Make Her Mine At All Cost

The car gradually came to a halt right in front of the garage, while the driver rushed out to open the door of the backseat. Out came the glamorous, flair young man dressed in an ash-colored suit vest with a white shirt, sleeves rolled and ash pants to match, a watch on the left hand with a ring on his pinky finger, a pair of black brogue shoes, some dark shades and a smile to match it all up. He was charming and of a good height. He was none other than Alexander.

Alexander Keller is the only child of the owner of the prestigious Marketing Company, Haven Marketing Corporation, Jayden Keller. A man that the nation looks up to which in turn leaves a lot of pressure on Alex, given the fact that his interest is not in the family business, but in music. But who in the world would let that happen? His parents were definitely not the answer.

He took off his shades and heaved a sigh as he was escorted to the entrance of the building with other servants handling his belongings behind him. The door was opened and he was welcomed with a bear hug from his mother. She had missed him, but he figured that now he is done with his final exams, she would be seeing more of him, so why the dramatic welcome? His dad came next and gave him a handshake beaming with smiles. He went straight to his bathroom to freshen up as his belongings were taken into his room.

***

"Please tell me this is a joke," Alexander said gently as a forced chuckle found its way out of his lips.

"It isn't a joke darling. You really need to deliver these documents." His mother had a straight look on her face and it unnerved Alexander to know that they weren't actually joking. His face twisted as his brain began to work out the reason for their action. Coming up with nothing resourceful, he decided to hear it from the horse's mouth.

"Mom, dad, why would you send me on an errand? I mean, it's so strange because we have more than a billion maids who could do this job, and besides, I just got back from writing my final exams and instead of a party to be thrown for me, you are sending me on an errand?" Alexander cringed as he thought of how awful it will be to sit in a car for minutes whilst the driver drove him to his uncle's house.

"Look, say whatever it is you want to, but you will still have to deliver those documents yourself. Now, come on, it's not that big a deal and besides, it will give you time to see your uncle. Remember, you haven't set your eyes on him for a while now." His father was the master at emotional blackmail, he did it so effortlessly that Alexander wondered if he was even aware of what he was doing.

"And you can get to taste your aunt's cookies. I heard she got better at making them after she got a bad review in the newspaper during Christmas," his mother spoke with wide eyes as she drew closer to him. His aunt was a chef and a pretty good one at that. Alexander never understood why she would ever get a bad review.

"Okay, fine," he said and watched as his parent's faces lit up like the fourth of July. They motioned him along as quickly as they could and after a few seconds, Alexander was on the road to meet three people he cared about.

"Mateo, can we make a quick stop along the way before heading to uncle's house?" He asked the driver who made eye contact with him from the driver's mirror.

"Of course, sir." The man responded with a smile on his face. Alexander had decided to meet a beautiful, lively, smart, and fun woman before meeting his uncle. A smile crept into his face as his brain took him down memory lane...

"Hello, is this seat taken?" Upon hearing a voice that Alexander could have sworn belonged to an angel, he lifted his head from his book and stared into the eyes of someone who looked so much like an angel. A pair of arched eyebrows looked down on sweeping eyelashes. Alexander was about to speak when her angel-like dazzling white tooth gleamed as she smiled at him. The butterflies in his stomach came alive and he took a minute to soak in her beauty. She had a bubbly outlook, the type that was inviting but also screamed at perverts to stay off. Her moon-shadowed black hair flowed over her shoulders and Alexander finally got a glimpse of her attire. She had on a summer dress that complimented her glossy skin but did no justice to her shapely figure, though Alexander could see her wasp-waist through the dress.

"Hello?" As much as Jasmine enjoyed having a stranger stare at her, she had been standing for close to an hour and desperately needed to rest her legs.

"Oh, I'm sorry, the seat is not taken. Please have a seat," Alexander said with a smile on his face. He watched as Jasmine lowered herself into the sofa that was opposite him, and he immediately craved to know everything about her.

"So, what's your name?" He asked when she was finally seated.

"It's Ivory, but you can call me Jasmine, it's the name almost everyone calls me. What's yours?" Her bubbly appearance was in sync with her bubbly attitude.

