*Alejandro*“Four designers have decided to work for us. While we took three from Nexus, the other one is from Lorexto Ltd,” Jane said, standing in front of me in my office. She placed four files on my table. “These are all the information about them,” she said.“What about the others who were reached out as well?” I asked, scanning through the Chinese man's file.“We reached out to ten designs from Nexus in total. Five outrightly rejected our offer, while three accepted. The other two are yet to get back to us.”I wasn't pleased that they rejected my offer. Since the offer was mouth-watering, I had expected that they would jump at it. “Why did they reject it? Were they not satisfied with the money?” I asked.“I'm not quite sure.” I doubted that it was because they were being loyal to their company. “I'll get back to you on the response of the other two, probably at the end of today,” Jane said, then she bowed slightly in respect before stepping out of the office.I bit the inside
*Andrea*That night, Dave left early and didn't raise the issue anymore.I sat on my bed, looking straight at the ceiling. Now, things were going to get awkward between us.“What did you do?” Alison asked; I didn't even realize she was inside my room. I adjusted on my bed, “what did you say to Dave?” She asked again, stepping further in.“Where's Austin?” I asked.“He is fine.” She replied and sat on one edge of the bed.“He ate a lot of ice cream; I hope his stomach is fine.”“Austin is fine, Andrea; stop trying to run from this conversation.” I inhaled sharply.“Can't we just talk about it tomorrow?” I pleaded. She shook her head. “No,” she said.“Okay.” That was my reply.“So tell me. What did you do? Why did Dave suddenly leave?”“Why are you so convinced that I did something?” I squinted at her, pulling the blanket over my body.“It’s obvious,” she said.I rested my back on the wooden frame. “Is it?” I inhaled a scent of breath, trying to steady my emotions.“You know how Dave fe
*Andrea*I ran out of the restaurant, heading out. I wanted to be far from it. Our car was parked on the side. I walked to the car and placed a hand on it, and the other one was on my chest. My heart plummeted fastly within my ribcage. I tried to steady my breath. I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I had just seen Alejandro. He was right in front of me a few minutes back. I closed my eyes and opened them, hoping this was a bad dream and that I would likely wake up, but it wasn’t, and I wasn't waking up. I stood straight and inhaled sharply. I was suddenly aware of my surroundings. People didn't stare at me, but though my heart was still a bit heavy, I couldn't help the thought that Alejandro was inside the restaurant. I was glad he didn't run after me, I'd have been surprised if he did. But that didn't change the fact that the father of my child was inside the restaurant.Maybe I shouldn't have run away like that. A part of me started feeling stupid for running. A
*Andrea*I couldn't concentrate for the rest of the day. My mind kept going back to the meeting with him. Alejandro. I couldn't stop thinking about him. The Iron lady called me into her office and asked about the meeting, and all I could say was that it was fine.“Are you okay?” Harper asked immediately. I took my seat, and I just nodded. I regretted not taking Dave's offer to drive me home. I sat in front of my computer, my hands running across the keyboard, but nothing was working. I couldn't finish my design or start anything new.My mind was filled with various thoughts. Was Alejandro thinking about me? Why did he come to meet me then and hold me back? What did he want to say?When I couldn't keep it in for long anymore, I decided to leave.But how was I going to tell the iron lady? She would not agree. Dave came in at that moment and asked me to accompany him. We went out to have dinner at a very fancy restaurant.“Ugh! I can't remember the last time I ate something so nice.”
*Alejandro*I had all I needed on her. I sat behind my table in my study, and pictures of Andrea littered the table. I stared at the pictures one after the other.There were various pictures of her, and I could only marvel at her beauty. At first, I could swear she had shaken a bit when she saw me, but I was so wrong; she came back looking more professional than she had ever been.She didn't spare me a look, and as I reminisced about how she worked with Dave, my chest heaved up and down in anger. That should be me.That has always been me. That was how she used to stay by my side during business meetings. It was me she would speak to and try to get things done. From what I have gathered from the private investigator I spoke to over the phone yesterday, she worked for Dave as a designer.I am not sure yet why she was with him yesterday, but I wish I had known. But I was glad she wasn't his p.a. At least she didn't get to see him every day at work.I had called her earlier today but
*Andrea*“You have a lot of explaining to do. You know that, right?” Alejandro said, a frustrated sigh escaping his lips. I raised a brow, confused by his words. I owed him nothing, and he knew that.“I don't understand what you are getting at, Mr. Alejandro.” I placed my two hands in my front, squared my shoulders, and looked directly into his eyes.“Quit the act already, Andrea. You understand perfectly,” he said.“Please, you should wait here for Mr. Shaw, or you should wait for him outside. I have to go back to work.” I bowed slightly in respect, ready to keep up professionally with him.I turned and walked out of the office. I could still feel his gaze on me, but I refused to turn. I closed the door behind me and rested my back on it.I placed one hand on my chest, which heaved up and down.“What do I do?” I couldn't stop my chest from beating rapidly inside my chest. It was a struggle to remain composed in front of him. I stood straight and inhaled sharply. This is for the bes
*Alejandro*I couldn't wait for Dave anymore, so I left before he could come. But I couldn't return to the office, so I stayed inside my car in front of the company.I didn't know what I was waiting for, but I knew I had to wait. Maybe she'd walk out. I wanted a chance to speak to her.My heart felt like it was being ripped apart in two as I reminisced about what happened earlier. She has a child with Dave.I rested my head on the headrest. She may have her excuse. There must be a reason. I know I ended things with her when I found out about her and Lucas, but that didn't mean I didn't want her anymore. I was still very much in love with her, and I had married Nora just to make Lucas happy. To make up for him for the betrayal that I had caused.But then, Andrea stuck to me. Not once did I forget about her. She hunted me all through the days of my marriage. However, she, on the other hand, was having her best life. She has a son for another man.How could she move on so easily? She l
*Andrea*I bit the inside of my mouth as the call disconnected. Was he being serious? He just called, and a car was already parked outside?I stepped towards the window and pulled the curtains aside. True to his word, there was a car parked in front of my house. This made me question if the car had always been there watching me.My chest raised and fell as I thought about Austin. What if Alejandro found out that he was his son?I shook my head, “no, he can't find out.” I dropped the curtain. “He can't find out; he's better not knowing.” I may have already told him I was coming, but that didn't stop me from hesitating. I walked back and forth in front of my window. With the tone he used, I knew he was serious about coming here if I refused. The last thing I wanted was for him to speak in Austin's presence. I don't even want Austin to see him, let alone speak to him.“Mom,” I flinched when Austin's small hands touched me.“What's wrong? Are you alright?” His small voice sounded.I n
*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