*Andrea*I placed my hand on my chest as I walked past him. How did he know about the necklace? I looked behind me and then pulled out the necklace from my shirt.Maybe I should have thrown it away that day. He would not have seen it if I had thrown it away.I resumed walking. I excused myself before the end of the event. I went to Austin's school to pick him up personally. When we got home, Alison was behind her laptop, her hair tied in a messy bum and held with a pen.“I didn't think you'd be here,” I told her. She had said she had somewhere to be, which was why I had to pick Austin myself.“I didn't go.” Austin hugged her. “There's lunch in your room,” Alison said as Austin leaped to his room. He didn't allow anyone to help him take off his school clothes. In his words, he was a big boy, and he could take care of himself.After he left, I threw my bag on the couch.“I've seen the news; your design is amazing; who would have known you have this talent?’ Alison asked. “I'm so hap
*Alejandro*They say there comes a time in your life when you feel you've been lied to all your life, a time where you feel you could be thrown into whatever pit and you won't have to budge and if you ask me, that time is now for me.I have never felt so many different emotions at the same time. My chest tightened with each word I spoke to Andrea and each word she said in reply.Austin had been my son. This explains the unwarranted fondness, why I couldn't get him out of my head.I was heartbroken, but part of me was overjoyed. I watched Andrea break down and pulled her in. “I won't ever take Austin away from you, never. You have my word. I want him in my life; you don't need to be out. I want you both in my life.”I had always wanted to be part of Lucas's life when he was little but wasn't because of business trips and how broken I was when Nora left, I didn't want to commit the same errors with Austin.She sobbed in my chest, and I patted her head. When she was done, she pulled awa
*Nora*Alejandro has not been home for two days. His door was locked, and he wasn't taking my call or returning my text.I knew he had other buildings in the city, but I never thought it was necessary to find them, never thought I needed them until now. So I decided to follow him. I went to work with him and stayed at a distance, waiting for his car to drive out of the building. When it finally did, I followed him. He drove mindlessly around the city for a while, and I wondered what was wrong with him.After the day he came home drunk, I knew something was up, but I couldn't bring myself to ask him. What if he doesn't want to talk about it? I didn't want to force it; that's the last thing I wanted to do. So, the next day, I followed him secretly around the city, but I found no clue. After another two days and he didn't come back home, I decided it was time to visit the penthouse. What if he was hiding something there?I was granted entry into the penthouse immediately after I iden
*Andrea*I didn't want to leave Alejandro alone with Austin. But I allowed my trust in Alejandro to get the better of me. Maybe it would be better if they had some time together. Alison walked into my room with me, saying, “I am so sorry. This is all my fault. Alejandro is here because of me. If I had known he was at the door, I wouldn't have said what I said.” I didn't blame her. It wasn't her fault; she was just being a good friend.I pulled her hand, and together, we sat on the edge of the bed. “I don't think you are at fault,” I said, placing my hands on hers. So don't ever blame yourself.” I knew one day he would find out about Austin. I was just pained I wasn't able to hide him for long.“What did he say about Austin?” She wanted to know. I closed my eyes and signed, removing her hands from mine, I pushed some loose strands of hair off my face.I recounted the entire conversation I had with Alejandro to her. She slanted her head to the side, paying vivid attention as I spoke.
*Alejandro*I sat behind my desk, my chair rolling around. If you ask me, I'd say the past few days have been the happiest in my life. I have a son. Not like I didn't have one before, but I have Austin. He was given to me by the woman I love. Anna.Her real name is Andrea, but I still call her Anna sometimes. Regardless of what happens, she'll always be my Anna. My relationship with her has been progressing subtly. I have decided not to rush it. I fear she may shut me out completely if I do.I sent her a message and flowers a while ago, but she didn't reply or anything. I didn't mind. I am sure it made her mind flutter. My life was slowly falling back into place, and I was super glad about that. Andrea was worried about Nora and I knew I'd have to settle it once and get it all. I don't love Nora and I am sick and tired of this relationship we had. I am sure Andrea would want to be with me when Nora is out of my life. I have to talk to my lawyer and get things in place. The nex
*Andrea*I drove Austin home myself. Since they had already been here to pick him up, I figured out it would be better to just take him home.Alison lay on the sofa when I walked in with Austin. He said a greeting to her before proceeding into his room. “You brought him home again today, " her eyes shifted to the clock. “But it's not yet time,” I dropped on the chair.The event a while ago was tiring. I stood; I needed to quench the burning within me. “Is something wrong?” Alison asked.“No,” I opened the water bottle I had just taken out of the fridge. I walked with the bottle to take a seat on the couch in front of Alison.“You won't believe that Alejandro and Dave went to Austin's school at the same time. Both claim to be his father and request that he come with them,” I still couldn't wrap my head around it.It wasn't something that happened every time. “You can't blame Dave. He has always been like dad to Austin," I leaned into the chair.Sigh.She was right. It wasn't like I
*Alejandro*Soft jazz music resounded in the background. Glass clinked as people murmured. I walked towards the booth where Lucas was seated. He had a glass of tequila in front of him. He had his head down; his finger was dancing on the screen of his phone. “Son,” he raised his head, his eyes quickly meeting mine.“Dad,” he called and stood. We hugged, his cologne engulfing me.It was nice to see him extend his hand to me in a hug; it made me feel like I was on top of the world.“How have you been?” I asked, taking my seat, “I didn't know you were back. I got no call or text from you.” I said, signally a barman with my fingers. “When did you arrive in LA?” “I've been in this City for a few days now; as you can see, I'm doing well.” He said. I gave my orders to the barman.Lucas typed on his phone again before placing it on the table in our middle. “I guess you must have been busy?” He asked and I nodded. “I have been, but I'm sorry. If I had known you were around, I'd have made t
*Andrea*Sun rays beamed into the room through the window. I had that window locked, and I squinted my eyes, ‘so, who opened it?’My eyes were yet to adjust to the light flooding the room. I laid my back on the wooden frame, one hand rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.Everything was the same, but a feeling I couldn't put my hand on settled in the pit of my stomach.What happened yesterday? I tried to recall if anything went amiss.Just then, my nose tinged, and I yawned lazily.I turned my head, and my eyes fell on a man who was fast asleep close to me. I almost leapt out of bed; I was about to shout when I recognized him.Alejandro?What was he doing here? And on my bed? I furrowed my gaze. Oh no…I raised the duvet and quickly checked myself to see if he had touched me. But he hasn't; I was fully clothed. How did he get on my bed? I wanted to hit him or do anything just to wake him, but I couldn't bring myself to. Instead, I found myself scouting closer to him; his eyes were close
*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