoever sent that message had done more damage in one moment than I could ever hope to repair."Alex?" My mother called out with a faint voice. I leaned forward towards to her, my heart beating faster."Mom," I called her, relief flooded my cells. She blinked several times in a bid to focus her vision. She finally f
-- Grizelda --I was folding laundry and shuffling my feet to music from my sound system, when I heard the knock on the door. I stopped and listened. I wasn't expecting anybody today. The knock was consistent and sharp. The visitor was rather impatient.I frowned as I wondered who that could be. I imagined Vicky being the one. It could be her. I dropped the semi folded clothes in my hands and made for the door.I opened the door and came face to face to the last person I ever expected see. Alexander's mother. She stood in front of me with a proud stance and a disdainful look on her face.How did I not know not know that was finally discharged from the hospital? Alexander should have told me, but he didn't. At least, I expected him to, considering our last encounter. Unless he was still sad about everything I told him.His mother sized me from head to toe with that look of disdain permanently etched on her face.I decided to play it cool. It was obvious she was here for a fight and I w
-- Grizelda --Sleep was worlds away from me as I tossed on the bed. I turned and checked the time. It was 5.55 AM. My head kept racing. She actually went through with it. The court papers kept flashing through my head.I read the summons and my heart felt like it was being overrun. The writing was cold and threatened to overwhelm me. I told myself that no court was going to give custody of Leo to her. It just didn’t make any sense. It wasn’t enough, the fear still lingered. I could feel it creeping slowly into my mind like something I couldn’t escape.I sat up on my bed. I could see the first light of dawn coming up the horizon. My room instantly felt too small to contain the storm that threatened to spill over inside me. I stood up and made my way to the kitchen. I hoped a cup of coffee might be able to make me relax.The silence of the house was broken by the gentle whisper of the kettle. I rested my body against the kitchen counter and just stared lazily at the vapor escaping from
-- Alexander --"You have crossed a line." I said as my voice trembled with anger.My mother who stood in the centre of my office didn’t flinch at my tone, she didn’t even blink. She just stood there, arms folded with a rigid posture as the cold matriarch she has always been."Leo is my grandson," Her words were measured and deliberate. "He belongs in the Kingston family."Her words sent my mind reeling. I glared as I launched myself to my full height. "Leo stays with his mother," I snapped. "And you had no right to serve Grizelda custody papers without my blessing. What were you thinking?""I was thinking about Leo’s future. Your son's future." she said with an icy tone "The Kingston's name. The legacy you seem so fixated on ruining."I could barely restrain my anger as my hands were clenched into fists. "This has nothing to do with legacy. This is about Leo. He’s a child, not some object to be added to the Kingston's collection. No matter what the case may be."Her lips curled into
-- Grizelda --The custody fight hanged over me like a dark and unrelenting storm. Even in my leisure time, I was unable to relax because of the heaviness I felt when I thought about it. Margaret not only wanted to take away Leo from me but my identity. I didn’t know what else I was asides being a mother.I decided to bury myself in work but little good did that do. The numbers and quotations just blurred into one huge mess of gibberish before my eyes. I leaned back in my chair as I rubbed my temples. I needed to keep busy otherwise my mind would spiral into places I didn’t want it to go. I couldn’t afford to fall apart now.A soft knock on the door startled me.“Come in,” I called. I bent over the papers scattered on my table. I needed to appear or give the impression I was busy.Vicky stepped inside, a steaming cup of tea in her hands. She had always been proactive, sorting my needs before I even knew. I gave her a grateful look, my eyes twinkling with delight as it expressed the r
-- Alexander --The afternoon light poured into my office and radiated off the polished wood of my desk. The financial report I’d been working on untouched for the past hour on my computer screen stared back at me. My head was in another dimension. I kept thinking of my argument with my mother.Grizelda’s supposed betrayal with Jax Grey still played in my head.It was a story I believed to be true all those years ago. Lucy showed me the so called evidence of Grizelda's infidelity. She cried and consoled me, telling me I deserved better. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be logical then.But now? All I could think of was if there must be more to the stor I should know about.I leaned back in my chair as I stared at the ceiling deep in my thoughts. My head was completely filled with doubt. Could it really be that something did go on between Jax and Grizelda, or could those photos have been entirely fake, purposely made to look that way? Probably edited too.Those photos always felt
