It was exactly a month since Jake left Coventry back to New York. Treasure was recovering fast, but the police were still unable to find the driver of the car that caused Treasure's accident. Mrs Daisy had however, tightened Treasure's security, she had ordered bodyguards to follow Treasure everywhere she went. Mr Donald handled the matters of the company, though grumpily while Treasure worked from home. Everything was finally getting back to normal for Treasure, as she sat enjoying the early morning breeze that came in from her window before Ancel's call disturbed her.
"Hey Treasure!" He spoke from the phone.
"I'm sorry I took this long to call, I heard you met with an accident, I tried to reach you, but my efforts were futile. Are you doing ok now?" He asked.
"Yes Ancel, I'm fine now, thanks for your care." Treasure replied.
"Oh, that's good to hear, you have cleared my doubts." He said.
"Your doubts?" Treasure asked.
"Yeah!" My doubts about you not being able to attend my party." He replied.
"Your party?" Treasure asked
"Is this some kind of invitation?" She asked again, but Ancel laughed.
"Yes Treasure" he replied
"Its an invitation in advance, I really want to see you, and like I said before, I want you to meet someone as well."
"But I..." Treasure struggled for words.
"Yeah I know." Ancel said interrupting her.
"You only just recovered, but It can wait till you're perfectly fine, so there's no need to worry." He said.
"I just want a positive reply from you"
"I'm sorry Ancel, but I can't make it" Treasure replied
"I have got a lot on my hands now and I seriously need to be careful, now that I know someone out there doesn't want me alive, I hope you understand." she replied and hung up the call.
"Who does he want me to meet? I hope he's not trying to play a prank on me .Treasure muttered to herself.
Back in America, Jake was worried sick about Treasure. The thought of Treasure disliking him was so overwhelming that he couldn't focus on anything else. His attitude towards work and his life in general had changed. He was no longer the jovial, open minded guy with lots of charisma like before. He had become very moody and too sensitive to everything and everyone. Apart from the fact that Jake blamed himself for Treasure's accident, he had not heard any news about her recovery either. Vanessa however had tried countless times to find out the reason for his sudden change of behavior, but he wouldn't give in. He didn't even have the courage to call Treasure, because he thought she wasn't going to take his calls. Mrs Jackson's effort to cheer him up proved abortive too, and when she suggested calling Mrs Daisy to explain things, Jake almost lost his wits at the idea.
"I shouldn't have done that." He muttered to himself. He was lying faced down on his cozy bed thinking of Treasure.
"I... Don't know what made me do it. Why couldn't I control myself? Who knows what she might be thinking of me now. Maybe a flirt, or...or some kind of jerk. Maybe she thinks I was trying to play with her emotions. Oh what do I do?" He asked himself clutching his pillow.
"Jake are you in there?" Mrs Jackson asked knocking on his door.
"What now mom? I'm not in the mood" He replied rather coldly.
"Vanessa and I are here to see you." She said.
"Seriously mom it's the weekend" he complained but finally got out of bed. He walked down to the living room to meet them.
"Hey!" He said casually.
"Hello Jake." Vanessa replied while his mom went to his kitchen to drop the groceries she had bought for him. Soon after, she hurried out of Jake's house, after planting a sloppy kiss on his cheek
Meanwhile, Jake poured Vanessa a glass of wine and dropped the bottle.
"Don't you want some?" She asked, but he shook his head.
"Why are you here? Office matters?" He asked, but Vanessa replied.
"Personal matters... private matters." Jake looked up at her a bit confused.
"Meaning?" He asked, but Vanessa smirked.
"You've not been yourself ever since you returned from Coventry. I know it's because Treasure met with an accident, but I was hoping I could cheer you up a bit..." She paused, but when Jake said nothing, she continued.
"It's the weekend Jake, lets hang out" she said
"Ok." Jake replied without thinking to Vanessa's amazement
"Wow! Excellent!" Vanessa exclaimed
"Go get dressed then, I will be waiting." She said, and Jake left for his room.
"Drink up Jake, we've got three more bottles to go." Vanessa said as she poured another glass of alcohol for Jake. He was already at his limit, but he drank the whole glass and almost fell from his seat.
"Careful Jake!" Vanessa said holding on to him.
"I'm... I'm finished Nessa!" He voiced out almost knocking down a bottle.
"Careful!" Vanessa said as she caught it just in time, but Jake was oblivious.
"I was careless Nessa." He said.
"What do you mean?" Vanessa asked holding him steadily to his seat.
"I...I was careless with Treasure, now she hates me." He replied Vanessa was taken aback
"You were careless with Treasure? What do you mean?" She asked. Tears rolled down Jake's cheeks as he spoke.
"I was careless with her. I...I...made a mistake and she ended up in an accident because of it." He said. Vanessa was getting impatient.
"Make me understand Jake, what did you do to Treasure?" She asked holding his hands.
"I...I.." Jake struggled for words.
"I k...kissed her." He said. Vanessa, for some reason found his confession very annoying. Her fingers penetrated her wine glass bursting it to pieces. She didn't even mind her bleeding fingers, she grabbed Jake by his collar and asked with a stern voice.
