Mindy's POV
It was a wreck, nothing was as it should be,Nia was always so cautious of how messy her house got.
But she was gone,I got my phone to call but no response.
I was scared,maybe someone had been here,maybe she was kidnapped,I thought of filing a complaint,but the thought of Hillman irritated me to my bones.
I got in my car and drove back home,but parked two blocks before my residence.
I walked to the back of my tall gates,then inputted a code into the security system.
My own special code,once it was inputted a flower bush would spread open granting me access to my secret room.
I looked around,no one saw,I went in,it led straight under a bedroom, Linda's bedroom. I had put a lot of money into this underground lair,which only I and the architect were aware of.
I pulled a chair and sat down,I rebooted my system,and yes I have a super computer and yes am a coder.
I had placed a chip in Nia's phone, when I accidentally took it home.
Sorry I forgot about that!
Lady mistakes.
I traced her IP address no sweat,and dashed out to go find her.
The address was in a secluded spot and I could not decipher wither it was safe to go there alone or not.
I decided to go alone,I was sure if it was a kidnapping, someone in her neighborhood must have told me,or stopped them. Nia's neighborhood was just too open for a kidnapping. Hence,I grabbed my purse and left to go get answers.
Thea's POV
Melendez...yeah that's the name. Was so obsessed with soccer,it was his life. I could tell I did not like the sport and left to my bedroom. I knew it was supposed to feel like mine,but it just didn't,it was as if I was in the strangest part of the house.
I sat on the sofa,a little yellow box was lying there,I picked it up wondering what was in it.
I lifted up the lid,and saw some photos,of a man, his wife,and two kids. I knew that the boy was Melendez,he had those green eyes,those rare eyes.
I saw some ribbons, yellow ribbons I didn't know why though.
Then,I saw a book,it had a lock on it,I searched the box but I couldn't find the key,I was downcast,I really wanted to know what was in it. Then I saw a hair clip and I used it to open the lock.
I kept letters,and so many letters,I picked up the first one and read through it, trying to picture the event.
*Flashback*
Dear knight
It was hot,I was really feeling the heat on my skin,but the loud music blocked all the heat from getting to me.
It was a beach party,my batch mates had it to celebrate,and hormonal teenagers will be hormonal teenagers.
The party was wild,Mami finally gave me permission to go without Melendez which was a relief.
All the guys were attracted to me,but I didn't really give them attention,I just wanted to let loose.
I danced and drank,we were all party animals,at the beach party of the decade,we partied hard till sunset,when the sun went down we had a bond fire and sang our hearts out.
I would have to explain to mum why I couldn't make it home tonight.
I didn't even know where I slept,but I knew it was on the warm sand.
I woke up with tired out my hair a mess,some people were awake and went skinny dipping,others were trying get home.
I dusted off the sand from my shorts,and headed on to the snack bar. Leo my best friend was working his morning shift.
"You had fun last night"he pointed out,while cleaning cups.
"You missed out on all the fun!"I stressed,he laughed and wiped the counter.
"Working three jobs for the summer is enough fun for me"Leo said,with a forced smirk.
"How's your sister?"I asked,it hurt me every time I remembered his sister had brain cancer.
"Lily is fine.... aren't you supposed to be home for your dad's remembrance stuff?"
I was late,Mami would throw a fit!
"Where is my..."
"Phone"he said completing my sentence,then he brought it out of his pocket."what would I do without you?"I asked,I always depended on him.
"Dunno...get a new phone every week"he said,I turned my phone on.
"Eight missed calls..."I said under my breath, Melendez was at it.
He was always trying to control me,Mami never got so worried about me before,I didn't want to but I called him up anyway.
It rang for a few seconds,Leo was getting me a morning starter,to let me get my senses. Then he picked up.
"Hey,don't freak out,I just saw your missed calls... Mami did give me permission..."he said something that I never wanted to hear.
