LOGINMARKSince Ace walked into his living room and started talking to us, his last statement was the first time I caught regret in his voice.Even when he mentioned Mona’s name before then, he didn’t sound embittered or upset. He simply sounded like a man who couldn’t care less.“Why would you say that?” Noelle asked Ace, speaking for the first time.And it was at the same time that I asked a question too.“Why did you leave her?”Ace stared at us, probably wondering what question to answer first, but Noelle and I didn’t plan to ask at the same time. Instead of answering, Ace had questions of his own.“Why are you really here, Mark Ronaldo?” Ace asked deeply.For the first time, he was sounding like a man speaking to the other guy whom his girlfriend cheated on him with in business school, and that made me slightly uncomfortable.Unfortunately, I felt worse answering his question.Ace already said that his greatest regret was marrying Mona. Well, I wasn’t married to her yet but I also had
MARKFinding Mona’s ex-husband as soon as we got to Toronto was one of the easiest thing to do. Even though I did say that it wasn’t a risk that was worth taking, Noelle made me get a private plane, and two hours later, all three of us were in Toronto.“Mr. Ace will see you soon,” a woman in her mid fifties told us.She appeared to be his house manager.Apparently, Ace was in his private gym when we arrived. The good thing was that we were allowed into his premises, and I couldn’t deny how successful he had become.Well, Ace wasn’t exactly poor, or maybe it was because I never really paid attention to him. He was my rival back then, and I didn’t usually concern myself about my rivals.The only way I would have concerned myself with him was if he was my rival in business.“I really hope this is worth it, and that we are able to get back to Paris before it gets dark,” I said in a low voice, almost impatiently.At lot of things were at stake if this didn’t go well.“Have some faith, Mark
ALEXA“Hey, honey, are you okay?” A voice asked me.I was sitting on a bench at a park. I could see a little child playing without a care in the world a few feet from me. The child wasn’t being supervised and I didn’t know whose child he or she was; I couldn’t even tell the gender.I turned to the voice and realized that it was my dad.My eyes lit up instantly.“Dad!” I called out, but I didn’t stand to my feet to hug him or do anything.But I was very happy to see him, and he could tell from the look in my eyes.“I have missed you so much, dad,” I added, my voice instantly thickening with emotions.“Can I sit beside you?” He asked me.“Yes, yes, sure,” I responded without hesitation.He sat down, but I noticed that he kept some distance between us. However, I didn’t bother him about it or ask him to come closer to me. It was just the both of us at the park now...oh, the child playing too.My dad and I stared at the child for a couple of minutes in silence.Everything was peaceful and
MARKSuddenly, Noelle became the only one with a working brain, and Vector and I didn’t have a choice but to listen to her.“What way is that?” Vector and I asked at the same time.“We should speak with Mona’s ex-husband,” Noelle stated firmly and confidently.And it just felt as though all the confidence I had in her died instantly. What did she mean by that?I stared at Vector, and it was the same time that he also stared at me. Vector didn’t also understand what Noelle was getting at. Apparently, we both expected more from Noelle, but her statement just seemed to make us disappointed.“Aren’t you going to ask why?” Noelle asked, staring at Vector and me.This was the first time that she was even looking at Vector since she walked into his living room some minutes ago.“Why?” I asked.“First of all, we will get to know if the Toronto tradition is true or Mona and her parents just made it up, and secondly, maybe we could find something to hold against her,” Noelle explained.The firs
MARKI thought that Noelle was going to change her mind when she heard that it was Vector’s apartment, but she didn’t, and so after the call, Vector and I sat in his living room and waited for Noelle.“You are lucky, Mark,” Vector told me.“How do you mean?” I asked hi,m.“Noelle actually agreed to come here just to help you; that’s something I never thought was ever going to happen,” Vector answered.Or was he merely bothered about having Noelle in his living room?As far as I knew, no man like to be intimidated in their own home, and Vector was already looking like he was dreading Noelle’s presence.“You said it yourself, Vector...she is doing this for her best friend and not me,” I corrected.“Yeah, you are right,” Vector said with a nod.And we stayed silent for a few seconds.“How did your dinner with Keisha’s parents go last evening?” I eventually asked.“I thought you would never ask, Mark,” Vector retorted.“Don’t push it and make me regret asking, Vector. Just answer the damn
MARK“Who do you have in mind?” I asked Vector because I couldn’t think of anyone I could trust.Vector already knew how sensitive and delicate this situation was, so he understood that he dared not step out of line.“Noelle,” Vector answered.I paused to think about it for a second.Noelle never came to mind, but thinking about how helpful she had been lately, it might not be a bad idea, and for Vector, who rarely got along well with Noelle to be mentioning her name, it meant that this was very serious.“Why Noelle?” I asked Vector, wanting to be sure that Vector and I were on the same page. “What has she got to do with this?” I asked further.“She is Alexa’s best friend,” Vector started.“And somehow, you think that she will take my side over Alexa’s happiness?” I asked.“You and I know that Noelle has been very helpful lately, and if you really think about it, you would realize that she is simply protecting her best friend’s happiness, and if getting married to you would give Alexa
MARK“Mark, can we talk?” Mr. Devon asked me after knocking and I asked for the door to be opened.I wasn’t really thinking when I did. If I had known that he was the one, I probably would not have let him come in. I had just returned from meeting up with Alexa which didn’t turn out well anyway, an
ALEXA“Why did you have to get an apartment?” Noelle asked me hours later.At first, she hadn’t pressed the issue, and we went back to working, but she was obviously troubled by the news and she could barely stay still about it.Especially as the clock was gradually ticking by.“I just wanted to li
MARK“Are you two ready?” Brent asked Vector and I before we stepped into the court.As explained, there were no reporters or paparazzi or bloggers. The only persons present were Detective Kent, Brent, Ivy, Vector, and I. Even Donald, as much as he might have wanted to, couldn’t come because it was
ALEXAI began to palpitate in trepidation.I couldn’t see the person yet, but I knew that someone was watching me. I could feel it deep inside.“Who is that person?” I asked, but I couldn’t even voice out the words.I couldn’t speak.The trauma of my last experience made it worse, and as I sat ther