"What did you just say?" Jake was too drunk to notice Vanessa's rage. He didn't even try to release himself from her grip either.
"Y...yes Nessa, I...I.. kissed Treasure, but I...I honestly love her you know. I...I...o..only just found out too, but...but sh...she left before I could say it to her, and that's why she got into that accident. I'm... I'm such a fool, and an idiot too. I...shouldn't have done that right?" He asked as he shed tears.
"I should have waited for the right time, but I was scared of loosing her." He said
"I...Tre...Treasure... I miss you...I miss...you." He said and fell asleep almost immediately. Vanessa was dumbstruck.
"This can't be happening!" She muttered to herself as she let go of Jake's collar.
"I should have known. How could I be so stupid and insensitive too?" She asked herself.
She looked at Jake who was sleeping soundly, and placed her hand on his chest.
"I can't let you fuss over Treasure anymore"
"I know just what to do to fix you up" she said
Jake woke up the next morning with a severe headache. He reached for his glass of water on his bedside table and gulped down the whole cup. He fell back into his bed, but Just then, Vanessa walked in.
"Hi!" She said sitting beside Jake.
"Hey Vanessa!" He replied rubbing his eyes.
"What brings you here this early?" He asked.
"You drank to stupor yesterday so I brought you back home. I came this early to check up on you" She replied with a smile.
"Haven't you sobered up yet?" She asked, but Jake said nothing
"Yesterday, you were blabbing about Treasure, why you kissed her, why she is upset with you, you know...stuffs like that!" Jake recoiled feeling embarrassed.
"I...I said all that?" He asked.
"I'm really sorry for boring you out, I mean..." He tried to explain, but Vanessa spoke.
"Its ok, I always knew you will end up loving her someday, I'm your friend Jake, I know you too well." Jake was relieved. He quickly grabbed Vanessa's hand.
"I'm so glad you understand me Vanessa" he said
"I...I didn't know who to tell. I thought leaving Coventry forever would have stopped my feelings for her, but I was wrong. I feel guilty anytime I think about her and how she got into that accident."
"Don't be ridiculous Jake" Vanessa replied
"Treasure's accident didn't happen because of you, and you did nothing wrong" she said
"Listen" she said as she held his hand
"It's not a crime to express your feelings. If Treasure took it the wrong way, and couldn't understand your feelings for her then that's on her. You shouldn't burden yourself with such guilt Jake" she said, and to Vanessa's surprise, Jake said
"Help me Nessa, help me get Treasure. Tell me what I must do. Vanessa was loosing it. She felt the jealousy surging up in her heart, but she managed to keep it locked up.
"Make her understand my feelings for her..." Jake continued
"Relax Jake!" Vanessa spoke calmly.
"I will help you get Treasure" she said as a smile curled up her face.
"You just need to trust me." She said, and Jake beamed.
"I'm here to help you. Yesterday you were so sad, and I couldn't help but feel pity for you. I always want you to be happy Jake, trust me." Vanessa said caressing Jake's palms.
"Thank you Vanessa!" He replied.
"What could I do without you?" He asked as he hugged her.
"Absolutely nothing Jake, nothing!" She muttered to herself with a smirk.
In Coventry, Rodney's mother, Mrs Donald couldn't bear to see Rodney spend his days at home. She visited Mrs Daisy at her office in Rendezvous to plead on his behalf
"I'm sorry Mrs Donald, but JGM has a new CEO now." Mrs Daisy said
"Miss Marcus has been lenient so far. If it were to be my decision, I would have had your son sacked from the company immediately."
"Oh please don't be like this Daisy." Mrs Donald begged, but Mrs Daisy was indifferent
"Rodney is not a child, why are you embarrassing him this way?" Mrs Daisy asked, but Mrs Donald said nothing
"His father, your husband is aware of his suspension and has done nothing of this sort, so why are you here Mrs Donald?" She asked
"Please don't embarrass yourself further and allow your son to learn from his mistakes" Mrs Daisy said as she got up to leave.
"I thought we were family" Mrs Donald asked quite disappointed
"I'm sorry, but there's no such thing as family in business" she said.
"I don't want Treasure to be held down by unnecessary relationships" Mrs Daisy spoke again
"She has the right to make her own choices concerning the kind of man she wants to be with that right doesn't belong to me" she walked out of the office leaving Mrs Donald to herself.
Back home, Mrs Daisy informed Treasure of her Mrs Donald's visit to her office.
"Rodney's mother came to my office earlier today. She was pleading on Rodney's behalf...pathetic!" Mrs Daisy said. Treasure lifted her gaze from her laptop.
"what was your reply?" She asked. Mrs Daisy dropped her wine glass on the table.
"Well, I told her Rodney deserved the punishment you melted on him" she replied and Treasure smirked. Mrs Daisy watched Treasure get busy with her work, and sitting beside her she said
"Treasure dear, it's been months since your accident, can you really not recall exactly what happened that night?" She asked. Treasure froze lost in thought.
