*Andrea*He couldn't even stop me from leaving. As I walked to the restroom, I thought of the girl I had seen him with that afternoon. How she had pressed her body into his and how she had spoken to me without respect, and Alejandro had sat there watching her.Maybe I judged him wrongly. Maybe he was a bastard like his son. Take a deep breath, girl, and don't stress yourself over a man. I repeatedly told myself. I walked to the restroom and went into a cubicle. Soon, I heard water running, and then two girls started talking. “She came again today. Everyone was so tensed.” One said.“It has been ages since she visited. Why did she come today?” She sighs and continues, “It isn't as if she is the boss's wife of anything; why does she have the power to boss anyone around here?” The second girl asked.“She had some relationship with the boss. I heard he was madly in love with her. He allowed her to do whatever she wanted until they ended. Maybe he is not over her yet. Rumors have it that
*Alejandro*Anna was in pain, though she was trying to hide it, and for some unknown reason, I felt a tug in my heart seeing her flinch because of it. I opened the door of my study in the apartment. I walked to the table and placed my hands on it.I closed my eyes and opened it, then stood up straight and loosened my tie. Anna is not the type to be troublesome. Not that I've known her for a long time, but from the little moments we've spent together, I could tell that she wasn't that type. But the truth is that you can never really know a person.Scratch that.Whether she is troublesome or not doesn't matter. The fact was that someone had raised their hands on her, and I was surely going to make that person pay, whoever they were.My phone rang. “What's up, man,” Williams's voice rang from the other end. “Why are you calling me at this time?” I asked. It wasn't usual. “Do I need a reason to call you when I want?” He asked back. He was speaking at the top of his voice. He seems to b
*Andrea*“Did you stay together last night?” Clara asked, and I couldn't help but wonder what it had to do with her. Granted, she dated Alejandro, and though that didn't quite sit right with me for some unknown reasons, I couldn't change it. But they’ve broken up.Alejandro has obviously moved on, and it is clear that her presence is not something he looks forward to, so why can't she just leave him alone in peace?“Yes,” Alejandro said. Clara's face turned livid with anger. “Why did she sleep at your apartment?” She turns to me, “From the first time I saw you, I knew that you weren't qualified for this job. Did you take the job to sleep with your boss!” She asked.“Clara!!” Alejandro yelled.I should have felt offended by what she said, but I wasn't. “I see no reason I have to explain to you,” I said. She raised a brow and slanted her neck. “I have some files to give to the research head. I think I'll pass on today's lunch,” I said politely. I'd love to have lunch with Alejandro, bu
*Andrea* Alejandro stared at Mr.Johnson without any effort to budge. Mr Johnson dropped his fork carefully and wiped his lips with a disposable napkin. “You should know that when you agreed to my terms, they had some underlying meaning.” He said. I raised a brow, not completely understanding what he was saying. “Speak clearer so I'll understand better,” Alejandro said. I understood the wording of the sentence he just said, but I'm trying to make sense of it to no avail. “You must agree to other things before we can sign the contract and shake hands.” Mr.Johnson said. Alejandro lowered his head and let out a low chuckle. “I know it's funny, but it's true.” Mr. Johnson said. “Oh, I didn't know that's what you mean, things like what”?” Alejandro asked. I felt Alejandro understood what he said. Mr. Johnson picked up his fork again and gently sliced through his steak. He placed it in his mouth and hammed. This man was crazy. He should check himself. I couldn't help but wonder
*Alejandro*The bar was lit by a blue light, which changed occasionally. The smell of solid drinks lay heavily in the air. Soft music resounded in the background. People chatted quietly. I watched as a bartender poured a drink for a man in front of me with skill. Williams is seated in front of me. A blonde girl leans on him, speaking about what only they know. Williams and his women weren't what I was bothered about right now. Two hours ago, I went to the bar where Anna was bullied. I took a slow sip of my drink, my eyes settling on the sleeve of my white shirt, which had dust stains on it. My Rolex wristwatch was missing from my hand. I leaned into the chair and hung my head behind it. *TWO HOURS AGO* ( flashback )When my phone beeped during lunch with Mr Johnson, I waited patiently to check it inside the car. It was a message from Williams. It took him a pretty long time to text me. I had asked to see the girl and the others that had surrounded Anna and stopped her from leaving
*Andrea* I am standing in front of a table. Behind it is a man in his late fifties sitting behind a laptop with several files piled on the side. The broken bottle was very expensive. It costs over five thousand dollars. I'd have left the drink for Mr. Blonde if I had known it cost this much. “Is there any need to be here? She broke the bottle, so she should pay; why was I called in, too?” Mr. Blonde asked. I looked at him, scoffed, and crossed my hands. He didn't look pissed, he was calm. The only chair in this tiny office was offered to him. He sat with one leg over the other. Total disrespect to the pretty girl in front of him. “Mr. Hump, you know better than anyone that I hate being dragged for what I know nothing of,” he said sternly, now facing Mr. Hump, whose hands were shaking, and he kept placing one hand over the other to hide it. “Don't try to force him to make any stupid decision,” I said. “What? Something you know nothing of? Are you drunk, or did you hit your head so
*Alejandro*Seeing Anna with another man fueled something within me. She had a slight smile on her lips, and she seemed to be having a good time with the man, who couldn't stop looking at her from time to time as they made their way to the entrance. My legs moved forward, but a hand held me back, “why the rush? Let's walk slowly.” Clara said. I had almost forgotten that she was with me. She linked our hands together. She waved at those who waved at her, her smile, which had turned annoying, not leaving her lips. If I had known earlier that Jane would be in this show, I'd have a ticket, and Anna would have been beside me, not Clara. I didn't bother to wave at those who waved at me anymore. I feel like my day has been ruined already. “What happened to you?” Clara asked.“What?” I asked back, though I knew something had changed. My eyes don't leave Anna, who now has her hands linked to the man. “You are suddenly quiet. Did something offend you?” She asked.“No, everything is fine, “ I
*Alejandro*I held her by the hand and took her secretly through the crowd, outside to my car, parked not too far away from the event center. I drove us off to the nearest hotel and lodged us in; I kept giving her side glances and noticed she was flushed, and her ears had turned an even darker shade of red. We finally got into the room. I shut the door to the room and locked it. Walking back to where she stood, patiently awaiting me by the bed. I could see the lust in her eyes.She couldn't take it anymore and turned to me, pressing her lips tightly against mine. Savoring all of her mouth, I took her by the waist, pulling her in even closer until there was no space between us. I grabbed the back of her head tighter as I pressed her body against mine, feeling her skin through the cloth. I let my hand trailed upwards, feeling her skin. I deepened the kiss, and she responded by kissing even more fiercely, finally picking up my pace and going along with it. Taking in her lower lip, I ni
*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