CHAPTER 85IRENEI was so grateful that the long hours of our productive discussion was about to come to an end. I was honestly beginning to get so bored out of my mind.We have been going in circles for hours on end, re discussing what we have discussed already but I did not interrupt my subordinate neither do I want to come off as filled up with everything to my clients so I watch them go on and on about nothing.I looked from one subordinate to another seeing how they were all so engrossed in whatever they were doing while I just sat at the head of the tall rectangular table containing more than twenty of my business partners while I tried not to let my mind wander off or let my face showcase how bored I was.“No I totally disagree with your opinion, this will only lead us to lose a lot of money and may eventually cause the company so much loss” one of my subordinate exclaimed. I have heard that line more than five times already and seriously the meeting is becoming pointless. I ne
CHAPTER 86RAINI“Good morning, ma'am,” Amanda greeted as I entered the company.“Good morning,” I replied and continued walking with Amanda behind me. She followed me until we got to my office.“What's in for this morning?” I asked and took my seat, with Amanda standing in front of my desk.“There's a conference meeting by 10:00am,” She replied.“Only that?” I asked and she shook her head. “Why did you stop? Please continue,” I said.“We'll be having a meeting with the manager from Lee enterprises by 12:30pm,” she replied. I stretched out my hand towards her.“Let me have the file, you can-” A beep from my phone interrupted me, I searched through my bag and brought out my phone to check what message had come in. There was a little smile on my face when I saw the sender, it was from Declan.Declan was a guy I had met some time ago, and he had even once asked me out on a date. I was hesitant at first because of the news about me, but it seems Declan didn't care a bit about the news, so
CHAPTER 87IRENEOne word, I was shocked.For the life of me I cannot fathom why Frank keeps popping up into my life. If he thinks he can just waltz out of nowhere into my life and expect me to embrace him back with eagerness then he really has to think again.Leaving behind James, I have trained myself to leave behind everything in my past life, Frank included. It wasn’t heard but with the help of therapy I was able to achieve that.Now looking at Frank as I sat on my chair, a pen in hand, I wasn’t so sure I had been able to achieve that. He brought with him so many memories I have no idea were still tucked inside of my heart.I remembered the day I saw him last, so far away. I remembered the day he called me while I was at James’s, which led my thought down the path I never wanted to go again, James.I remembered how I left, angry and devastated. That burning anger now replaced with a sort of longing I do not want to ever admit to myself that it is there. Though sometimes, it catche
CHAPTER 88IRENEIt had to be the most surprising news I had heard In a while, and it was hard to believe it as well.The more I thought about it, the harder it was to believe that he could be facing some down time in his business.It was partly—wholly—the reason I was still standing there In a spot unable to close my mouth, though I would never admit it was good seeing him again but not this way…My hands did what my lips wouldn't do voluntarily, it went up reluctantly and covered my mouth.“That is impossible, this can't be …" I must have been speaking too loudly because Amanda entered the room with the cacophony of the busy staff following her.I shifted under the weight of her gaze. For obvious reasons, I hadn’t heard that she was in there with me till I heard her sound from beside where I was standing.When I realized this and the fact that she had seen the look on my face I looked away sadly.I wasn’t going to display how disrupted I was to my Personal assistant.I was quiet and
CHAPTER 89JAMESI was just getting back to myself, and had been out of social media of late. Today seemed like one of those days I would want to be alone, so as I sat by the window in my office I listened to music just as music played into my ears.Condensation dripped down the window, and if not for how heavy my thoughts were I would have taken the time to cherish how beautiful the day was, starting from the glint in the bright sunlight to the rainbow.It was a hot afternoon, but a soft wind moved through the room in a manner that was soothing.I still thought about her, though every thought that came from my heart was in tiny bits.The chairs were soft and let myself enjoy the comfort, something that I had not been able to do for weeks.Times like this was when I was most comfortable having my quiet time, as staying at home in that space I shared with her was like murdering my heart.However, it didn't seem like everyone shared that opinion,not after Addie had sent out the pictur
CHAPTER 90IRENEIt burned like fire — I was speaking about my heart.Something had to wash this memory away as I could tell how frustrating it was thinking about it.Didn't know why, but the thought of this man and the news I just heard today took me back to five years ago.It was the last day I’d had him, the last time I had signed those papers.If only guilt was so easy to get rid of then I wouldn't want any of this, as I could feel the pain it was coming with.After dropping the call, I didn't know how to react to the news I just got, a part of me felt excited and another part just anxious to get over everything.For a brief moment, I reflected again on the past…While the past held a charm in my heart, I didn't want to hold on to it for long from fear it would complicate something in my presentMy pen clicked on the table, as I took a few thoughts in pondering on what to do.A certain reality settled on me: I didn’t have a perfect love story to dream about, but still I couldn't
