Xavier~
"See you on Monday, Mr. Thompson." She got up from her couch and left my office, limping. Despite her severely twisted ankle, she obstinately declined my assistance. I wanted to spend my time with her.
Time seemed to pass quickly when I was with her. She and I talked about my previous cases for seven hours today, and throughout that time, I didn't see even a glimmer of affection in her eyes. She is so changed now that my presence did not even affect her. She didn't flinch at all when I carried her in my arms to the couch.
"Mr. Thompson, should I close the office now?" The watchman's voice took me into reality.
"Sure, I'm heading out now." I got in the taxi and headed back to my hotel room.
Was Alica's murder case related to any of my other cases? However, given that Jordan Lucas is already in jail, why does she appear to be so curious about him and the likelihood that he is the driving force behind this murder case?
I lie on my bed after dinner and can't get Bella's thoughts out of my head. I have a lot of unanswered questions about her personal and professional life. What made her decide to come to my house on Monday? What is her weekend schedule? As far as I know, she has no family left for whom she took off on weekends. It is possible that she has moved on and started a family. No, this can't be possible. She loved me and she couldn't marry someone else.
The thought of her with someone else made me feel possessive. I know I don't have any rights over her now, but I desperately want her back in my life. In between losing myself in her thoughts, I fell asleep.
The next morning, I finished making the reports she asked me to do and decided to go shopping because all my belongings were in my house and I didn't want to go there again.
I went shopping at the local mall by taxi. I had just finished my daily requirements shopping and was ready to leave the mall. That's when I noticed Bella standing in the parking lot with the trunk of her car open. When I saw her in front of me, a smile appeared on my face. I walked toward her to say hello, but my steps froze as I saw she was not alone; she was with a child standing next to her.
Did she have a child? My steps froze on seeing the kid with her.
"Mama, I want to go to the PlayStation." I heard him refer to Bella as his mother.
So she moved on in her life. My deepest desires to bring her back into my life after pleading for her pardon were shattered. Although I couldn't see her son's face because he was facing away from me, his confident and clear voice assured me that he was indeed Bella's son.
The taxi driver honked at me to get in. I felt so restless after seeing that kid with her, so I called her number to ask about the child, but she didn't respond. I waited for her call all day, but she didn't call me at any point during those two days. I now know exactly why she was acting so coldly toward me. My dad was right. Bella has moved on in her life.
On Monday morning, I arrived at my house to meet Bella, but she did not show up. Why didn't she come till now? I glanced at my watch while keeping my eyes on the mansion's main door. She came one hour late today.
"I apologize for keeping you waiting, Mr. Thompson. There was an emergency at my house so I had to attend to that first." As she got out of the car, she apologized to me.
"What emergency?" I questioned her, fixing my gaze on her face in an attempt to know about her family.
"Nothing; it is private. Now, let's get to work." She again showed me my boundaries by not sharing the reason for her late arrival.
"Sure." I let out a long sigh and opened the door to let her inside.
As we entered the house, all of the old memories came before my eyes again, making my heart beat louder in my chest. In this house, we all lived together as a family. She caught me red-handed with Alicia in this very house. I brutally mistreated her every day in this house and eventually made the biggest mistake of my life by divorcing her. I was nervous about going inside the house with her, and my legs started to shake. How will I face her now? Did she remember the past in the same way I do?
I attempted to interpret her expression to gauge her emotions, yet she remained unaffected. She doesn't appear familiar with this house. She didn't even flinch or hesitate a bit. Here is additional evidence that she has progressed in her life.
"Where can I find the other seven files, Mr. Thompson?" She questioned me in a sharp tone. Her speech sounded emotionless to me.
"On the first floor, the second room is on the left." With my finger, I gestured for her to see the study area.
"Take my hand, and I'll lead you there." She still has trouble walking properly, so I reached out to support her.
"Thank you, Mr. Thompson, but I will manage." She grabbed the railing and climbed the stairs.
She began her search for all seven files in my study room. I assisted her in finding the file location. She stopped in front of one file, and I once again felt embarrassed to see my divorce file with her on the rack.
"I am sorry, Bella." I lowered my head and slowly muttered. My heart grew regretful once more.
"Please take this file off the rack, Mr. Thompson." She ignored my words and seemed unaffected by seeing our divorce file.
I managed to control my overwhelming regret and shame and assisted her in searching through the files. She requested that I create an Excel spreadsheet with all the dates and years on it after reading through the seven files once more. I followed her instructions quietly. Although I am unaware of her activities, I have faith in her skills because I witnessed her confidence during her previous court appearance.
"Mr. Thompson, when did you meet Alicia for the first time?" She questioned me.
"I don't remember exactly." I felt awkward talking to her about Alica, so I rubbed my neck in discomfort.
"I believe you first met her in your office, and you were 22 when you began your law career. Alica entered your life in 2010 if that is correct. At the time, you won the first case against Jordan Lucas." She appeared to have found a missing piece of the puzzle, and a triumphant smile spread across her face.
I stared at her, perplexed, not understanding at all what the relationship was between Alicia and Jordan. However, I'm glad that she can still remember me someplace.
"Bella, how is it conceivable that Jordan Lucas, who is serving a life sentence in prison, planned everything from there? I don't want to dishearten you, but I don't believe Jordan Lucas is involved with this case. Instead of looking for current evidence that we can present in court, I believe we are merely squandering our time pursuing Jordan Lucas." I suggested that she drop the idea of digging into further details of Jordan's case.
"Mr. Thompson, I possess further evidence linking Jordan to your wife." She took out a few papers from her purse to show me.