*Andrea*I had left to catch my breath in the bathroom. It was uncomfortable being in the piercing gaze of Nora. I was done with my business quickly. As I walked out of the bathroom, I decided I couldn't stay here anymore. Though Mr. Shaw had helped in clearing out Nora's speculation, I got weird stares from some people while I worked back. They were judging me with their gaze. I hastened steps. Soon, Nora and Alejandro were in sight. It seems Alejandro was about to step out. “Do you love her?” I heard Nora ask, and I stopped on my track.I wanted to know that answer, too. He had told me repeatedly that he liked me but never that he loved me.Alejandro slowly turns to Nora. My heart almost ripped out of my chest, and my breath quickened. What would he say? I unconsciously placed one hand on my chest.“Yes.” He replied, his voice firm. I removed the hand from my chest. “I love her. Do you have a problem with that?” He asked her.Nora sent him a shaking smile. “Of course not. I was
*Lucas*I was so surprised to see Andrea at the party. I didn't know how she entered or who invited her. It was a good time to talk about things. Not that I wanted her again, I still love her, but our story is already in the past. I just wanted her to be with me at that moment. She is my ex, and of course, I wanted to know who she was with now.She didn't seem frazzled by me, and this made me wonder if she had been invited by her new boyfriend. Whoever that asshoe was. I closed my eyes and opened them as I pulled my car over at the entrance of the club. A ballet parking man in a gray suit rushed towards me and drove the car into the parking lot. If I hadn't received a text from Edwin, my friend, I would have found everything I wanted about her.I walked past the two bouncers in black suits at the entrance. I didn't need to show my card as was required here. I was frequent here and was well known. Immediately, the door was pushed aside, and I stepped in; I was greeted with loud musi
*Andrea*“You told him?” Alison yelled and wrapped a pillow around her legs as she adjusted on the chair. I placed my hand in front of me. “I said I almost told him.” I gulped the glass of water I held.She placed the pillow beside her and leaned forward, “What happened? Give me the full gist; why are you breaking it in half.” She said. I placed the glass between us on top of the table. I had a long day today. I just returned a few minutes ago. I closed my eyes and opened them, memories of what happened two hours ago flooding me.Two hours ago…“I have something I want to say,” I said before I could stop myself. “What is it you want to say?” He asked.“Well, the thing is I…” I began and paused. I swallowed. This was so hard. No, I can't do this, “Is something wrong?” He asked.“What do you want to say?” He asked, moving closer to me. My heart plummeted faster inside my rib cage. “Well, I have a…” the words were in my throat. ‘I dated Lucas before.’ I shook my head. That was such a
*Alejandro*When I returned, Lucas was standing close to Nora's room. “Sorry I kept you waiting,” I said. He smiled and waved his hand. “It's fine.” He said. Though my date with Anna had come to an abrupt end, I was glad I could spend the night with Lucas. Alone. “Have you had dinner?” I asked. “No.” He replied, “Perfect. Let's have dinner together.” I said. “That would be nice. But,” he paused and inhaled. One hand stuck into his pocket. “I have plans with a friend.” He said. “The doctor said Mom would need company for the night. Could you please stay with her?” He asked. This was the first time he was asking me anything. He never asked anything from me, and hearing him asked me to stay with his mom, though it is not something I want to do and I wasn't going to do it, I was glad he was asking me something.I agreed to stay with Nora and watched him leave.Williams soon came after some time. “What happened to Nora?” I asked him when he sat close to me. “Well, she collapsed. I di
*Andrea*I didn't want the morning to come. I didn't think it would be here within the twinkle of an eye. My head was on top of Alejandro's chest.Maybe it's because it is the first time we lay in my room together. After all, it's different. It didn't feel like the regular night we always had. We have spent so much time together in the past, but this felt special.I listened to his heartbeat, which had suddenly became my favorite sound. Slowly, I raised my head. He was still asleep. My hair fell on his chest, and I brushed it to the back.I smiled as I stared at his handsome face. His brows were perfectly arched, his nose straight as it should be. Some strands of hair fell on his face, and I brushed it up, careful jog to not disturb his sleep. It was still dark outside. I reached for my phone on the table close to my bed. It was 5:30 am. I placed the phone back. Alison is an early riser and would soon be up. Though I did not want to, I knew I had to wake Alejandro from his sleep so
*Nora*The hospital was suddenly quiet now that Alejandro was gone. Williams was seated by the corner without a word. I ran my hand through my hair. When I fell in the hall and pretended to have lost consciousness, this was not the plan. I didn't think I'd have Williams watch me through the night instead of Alejandro. It was all going well; when Williams called Lucas and he came, I knew he would call his father. He is a good son. He wanted Alejandro to stay the night with me, and I thought it would be possible.I thought Alejandro would stay, but he had to run off with an excuse, and I could do nothing about it.I rested my head on the pillow, hoping to doze off, but I couldn't.I was already wearing this uncomfortable gown and had yet to wash my makeup off my face. It was no use staying here if Alejandro would not show up.Feeling frustrated, I sat, leaning my back against the bed frame. Williams stood immediately and walked towards me, a worried expression plastered on his face. “
