Masked Facade

Chapter 18: My family

Alice's (Raelyn) POV

"If there's anything that you fear then it is just you. Only you can scare the hell out of you."

My mom used to sooth me with those words whenever I had a nightmare as a kid or whenever we both saw a horror movie. You give the world a leverage to hold against you when you show them what person are you from inside.

Every action of yours would bring a different world to life and you'd have the option to choose who'd be boarding on that earth of yours and who wouldn't.

And the decision I made six years ago gave me the world that I didn't even deserve but I was given with an option to either take it or drop it. I wanted to make a living out of me and more than that, I wanted a soul to look for me when I'd be away from them. I wanted to remake my life on new, fresh grounds.

I had a baggage of worries and a broken heart before having Caleb and Chloe. And then I held them in my arms and I found my home in them. I had a reason to reset everything and start anew.

But the once mended heart of mine was being torn into shreds bit by bit like a slow poison taking over the entire body.

"You're made of steel. No one can get to you." I whispered to myself repeatedly while clasping my hands into a fist under my chin.

Anxiety took hold of my inner confidence every time I looked over to the folder that contained the set of questions I had framed to ask Ryan during the interview.

Since the incident that unfolded in that club a week ago, I hadn't heard anything from him. No threatening visits and no forcing to accept my previous identity. It seemed as if he was a nightmare and then whoosh... Nothing. Part of me was glad that I didn't have to worry about him but then the living Satan in my head weighed her opinions that maybe he was just waiting for the right opportunity.

And then an intuition crept into my mind. Maybe he was waiting for the day when I was going to interview him. He'd get the right platform to destroy me by snatching my career from my hands mercilessly. But I was smart enough to not ignore the possibility and asked Mr. Parsons, his secretary, to fix an appointment with Ryan at some restaurant. He hesitated to ask his boss but then after an hour, I got his confirmation when he informed me that he has arranged for a brunch.

I felt as if he was giving in willingly to make me give in to him. Like always. He had that capacity in him to do so. But then, I could always dodge him off like he didn't affect me and my life anymore.

Then why did your tears chose to betray you in front of Ryan a week ago? A voice said in the back of my mind.

Yeah, that was right. A week. It has been seven days without his intrusion. When I feared the consequences of me not meeting my deadline, Mr. Pierce, my boss, surprised me by postponing the event of representing Ryan. I didn't ask him the why part but I figured it had everything to do with a certain brown eyed monster in my life.

Stop praising him, damn you!

Shoving the disturbing thoughts far away towards the darkest corner of my mind, I got up from my bed and smoothed down the wrinkles of my pencil skirt that hugged my hip in a professional manner while it covered my legs just above my knees, and matched it with white blouse with small freckles banding my wrists.

Picking up the necessary documents and equipment, I made my way to the main door. After locking it behind me, I strode in the direction of the parking lot to pull myself inside my car. Once I put on the seat belt, a sigh left my lips as I braced the steering wheel like my life depended on it. I just had to get over with this day. Nothing less and definitely, nothing more. Period.