The unexpected

Alora

At exactly 8 a.m., I stepped out of my room after freshening up and making sure all preparations were in place.

I strode toward Dad’s room, but from a distance, I noticed the door slightly ajar, something completely unusual.

Has he changed in the few years I’ve been gone?

I paused for a moment, my eyes scanning the hallway, alert for any sound or movement that could explain this strange feeling stirring in me. But after what felt like five long minutes, I finally pushed the door open.

Silence.

No one was inside.

Where could Dad be, considering his condition? It was still so early.

“Anabel!” I called, but no answer came, not even after the third time.

Unease crawled through me as I hurried down the stairs, my heart thudding in my chest. Relief only washed over me when I caught sight of Dad in his wheelchair, his eyes shifting from the television toward me.

“Alora, my love,” Dad called softly, and I hurried over, barely able to contain my smile.

I crouched beside him, my hands resting on the arm of the wheelchair as a soft smile appeared on my face.

“Have you seen the headlines this morning?”

“Not at all, Dad,” I replied, narrowing my gaze toward the TV screen and its bold caption.

“The CEO of Stabic Corporation calls for an urgent meeting with stakeholders.”

“Isn’t that the family’s company?” Dad asked, briefly adjusting his glasses.

I nodded, gently holding onto his arm, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall as I saw him like this.

Dad had been sick for years, and despite every hospital visit, every treatment, nothing had changed. Two years ago, the final diagnosis had left him paralyzed, trapped in a wheelchair.

A single tear slipped down my cheek before I quickly wiped it away, not wanting him to see.

The rest of the morning was filled with rare peace, moments I cherished deeply, moments I had lost, not for two years, but for twelve long, wasted ones.

I could only regret it a thousand times over, but that couldn’t bring back the time when he had warned me not to marry Lucas. The same moments I’d left him in Anabel’s care, all because of love. The same love that had taken so much away from me.

By twelve noon, I was seated in my black SUV as the driver turned into the company compound. The towering white edifice stood proud and familiar, welcoming me back with a cold, silent embrace.

It wasn’t any different from the last time I’d visited five years ago. The large Stabic Group of Companies sign greeted me, along with that familiar freshwater scent that always accompanied this part of the city.

I sniffed, straightened my blue office gown, just at knee length, and adjusted my short jacket on my shoulders as I stepped out of the car and headed toward the entrance, gracefully.

My heels clicked sharply on the floor, my heartbeat rising with every step. I couldn’t tell what I was feeling, whether it was the familiar unease of returning or the fact that I was finally going to meet the two people I despised most on earth.

That much was certain, clear as daylight.

Lucas’s company was one of Stabic subsidiary companies and we own more than eighty percent of its shares. Sonia, who was just a manager, even though I had considered removing her two years ago.

But I wasn’t sure I’d pull through. I had already secretly handed the company’s documents to a trusted ally who would ensure everything remained in safe hands, away from Sonia, if anything happened to me.

As I moved toward the entrance, I spotted Levi through the glass door, one of the oldest workers in the company. He rubbed his eyes, blinking as he saw me.

“Good morning, Levi,” I greeted the moment I stepped in, moving past with a cold tilt of my lips.

That reaction was expected after so many years, the same way every other staff member stared, both those I recognized and the new faces.

I kept walking straight to the elevator. From the view so far, the interior had undergone slight changes in how the different sections were arranged, with golden decor along the pillars, which only drew a faint smile to my face.

But that, for sure, would soon be taken care of.

I hit the elevator button and pressed the top floor number where my office and the conference room were located.

Glancing at my wristwatch, I saw it was already five minutes past the scheduled time. I swallowed hard, bracing myself as the elevator stopped at the floor.

I stepped out, tightening my grip on my small black LV designer bag as the translucent doors of the large conference room came into view.

I inhaled deeply, trying to steady my racing heart as the memories I’d tried to bury resurfaced. I’d told Stanley that I could handle this alone, even when he’d insisted on coming along. But now, standing at the door, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

From inside, I could hear voices, it seemed the meeting had already started, which was absurd.

I was the one who called for this meeting, so how could it have commenced without me?

Without hesitation, I pushed the door open. My heart thundered in my chest as all eyes turned toward me.

Many wore shock on their faces, but that wasn’t what made my blood boil. It wasn’t the reason my hands clenched tightly around my bag or why my heels dug so deep into the tiled floor. It was the unease crawling up my spine.

A smirk tugged on her lips the moment she saw me. And sitting right beside her was none other than Lucas, expressionless, though his lips parted slightly.

I bit down hard on my lip as I strode toward the head seat, my seat, where she sat comfortably in a meeting I had called, in my own company.

“Shall we continue before the rude interruption?” Sonia snapped, turning her gaze away from me to the other shareholders and subsidiaries.

“Don’t you have an ounce of shame?” I blurted, approaching the table. “Get the hell out now, or I’ll call…”

“Call who?” She shot up from her chair, her palms slamming against the table.

Such guts? After two years?

In my own company?

“Security!” I called out without delay. The air reeked of her presence, suffocating me already.

She only curled her lips into a wicked smile and shook her head as two guards stormed into the room, one of them being the chief guard, Levi.

“Take her away,” I ordered.

The guards moved forward. But instead, I felt their hands grip my arms. I turned, my eyes flashing in disbelief and fury.

“Get your filthy hands off me and take this bitch out, now!” I snapped, but their grip only tightened.

“Ma’am, we’ll advise you to leave quietly,” one of the guards said, “otherwise, we’ll do it our way.”

I turned to Sonia, who only laughed darkly and sank back into her chair.

“Sorry for the interruption,” she said smoothly. “We may proceed.”