Chapter 1 Intro

Auckland, New Zealand.

Nicolas held his breath and sank down into his bath. He tried to relax his mind and ease the pain but the trauma started again. He remembered the night when it all began.

He was driving his car with his wife, Agnes, sitting in the passenger seat. The couple were returning from their dinner date. The radio was on and the couple were engrossed in the music that was playing. A truck was heading towards them and the driver had no control of the brakes.

Nicolas saw the truck at the last minute and swerved the car out of the road. He crashed into a tree and lost consciousness.

The blast from the crash made Nicolas short of breath. He raised his head above the water and panted. He came out of the bath with a towel wrapped around his waist.

He stood in front of the mirror and looked at his reflection. He looked at the scar on his left shoulder caused by the crash. He took a towel from the towel rail and dried his hair partially with it. He plugged in his hair dryer and dried his hair completely with it. He turned it off and unplugged it.

Nicolas maintained his signature look–side parting short hairstyle and a short balbo beard. He picked up his pair of glasses on the vanity top and put it on. He left the bathroom and walked to the wardrobe.

He opened it and took out one of his suits from the hanger. It was a navy blue suit which he wore over a white shirt. He perched on the bed and was tying the laces on his shoes when heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Nicolas asked sternly.

"It's Sofia, Sir." The voice replied softly.

"Come in." Nicolas said, tying the last lace of his shoe.

The door opened ajar and Sofia came in. She closed the door halfway and stood close to it.

"Good morning, Sir! I came to let you know that breakfast is ready and if you'd like to be served in your room or downstairs?" Sofia asked.

"Downstairs will be fine." Nicolas replied plainly,

"Anything else?"

"No, Sir!" Sofia said.

"Okay!" Nicolas said.

She left the room and went downstairs.

Nicolas arranged the scattered files on his bed, put them in his briefcase and zipped it. He was about to leave the room when he caught a glimpse of a picture frame on his bedside table. It was a picture of him and Agnes smiling with Ivan who was a baby then in the middle. They had gone to the beach during the summer with Nicolas' parents.

Seeing the picture reminded him of her death. He pulled open the bottom drawer and kept the picture frame. He left the room and went downstairs for breakfast. Ivan was all dressed for school and sat down patiently, waiting for Nicolas. He caught a glimpse of his father climbing down the stairs and ran to meet him.

"Daddy!" Ivan said as soon as Nicolas made it to the bottom.

Nicolas crouched down and glared at him.

"What did I say about running in the house?" Nicolas asked icily.

"Not to run in the house because I could get hurt. Sorry." Ivan said remorsefully.

"Good!" Nicolas said plainly and patted his head,

"Have you had breakfast?"

Ivan shook his head.

"Sofia!" Nicolas called, standing up straight.

Sofia came in as soon as she heard her name.

"Yes, Sir!" Sofia replied nervously.

"Why hasn't my son had breakfast yet? Aren't you supposed to take care of him like you were hired to?" Nicolas said, looking at her and kept a straight face.

"Mr Nicolas-he-he,"Sofia stuttered,

"He wouldn't eat until you came downstairs. He insisted on having breakfast with you."

She completed, with her gaze on the floor.

"You may leave now." Nicolas said plainly and walked to the dining room.

Ivan followed him cheerily. They both arrived at the room. Nicolas pulled out the chair in the centre of the table and kept his briefcase one side. Ivan did the same and sat down on the other. Sofia returned with a jug of water and poured some into a glass for Ivan.

Ivan was still finding it difficult to eat with his cutlery. He made a mess of his food on the table which stirred up Nicolas' mood.

"Sofia!" He called.

"Yes,sir!" Sofia replied.

"Feed Ivan so that he wouldn't ruin his school uniform." Nicolas said, taking a sip of the juice in his hand.

Ivan rebelled against his father's order and didn't let Sofia get hold of his cutlery. Seeing them struggle for the cutlery made Nicolas angrier than he was.

"Ivan, let Sofia feed you or you'll stay home and forget about going to school today." Nicolas said.

Ivan gave in and surrendered his cutlery to her. He didn't want his father to yell at him or tell him to stay back. Nicolas ate half of what he was served and cleaned his mouth with a serviette. Ivan was done as well and drank the water in the glass. He stood up from his chair and left the room. He went to the armchair he had sat earlier and grabbed his backpack. He put on the straps of the bag. Sofia cleared the table and returned to the kitchen.