"Alexander," he said as he extended his hand, and Jasmine confusedly took it in a handshake. Alexander had never believed in love at first sight but his heart couldn't help but change its beat after having encountered Ivory.

From that day, they spent a remarkable amount of time together, and soon they were in a relationship that no one apart from the two lovebirds knew about. Alexander wanted nothing more than to show Ivory off to the world, but he knew the world he belonged to, they might have a difficult time accepting a woman who wasn't of the same class and standard as them. And so they kept their relationship hidden from everyone that cared about them.

"We are here, sir," Mateo said as he brought the car to a halt and looked at his boss from the driver's mirror.

"Okay, thank you, Mateo. Just wait here for me, I'll soon be back," he said as he opened that car door and walked away.

The birds sang a melody that soothed his heart the more as he walked joyfully to see Ivy, as he often called for for short. He got to her company's building and smiled at the receptionist who was used to seeing him around the company and had stopped asking him if he had an appointment. Alexander had visited Ivy so many times at work that he was sure that everyone knew who he was.

Stepping into the elevator, he pressed the button to her office and waited patiently to be blessed with the sight of her. When the elevator doors opened up, his face got brighter as he immediately sighted her. She was as radiant as she was the first day they met and Alexander made a silent promise to himself to always keep it that way.

He walked toward her after realizing that she hadn't seen him yet and slightly grazed his hand on her shoulder. She turned immediately and the smile on her face got bigger when she saw Alexander standing in front of her. Overwhelmed by her emotions, she pulled him in for a hug.

"We need to talk," Alexander said with urgency in his tone.

"Okay, let's go into my office," Ivy responded as she led the way. Immediately they got into the office, Alexander had her backed up against the door and his lips devoured hers. Her lips were lilac soft and Alexander groaned upon realizing that he had to leave as soon as possible. Breaking up the kiss, he held her hand as he spoke.

"Babe, I need to go a little bit out of town to meet my uncle. My dad sent me on an errand to him and I need to get it done today."

"But what about our date?" Ivy said with pouting lips.

"I promise we will have our date as soon I get back, okay?"

"Okay. If you say so."

"I gotta go now," Alexander said as he hugged her, kissed her forehead, and walked out of her office, leaving Ivy behind with her work.

The drive over to his uncle's house went faster than he expected, mostly because his thoughts were full of Ivory. He jolted back to reality when he saw the familiar house that he had spent most of his childhood in. The walls were a little dull but he knew that his uncle would never get around to renovating the house.

He stepped out of the car and carried the documents with him into the homely house that belonged to his uncle.

"Oh my goodness, look who's here," his aunt exclaimed as she rushed towards him with open arms. "Alexander darling, you look so big now." Enveloping Alexander in a tight hug and allowing him to perceive the stake smell that had covered her dress.

"Did I hear somebody mention Alexander's name?" A middle-aged man who had on simple blue jeans and a white polo walked into the room and hugged Alexander as well.

"It is so nice to see you, son. Come, sit let's eat." Alexander knew that there was no way he would get out of having dinner with them and so he decided to rush through the meal and get back home to his woman. The small talks that went through the table while they ate did nothing to excite him. Immediately after they were done, he handed the documents over to his uncle who refused to collect them immediately, asking him to hold onto them a little longer. Alex tried protesting by telling his uncle he has to be on his way back home as soon as possible.

"It's already late, Alex, it's a four-hour journey and it's already past six, you have to wait till tomorrow," The uncle said, which made sense to Alex, as he was a bit sore, but at the same time, he felt really disappointed because he was seriously looking forward to spending the evening with Jasmin. But, either way, he was back for good, and he could have all the time in the world with her, so, being away from her for one more day won't kill him, he thought to himself.

He had to excuse himself to call Jasmin, to inform her that he would not be coming back that day because of the time factor, but he will be back the next day and they will spend the whole day together, which was her day off from work and she agreed. That is one thing he loves about her. She is so understanding. She is one he can die for.

***

At about 7 pm, Alexander's uncle and his wife came out to meet him engrossed in the show he was watching on the television.

"Alex, your flight leaves in two hours," his uncle said, breaking what seemed like a piece of bad news to Alex.