CHAPTER 91IRENEI stood in front of the mirror in the toilet, I watched as my hands were unstable as sweat filled my palms. I was anxious as hell.The most bitter part of the whole feeling I was getting was that the guilt in me was fading, and I could feel inside of me though it wasn't so reflective like my upright image in the mirror.I leaned my head against the wall, tilted it up, and as I glanced at my watch again on my left hand.He gave it to me as a gift last year, and thinking back to it— It had become one of my favorites.I washed my hands under the faucetpromising myself to make restitution for how I had treated him as I made my way out.The Black and white artwork hung on the walls. The round tables were covered with golden tablecloths as I looked around at the room once again.There were more people in the room and from the corner of my eyes I could see the woman who had spoken earlier.The light fixtures were original and expensive, casting the room in a soft, warm gl
CHAPTER 92IRENEI must have fallen into a deep sleep but in the morning I awoke to find myself alone in bed.I pulled my pillow over my face in a muffled scream when I realized the previous day hadn't been a dream.As matter was far from that, all I thought about at the moment was what he thought of me now, was he going to ever come back after I had acted the fool yesterday night?I could tell that despite the fact there was no love between us , he would certainly reach out to me.The painful aspect of it was I couldn't just let go of everything, no matter how easy it seemed the truth was a bitter pill to swallow.If it had been James, it would have been totally different — It was funny a fact that despite these long years I still thought about him, I still dreamt about him.It was as though we had a certain bond and were bound to it by our souls, it was as though a fact that we belonged together.In a way I could feel that we had forged a mental connection that would growt
CHAPTER 135JAMES.I wouldn't have been this worried if I didn't get her text that looked to be in distress, it was hardly twenty minutes that she walked out when suddenly I got a notification on my phone beeping in an emergency.She had been complaining about having weird calls and texts and it was Marcus' idea that we set the safety app up, so we would be able to track ourselves.I was still on the phone talking to Marcus and telling him about the sudden appearance of my mother when the notification came in.As I made my way down the stairs, as fast as I could an awful squeak cut through theair and somehow settled under my skin.I made my way out and saw that she was nowhere around the garage.My phone beeped again with a live location this time, slowly I could see the red round indicator moving away and hitting the main road.At first I thought she might have been going with my mother to heaven knows where,but looking around I saw her purse laying in the ground. My heart skipped ma
CHAPTER 134JAMESIt was still hard for me to believe everything that was happening, well that doesn't matter. I was prepared to make sure she spent the rest of her years behind bars for how she acted out toward me.I couldn't believe that I had been dragged into all of this and was naive all along.It was only two months since I got out of my accident and things had been almost perfect between us.It looked as though we've come to a mutual understanding in fixing anything that was going on between us.We just had to fight it — We just had to fight the fact that we were two people not willing to give into admitting flaws.It was hard to ignore her. Whenever she was near, an invisible string pulled me toward her in a way that we couldn't resist. Gradually we were building back what looked to be broken. It was the only sane thing at that moment as it was impossible for us to just get ourselves back immediately.The feel of having do close left a vibrating feeling behind with the promis
CHAPTER 133JAMESThe first thing I noticed when I fluttered my eyes open was the fact that I was in an empty room which I did not seem to recognise. I winced at the harsh light coming through the window and instantly closed my eyes back up.For some reason I couldn’t turn my head an inch. Even the thought of doing that made me wince in pain. A frustrated grumble escaped my throat at the fact that I was clearly clueless and oblivious of my surroundings and there was nothing I could do to change that except to wait for aid which didn't seem to be coming.Judging by the stiffness of the bed I laid on and the feeling of Iv on my hand, I came to the conclusion that I was in a hospital bed. If that didn’t confirm it then the terrible headache I was having and the pain I felt all over my body definitely did.“For how many hours have I been laying down here” I wondered in silence. Giving up on all attempts to get myself up and waiting for anyone to walk into the room. Judging by the light co