-- Grizelda --The front door being slammed shut echoed through the house. I soon heard Leo's footsteps followed by his lovely voice."Mommy!" he called out in a shrill voice.I stepped out of the kitchen to meet him. I dried my hands on a dish towel as I met him in the hallway. His face was red from the cold, his blond hair pointed in all directions and his bag almost slipped off one shoulder.The paper he held commanded my attention."Look!" he said excitedly as he stretched the paper toward me. "Something new I made at school today!"I collected the drawing from him. My breath got caught in my throat as I realized what he drew this time.It was a picture of himself, unmistakably and Alexander. It was drawn in vibrant crayon colors. Leo had drawn himself in his favorite red shirt as he held hands with a tall man who looked unmistakably like Alexander.The man had the same blond and hazel eyes. The title was written very boldly. Me and the man who looks like me!I forced a smile. "My
-- Alexander --I leaned back in my leather chair, steering myself slowly to the left and slowly to the right, lost in the turmoil in my head. It felt like the wrong time to remember Grizelda's painful words to me at the hospital but I did and clearly."I've decided to give Jax a chance in my life..." She had said.The words were like tiny needles pricking against my skin.Jax Grey. He was finally successful in taking Grizelda from me.Apart from that, there was a lingering pain in my chest. I felt deeply broken inside because it felt like everyone was suddenly against me. I felt alone with no one to turn to.I stared once again at the crumpled drawing Leo had given me last time I picked Spencer up from school. I'd been the one to crumple it, squeezing it tightly in my hand while emotions welled up inside of me. It was a picture of a family, properly colored with crayons.No matter how many times I stared at the drawing, I felt the same amount of emotions brewing inside of me. It was
-- Alexander --Anxiety grew by the second. Oxygen was far, patience was scarce and what was worse?The fact that I couldn't concentrate on anything else!My phone sat on my desk, face-up, the screen dark. Grizelda hadn't called, hadn't reached out.This was bad. She was wasting my time.I couldn't be more wrong than what I was thinking; she had lied to me. Made me think she was believing my every word, made me think she truly was going to confront her sister on the matter but turns out she hadn't planned to at all, had she?I drummed my fingers restlessly on the desk.I had waited for her feedback in vain.I covered my face with one hand and snatched my phone from the desk with the other.I exhaled, pressing my fingers against my temples as I dialed her number on my phone.I waited. It rang a few times and eventually, it got declined. I gritted my teeth, proceeding to text her instead."We need to talk.""No, please. Leave me alone, Alex. I'm tired, okay? I just want to be left alone
-- Grizelda --The folder felt heavy in my hands as I stepped through my front door. I already had Margaret Kingston's custody case on my table but I assuned life was unwilling to spare me with more problems.Now this?I hoped to God that the content of the folder wasn't true.My pulse thundered in my ears.Only one way to find out.I pulled out my phone and texted Vicky. "Dinner at my place?"Vicky's response came swiftly back to me. "Sure! That sounds nice, really. When do you want that?""How about right now?" I asked."Right now? You're missing me that much?" A smiley emoji was attached to the message."Very much. I just crave a little time with you.""Alright, I won't be long. Give me a few minutes and I'll be knocking right at your door.""See you soon." I was glad she agreed to come.But my heart refused to stop racing and my palms refused to stop sweating.The woman whom I had bonded with for years. My sister in all but blood. The woman who I seemed to have loved more than eve
-- Alexander --I fumed with serious anger as I hopped behind the wheels of my car and twisted the key into the ignition.I glared at the road as I headed back to take care of business at my office. It had been so long since I was genuinely happy. It had just been one frustrating day and another.A hell of a week!I gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white. My knuckles couldn't count how many times it had to go through that routine.I shook my head.Why was it so hard to just get things done and over with once and for all?I had expected Grizelda to be stubborn. To have thought otherwise would have been me lying to myself. Yet it was hard to resist the anger that made my heart thump hard in my chest.Jax Grey.It was such a disgusting romantic moment I had caught them in.She trusted the people closest to her with unwavering loyalty. Blind to nothing but the truth.And Vicky Townsend? She was certainly the most difficult to get rid of. She had been in Grizelda's
-- Grizelda --“Grizelda,” I watched Alexander's Adam's apple go up and down as he repeated my name quietly this time. He looked from me to Jax. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting but please I need to speak to you."The shadow in his eyes caught me by surprise. He looked...I couldn't quite find the right words.Sad, but just with a touch of silently restrained anger. I assumed I would find his fists clenched, if I looked down at his hands.Luckily for him, he had them tucked in the pockets of his trousers.I heard Leo's words running back into my ears like a thunder bolt."Dad is a good man."Was he really?What about Alexander did Leo like so much?Leo wasn't the one who felt what I did after being rejected and sent out of my own matrimonial home like I never meant anything to my husband.Leo was just a child. He wouldn't understand. It wasn't my fault that after all Alexander's much effort at apologizing for everything, it was still hard to trust him.Or was I taking things too far?I