Alex averted his eyes to his uncle and his wife, looking really puzzled, not sure if he heard his uncle properly.

"Sorry... What flight are you talking about?" He asked.

His uncle gestured to the document laying beside him, "the document is for you," he said with folded arms.

"What do you mean, uncle? Dad actually sent me here to give these documents to you, saying it is confidential," Alex tried explaining to his uncle while wallowing in a sea of confusion.

"Open it and see, son. The documents belong to you."

Opening the documents, still very confused at the entire drama going on before him, Alexander's eyes widened as he saw plane tickets to UK and a flight ticket that indicated that his flight was to leave in the next two hours. His face cringed as he stared at the documents and hoped that it was a mistake of some sort.

He was so angry and confused. A flight ticket to fulfill his dreams? Yet no one told him about it? Why trick him into it without prior notice from his parents? Something must be wrong somewhere. He dropped them on the table, picked up his phone, and called his dad, immediately, he picked up the call, questions were flying around from a confused Alexander, but all he could remember was the last thing his dad said.

"Son, this is your only chance. You don't want the company, now, I've given you a chance to study music in the UK. I have made it easy for you to chase your dreams. But know this, if you don't take up this offer now, you will never be allowed to bring up any conversation concerning your music dreams ever again in my house, and if you ever go into music, you won't ever get my support on it. This is your only chance, son. The choice is yours to make."

With that being said, his dad ended the call.

Alexander was filled with anger, pain, hurt, and frustration. He was with nothing, his clothes, his shoes, everything was back at the house. But what occupied his mind the most was Ivy. How could he leave her now that he finally had the opportunity to be with her forever? How could fate do this to him? He was in between the devil and the deep blue sea. He could only choose one; to leave now and follow his dreams, leaving Ivy behind, or to leave his dreams and follow her. He would not be happy either way. It was down to two, Love or Passion.

Alexander saw the cab that his uncle had ordered for him to use to the airport pulling into the compound. Breaking his gaze from the car as it drove inside, he attempted calling Ivy, but unfortunately, her line was unreachable.

"Alex, you gotta leave now if you want to make it in time to the airport," his uncle said as he walked into the room that Alex had decided to stay in. He could feel his heart breaking but he knew that Ivy would understand and support him like she used to. He just had to get in touch with her.

He followed his uncle as the man walked out of the house. Placing him in the car, they waved at him as the car drove off. Distress became a friend of Alex as he tried severally to reach Ivy but to no avail. As he walked down the passage that led to the airplane, he tried her number again and when she didn't pick up, his heartbeat became fast and he immediately knew that something was wrong.

***

Alex sat on the comfortable chair that the first-class ticket offered, but the chair did no justice in calming him down. He sent a silent prayer to Heaven and with shaky hands, tried Ivy's number again.

"I'm sorry sir, but you will have to switch off your phone as we are about to take off," the air hostess said gently.

"Okay," Alexander responded as he placed the phone into his pocket, looked out the window, and prayed that Ivy would be okay.

*****

The air grazed Jasmine's skin like a lover's touch as she stepped out of her company's building to be meet with the lovely evening weather. She had always felt a connection with nature and appreciated it more than her mother perceived was normal. She stood outside for a few minutes and soaked in the evening breeze which led her to remember her love, Alexander.

She had missed him for such a long time and finally, they would be united. She had pictured how lovely their dinner date would be. Even when she was not a fashionista, she had picked out a beautiful dress to wear for the special occasion. Her face fell when she realized that she would have to wait another day before she could see him. Her mind came up with ridiculous speculations when she hadn't heard from him since he last called and she needed to silence the voices in her head.

With a smile on her face at the thought of hearing his deep masculine voice that sent shivers down her spine again, she pulled out her phone. Without looking through her notifications bar, she went ahead to place a call to him but was unable to because the device showed that she had no signal.

Confused and slightly irritated, her eyes finally moved to the notification bar and she noticed that her phone was on flight mode.

"Shit!" She swore under her breath. She was certain that Alexander must have tried calling her like a thousand times. She immediately turned it off, and as soon as she had a signal on her phone, she rushed to call Alexander, but it wasn't connecting.