"It was so dark mom and everything happened so fast" Treasure replied.
"I... I wasn't paying much attention so I can't really tell but.." she paused
"I did remember seeing someone" Treasure said
"T...tell me" Mrs Daisy spoke anxiously
"A hooded guy walked up to my car that night, he checked my pores to know if I was still alive but I passed out almost immediately so I cannot recall" she said a bit troubled
"It's alright darling, you don't need to remember the details" Mrs Daisy said
"Once the police get here, just tell them what you know and don't force yourself to remember every detail okay?" Mrs Daisy said
"Yes mom" Treasure replied
Mrs Daisy was still itching to ask Treasure where she had gone that night and who she met, but on a second thought, she decided not to question Treasure any further.
As she turned to leave, she suddenly remembered Ancel.
"That reminds me, Tresh, I ran into someone on my way out from the office today." She said Treasure stared at her mom skeptically.
"Who? Who was it?" She asked.
"Hmm...he told me his name's Ancel Edouard, he was the guy at your shareholders meeting" Mrs Daisy said, but Treasure sighed and faced her laptop again.
"What is wrong?" Mrs Daisy asked suddenly interested.
"What was he doing at your company?" Treasure asked
"Well I was also surprised to see him, but he told me he had come to pick up someone from the office so there was no way I could get suspicious of him" Mrs Daisy said
"Forget him mom" Treasure replied
"He's the least of my worried right now, or do you think he has a hand in my accident?" She asked but Mrs Daisy shrugged
"We can't trust anyone can we?" She asked but Treasure was lost in thought
"Did he say anything to you?" She asked
"He asked after you" Mrs Daisy said
"He told me he was an old classmate of yours and that you both were well aquatinted back in highschool."
"I can't believe he said that" Treasure replied, but Mrs Daisy drew closer to her
"Baby, were you both...actually...um .."
"No mom!" Treasure exclaimed
"We were nothing like that, don't even think about it" she yelled
"Alright... alright" Mrs Daisy said. Treasure tried to focus on her work, but Mrs Daisy spoke again.
"When will you get a man for yourself Treasure?" She asked. Immediately, Treasure's mind raced back to that split moment between herself and Jake. Again, she felt the butterflies break loose in her stomach.
"I really can't forget about that night no matter how hard I try " she muttered to herself in pain.
"I will think about that later" she said trying to escape her mom's questions
"I hope you'd make out time to be with somone?" Mrs Daisy asked again, but Treasure kept mute.
"I'm just trying to be a good mom." She said
"I want you to have a man in your life Tresh, someone to love you, and...and take care of you. I want you to be happy...and..."
"Mom!" Treasure yelled shutting her laptop.
"I've already told you mom, I will think about all that later" she said.
"I know why you're so scared mom," she said
"...but I promise you, I will be fine no matter what, no one can take me away from you alright??" She asked
"Y...yes darling' Mrs Daisy replied crying, and Treasure drew her into her arms
"That reminds me" she said after Treasure had released her
"Jake left a letter for you" She said
"Really?" Treasure beamed
*************************************
"Did you say you wrote her a letter?" Vanessa asked.
"Yeah, I was hoping she'd understand the reason I kissed her when she reads it" Jake opened up to Vanessa,
"...but it's been months and I still don't know why I'm yet to hear from her, I'm really worried Nessa, I don't know what she thinks of me right now." Jake complained. Vanessa was surprised at this news from Jake but as usual she acted cool.
"Chill shark head!" Vanessa joked nudging him.
"I know just what to do, I will put a call through to Treasure, and find out if she read your letter or not." Vanessa replied assuredly.
A week later, Vanessa gave Treasure a call.
"Hey Vanessa! Been a while!" Treasure spoke from the phone.
"Yes Treasure, I've missed you a lot." She replied walking to a corner of the room.
"I'm so sorry about your accident, how are you fairing now?" She asked
"I'm good Vanessa, I'm just glad you still remembered to check up on me" Treasure replied
"When can I see you again?" She asked
"Soon Treasure, I will come visit once I'm chanced" Vanessa replied.
"I've got a question for you though " She said.
"Ask away" Treasure replied.
"Jake left you a letter didn't he?" She asked
"Yes" Treasure replied
"My mom gave it to me a week ago" she said
"have you read it?" Vanessa asked
"He's been anticipating your reply ever since we got here, but you...I don't know...you..."
"I'm sorry " Treasure replied
"I've been so busy, I have not got the chance to open it." She replied
"Its alright" Vanessa replied
"Jake has been worried sick about you and asked me to call you" she said, and like she read the questions on Treasure's mind, she replied
"For some reason, he's too embarrassed to talk to you in person, but I believe he wants to get a reply from you soon" she said
"I understand " Treasure replied
"Thanks for everything " she said, and Vanessa hung up the call. Immediately, she dialed Jakes number
"I just spoke to Treasure" she said
"What did she say?" Jake asked anxiously, but Vanessa collapsed on an arm chair in her office.
"I'm really sorry Jake" she said
"Treasure has read your letter, but she chose to ignore it." She said.