*Andrea*“I don't want to speak in front of strangers.” She said, looking at me, “Leave!” She ordered.“Why should I?” I think it was time I stood up to her less she thinks I am some pushover. Her eyes widened in surprise. I have never spoken to her in such a tone before. Yes, I wanted my relationship with Alejandro to be a secret, and I know I shouldn't try to push him to interfere, but I honestly don't want him to interfere.“What did you say? It seems you don't know your place, and you need to be reminded,” she said, her voice filled with disdain. “I don't. You met me engrossed in an important discussion with my boss; you can't just butt in and tell me to get out.” I said. Her face reddened with anger, “and I think it is you who needs to be reminded of your place.”Alejandro had a slight smile on his face in support of my outburst. Clara's lips trembled in anger as she tried to speak. She couldn't form a coherent word. She turned to Alejandro, her chest heaved up and down. “Al
*Andrea*“Are you sure you want this? If you still feel good, you can stay back.” Her voice mixed with concern. “I am fine. I just felt a little dizzy earlier, but I am okay now.” Besides, it was too late to return since we were already in a cab.The car pulled up in front of a bar. Alison stepped out first and handed money to the driver. We walked into the bar, which was lively and filled with people.The colorful light glowed on those dancing on the floor. Alison and I found a table and sat. A waiter came, and we ordered drinks. “You look stressed,” Alison said. How do I explain to her that I've been feeling unlike myself for the past weeks? I got tired easily and was always sleepy and dizzy. “I think it's work,” I said. I noticed a woman walking into the bar; she had red hair styled in a ponytail. She stood at the entrance and looked around as if looking for someone, and when her eyes landed on our table, she started towards us.“Andrea, are you here?” It seemed Alison had said s
*Alejandro*We were at the airport, dropping Lucas, Alison and Williams off. Williams was heading back to Florida and Lucas was traveling to attend the conference and manage the company's branch over in Florida. Fortunately, Jane had been able to get it postponed and since I'd already promised Lucas he could attend on my behalf, I wanted to keep my word. Alison, of course, was going with Lucas. She'd already said her home was wherever Lucas was. Everyone was expecting them to get engaged any day now."I'll miss you, auntie Alison," Austin said, trying his best to hold back his tears. Alison picked him up and gave raining kisses all over his face. Watching them tugged on some unknown part of me. Alison had become a huge part of Austin's life. Whenever Andrea and I couldn't have him with us, he was always with her. I couldn't imagine how they both felt now that she was moving temporarily.She kissed his cheek for the last time before letting him down. "I'll miss you too buddy," She sai
*Andrea*It had been a few weeks since I'd gotten back from the hospital. Nora was dead, Lucas was recovering and Austin and I had gotten some semblance of peace back in our lives. I'd managed to convince Alejandro to have a talk with Williams and it was the most difficult thing I had ever done. Alejandro had refused to speak about him for days, always asking me to please change the topic whenever I brought him up.And I had. Every time.As much as I had wanted them to make peace, my loyalty lies with Alejandro and I had never wanted to force him to do something he wasn't ready for. Fortunately after a few more days, he'd loosened up and we'd had the conversation. He'd kissed my head, letting me know he would never go back to being buddies with him but he was willing to make peace just for Lucas. They'd met at a restaurant a few days later.Alejandro had not wanted him in the house.Alejandro had given me a summary of how the talk had went. He'd made Williams understand that they coul
*Alejandro *I held onto the stretcher as the nurses rolled Andrea away. The stainless white walls and strong stench of disinfectant were the last thing on my mind as one of the nurses hurriedly called the attention of a doctor. I fisted my hands helplessly when the doctor asked me to wait outside, watching as they rolled her into the room. I brought my fist to my lips, shaking my head and trying to control my rising panic.I lowered myself on the chair in the waiting room, tapping my feet impatiently on the floor. I hated hospitals. It was filled with such sad people. A woman pushed a man on a wheelchair passed me. Kids ran around the waiting area, oblivious to what was actually going on. It wasn't hard to imagine what I looked like. My hair was a disheveled mess and sweat clung to my skin.I looked at my watch. It had only been two minutes since Andrea had been in the room but it felt like an hour. I stood up and paced around the hallway , unable to continue sitting in one place. Ho