Out of frustration and hurry, Jasmine tried it again. After a few minutes of trying and getting the same response, the cool breeze could no longer soothe her raging emotions.

She stood and watched as her co-workers began leaving the office one after the other and decided within herself that the best option would be to go back home and have a goodnight's rest.

"Jasmine, do you need a ride?" One of her co-workers offered.

"No, thank you. I will just take a taxi. Have a lovely evening, Mr. Stevens." Jasmine didn't wait for a response from him. She knew that he was nothing but bad news and only had one aim. To get into her pants, and it would be over her dead body that she would allow that happened.

Jasmine ordered a car, gave the man the address, and they were off. Halfway into her apartment street, the car broke down. Jasmine who had relaxed in the back seat became aware of her surroundings.

"What's going on?" She asked the man who appeared less confused than she was.

"I think I may have run out of gas. I'm so sorry ma."

Jasmine looked at her time.

Thirty minutes past eight

She blamed her boss for keeping her in the office past working hours. They had a lot to tidy up in the office and she made sure that everyone worked extra hard to meet up with the client's needs.

"Oh, that's okay. My place isn't that far from here, I will just walk the remaining blocks." Picking up her phone, she tried Alexander's number again but to her disappointment, it was still unreachable. She stepped out of the car and started the short walk back to her apartment whilst trying to reach Alexander.

She had her phone on her ears when she noticed a set of rough-looking men walking towards her. Out of fear, she quickly returned her phone to her bag, kept her head low, and tried to walk past them. Luck was not on her side because as she was about to walk past them, she was intercepted and in a split second, they had surrounded her.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here." Jasmine could smell alcohol in their breath as they moved closer to her.

"Please, I don't want any trouble," Jasmine said as she tried to avoid making any contact with their bodies. She looked scarily around her, praying that anybody would come to her rescue. Her heart began pounding so loud that she was afraid they would hear it, it wouldn't have mattered if they did because the hairs that stood on the back of her hand were visible even in the dead of the night.

"Well, we don't want any trouble either, so just give us the bag," the man whom Jasmine believed to be the leader said. Jasmine hugged her bag closer to her and took a stand to fight for it. The men must have realized that they were spending too much time on her because they yanked the bag from her shoulders.

"No, please!" Jasmine cried and held on to one of their hands before they could run away. With tears forming in her eyes and shaking knees that almost touched the ground, she pleaded with them. "Please, you can take everything from that bag but please let me keep the phone. I beg of you."

"But the phone is the most important thing and it's exactly what we are looking for," the leader of the gang said and ripped Jasmine's hand from his. Before Jasmine could make another plea, they had run away into the dead of the night.

The image of the thieves running away became blurry to Jasmine's eyes as she shut them severally to clear the tear that was starting to form. The realization that she will not be able to reach Alex through the night brought the tears back to her eyes but she blinked them away.

She walked sluggishly towards the family-styled house that Alexander had rented for only her. She opened the gate and walked into the compound and the sight of suitcases was what the moonlight allowed her to see.

"What? I wasn't expecting anyone. Whose bags are these?" She whispered to herself as she walked closer to the bags. Upon reaching the bags, she noticed that they looked exactly like the ones she owned. Out of confusion, Jasmine bent down to open one of the bags and while feasting her eyes on the content, she realized that they were in fact her clothes. Jasmine stood for a second and wondered how her clothes and all her belongings would have gotten to be outside her apartment. She knew that Alexander had paid the rent for two years and she had only been living there for six months, so under what conditions would her landlord have to evict her?

Amid her confusion, she could hear the thunderstorms rumbling in the sky and she knew that it was about to rain. She rushed to her door and tried to open it while hoping that her landlord hadn't changed the locks. The lock refused to budge even after Jasmine had tried it over and over again.

"Fuck!" She screamed out. She needed an explanation and an explanation she would get. She rushed to the back of the building where she knew that her landlord lived and knocked restlessly on the door. Jasmine wasn't having the best of her day and her feelings were running wild. All she wanted was a nice good night's rest and not the series of bad events that have been happening to her.

She watched as her landlord came out of his house, he had a sober look on his face.

"Good evening, Jasmine."