-- Grizelda --The vacation at my parents' mansion was over. Leo and I were back at my place that loomed, waiting for us to return. I stretched out of bed in the morning and saw an early text Jax left for me."I'm heading to our favorite spot today just because I missed it. Plus it'll help me take a heartwarming break from work. Care to join me?"I smiled as memories flooded in. Memories from our childhood, all created at that same favorite spot."Sure." I replied and sent the text straight to his DM."Great!" His response came shockingly faster than I'd had time to blink and I giggled.He was sure reminding me of the good old days.I soon took a quick bath and sat with Leo for breakfast. While I ate, my eyes watched him, his fork in hand, drumming noisily against his plate, his scrambled eggs untouched but left to be stabbed severally in all the places possible and occassionally pushed to the left, and then to the right."Leo?" I finally allowed myself to draw his attention. His head
-- Alexander --Jerry hesitated. "Grizelda Williams has more enemies than even she knows." He said. "It's all connected to her."My blood ran cold and my patience grew thin as I clenched my fist. "Just tell me who it is." Silence. And on the other end the silence felt too long than necessary. Then Jerry finally spoke."Vicky Townsend." He said.My face went pale and I stiffened.No.That wasn't possible.For a moment, I wasn't sure I had heard him correctly."Vicky Townsend?" My voice was a quiet breath out of my mouth. Even I didn't believe myself. "Jerry... "Jerry sighed. "It is true, sir. I made thorough findings before putting a call through to you. Grizelda Williams received a phone call last night. She had no idea who the caller was but I had to find out. It was Vicky.""What did she say?" I asked after a few moments of digesting the information."Something about Grizelda focusing on the wrong enemies. And how it was fun to watch from behind the scenes."I inhaled sharply. I d
-- Alexander --I drove away in my car and they didn't hesitate to shut the gates behind me, the sharp clang of the metal gates symbolizing the superior power of the Williams Estate. And to think that years ago I always saw them as gods and never would have thought for once that one day I'd have the audacity to stand in front of their gates and plead to speak with their daughter.That was the kind of influence the Williams had in the entire country.But unfortunately, I'd once been married to that 'daughter' without knowing she was connected to the Williams family.I slammed my palm against the steering wheel, feeling the weight of my frustration pressed heavier on my chest.Damn you, Grizelda!I was trying my best to fix things, to prove that I was on her side in every way, yet I felt her shutting me out without any aid to it. Even audacity couldn't help me out.Her sliceful words repeated endlessly in my mind. "Then show it. Don't just fucking come and spell it out to my face."I ex
-- Grizelda --I watched Leo fall asleep on his bed while I was just almost done with reading his bedtime stories to him. His tiny body curled against the pillows, his golden hair shimmering in the glow of the nightlight and the peaceful rise and fall of his chest indicating how probably deep he was in the world of his dreams.Hopefully, it was a good dream.I brushed a stray strand from his forehead and kissed him there. My love for him only grew more everyday and the will to protect him and keep him safe grew stronger day by day as well.I remembered how my blood boiled with simmering rage during the interview earlier today.Alexander Kingston had promised me, given me his word while we stood face to face, agreeing that there would be no dragging over Leo, yet what if it was all a lie?In the blink of an eye a custody battle was placed on my table? All for what?! It was exactly what I'd wanted us to avoid, yet he brought upon a damn legal war over Leo!Jax had to be right! It would
-- Alexander --My jaw hung loose when I saw Grizelda live on the TV screen. She sat composed, but like a queen appearing with a deadly look on her face like she had come to announce the presuction of those that had dared to go against her.“I have been a single mother for years, caring and nurturing my son till this very stage." She said smoothly, her voice calm yet laced with fire and authority. "Therefore, I believe if there should be anyone willing to claim him from under my care, they should be ready to prove more capable of catering for him better than I have. But that isn't the case now, is it?” She continued.“All I sense is family legacy being placed as a priority, as well as a struggle for control being brought to my face. The people I've seen are people who refuse to accept that I have built my own life, independent of them, and I refuse to be bullied. I refuse to allow my son to be used as a pawn in their game.” Her words sounded final.I clenched my fists. This had to be