I dropped my phone and gasped,my face was worried,my expression depicted plain pain,just pain.
"Thea what's wrong?"was the last thing I remembered hearing,I was lost in my own fantasy. All the voices around me became irrelevant and faded away, everyone was blurred,just like my mind.
House
I dashed into the house to meet Melendez and our family lawyer,also dad's friend Fabien was around,in his white Armani as usual.
All eyes were on me at my arrival,but I ignored them and ran upstairs to Mami's room.
She was being attended to,her skin looked pale,it was always plain but it looked paler that morning. She was strapped to so many hospital stuff,it messed my brain,I almost didn't have the guts to walk in. Melendez tapped my shoulder, I was weakened and gave him my tightest embrace ever,letting all the tears flow.
He whispered some things to me meant to comfort me but I disregarded them, everything was irrelevant.
I dunno when we'll see each other again,or if you'll ever get my letters,maybe I'll send em maybe I won't.
But I really hope I do
Princess
*Present day*
The letter was never sent to this Knight.
I heard Melendez call,and I went downstairs, feeling remorseful.
He was engrossed in a match,he barely took notice of my presence,till I sat down beside him.
"Hey,um... Melendez,I just wanted to ask you something"I said.
"Sure"he said, paying full attention to the match up.
"Okay,so...um how did mum die?"I asked,he stopped watching and faced me. I was uncertain of his reaction.
He just stared at me,for some seconds.
"Something I said?"
"No..well yes,you call her Mami..we all did,it just didn't sound right to me that's all"he said.
"Oh..it didn't seem right too"I admitted.
"She had leukemia"he said then turned off the TV.
"But that could have been fixed right?Can't it be treated in hospitals?"I asked.
"Am not sure..."he said.
"But there could have been an alternative"I stated.
"Perhaps...at the time many things weren't going in our favor,we couldn't afford it....but that's not important,now,Mami always wanted us to bury the past, because it only took us back. I'll go get your pills"he said,and I shrugged at that idea.
How was he so calm about this? something wasn't right here and I was gonna find out.
Mindy's POV
I arrived at the address,not having any expectations,I was going to expect the unexpected, whatever that meant.
It was a little apartment,it had a low fence,and not so many windows, Nia's car wasn't parked here. Maybe I missed a turn or got the wrong address. This apartment looked abandoned,just like her house,I did not exactly have so many options,so I trusted my instinct and went in.
I knocked,but no response,I knocked again,I looked up and saw a window close. Now I know windows don't close themselves,someone was definitely living here.
I knocked again,the door slowly creaked open,and I was relieved,it WAS Nia.
She pulled me in before I could say anything and locked the door behind us.
She looked like a lunatic! I almost didn't make out it was her.
"What are you doing here? How did you get my address?"she asked.
"I have people in the police department,I called in a few favors"I lied, I had to,no one could know about my problem.
She heaved a sigh of relief and slumped hard on an imposter of a couch.
"Nia,what are you doing to yourself?"I calmly asked,maybe this approach was better.
She sighed and stood up,she looked at the walls,the ceiling,then the couch...sorry imposter..oh whatever!
"It all started on a rainy day..."
*Flashback"
I had just gotten my license to be a therapist,and I was excited to get home and past my certificate on the fridge.
In the midst of my thoughts,a car pulled over,and the most handsome piece of man I had ever seen emerged out of it.
"Which house is Mr Joey Anderson?"he asked, uninterested in me.
The only thing crazier than my inward crush for him was that he was asking about my husband.
"Whose asking?"I asked,he seemed to realise he was talking to a lady, maybe he hadn't taken a proper look.
"Oh..sorry ma'am,well am Jay Walker and I gotta see Joey. You see we're collegues from back in the days..and I heard he's moved into this neighborhood. Do you know where he lives?"he asked.
"Well a friend? I never thought Joey had one of those,if you put it like that then yes,I do know where you can find him"I said,he smiled the most beautiful smile I had ever seen.