"Good evening. Sir. Why are my things outside? I know that I've covered my rent for two years and I haven't even lived here for more than six months, so why are you evicting me?"

"I'm sorry, Jasmine. There is nothing I can do about it." The man looked sympathetic and his eyes were pitiful.

"At least tell me what it is that I've done wrong."

"I'm sorry. I can't do anything. I will forward the balance of the rent to your account. Have a goodnight, Jasmine," he said as he closed the door, leaving a confused Jasmine standing under the rain that had started to pour.

Jasmine raised her hands to knock on the door again but decided against it. She walked sluggishly back to her house. The rain helped drain the tears that she finally allowed to fall down her eyes. She sat on the stairs that led to the house while refusing to give in to her tired body desires. She held her body tight, hoping that Alex was around to comfort her.

******

Alexander could hear the sound of traffic and he immediately knew that he was in the city. He wasted no time in giving Ivy a call and was still met with no response. He could feel his fist forming at the idea of not knowing what had happened to her.

"Fuck!" The uncertainty of the situation made Alexander scream and when he turned his head, he saw two men running toward him.

Jasmine walked back to the road sluggishly and ordered a taxi to take her to her best friend's apartment. Throughout the drive to the apartment, Jasmine didn't take her eyes off the tall buildings and the people who were enjoying their evening, totally clueless about the girl in the car who was slowly losing her mind. A tear dropped from her eye and she wiped it away. Clearing her throat, she made up silly excuses for Alex and consoled herself with them.

Bethany, her best friend, didn't ask many questions when she opened the door and saw a wet and crying Jasmine on her doorstep.

"Oh honey, come here." She said as she drew her in for a hug.

"My things are in the cab outside. Can you help me get them and also pay the cab man?" Jasmine said when she broke free of the hug.

"Of course, darling. You get in and dry yourself, okay?" Bethany said as she walked outside to bring her things in.

Jasmine knew that Bethany would want to engage her in conversations that would lead to more tears. As such, she got under the sheets, closed her eyes, and forced herself to sleep.

***

The smell of coffee woke her up the next day and she struggled to open her eyes which were almost swollen shut.

"Good morning, Jasmine," Bethany said as she jumped on Jasmine who was sleeping face down, and was rewarded with the groaning that came from Jasmine.

"Get off me," Jasmine struggled to say as she felt Bethany lie on her back, pressing her stomach into the bed that they had picked out together.

"Not until you tell me what happened."

"Beth, I'm serious. Get off me. I need to go wait for Alex."

"What?" Bethany said and finally got off Jasmine who took the opportunity to run to the bathroom. Immediately after she got in, she slammed the door shut not wanting to tell her best friend what had happened to her last night.

"Jasmine, when you get out here, we are going to talk, whether you want to or not," Bethany yelled through the door.

"No, we won't. I am going to go back to my house to wait for Alex."

"Girl, it's your day off work and you want to spend it waiting for a guy?"

"Yeah." Jasmine could hear her sighing from the other side of the door and she knew that she had finally given up. Jasmine was too stubborn, even though she was the sweetest soul that had walked the earth.

"But at least promise me that we will talk about it?"

"Okay, fine. We will talk about it," Jasmine said as she realized that she at least owed her some kind of explanation for why she had to budge into her home so late at night. Jasmine heard the retreating steps of Bethany and rushed to take her bath and go back to her apartment. She didn't want to miss seeing Alexander, she knew that he would come searching for her and she needed to be around when he does. She couldn't wait to tell him about all that she has been through since the previous day, and also to bring him to Beth's place where she now stays. Sneaking out of the apartment, she rushed to her house.

***

Jasmine didn't care much about the petty conversations the cab driver was indulging her in as they drove to the house. She was sure that Alexander was already waiting for her and she didn't want to keep him waiting for long. With excitement, she rushed out of the cab as soon as it pulled over to the curb of her former apartment and she ran into the premises.

Her excitement fell when she didn't notice a tall, dark, and muscular man waiting for her outside the apartment.

"Well, maybe he just wants to come later. All I have to do is wait for him." She said as she climbed the stairs and sat on them with her hand supporting her chin. Jasmine ordered for food to be sent to her apartment and she spent the day watching, waiting and jumping at any sound she heard being made at the gate. Worn out and tired, she decided to keep waiting for her man in hopes that he will come for her, and the joy of seeing him again filled her up with strength when she felt weak.