*Andrea*I was pulled forcefully along the rough ground barefoot. My clothes were torn, and because they held my leg, walking became hard. But I bared all of it, hoping I would get through this. “Make her walk faster; we must make sure the piranhas have dinner on time.” Nora was in front, leading as they dragged me. “You don't have to do this, Nora. Don't do this,” I said. I can't imagine my son living without his mother. He had just gotten his father back after five years of living without him, and now Nora was about to make him lose his mother. I didn't want to watch this; I just couldn't.“Shut your mouth, or I'll make you shut it,” Nora warned. “We are close to the lake; you Should save that strength for the initial struggle; oh lord, it will be so fun to watch you.” She let out a laugh, and I wanted to run a dagger through her mouth and cut off her tongue.We soon reached the lake, which had a small bridge and railings. We stopped. “Nora, we don't have to go this far,” I said
*Andrea*I don't know how Lucas came here. But what shocked me the most was that Nora could have him tied like this next to me. One of the men had hit him hard on his head, causing him to lose consciousness. My heart tightened as I watched Lucas groan in pain before dropping to the floor. How could a mother be this heartless? What bothered me more was that it was Lucas who was here. Alejandro should be the one here, not Lucas. I had left through a place where, though it was dark, there was still a CCTV camera there, so why was help not coming? When I saw one of the two men with Nora carrying Lucas up, I asked, “What are you doing to him?” To Nora, I said, “he is your son, so why are you doing this to him?” I expect her to yell at the man who had hurt Lucas and to go pat her son; that's what I'd do. That's what every mother would do. But at that point, I had forgotten that not every mother would kidnap and threaten someone with a gun.It didn't take long for Lucas to regain his co
*Alejandro*The night has to be the longest night I have ever had. I looked back to the early hours of that day. Things had gone well; we had all been happy. All I had to do was to divorce Nora and get back my life. Andrea and Austin. But who would have thought that I would lose both of them that same day? I would never have imagined. I did all I could to find them, but everything led to a roadblock. It was frustrating. But I had to put up with it. I wasn't going to lose hope. I know I can find them.I don't care if I have to flip the earth over. I will find them. I spent the night watching one footage or another, checking everywhere I could, and getting the police involved. Alison didn't sleep either, and neither did Lucas. The following day, when he left to get a few things for us, I stepped into one of the empty rooms, and for once, I felt tears gather in my eyes.I didn't allow them to fall, and I will accept that it may take longer to find them.I was to meet with the inspec
*Andrea*Austin stood still, not moving, “Momma,” he called. From the corner of my eyes, I could see that Nora was trying to stand up.I wasn't going to allow that. I leapt on her and held her down. “Austin, please run. Don't worry about mama. Go and get help for momma.” I yelled, and he ran out of the room.Nora struggled under my hold, but I kept my grip on her tight. I would not allow her to move. Never. Not until Austin was fully out. She pushed me away and aimed for the door. But I hit her head hard with my hand, sending a blow across her head that made her go back on her knees. I don't know how far Austin can go, but I knew I had to keep Nora down so she wouldn't call on her men for as long as I could.I walked to the door, but before I could step out entirely, she pulled my hair and dragged me into the room, “Go after the child, go after the child.” She kept shouting while trying to stop me from running. I couldn't see what was going on behind the door as she closed it, but
*Andrea*It felt like I was dreaming. My mind kept retracting back to the entrance. We had just stepped in, and he had run after Alison. I could still see Alison walking towards me alone. When she said she didn't see him, we went ahead and searched for him immediately. At first, I thought he was just being mischievous as always and promised to scold him in case of further occurrence. But after searching the restrooms and the hallway and not finding him anywhere, I began to feel uneasy. Then we had to search around the hotel. I searched outside; maybe he had run out. But he wasn't outside. After searching for over twenty minutes and not getting any sign of him, worries finally sipped into my heart. I couldn't hold back anymore, and tears began to roll down my eyes. I called Alejandro immediately.We'd been searching for over two hours, and he had yet to be seen. When Alejandro told me that he had been tracked, I wept; that meant my son had been kidnapped. He had been taken away.
*Alejandro* I had just stepped out of my car when my phone rang. I picked up the call immediately when Andrea’s name appeared on my screen.I had been delayed as a result of traffic. Lucas got out from the other side. “We are here, Andrea, sorry just give us…”“We can't find Austin,” her voice rang out from the other end. I removed the phone from my ear, stared at the screen, and placed it back. “We can't find Austin. We came together, but he's gone. He's not in the restaurant. I don't know where he is. We've been searching over thirty minutes…” she was breaking down. I stopped on my track, my entire mood flipping.“What do you mean?” I began working, taking large strides. “When? How?” She didn't respond; she just kept sobbing. Noticing my change, Lucas asked, “Dad, what's wrong?” I ended the call, “Austin has gone missing,” I said, running towards the entrance like a madman.I didn't mind the curious stares I received immediately after entering the hotel.I looked around, but A