"Miss Davis, are you alright?" the voice greeted me with a hint of worry as soon as he opened the door, a look of pure surprise plastered on his face.
I don't blame him though, I would have been hella surprised too if someone showed up at my apartment at 5 freaking AM.
I predicted this reaction of Alexio but right now I have some pressing matters on my hand to look into.
"I will answer you later but first I need to see Norman – as in right now – it's important," I spoke with a sense of urgency.
"Oh-okay. I will lead you to him. He is currently working in his study," he explained to me as he led me towards a pair of big oak doors.
He knocked twice before backing down.
"State your name and business," a muffled voice said from within the room.
"It's Alexio Sir, Miss Davis is here to meet you."
"Come in."
Alexio opened the door for me to walk inside and closed it once I entered.
"Melissa."
"Norman."
He slowly got up from his chair and made his way towards me and I ran towards him and wrapped my arms around him as I embraced him tightly as tears rolled down my cheeks freely.
"Hey, Melissa, what happened? Why are you crying?" he asked me worriedly.
"Everything is fine. I shouldn't have ignored it. I should've understood that you were only trying to help me – that you only want the best of me. I should've told you that my classmate – Ken Stuart – was behind all this," I said as I continued to sob.
"Now – now, Melissa, don't you shed your tears. I hate to see you cry. I know what you're going through and I shouldn't have pushed you into telling me the truth. I knew you needed time and it was utterly selfish of me but I found out what happened to you and the real culprit behind these events. It was my fault that you got dragged into all of this – and – I apologize for it. My conscience wants to let you go but my heart betrays my conscience – it refuses to give up – it refuses to give up on you without a fight," he said.
"So – I wanted to ask – that – will you be my girlfriend?" he asked me suddenly – nervousness dripping from his voice.
"Of course Norman," I said happily as I connected our lips – the kiss was full of passion and longing – unlike anything I've ever felt before.
Sadly nothing lasts forever so we had to finally pull away because of a certain thing called oxygen that we needed the most right now – but he still kept his arms wrapped around me.
"So – I believe you have some questions that need to be answered?" He asked as he led me towards the couch that was sitting on a corner in his study.
"Yes, and if I don't get the answers – my head will blow off," I said comically as I sat down.
"So, let's start from the very beginning. Ken Stuart was responsible for abducting you. He teamed up with a small-time gang that used to be our rivals in our earlier days before we eventually left behind our criminal activities to live in a more civil society. So I believe that they teamed up with him to satisfy their previous grudge," he explained slowly as if he was speaking to a child.
"So how did Ken got involved in all this?" I asked impatiently.
"I'm getting onto it honey," he chuckled mischievously as he teased me for my impatience.
"Ken Stuart just happens to be my half-brother. We shared the same father," he explained.
"But how is this even possible? I have known him since middle school, and my mother was the first one in the neighborhood to befriend them," I wondered.
"Well, my mother and Ken's mother – both were tortured by my bastard of a father. We were both victims of my father's cruelty and desire to reach the top. I guess – I don't blame him for hating on me since I did end up inheriting my father's cursed legacy. Well for now – he has been captured and detained and currently is in the custody of NYPD – they have successfully made a strong case against him as it was also found out that he had been involved in a series of drug rackets – so you have nothing to worry about now," he reassured me.
"Well I guess – everything will be okay now," I whispered.
"Mr. Blackford, Miss Davis, I had brought some black tea for you. I hope that it's okay with you?" Alexio asked as he entered the room with a tray in his hand.
"No, it's completely fine," I assured him and he left the room.
Norman handed me a cup before picking one himself.
"Let's make a toast, shall we," he declared with a smile.
"To a new beginning," he said.
I clanked our cups together and repeated what he had said.
"To a new beginning."
The End.