*****

Alexander walked into the fully furnished apartment that his parents had gotten for him. His eyes took a quick scan of the house and he noticed features that he hadn't seen before due to anxiety. They had placed a piano in the corner of the room for his benefit. He didn't totally believe that his parents could just change their minds overnight, but he was thankful for whoever talked them into doing it.

He regretted standing and waiting for the airport officers to come to meet him. Apparently, they believed that he was a suspect in a drug case that they were trying to solve. After two hours of interrogation in their station, he was finally allowed to go. Alexander had decided to not tell his parents, they were already doing so much for him and he needed to be able to take care of himself without always calling them.

Pulling out his phone again, he tried reaching Jasmine again for the umpteenth time. He believed that her battery had died and that was why she couldn't respond to his calls. But he also knew that it was daytime over there in New York and that she must have had the time to charge up her phone. After having tried it severally, Alexander throws the phone on his bed and walks sluggishly to his fridge.

He removes a bottle of beer, goes back to the couch, and sips on it as he tries to cage his raising emotions. The hurt, fear, and uncertainty of not knowing what had happened to Jasmine soon overwhelmed him and he took out his phone again.

After trying her number one last time and still not being able to reach her, he puts a call through to his cousin. All he needed was for someone to tell him that she was alright, it would go a long way to stop his head from spinning and his mind from going mad.

With shaking hands, Alexander tried to hold on tightly to the phone as he heard Liam pick up the call.

"Alex! My God, what a pleasant surprise. What's up?"

"Liam. I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm okay. I heard you traveled again."

"Yes, yes I did. I actually called to ask for your help with something."

"Sure man, what's up?"

"Okay, I need you to go to Laker's street and help me find a young woman there."

"Oh, man," Liam's voice sounded sad as he spoke. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that today. I'm not in town at the moment and I will be going back home tomorrow."

"Oh, that's okay. You can always go tomorrow to check."

"Okay. I sure will. What's the name of the person I am to look for?"

"Ivy, her name is Ivy."

"Okay. I will go there tomorrow."

"Thanks, man."

"Sure anytime. I gotta go now, I have some work to do." Liam said and waited till Alex said his goodbye before he ended the call.

Alexander laid back on the sofa, took another sip of his beer, and assured himself that Jasmine would be okay.

****

Jasmine looked up at the sky which was covered with stars and knew that Alexander would not be coming. She bowed her head in disappointment, ordered a cab, and went back to Bethany's apartment.

Bethany's face gleamed with joy when she saw her best friend walk into the house.

"Well, look who's back. How was it?" She said whilst trying to make dinner.

"I don't want to talk about it," Jasmine said as she hung her shoulders and started walking into her room.

"Oh no, you don't!" Bethany turned off the gas and walked into the room with her. "Lady, we are going to talk about what's bothering you right now. I know you always don't want to talk about the things that hurt you, but not this time."

"But, I'm tired."

"And I don't care. Now come on, sit and tell me what the problem is." Jasmine looked at her best friend and knew that the young lady wouldn't give up this time. She had no other choice than to talk.

"Okay fine," Jasmine said as she finally sat down. "It's about Alex."

"What about Alex?"

As much as Jasmine hated to admit it, she had to read the writings on the wall. While confessing her deepest fear to her best friend, she felt the tears she had managed to suppress coming back. "I think he is blowing me off. We were supposed to meet yesterday but he didn't show up and he hasn't shown up today either. I don't know what to do."

"Why don't you just call him?"

"I can't call him. I was robbed and my phone was stolen. I was also evicted from my apartment for no reason. I don't know what's going on but I really need Alex now and he is nowhere to be found."

"Okay, let's look at this objectively. When was the last time you spoke with him?"

"That was yesterday. He told me he was looking forward to our date but that he wouldn't be able to make it because he was stuck at his uncle's house. We were supposed to meet today but I waited all day for him and he never showed up."

"Oh, I'm really sorry, love," Bethany said as she gently patted her friend and pulled her in for a hug.

