The Color of Love

Chapter 14

It was already six in the evening and Alice has not yet had a decent lunch. Vincent left at two in the afternoon after Alice fell asleep on the couch from too much stress. He left her a note on the living room table and it was the first thing she saw upon opening her eyes. Call him. ASAP. After reading the note, she wished she had never woken up. She was back in her nightmare again.

"Mom!" Alice heard Liam calling out from the kitchen as he popped something into the microwave. She didn't answer him. She thought it was okay since he would just think she was still asleep. But he called out again a few seconds later and this time, she could hear him walking to the living room. She closed her eyes and went on to pretend that she was still asleep. She could feel Liam's presence nearby and then the sound of a tray being placed on the table after. Liam sat at the end of the sofa on which her feet were at. He gently shook her legs to wake her up. Now, she really had no choice but to.

"Mom... Mom... Wake up. It's dinner time."

"Hi sweetie." She opened her eyes but remained lying down. She looked like a mess.

"Mom, you look worse than this morning. Are you really sure you're okay? I think you need to go visit the doctor tomorrow."

"No... I'm fine. It's just the headache that's killing me."

"Have you taken your medicine already?"

"Yeah..." She lied.

"Good. Let me help you sit down so you can eat dinner." Liam stood up from the couch to help Alice get up.

"What's for dinner?"

"Microwaved lasagna." Liam answered with a smile. "Sorry, mom. Patty told me she needed to be out early today so she wasn't able to cook dinner for us. Good thing there were still enough leftovers in the fridge." Patty was their trusted helper ever since they came to New York. Alice managed a smile as Liam gave her her plate of lasagna.

"Uh... Lee, I don't think I have the appetite to eat yet."

"Mom, you need to."

Alice nauseatingly stared at her plate.

"Please. You need to get well."

She gave out a heavy sigh then took a small piece of the pasta. After a few minutes, she managed to finish a fourth of her meal. She handed the plate to Liam.

"Thanks, dear." Alice said as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Uh... can I go up now? My head is really throbbing."

"Of course. Do you want me to help you upstairs?"

"No. It's okay. I can do it." She slowly stood up from the couch and fixed her robe.

"Be careful and rest well, okay?" Liam planted a kiss on his mom's cheek, quickly cleared the table, then headed back to the kitchen.

The first thing she saw upon reaching her bedroom was her cellphone. Her anxiety was kicking back again. She knew what she had to do. She walked to her closet and grabbed her purse. She reached out for her wallet and took out William's calling card. She sat on the bed for a moment before taking her phone. She took a deep breath and dialed the number on the card. It rang. A few seconds later, a low, raspy voice answered.

"Hello?"

I couldn't do it, Alice thought.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end said again. Alice's hand started to shake and she could feel them get all clammy from her nervousness.

"Hello..." She finally said.

"Yes? May I know who's on the line?"

"... It's Alice..."

Even though he expected the call, it also jerked William a little that he wasn't able to answer for a good three seconds.

"... Alice... Thank you for calling..."

She remained silent.

"... I don't know how to begin... I am also as shocked as you are. I hate it that we have to meet again this way and in this circumstance."

"I know." Alice said. She has calmed down a little bit. "I don't know how to feel right now. I was happy to have seen you again and that Liam was finally going to meet you. But I was also scared because I knew instantly how wrong everything was."

"Yes... They couldn't get married..."

"They are half-siblings, Will... How will we tell them?" She felt helpless and scared again.

"You know that there is no other way to sugar coat it, Ally... We just have to tell them bluntly. But before we can do that..."

"What?"

"There is also something you need to know..."

Alice's heart pounded on her chest as her pulse raced yet again.

******

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