It had been months since their trip to London. Morgan was just over a year old, Meghan was aged eleven, and, well, Marshall, a teenager. The children were growing really fast. Almost too fast for Camilla. Both Meghan and Marshall were attending a private school, The Kings School, in Alderley Edge, which accommodates children from three years of age to eighteen years of age. They were dropped off each day and collected by Denzil. Camilla had been thinking long and hard about Nancy. She wished Nancy could have a fulfilling life like hers. She often wondered if Denzil was married. She'd never thought of asking her husband about their employees' private affairs, but there was just something about these two she thought would be perfectly matched.While driving to work one morning, she asked her husband, "Babe, is Denzil married?"Bradford let out a laugh, "Goodness no. I've been trying to set him up for years now," he responded."Babe, what do you think about Nancy and Denzil?"Thinking h
August was here. The weather started to cool down. Bradford and Camilla had planned for their week away. Joyce and the kids were going to Chris and Ruby for the week as there was no one home to keep an eye on them. Frank was away with his family. It had been a while since they travelled. Michelle and James were busy being new parents, and Tamara was in Bolton studying. Bradford, Meghan, and baby headed out after Camilla Marshall and Joyce. As he had to lock up and ensure everything was secure. What the family didn't know was that Steven was back in town, and he had been struggling to get work due to his criminal record. They hadn't even been informed that he had been released from prison and completed rehab. However, Steven relapsed after a week of being released from the rehab centre. Steven had borrowed his cousin's car in London and drove to Cheshire. He was living in a room at an old friend's place. "Steven," Matthew said, "Brother, you need to try and get another job."Unders
Everyone except Tamara, Frederick, and Bradford were left in the hospital. The doctor came out and spoke with Bradford, "Mr Hemmingway, you need to brace yourself for anything at this point. It is touch and go with both your wife and your son."Looking at the doctor, his mind was blank and dismal. It was as if he didn't understand what the doctor was saying."Mr Hemmingway, did you hear me?" The doctor touched his shoulder gently. Tamara intervened, "Doctor, I'm Mrs Hemingway's cousin, and Marshall is my second cousin. This is a lot for her husband to take in right now. Can you explain to me what is going on?"The doctor explained, "The young man has intracranial bleeding to the brain that could leave him paralyzed or dead. We have managed to stop the bleeding for now, but we are not sure what the damage is. All we can do is pray now that he pulls through. On the other hand, your wife," he said, looking at Bradford, "she has contusions to the brain, now they are not that severe, but
As Tamara walked into the room with Frederick, she saw that Marshall's bed had been moved to his mother's room."Bradford, this is much better," she said to him, handing him a cup of coffee and a sandwich from the hospital cafeteria.Tamara then said, "I'm going to check in on Aunty."Frederick put an arm around her, "I'm going to speak with Bradford quickly, then I will meet you." After Tamara walked out, Frederick said, "Listen, there's something you need to know. Tamara and I were on our way back here, and we saw someone. Tamara was pretty sure, so we confirmed the suspicion at the nurse's station." Irritated, Bradford growled at him, "Just get to the point dammit!"Trying to think of a way to say it, he stammered as he spoke, "Bradford, Camilla's ex-husband was released from prison on good behaviour. That's not the point, though. The point is that he was admitted to hospital around the same time as Camilla and Marshall."Bradford's blood started boiling, "WHAT! That son of a ...