CHAPTER 132IRENEThere was just one wish in my heart and at the tip of my tongue. That all these was a dream and I will wake up back in my apartment but I knew it wasn’t. This was real, this was my reality and I will have to face it no matter how cruel it might seem.I sighed for the umpteenth time watching as the nurses did their job. I had been sitting here for the past hours, waiting for some form of miracle to happen and James to wake up, I just refused to let the fact that he was going to die into my heart. I just refused to agree that I am going to lose him forever.“No! Absolutely not!” I chanted to myself, shaking my head vigorously in the process. James is strong, he is going to survive this. There is no way in hell he was going to die after all he had gone through. It just wasn’t meant to be like this. James is not supposed to die. NoI stared down at his face, his calm and peaceful face and I realized just how much I missed him. How much I missed looking into his eyes and
CHAPTER 131IRENEMarcus stared at me intensely from his side of the table, swirling his spoon around the plate of food in front of him. His gaze seemed to be directed at me but in reality he was deep in thought with his hand supporting his chin.I was still a bit sick but it was not as severe as it used to be so I had no trouble just sitting down and watching him think, waiting for him to spit out whatever was taking up most of our time together.After a long moment of silence, he sighed heavily, dropping the spoon from his hand and turning to face me completely now. “Irene?” He called.I did not honor that with a reply, instead I just looked at him to tell him I was present and listening to whatever he had to say.“How are you doing?” He inquired. It might sound like it was just a normal question but I could feel all the underlying questions from just looking into his eyes. The unspoken question was actually “how are you dealing with everything? How is your sanity now that James is
CHAPTER 130IRENE“I’m tired of everything, I want James back and I can’t leave without him and I feel like I’m dying.” I said almost choking on my own tears.Marcus was so comforting as he was quiet as he let me rant all I want in his embrace. It’s been so long since I had someone to hug like this and now that I got someone I didn’t want to let go.“I want him back, I can’t let Addie have him forever because I won’t be able to live without him.” I said crying deeply as gently wiped off the tears from my eyes.I finally released myself from my self bondage grip and it was then I remembered the blood of Marcus' body.He looked at me worriedly which made me shiver as I had a very unusual feeling inside of me.“W…what happened to you? Why are you covered up in blood?” I asked, looking at his hands which were covered in blood. His white shirt was also covered in blood but I couldn’t spot any injury on his body.“It’s not me, something happened to.” He said calmly holding my two hands like
CHAPTER 129IRENEI felt like screaming my lungs out to ease the intense pain I was currently feeling in my head but looking at it logically, screaming might only increase the pain so I refrained from doing so.Instead, I squirted my eyes to reduce the amount of light entering into it which in some weird way is only adding to my pain. My heart kept pounding in a way it had never done before, at least not when I am fine.I clutched onto my duvet for dear life, still shivering and gritting my teeth despite the fact that I was under layers of bed coverings. My throat felt so dry and the thought of passing anything through it at the moment made me gagged, but considering the fact that I had vomited more than I could count during this short period nothing came out but air.Overall I felt terrible and after a long moment of denial and thinking it was probably stress which would be gone if I just rested, I finally reached the conclusion that I was sick and I would need to see a doctor in or
CHAPTER 128IRENEI looked around lazily and picked up my phone to check the time. It was already evening and I groaned wishing I woke up the next morning.Now I had to Dave the burden of actually being in this life which was enough of a burden on its own. Everyday I wished it was the next because I wanted to get over everything.By now James would have been engaged and my heart ached as I thought about it. I sniffled hard because I didn’t want to start crying again.The love of my life was getting engaged to someone and it wasn’t me, he was the only one I wanted and now he belonged to someone else and there was nothing I could do.It became hard for me to stop myself from crying so I undressed and went into the shower.I turned on the warm water and gently scrubbed my body like there was no life left in me again.Everything felt so slow and I felt there was no use for anything again, it was all useless now.I got out of the shower and got dressed into a big top and walked out of the
CHAPTER 127JAMESI looked around and the sight of everyone cheering all in my name was so disgusting to me, especially since I didn’t want any of this to begin with.Everyone who walked past me would wave at me but Ignored most of them anyway as I was trying my best not to flare up because I was very upset.My sister noticed this from across the room and our eyes met, I looked away but I knew she was still going to come over anyways.She smiled at me and walked gently approaching me.“Why aren’t you putting on a smile? It’s your happy day. You should be happier than anyone here.” My sister said gently patting my suit like she was about to dust something off it.I looked around the crowd in the area and now the whole hall was jeering with noises from each corner of the hall.“When is this going to end?” I scoffed with a big frown pasted on my face.I didn’t even care about all of these arrangements and all the guests here because I was not happy with any of it.“Look over at your beau