Nicolas stood up from the chair. He grabbed his briefcase and left the room. He arrived at the living room and walked through the archway with Ivan. He held the door open for Ivan and closed it behind them.

He pressed a button on his car key and unlocked the car. Nicolas got in and kept his briefcase on the passenger seat. Ivan sat down comfortably at the back. Nicolas turned on the ignition and drove out of the compound.

<>

Alejandra was setting the table. She put the cutlery in place. A small portion of the living room was used as the dining area. She was already dressed for work. She wore an orange shirt and a black wrapped skirt.

She let her dark ash silver to purple ombré coloured hair fall on her shoulders. Her hair was long and wavy–a typical beach wave hairstyle. She went to the kitchen and took a bowl filled with snags from the kitchen island. She kept it on the dining table. She went back to get the jug of water. She was filling the jug with water.

"Bo!"

The voice startled Alejandra and made her flinched. She spilled some water on the floor. Alejandra turned to her side and sighed.

"Judy! You startled me!" Alejandra said, placing her hand on her chest.

"Good morning, Sis!" Judy said jovially, collecting the jug from her hand.

"Morning!" Alejandra replied as she got a mop and cleaned the water on the floor.

"Where is Mum?"

"She is still in her room." Judy replied as they went to the dining table.

"Ooh! This looks delicious!"

Judy sat down on a chair and served herself.

"Oh! I'll go and call her." Alejandra said and walked to the door leading to the corridor.

"You better not finish the snags before I get back."

She walked to her mother's room and knocked on the door.

"Mum? Are you awake?" Alejandra asked but got no response.

She felt a bit worried and turned the handle. She opened the door and walked in. She surveyed the room and found her mother standing close to the window with her arms folded.

Alejandra exhaled calmly and walked up to her. Alejandra touched her shoulders. Maria del Pilar was startled by the touch and turned to her side. She saw Alejandra and smiled at her.

"What are you thinking about?" Alejandra asked, hugging her from behind and placing her head on her shoulder.

"Nothing." Pilar replied.

"You're thinking about Dad, aren't you?" Alejandra suspected.

Pilar remained silent. Her silence confirmed Alejandra's suspicions. She knew her mother still misses her father. After his death, life has been tough on them. It left a big scar on Pilar's life.

"Mum, over-thinking won't do you any good. Especially in this condition. Remember the doctor had advised that you rest and go out more often. How about this? When I get back from work, I take you guys to a restaurant or to the cinema or watching your favorite soap together in the living room. Only one condition. You have to come out from your room frequently and not lock yourself in." Alejandra proposed.

Pilar nodded and rubbed her forearm as a sign of approval. Alejandra gave a warm smile and left her room. She closed the door and leant against the wall. She felt really bad for Pilar and wanted to cheer her up. She returned to the living room with a sad look on her face. By the time she got there, Judy was done eating.

"Is she coming?" Judy asked.

Alejandra shook her head and sat down on one of the chairs at the table. She looked at the meal she prepared and lost her appetite.

"Alejandra," Judy said, sitting next to her,

"You don't have to get yourself worked up about Mum. She will definitely get over this. Trust me! She is probably still broken with all that happened."

"It has been a half a decade since Dad passed away. She'll never get over it." Alejandra said.

"She-."

Her ringtone interrupted Judy. She picked up the phone and accepted the call.

"Hello?" Alejandra said.

"Ale, where are you? Mr. Anderson is going through the attendance register." The caller said from the other end.

"Oh no! I totally forgot about that! I'll be right there." Alejandra said and hung up.

Alejandra rushed to her room and grabbed her handbag as well as her laptop.

"Bye!"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Judy asked with a grin.

"Like?" Alejandra said.

"I don't know. Breakfast maybe. And a hug." Judy said, handing her a theroms flask with the meal she prepared in it, in a plastic bag.

"Aw! Thank you! I don't know what I would do without you." Alejandra said, hugging her sister.

"You could probably raise my allowance a bit." Judy hinted.

"Nice try, Judy! But I have got to go." Alejandra replied, collecting the bag from her,

"See you when I get back."

Alejandra walked to the front door, opened it and left the flat. She went to the lift and waited for doors to slide open. She checked her wristwatch constantly until the doors slid open. She got in and soon arrived at the lobby. She headed for the door and pulled it open. She stood in front of the building and stopped a taxi.