CHAPTER TWO
549 Words
CHAPTER TWO
FOUR YEARS LATER
California.
The steady clicking of a keyboard filled the spacious office.
Alice sat behind a sleek desk, her expression calm, composed—completely different from the broken girl she once was.
Her phone rang.
She picked it up without looking.
“Hello, Aunty.”
“Alice! It’s been so long—how are you?” Beatrice’s warm voice came through the line.
“I’m good.”
“And my babies?” her aunt asked eagerly.
A faint smile appeared on Alice’s lips.
“They’re doing great. You should see Emily—she treats computers like toys.”
Beatrice laughed happily.
“That’s wonderful! About what I said…”
Alice already knew where this was going.
“I’m not coming back to Newton.”
A pause.
“But—”
“No, Aunty.”
Beatrice sighed softly.
“I know you don’t want to come back because of what happened… but you can’t avoid home forever. At least come for my birthday. Let it be my gift.”
Alice leaned back slightly, her gaze drifting.
Silence lingered for a moment.
Then she chuckled softly.
“…Okay. I’ll come.”
There was a brief pause—
Then sudden excitement exploded through the phone.
“Really?! Alice, I love you! Don’t forget to bring my babies, okay? I miss them so much!”
“I won’t,” Alice said, a hint of warmth in her voice.
After the call ended, the room fell silent again.
Her gaze slowly shifted…
To the television screen mounted on the wall.
There he was.
Lucian Hale.
Dressed in a tailored suit, his presence commanding, his once fragile body now strong and refined.
Beside him stood a stunning red-haired model—
His fiancée.
Reporters surrounded them, cameras flashing.
Successful.
Powerful.
Untouchable.
Alice’s fingers tightened slightly.
Her lips curved into a faint, almost bittersweet smile.
If they met again…
Would he hate her?
Or would he simply look at her like a stranger?
LUCIAN’S OFFICE
“Boss, we’ve found her.”
The secretary placed a file on the desk.
Lucian didn’t respond immediately.
“…Leave it.”
“Yes, sir.”
The door closed quietly.
Only then did Lucian reach for the file.
Inside—
Photographs.
Alice.
Walking out of a*****e.
Sitting in a taxi.
Smiling at the beach.
His fingers slowly traced over one of the pictures, his expression unreadable.
“She’s in California,” the secretary had said earlier. “Her flight is scheduled. She’ll arrive in a week.”
Lucian’s eyes darkened slightly.
Four years.
Four years of searching.
Four years of unanswered questions.
Four years of remembering the day she walked away without looking back.
His grip on the photo tightened.
“Alice…”
His voice was low.
Dangerously calm.
“Did you really think… you could run from me forever?”
His lips curved into a faint smile—
But there was no warmth in it..
Lucian simply leaned back in his chair, his fingers slowly tracing the edge of her photograph.
Four years.
Four years… and she thought she could disappear?
A low chuckle left his lips.
“Alice…”
His voice was quiet.
Dangerously calm.
“I finally found you.”
His gaze darkened.
“Let’s see how far you can run this time.”
- Writer