It had been a month since the accident. Bradford spent every minute of every day at the hospital between his wife and his son. Steven had gone back to jail. Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole was his sentence. Grandpa Hemmingway had also come back home after he heard about the accident and took hold of the reins at Hemmingway International. However, due to the long stay at the hospital, Bradford asked his grandfather to train Frederick to be assistant CEO to help ease the burden on grandpa.Frederick took up this opportunity to learn all he could during this time. "I will make you and Frank proud of me, I promise," he said to Bradford. Bradford knew that Frederick would put his heart into it because he would be heading the branch in Tenerife one day. Bradford was exhausted. While sitting there in the chair praying for them both to come around, James brought him something to eat. While drinking some of the homemade soup, Joyce had prepared for him to keep his str
Over the next few weeks, Bradford was spending more time with Camilla as Marshall was doing more physiotherapy. Eventually, there came a point where the doctor informed them that they could go home on the condition that Marshall kept up with his physio and Camilla made weekly visits to the hospital, but should anything change, they were to immediately return to the hospital.Bradford had hired a physiotherapist to come two times a day to the house to work with Marshall, and, well, Nancy was there as well. Bradford helped both of them settle back in. The surroundings seemed so familiar and warm for Camilla, and on seeing her daughter and her aunt, she knew she really was home. At the sight of seeing her aunt and her daughter, she slowly started getting small flashbacks, and then she saw her baby, who was no longer a baby but a toddler, and more pieces of the puzzle started to fit together.That evening, she saw Nancy all dressed up. "You look beautiful. Are you going on a date?" she a
As a young adult in her early twenties, Camilla led a quiet life. Growing up in Cheshire was something she loved. On the street where she lived, they all knew each other. Camilla fell in love with a man who was twenty-three, but after two years, they parted ways. At the age of twenty-five, she met her, to be, husband Steven Middleton. They started courting and what a whirlwind of a courtship it was. Six months after dating, Steven asked her, "Camilla?" "Hmmm," she replied while sitting in the living room by the fireplace, gazing at how the fire was blazing in front of her. It was so mesmerizing. "Camilla, will you marry me?" he asked. Camilla was elated and immediately jumped up and said, "Yes, yes, I will marry you." Camilla threw her arms around his lean, masculine, well-trained torso. He drew her in for a slow, long, lingering kiss. Camilla wasn't a very attractive young lady, but her qualities were something to behold. She was an ordinary country girl with a slightly bigger
Several months had passed, and things hadn't gotten easier for Camilla. Steven drank every day. He had even gone to work drunk and received various warnings for being drunk on duty. By now, Camilla was in the last month of her pregnancy. Money struggles were real for the couple due to Steven's drinking. Camilla hoped that once the baby came, he would stop drinking and step up to being a dad. At 4 one morning, Camilla awoke to the feeling of wanting to use the bathroom, but as she arose, everything on the bed was soaked through. She went to the bathroom, but she still couldn't stop. Eventually, she called for her husband, who was still hung over from the night before. "Steven, please get the car!" She yelled, knowing it was going to be difficult for him to wake up. "Steven, can you get up, I need to get to the hospital now!" she yelled again. In a groggy state, he said to her, "Just get some more sleep. It's okay, you'll be fine." Steven hadn't realized his wife's water had broken
Over the next few weeks, Bradford was spending more time with Camilla as Marshall was doing more physiotherapy. Eventually, there came a point where the doctor informed them that they could go home on the condition that Marshall kept up with his physio and Camilla made weekly visits to the hospital, but should anything change, they were to immediately return to the hospital.Bradford had hired a physiotherapist to come two times a day to the house to work with Marshall, and, well, Nancy was there as well. Bradford helped both of them settle back in. The surroundings seemed so familiar and warm for Camilla, and on seeing her daughter and her aunt, she knew she really was home. At the sight of seeing her aunt and her daughter, she slowly started getting small flashbacks, and then she saw her baby, who was no longer a baby but a toddler, and more pieces of the puzzle started to fit together.That evening, she saw Nancy all dressed up. "You look beautiful. Are you going on a date?" she a
It had been a month since the accident. Bradford spent every minute of every day at the hospital between his wife and his son. Steven had gone back to jail. Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole was his sentence. Grandpa Hemmingway had also come back home after he heard about the accident and took hold of the reins at Hemmingway International. However, due to the long stay at the hospital, Bradford asked his grandfather to train Frederick to be assistant CEO to help ease the burden on grandpa.Frederick took up this opportunity to learn all he could during this time. "I will make you and Frank proud of me, I promise," he said to Bradford. Bradford knew that Frederick would put his heart into it because he would be heading the branch in Tenerife one day. Bradford was exhausted. While sitting there in the chair praying for them both to come around, James brought him something to eat. While drinking some of the homemade soup, Joyce had prepared for him to keep his str
As Tamara walked into the room with Frederick, she saw that Marshall's bed had been moved to his mother's room."Bradford, this is much better," she said to him, handing him a cup of coffee and a sandwich from the hospital cafeteria.Tamara then said, "I'm going to check in on Aunty."Frederick put an arm around her, "I'm going to speak with Bradford quickly, then I will meet you." After Tamara walked out, Frederick said, "Listen, there's something you need to know. Tamara and I were on our way back here, and we saw someone. Tamara was pretty sure, so we confirmed the suspicion at the nurse's station." Irritated, Bradford growled at him, "Just get to the point dammit!"Trying to think of a way to say it, he stammered as he spoke, "Bradford, Camilla's ex-husband was released from prison on good behaviour. That's not the point, though. The point is that he was admitted to hospital around the same time as Camilla and Marshall."Bradford's blood started boiling, "WHAT! That son of a ...