"Don't be sorry for me just yet." Jasmine pulled away from the hug and spoke. "I'm going back there tomorrow and I am going to wait all day again."

"But Jasmine, you have to go to work."

"No, I don't. I'll just call in sick."

"Jas, I don't know about this."

"My mind is already made up, Beth. I need to see him. I just need to and I won't stop till I do." Jasmine walked into the bathroom to freshen up and prepare herself for bed. She tried to hide it but Bethany could see her heart breaking and despite everything that Bethany tried saying, she refused to eat dinner. Jasmine cried herself to bed while saying consoling words to herself to help soothe her rapidly beating heart.

*****

"Hello, Liam."

"Alex, good morning."

"Good morning." Alexander wasted no time in calling Liam as soon as he was sure that the day has broken in New York. He needed information on Jasmine and he was starting to get desperate. "I called to remind you to check on that woman for me. I dropped the address for you in your mail."

"Okay. I will." Alex didn't wait to engage his cousin in any petty talk, he immediately ended the call and tried going about his daily duty without thinking of Jasmine.

*****

Jasmine rushed out of the house before Bethany could wake up. She didn't need anybody trying to convince her to give up on her mission. She was positive that sooner than later, Alex would show up. She reached her former apartment and tried to avoid making conversation with her landlord who looked pale upon seeing her and still walked away without a word.

Ignoring him, she placed a call to her boss and pretended to be sick.

"Good morning ma'am," she said with a crooked voice.

"OMG, Jasmine are you okay?"

"No ma'am. I'm very sick and I can't move at all."

"Oh, you poor thing. You know what, take today and tomorrow off okay? Come back when you feel better."

"Okay. Thank you, ma'am," Jasmine said while trying to suppress a laugh. Immediately she ended the call, she burst out in laughter and sat down to wait for Alex.

*****

Alexander came back from music classes and as much as he loved the classes, he couldn't think straight. He couldn't even concentrate on anything else. He immediately placed a call to Liam who picked on the third ring.

"Hello, Alex."

"Liam. What's up?"

"I'm sorry man. I can't go today, I am so tired and I need to rest. But I promise, tomorrow I will be there unfailingly."

"Okay. Thank you." Alex couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice but he also couldn't force Liam to go against his wishes. He knew how busy the young man was, after all, he owned his own company and was building it up to be an empire. He laid back on his bed and imagined that Ivy was wrapped around his arms. The imagination helped him to fall asleep.

*****

After having waited for what felt like an eternity, Jasmine got up and left. This time, she was angry and slightly disappointed. She couldn't understand why Alex would leave her alone without saying a word. She decided that she would wait for him one last time and if he didn't show up, she would give up and move on with her life. Her anger still couldn't stop the tears from falling down her eyes.

Bethany saw how depressed she was looking when she got into the house and decided to not bother her. She also pretended to not hear her when Jasmine snuck out of the house again early the next morning to resume her mission of waiting for the love of her life.

Jasmine said a little prayer as she opened the gate and walked into the apartment. She still saw no sign of Alexander. She said another prayer as she made to sit and wait for him this last time. She really hoped it wasn't what she was thinking... She refused to think that way.

****

Liam made up his mind to go to the address his cousin had been telling him about. He set an alarm to remind himself. As soon as his alarm rang, he turned in for the day and drove out to the address he was given.

Jasmine had waited yet again for hours, but her wait was all in vein. Her heart was breaking, her thoughts were filled with thoughts of Alex, which were interrupted by the sounds of thunderstorms. Shaking herself back into reality, she realized it was already getting dark. She finally admitted to herself that Alex had left her for good. The realization brought tears to her eyes and Jasmine didn't know when she started crying. The hurt, pain, and anger came together and made her cry like a baby. Her wailing sounds were drowned in by the rain that had started to pour heavily.

She walked sluggishly out of the premises and through the tears and rainfall, Jasmine managed to see a car drive towards the compound and her heart leaped for joy at the thought that Alex had actually come for her. She cleaned her eyes and stood to watch her man come out of the car in anticipation, with a whole lot already running through her mind. Disappointment brushed through her and made her shiver, as her hopes were dashed when the masculine figure that came out of the car gracefully was not Alex.