That One Ride

Chapter 25: Happy birthday part 1

Teresa's POV

It had been three days since Nesta's encounter in the hotel. Things heated after that. Alex spent more than his usual time in his office, either at the hotel or at home, but he made time for me here and there, never leaving meals for the days. So far, we know it was Robert who tried to steal the file, and that the man they captured took a commission from him. I asked Alex to tell me about his life, his past that he never mention.

It was unsettling to know the details.

flashback of two days ago:

"Alex, you cannot hide anything in the name of protecting me," I said.

"Teresa, there is nothing to talk about. Seriously."

I came closer to him on the couch. At that point, we both didn't care about the movie on tv. His head jerked in my direction as he sighed in defeat. I was poking him to tell me something. Anything, per se.

"Robert is the adopted son of my parents. They married young and wanted a child desperately, but couldn't get one for 10 years of their marriage. Hence, Robert came and after some time, my mother got pregnant with me. But that never made my parents biased toward their sons. They loved him more than I did. Then Amelia came and all of us loved my sister and her like a child of God. I and Robert were like best of best friends, we used to beat students in our classes if there were supposed to be any problems.

When my business started booming, I noticed that my Paris branch had some unmatched figures in profit. He was my confidante and held one of the board members' positions, so naturally, I discussed all of it with him. Everything seemed fine for the next month. But again, things went down. I came to know that some drug deals were happening under my nose in my fucking hotel. I lost my mind and trusted no one. Long story short, I hired an investigator and Robert's name came in bold letters as the lead of that operation.

I tried to handle the situation within the walls of our house, but... he was poisoned with greed. Greed for money and luxury and power. You know, the power to get everything on your command. Amelia stayed out of this.

So, one day at a family dinner, I came to know that someone had wiped 250 million euros out of my business account within the matter of an hour. I lost my mind. All I could think of was how close I was to losing whatever I had started and how I would have become bankrupt. It was Robert who did it, and I..." a cunning smile formed on his lips, as if the devil in him was taking over his form, as he said, "I kicked him out of my company and blocked every account of his. He thought he was the face of AM Hotels, and I laughed at his face for his stupidity."

"Next day, they sent Amelia to the boarding school in London. My mother and father banned me and never heard my side of the story. I begged my mother to listen to me for once and that they are believing the wrong side, but she abandoned me by saying that it is the last we are going to talk. And that was that. We never talked, never met, and Robert stayed the pain in my ass ever since."

End

Even though everything might seem like a big family drama show, I know the feeling of not having any parents and I understand what Alex might have gone through. The hot aroma of coffee filled my nostrils, as I relaxed my back on the couch with my legs on the centre table. It felt so much like home, and I took a holiday from work. My thoughts were always wandering around Nesta, Robert, Adam, and my mother. There was an ache, undescribable to my new heart whenever the events run in my mind. God knows what they were planning and how badly they intended to hurt.

What bothered me the most was what had I done, ever, to deserve this from my mother? And Adam, he was a pathetic excuse for a man. I know I would never have answers to all those questions. Hell, I did not know if I want the answers to it.