The tension in the courtroom was thick. The courtroom erupted in whispers and gasps as Travis Rodrigo walked in. His appearance was unexpected, given the trending news that he was badly injured. No one had expected him to make such a grand opening.He held his head high as he made his way to the defendant's desk.The game was really going as planned. Alison looked at him, wearing a smile on her face. He sat next to her, arranging his suit, leaning on the chair like nothing actually concerned him.“You made it,” she whispered as he took his seat.Travis adjusted his cufflinks and gave her a light chuckle. “You didn’t think I would leave you to fight this alone, did you? Of course, I need to finish the game.”“I was starting to wonder if you had given up,” Alison replied, lowly. “I’ve been dodging the reporters all morning. You have stirred up quite a storm, you know? Everyone is literally talking about you.”“Well,” Travis said, leaning slightly closer, “let’s hope we can clear it u
Bruno Francisco.The man, who had made her feel worthless, took custody of her child and connived with his mother to send her to jail for a crime she did not commit.It never left her mind whenever she saw him that he was the reason she lost her mother.She wanted to yell at him. Worse still, she wanted to kick him so hard and probably vent her anger and frustration on him.But no. She was going to be calm and composed. She can't let him see how much he gets to her.As he walked close to her with a smile on his face, she coiled her fingers into a boil, feeling like tearing his lips apart.How could he still smile after treating her like a piece of trash? Where was his conscience when he sent her to jail and took her son?“Well, well. Alison Harper. It’s been a while.”The sight of him hit her like a punch to the face. He stood a few steps away, but it seemed like he was very close to her.The memories she had tried to bury now rushed through her mind, causing her to remember the happy
Alison stepped out of the car. Throughout the ride, her mind was racing with different thoughts.She needed to get her son out of their cage. She wondered how her son was faring, and it hurt her that she was unable to protect her son. She paused in front of the mall, looking up at the cloudy sky, her thoughts drifting back to Theo, even though she tried her best to focus. Her son’s face had been etched into her mind ever since she had heard Bruno's statement. "Flog him until he bleeds". A mother’s instinct told her something was not right, and she needed to find a way out as soon as possible. She took a few groceries she needed to buy and made payments. She headed out to the parking lot, where she dumped the bags in the back seat.However, she was not heading home immediately. She needed to act fast. So, she made her way to the police station.When Alison arrived, she walked into the station and saw some familiar faces. She felt a wave of nostalgia hitting her as she recalled t
Bruno slammed the door shut as he entered his mansion. He hated the fact that he was not able to get a hold of Alison. He wanted her to be that submissive and obedient person she was before. The echo of the door reverberated through the hallway, drawing the attention of his wife, Rachel, who stood beside the table, with a plate of fruits in her hand. She was shocked as she heard the loud bang, her head swinging towards the door, where Bruno stood."Bruno," she called softly, walking towards him. "You are home earlier than I expected."Bruno did not respond immediately, his gaze wandered around the house as if he was looking for something or someone.“Where is Theo?” he asked, his eyes roaming the house.Rachel wondered what was wrong with him, but she replied, anyway. “He is in the study, with his tutor.”Bruno’s face darkened as if he was not expecting that response. “Tutor?”“Yes,” she replied firmly, her eyes gazing at him innocently. “He has been taking lessons. He is doing well
Bruno turned his body, letting out a groan. He held his head, as he felt dizzy.He tried to sit up straight but ended up hitting his head on the headrest of the bed."Argh," he groaned, trying to keep his eyes open, but his vision was blurry.“You alright there, Bruno?” Black asked, swirling his own drink casually in his hand. Bruno blinked hard, trying to focus. “I’m fine,” he muttered, although the words came out very slow.He dragged a chair closer and took a seat, leaning back. One of his men brought in a tray, and he picked up a big stick of cocaine and took a drag.Black chuckled, leaning forward and taking a sip. “Good, good. You have been working too hard, my friend. A little relaxation never hurt anyone, and I suppose you are already feeling the satisfaction.”Bruno nodded, even though he did not understand what Black was talking about. The room felt warmer and thicker, making him feel like he was suffocating. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the first button of the shir
Alison finally arrived at her place. She felt really exhausted and hungry.She unlocked the door to her apartment and stepped inside. She threw her bag on the sofa, collapsing into the next sofa with a heavy thud.Who were these men? It was really complicated, and the more she dug into the case, the deeper she fell into it.It was deeper than what she had imagined, and now, she was unable to get out of it. She was too tired to open the file. She picked herself up, heading to the bathroom.After spending a long time in the bathroom, she came out in a towel and walked across the room to the dressing room, where she sat to do her night skincare."What is a beautiful and intelligent lawyer without skincare," she whispered to herself, opening the bottle.After applying the skincare, she took her bag away from the sofa and placed it on the table. She made her way to the kitchen and fortunately, there was still a canned noodles left in the fridge.She took it out and put it in the microwave