Everyone except Tamara, Frederick, and Bradford were left in the hospital. The doctor came out and spoke with Bradford, "Mr Hemmingway, you need to brace yourself for anything at this point. It is touch and go with both your wife and your son."Looking at the doctor, his mind was blank and dismal. It was as if he didn't understand what the doctor was saying."Mr Hemmingway, did you hear me?" The doctor touched his shoulder gently. Tamara intervened, "Doctor, I'm Mrs Hemingway's cousin, and Marshall is my second cousin. This is a lot for her husband to take in right now. Can you explain to me what is going on?"The doctor explained, "The young man has intracranial bleeding to the brain that could leave him paralyzed or dead. We have managed to stop the bleeding for now, but we are not sure what the damage is. All we can do is pray now that he pulls through. On the other hand, your wife," he said, looking at Bradford, "she has contusions to the brain, now they are not that severe, but
August was here. The weather started to cool down. Bradford and Camilla had planned for their week away. Joyce and the kids were going to Chris and Ruby for the week as there was no one home to keep an eye on them. Frank was away with his family. It had been a while since they travelled. Michelle and James were busy being new parents, and Tamara was in Bolton studying. Bradford, Meghan, and baby headed out after Camilla Marshall and Joyce. As he had to lock up and ensure everything was secure. What the family didn't know was that Steven was back in town, and he had been struggling to get work due to his criminal record. They hadn't even been informed that he had been released from prison and completed rehab. However, Steven relapsed after a week of being released from the rehab centre. Steven had borrowed his cousin's car in London and drove to Cheshire. He was living in a room at an old friend's place. "Steven," Matthew said, "Brother, you need to try and get another job."Unders
It had been months since their trip to London. Morgan was just over a year old, Meghan was aged eleven, and, well, Marshall, a teenager. The children were growing really fast. Almost too fast for Camilla. Both Meghan and Marshall were attending a private school, The Kings School, in Alderley Edge, which accommodates children from three years of age to eighteen years of age. They were dropped off each day and collected by Denzil. Camilla had been thinking long and hard about Nancy. She wished Nancy could have a fulfilling life like hers. She often wondered if Denzil was married. She'd never thought of asking her husband about their employees' private affairs, but there was just something about these two she thought would be perfectly matched.While driving to work one morning, she asked her husband, "Babe, is Denzil married?"Bradford let out a laugh, "Goodness no. I've been trying to set him up for years now," he responded."Babe, what do you think about Nancy and Denzil?"Thinking h
It had been two months since the masquerade ball and the incident that had occurred at the ball. Marshall celebrated becoming a teenager.Camilla had remembered the conversation that she had had with Nancy as well as the conversation she had had with her daughter. Turning to her husband, she said, "Babe, I want to do something for Nancy. She has been so amazing with our children." The look on his face was quizzical. "Honey, if you want to do something for Nancy, just say it, and we'll make it happen."Nancy was orphaned at the age of seven. Her father died when she was only a year old, and mom passed away from cancer when she was seven years old. She never knew her other family as her mother was ousted from the community when she was eighteen due to falling pregnant and disgracing the family name. Nancy didn't know the full story of her father or mother's family. When she was seven, she was sent to an orphanage where she was raised. At the age of eighteen, she left and got a job wo
The new year rang in, and well wishes were sent all around. Eventually, everyone left, and the family managed to get some rest. Morgan had slept right through the night despite all the noise downstairs. Later that morning, as was custom in the Jones family, they were all going to gather for a new year meal. Usually, they would go to Aunt Ruby and Uncle Chris's place. This year, the tide changed, and everyone would be assembling at their place. The family had not gone home after the ball. Everyone had slept over. Around 10 that morning, everyone was up and busying themselves in the kitchen, preparing for the grand lunch. While the women were working in the kitchen, the men gathered in the living room, each enjoying a warm cup of hot chocolate and having a good conversation. The children were busy playing with Morgan in the walking ring. While preparing the meal, Camilla asked the others, "Did anyone other than myself, Tamara and the children notice that strange gentleman that ca
Everyone had masks on their faces, so unless you knew what mask each one was wearing that evening, it would have been difficult to identify a specific person. Camilla had on a queen's mask, while Bradford had the mask of a king. By the time all the guests had arrived and had been given a glass in hand, the host and hostess entered the ballroom. First they mingled with guests, and then it was time for Bradford to make the introductory welcome speech."Ladies and Gentlemen, as we dawn on a new year, let's reflect and be thankful for the year we exit out of. Friends have been made, loved ones lost," he said, holding his wife dear and near to him, "couples uniting and business thriving. One thing I have learned this year is to cherish what you have. Let's enjoy this ball and move forward into a better new year," he completed saying, holding up his glass to his wife. Everyone applauded the speech and went back to mingling. Earlier that week, at Thorn Cross Prison in Warrington, Cheshire,