Chapter 10 After Pete left, Ella urged her kids to take a hot shower, to help with the jet lag. Their rooms had already been prepared so, all Ella had to do was unpack the luggage and they were good to go. “Guys, did you notice that Mommy is not as happy as she had been when we started the journey?” Clare asked as she looked at her siblings. Carl looked at her and scoffed, “She has just learned that a good friend of hers died. Who would be happy upon receiving such news?” Clarissa looked at her brothers and sister, and mumbled, “So, what can we do in order to cheer her up? I read somewhere that women tend to age quickly when they are sad. I don’t want my Mommy to start having wrinkles, and she is yet to even find a boyfriend.” “I guess we just have to be obedient and do whatever Mommy tells us to do. We should not let her worry about us.” Caleb, the firstborn, spoke. As Ella was still arranging her kids’ rooms, she heard the doorbell. She figured that it might be the delivery guy
Chapter 11 “Grandfather, I am so sorry that I am late.” As Ella said that, she gently laid down the lilies she had brought to the graveyard. She bent over and kissed the photo on the tombstone gently. After looking at it for a few more minutes, she finally left the cemetery. Although she felt regretful, that she was not there to send the old man off, there was nothing she could do now. It was not like she could bring him back or something. The only thing she needed to do was work hard and be the woman that her grandfather would wish her to be. In all honesty, even after learning that her whole family had perished, she did not feel as sad as she was feeling right now. She did not know if the void feeling in her heart would ever be filled up. Ella sat in the car, and after staying quiet for five minutes, she instructed Pete to drive away. Being stricken by guilty was not going to make her feel better. She still had five kids that she had to take care of. Pete looked at his boss, n
Chapter 12 The following morning… Ella woke up early, and after preparing her kids, they left for school. She had already done all the paperwork, so the admission process went smoothly. “This is your new school. It is among the best in the country, so please, don’t misbehave, and be good to other kids, all right?” Ella bent down and pulled her kids in her arms as she advised. She disliked being separated from her kids, but she knew that education was very important in transitioning her kids' life, in every stage. She also knew that she would be busy since she would be starting work. “Mommy, don’t worry. I will watch over them and I will not let anyone bully them.” Caleb, being the big brother, told his mom in confidence. “Okay, I will be leaving. I will come and pick you up after school.” … In the car, Ella was looking at the materials she required for the meeting. With this new branch, they would be concentrating more on real estate. She needed to find investors, and thank God
Chapter 13 Ella was about to leave because she was done waiting. She still had a lot of things to take care of, at the company, and she had already wasted half of her afternoon, waiting for someone who will never show up. She did not even want to know the person who had made her wait like a fool, and just as she was ready to take her handbag, and leave, the door was opened from outside. Ella was distracted by the noise so, she turned around and looked towards the door. When she saw Tony, her eyes widened because she immediately recognized him. Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat, and a bad feeling crept into her stomach. Tony, who had pushed the door open, was still talking to the man behind him. He opened his mouth to apologize, without having a clear look at who was in the room, and when he finally recognized the person in the room, his words got stuck in his throat, and he only managed to take out two words, “Sorry guys…” He totally froze, and his jaws almost dropped to the grou
Chapter 14 When she heard Daniel say that he wanted to think through her proposal, Ella had no objections. She had thought that the man would leave after realizing that, she was the one he was meeting with. When he sat down and even listened to her, she was shocked but she did not show it. Having not been rejected outright was all she could hope for. She immediately closed the file and handed it to Daniel, a smile hanging on her lips. “You can have it, Mr. Edmond. But don’t take too long before getting back to us. We need to start the business as soon as possible.” “Alright. I will try and get back to you as soon as possible.” Daniel nodded as he took the file from Ella. “If there is nothing else, then I will be taking my leave. My assistant will continue to be in touch.” Ella spoke as she stood up. She did not want to linger around this man anymore, as she was afraid that past memories might come haunting her. Having returned to his cool self, Daniel stretched out his hand and
Chapter 15 The following day, Ella was looking through other potential investors, when Pete came knocking on her office door. “Boss, I have some news. I don’t know if it is considered good or bad.” “Spill it, Pete.” “Edmond and Co. called. Their boss wants to discuss the contract with you over lunch, today.” “What? What did you just say?” “I was also puzzled when I received the call, given your heads up yesterday. I was totally expecting a rejection email from them.” Ella pondered for a while. What was Daniel up to? couldn’t he be finding ways of shutting her down, and trapping her in a corner? Why did he want to sign the contract? Ella did not know whether to go to the meeting or not. What if the man called the police, and arrested her for attempted murder? But if she did not go, she would be missing out on a great opportunity of bringing such a potential investor on board. Ella was torn between the fear of what Daniel might do to her, and the fact that she was now the CEO,
Chapter 16 Ella sat on the chair and looked at the man, who seemed to have a lot to talk about. “What exactly happened to my grandfather? I remember that he was very healthy the last time I saw him.” “Well, the old man was very healthy, and he looked forward to us living our lives together, and growing old together. But after you left, he kept asking for you, and wanted to see you, but I did not know what to tell him.” “He one day came to my house when I had gone out of the country for work and met Kate. When he learned that I cheated on you even before the wedding, he was so mad that he got a heart attack. Kate freaked out, and by the time I received the news, my grandfather was rarely breathing. I did everything I could to save him, but he died a month later.” “He was so disappointed in me and he kept mentioning your name. He really wanted to say goodbye to you, but we could not find you. We did not know where you had vanished to.” As Ella listened, tears were streaming down he
Chapter 17 When Ella left the hotel after she met with Daniel, she did not go back to the company. Her mind was a mess and she needed to clear her head. She had also ordered Pete to help her pick up her kids as she knew that she would not be able to drive in her current state. When she reached home, she did not do anything and headed directly to the bedroom. She buried her head in the pillow and cried her heart out. Just remembering the pain that her grandfather must have gone through when he realized that she was gone without bidding him goodbye, she cried even harder. She thought that she would have calmed down by the time her kids got home from school. She did not want her kids to worry about her, as she thought that they will never be able to understand her pain. But when Pete brought the kids home, her eyes were still red and her voice was cracked. She tried to appear cheerful but her kids could tell that she was not fine. The sensitive Carl went up to her and hugged her. H