Travis and Alison stood across from each other. There was silence in the room, and Alison's heart was beating fast as she thought of what he wanted to talk to her about.“Alison,” he began, and she answered, looking at him.“You have been pushing yourself too hard. I have seen the hours you have put into this case. The late work hours, the skipped meals... it is not healthy for a woman like you.”Alison folded her arms across her chest. How did he know she skipped meals and worked late?Was he stalking her?She asked, "How do you know I work late and skip meals?"He shrugged as if the questions were not necessary. He replied, "The security said you are always the last person to leave the building. And of course, your office is close to mine, and I am certain that you don't leave the office during lunchtime, nor does anyone bring in your lunch." She nodded, and said, “Is this your way of telling me I’m not good enough, Travis? Because if it is, you might as well save your breath than
Travis could not focus. He was still thinking of Alison's words, and even though he wanted to give her space, he needed to understand what was going on.He remembered the first time they met. She had mentioned something about a letter.Could it be what he was thinking?In order to satisfy his curiosity, he made his way out to her office.He knocked slightly, and and when he heard her say, "Come in", he pushed the door open.He cleared his throat, refusing to beat around the bush.“What did you mean?” Travis asked, his brows furrowing a little, as he shut the door.She looked at him, wondering what he was talking about."What did I mean? I don't understand, what are you talking about?" "I mean.. you mentioned something the first time we met. And then—" Alison let out a deep breath, cutting him shut as if she just wanted to let it out. “I was talking about the breakup letter, Travis. The one you sent me.”His eyes widened in disbelief. So, he did not hear wrongly. She really did mean
The energy in the room was a radiation of coldness in its most toxic form. And although they were quite a number of people in the room, the silence was such that if a pin dropped to the floor, the sound would be loud and clear enough for everyone to hear.“Lord Castro… what do we do next?” A man finally asked, breaking the silence. “Raquel was supposed to take over this great clan once you're gone.”A much older man, dressed in all black, and holding a cigarette in his right hand shook his head, and the room tensed up in anticipation as they waited for him to speak. “And who says I'm leaving anytime soon?”“My lord, Marco is right, now that your only heiress is gone, what becomes of the Clan, and the ones responsible for her death?” Another man, dressed in all black as well, asked. “The lawyer, and her husband… you spent years avenging the deaths of your cartel members, and Raquel in question was your daughter and…”“That's enough!” Lord Castro yelled, hitting his palm against the ta
**FIVE YEARS LATER***Time flies, huh??Quite a popular yet true phrase…It has been five years since everything, yes… everything!Raquel was later confirmed dead, and buried almost immediately. Alison took a couple of months to heal completely, life moved on, and went back to normal.Travis Rodrigo got cleared off all the charges of his involvement with illegal drug trafficking, leveled against him.Alan Rodrigo successfully got a divorce from Delaney, giving her the opportunity to go back to the streets where she truly belonged…Or maybe not..And Karen, well… let's just say she opened her heart to Oscar, despite all the teasing and mock bullying, and that was probably the best decision she's ever made.Bruno Francisco already completed his jail term and was finally free to live his life, but where was he even going to start from? He lost Alison, his conglomerate, his son and his mum was still in jail, all because of one dumb decision.Despite the fact that everything seemed to have
Travis' hopeful gaze lingered on Alison as he waited for her to say something.What did she mean by she was ahead of him on this one? And the look she had in her eyes was one he took a lot of time to understand.Whenever she knew a secret or had a surprise planned out, that was the exact same expression.“It depends on you… what do you want to hear?” she shrugged and sat upright, so did he.“I want to hear everything Alison, the whole plan.” He insisted and she nodded.“We are going to be needing Uncle Carlos' help on this one.” She started. “I have been keeping tabs on Raquel, and I'm glad she is still here in Chicago. Apparently not yet aware that we know about all of her stupid deeds.”As She spoke, his gaze drifted off, picturing her words clearly. “And since she doesn't know that we are aware of her atrocities, I'm pretty sure she's out there living her normal life.”“Exactly, she doesn't even have any reason to suspect that anyone knows about her sins, since she was smart enough