He offered to drive me and because the rain was about to start,I agreed. He really was a friend of Joey,and they were real tight. They clicked,he came over during the weekend to watch football with Joey,and the more I saw that lying serpent the more I fell in love with him.
It started out as little kitchen accidents...then awkward moments, then we took longer time to say goodbye. I don't know if Joey noticed,but I doubt he would. He was always engrossed in his publishing,he did love his writing more than me,and I had to accept being second place.
But Jay kept on sticking around,he spoke to me when I was lonely,like he was MY therapist. Pretty soon we exchanged numbers,and I started spending long hours with him on the phone,that was what Pissed Joey off...
"No...he did?oh really?"I said half mindedly, laughing in between sentences.
"Nia...my head aches"Joey said,but I was too engrossed in the conversation to listen.
"Nia,where did you keep my pills?I think it's a migraine"
"Oh no! She WAS there?...how do you..."
"Get off that phone!"Joey said,while getting up angry,I saw the fury in his eyes.
"What's wrong?"I asked,
"What's?... What's?..... What's wrong?This conversation is wrong?This microwave food is wrong.....these calls are wrong...Nia am getting tired of this, everything is wrong!"he yelled,saying the last part with more remorse than the rest.
But I kept on seeing Jay,he picked me up from the clinic I worked at,then we would take the bus to my street then he'd walked me to my block,I was lucky Joey spent most of his nights in his cramped up office.
Joey got a transfer,to New Jersey,he worked with some wine brewery,and he had to leave. I couldn't take it,Mindy I couldn't take it anymore.
I live with Joey and everyday is like hell on Earth, fine!
I like his best friend but have to keep those feelings to myself,am cool!
But loosing my one reason I get up in the morning was too much!
I called him up and we met up in a hotel,I told him everything,all of my feelings, thankfully he accepted them.
We made beautiful love,and I knew I just couldn't let him go.
Before he would go I told Jay I was going to tell Joey all about us. But it didn't settle well with him,he got mad,I had never seen a man so angry before,not even Joey.
He warned me never to tell anybody about it,else I'd face the consequences alone.
Just like karma would have it,I got pregnant, Mindy I was blessed with the most beautiful gift on Earth and I couldn't say a word.
How did Jay think I could hide that?
I called him multiple times,but he never picked up his phone.
Wether Jay supported me or not,I was not going to lie to Joey he deserved to know what was happening. I summoned courage to face him, although it would be the end of my marriage. That morning,I got a video that shook my world.
Jay had our night of passion on video,and used it to blackmail me,I cried,if he released that video,I would be fired, humiliated.
I decided to keep quiet about everything like he said and play along with his demands. Slowly I got to see the hidden man behind the strong disguise.
One morning,I got a call from a private number,I half mindedly answered not knowing what to expect.
It was him,Jay leaving a last warning,he had my parents house burnt down to Ashes,all because I had told my mother.
Luckily,no one go hurt badly,they were all able to get out in time.
I danced to his tune and sang his song,I never told him of my pregnancy,it would only cause new tensions I didn't need at that moment.
I lived my life in fear of his return,till the day Joey died of depression,it dawned on me that I had to challenge myself and raise my son,my sin,by myself. And trust me,Mindy it wasn't easy to do,but I was happy after a long time.
*Present day*
Only for this problem to surface now,Jay has come back into my life, and he knows about Brian. He found out that Brian is his son,and I have no idea on how to keep my son away from him.
He has people everywhere, watching me,and I realised I never really was free,he was always there. Every stage of Brian's life but I didn't notice."
All she said,got me thinking,how powerful this Jay guy must be? And what he wanted with Brian? Why did he care all of a sudden? I saw Nia cry today,someone who always wiped my tears was crying. Jay,would not go Scot Free.
Thanks for reading 😍😍😍😍, especially this chapter🤞🤞.