Episode 4
1013 Words
DEREK'S POV
Gloria was alive.
That was the only thought on my mind as the officers marched me to their vehicle, drove me to their precinct and locked me behind bars like a criminal.
It was cold and dark and this time of the night and it was not a place that I have ever experienced in all the thirty two years of my life but I did not give it much thought.
For a man who had known luxury all his life, I found that I was not struggling too much with any of the accomodations, although I was positive that they was no way I would be fall asleep in this hell.
Even if I were still in my bedroom, it would be unlikely that I would be sleeping tonight especially with all the Thoughts that were swirling in my head from Gloria's sudden arrival at the mansion and the change that had taken place in her
The silence helped me to get lost in my thoughts as my memories kept floating back to Gloria, her long black curls and those big brown eyes that I thought had been closed to the world forever.
The accident was all over the news and when I first saw the car I gifted her, destroyed beyond recognition, I almost thought that I would die too and I was this close to giving in to the temptation of dying too.
I have always wondered how I was able to survive not just one day but six months without her but when I saw her again, it all made sense to me. Our story was far from over. This was fate.
Murder. The word found its way to my mind. The Arnolds were accusing me of the murder of their eldest daughter, a murder that I knew absolutely nothing about. As a matter of fact, all I knew on the matter was the same as everyone else.
I had tried to reach out to Daniel on multiple occasions after the accident but he refused to tell me anything, even threatening to get a restraining order against him all because I wanted to know what truly happened to Gloria.
I was well aware of the feud between our families and so was Gloria but we took the risk anyway. I knew that things would only get worse with the divorce but I had no choice on the matter at that time.
It all began when I saw mum sitting on the floor of her bedroom in tears, she had tried to lie her way out of telling me the truth but I was not having it and that was how I came to know that we were being blackmailed.
Someone had got his hands on a dark secret of our family of which I myself was not aware of and he was using that to make my mother's life miserable and mum refused to seek help from the authorities in fear of the truth getting out.
I took it upon myself to get to the bottom of things but I had no leads and the blackmailer had increased his threats, demanding that I divorce Gloria or the truth would come out which was a sinister request to be made.
I tried to stall for as long as I could in hopes to find the culprit but his threats kept increasing and my mother's health began to decline, I needed to divorce Gloria no matter how much the idea tore my heart to shreds.
It was only when she went through that door that I knew that I had made a mistake and when the news of the car crash came on, . I knew they was nothing I would not give to turn back the hands of time.
No
There were many sleepless nights spent, crying and thinking of what would have happened if I had not sacrificed our love to preserve our family image, if Gloria had not walked out the door on that night, if we were still together, fighting for our love.
But I was so fortunate to have been given a second chance to fight for our love, to destroy the hate that I could see in her eyes for me and what I have done, how I have failed to fight for our love.
And I would not take this chance for granted.
***
"We will need to take legal action against them" our family lawyer was speaking right after he had me released on bail the next morning "This would teach them a lesson against wrongfully accusing the Barnes family and serve as a warning to others in future"
"Yes Tom, please get to work on suing the entire Arnold family for slander and defamation" my mother spoke almost immediately "They should have thought twice before laying such an accusation on my son"
"But mother" I began, knowing where exactly all of this was going, being that we have had this conversation a million times in the past "Things are already tense with the Arnolds, I do not think it is wise to start another war"
"It is too late for that son" mother countered "Although Tom was able to get you out on bail within the shortest possible time, it does not change the fact that you went there for something you knew nothing about"
"Mr Reeves" I said to the lawyer instead, seeing as there was no point in trying to convince mother anymore as she would never listen.
"Yes sir" Tom answered, waiting on my word He was one of the best attorneys in the entire country which was why I got bail so seamlessly and which was why we hired him
"Find out exactly what happened that night" I said simply " lI need to know what makes Gloria think that I wanted to murder her"
"Anything else sir?" Tom asked
"No"
***
I arrived home with only one thought on my mind.
Gloria.
I was ready to chase her back and win her love once more
- Writer