Alison smiled widely settling onto a long couch, with Travis by her side, and her gaze darting around the room, to the happy faces of her guests - unexpected guests actually.Forgiveness felt exciting, it made her feel lighter, like a heavy weight just got lifted off her shoulder.“This has to be the most underrated pill.” She whispered, snuggling closer to Travis.“What's that?” He asked, staring in her eyes, with his arms wrapped around her.“Forgiveness.” She responded, and broke off their eye contact, allowing her gaze wander off. “You know, when I got Bruno arrested alongside his mother, and gained custody over my son… it did not feel this satisfying.”Oscar and Karen stopped their conversation and had their entire attention fixed on the couple, who were just starting to reinkindle their love.“I felt thirsty, like there was so much more I was missing out on.” She continued. “You know that feeling when you have already gotten everything you always wanted, and yet it was not as sa
The moment he sighted Alison walk out of the room looking like a ghost, better still, a frame of her former self, Travis' eyes widened in shock, so did his mouth. There was not any way he would have believe that his Alison would lose so much weight and life in just a matter of twenty one days. Her collar bones were glaring, deep enough to hold water in them. Her eyes were red, and so was her face… a testament to the tears she had to shed and the pain she'd gone through.Alison on the other hand, kept staring at him, although at first she didn't want to admit it, he was looking so haggard and unkept, his hair was messy and his moustache was starting to grow wild.Only twenty-one days apart did this to the couple, who would have thought so.Still standing apart, the couple kept staring at each other, with so many words running through their minds, yet no one was uttering any words.Who would?Travis who was articulating his thoughts and thinking of the perfect way to get Alison's for
After so much hesitation, Travis finally planted a soft knock, on the door of Megan's apartment.“Who is it? How can I help you?” He heard Megan's soft voice ring from inside, and moved back slightly.As sounds of footsteps approached and grew louder, so did Travis’ heartbeats. What if she sends him away rudely?Alison must have told her about everything that happened, so how was he going to face her now?“Who is it, yo …” Megan's voice stopped halfway as she sighted Travis standing by the door, looking pale.“Y..you're here,” she said, obviously shocked. “I never thought you'd stop by.”“I'm sorry, I swear, I'm really sorry.” He said and Megan folded her arms under her chest.“What do you want? Why are you here?” “Aunt Megan, please… I need your help, don't say no, I beg of you.” He pleaded. “A lot happened, and I really need to speak with Alison.”“Well… sorry to disappoint you, but Alison is not here.” Megan shrugged and turned to go in, but Travis held onto her hand, with guilt
Travis tried to trail Raquel, but she was nowhere to be found, apparently she had already gone too far.“Fuck!!” He groaned in annoyance, punching his steering and screaming his lungs out. “I've lost everything!”Before he could stop himself, tears began slipping down his eyes. He got to the side of the road and parked.“Why did I let it get to this point?” He asked himself, ruffling his hair in frustration and crying out. “Now she has gotten what she wanted and is nowhere to be found.”He tried to calm himself down but it just was not working out.‘why not just head home, hopefully you would meet her and explain everything.’ His subconscious mind suggested and Travis shook his head.“I fucked up already, what explanation is going to make sense to her?” He muttered, his eyes already red from crying and his fists bruised.Eventually, he decided to drive home, not knowing exactly what to expect, but hoping for the best nevertheless.The drive was rough, with Travis growing more emotiona
“What the hell is going on here?” Alison yelled in shock, and Raquel got off Travis thighs, deciding to play the victim.“Sweetheart, what is she still doing here? I thought you said you were no longer with her?” Raquel asked Travis, pointing at Alison and crying. “I should never have trusted you again in the first place.”“Alison, I swear I can explain.” Travis whispered getting off the couch and swiftly going over to hold Alison.“Don't touch me!” She snapped, slapping his hands off her. “I should have known that this is what you were up to when you suddenly woke up and created the idea that you were going to work from home.”“Cupcake, it's not what you think.” He said going on his knees. “I promise you, I was actually working from home.”“It can even be what I think, but what I saw Travis… this bitch was straddling you and you didn't even push her off, what is she even doing here? And what does she mean by you said we'd broken up?” Alison asked, feeling her feet grow cold then she
The notion that ‘time flies’ had never made more sense to Alison. Just like yesterday, she was fighting to get her son back, then she lost him, and now three months had passed already. She had finally embraced the fact that her Theo was gone and she was never going to see him again. Deep down, she was grateful to Travis, who had always been her knight in shining armor, walking her through every single stage of grief. She finally opened her heart to Karen, Megan and Carlos, letting them comfort her. Although Alison never believed the saying that ‘time heals’ she'd a testament to that. “You're awake?” Travis muttered with a small smile as Alison tried to sit upright. “How was your night?” “It was good, I mean… I slept well,” she replied and smiled back at him. Her gaze caught the time on her clock and she gasped. “It's 8am, already? I have to get to the office.” She said and swiftly got out of bed. “Wait, you're resuming, already? You sure you are ready?” Travis asked, with