Terms of the Heart

Shadows From The Past

“Hey darling,” the male figure standing in the doorway said.

“You…..Alex…..why are you here?,” Karla snapped.

The figure strode in, his lips turned up in a smirk. "You think you can just move on with your life and get rid of me?" he said, slamming the door behind him.

Karla's heart started racing. "Alex, why in God's name are you here?" she demanded, trying to stay composed. What did her ex want now? Since their unpleasant and chaotic breakup, she had not laid eyes on him again; it was when she found out that he had been cheating on her with her best friend, Brittany.

"Nothing in particular," Alex said, his eyes scanning her office. "A little birdie told me you're about to be engaged to some artist. How low you've fallen. We both know you'll never make it work."

Karla stood up sharply, her blood boiling. "I've moved on, Alex. And I'm happy. Something you never made me feel. So please before I lose it totally, get out. Now."

But Alex just laughed. "You're still so uptight, Karla. You need to learn to relax. You know I'm speaking the truth. You'd just suffocate the poor man with your high standards."

Karla's assistant burst in, looking dazed and sorry at the same time. "Ma'am, I'm so sorry. I tried to stop him."

Karla nodded, her eyes never leaving Alex. "It's okay. Call security to escort him out."

As Alex was led out of her office, he turned back to her. "This isn't over, my love. Not by a long

shot."

Karla let out a deep breath. She couldn't let Alex get to her. Not now, when her engagement party was just hours away. Not now, when she was finally moving on with her life. She poured herself a glass of wine, trying to calm down, but her mind was racing. What did Alex want from her?

As expected, not everyone was pleased with the news of Karla's marriage and Brittany Hayes was no exception. Her snooping eyes peeped from behind the curtains, her envy and doubt stealthily expanding.

She always had an inkling that there was more to this love story than meets the eye; she was determined to find out the truth.

Karla and Liam got engaged in a very big party attended by the who-is-who of the city - a strategy adopted by the duo to make their relationship as solid and official as possible, as far as the public and business associates were concerned.

They were already well into the festivities when the couple finally arrived. The room buzzed with guests sipping champagne, discussing merrily and admiring ornate decorations. Karla received gifts of congratulations on her engagement together with pricey ones from her members of board and business contacts, who looked relieved with the recent development.

Karla’s grandfather, Greg Randolph stood up and raised his glass in a toast, the other guests following suit. “To my beautiful, dear granddaughter and her fiancé, may your marriage be filled with love, prosperity and happiness. I'm sure your parents are looking down on you smiling today.”

Karla tried to look radiant but couldn’t help meeting Liam’s eyes; they both knew that this marked only the beginning of a very long road ahead.

Karla asked herself too many questions while cheering along with everybody else in the room. What if their secrets come to light? And how would she and Liam navigate the challenges ahead? “Only time would tell, I guess.”

As they greeted and chatted with guests, Brittany approached them, her smile too pretentious to hide.

“Congratulations, Karla,” she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. “You look so happy.”

“Thank you, Brittany,” Karla replied, fighting to hide the disgust in her tone. “We’re very happy.”

“And you…. Liam right?” Brittany continued, turning her gaze to him. “It must be quite a huge change for you, stepping into the spotlight like this….from nowhere…all of a sudden.”

“It certainly is,” Liam said, his tone measured. “However, I am grateful for the prospects it has brought. That’s why with a woman like Karla around me, I won’t be swamped.”

Brittany’s eyes gleamed with a sinister light. “I’m sure. Well, I wish you both the best. I’ll be keeping a close eye on your progress.”

As she walked away, Liam leaned closer to Karla. “What’s with her?”

“She’s an old rival…..quite a long story,” Karla explained, her eyes following Brittany. “She’ll do anything to see me ruined. We need to be careful.”

Having a moment to themselves as the party gradually came to an end, Karla and Liam went out on the balcony where they could see the city lights twinkling below. All seemed like a fairytale.

“This whole thing still seems so unreal to me. If someone had told me two weeks ago, that one day I would be getting married without any prior notice, then he or she would have earned a black eye,” Liam said, leaning on the railing. “But life is fairly good, right? I mean so far, so good.”

“I guess so,” Karla agreed, feeling a rare moment of peace. “I still can't believe you agreed to this.

Thank you, Liam. I know it's definitely not going to be easy.”

“Hey, it's us against the world now, isn't it? I already signed, remember?” Liam said, offering a reassuring smile.

Karla smiled back, even though she couldn't shake off the haunting feeling that Alex's appearance was just the beginning of her problems. She pushed the thought aside, focusing on the celebration at hand. Little did she know, more surprises awaited her…

Their blissful moment was interrupted by Karla's phone buzzing. She glanced at the screen and her expression changed swiftly.

“What is it?” Liam asked, noticing the change.

“It’s a message from my grandfather’s lawyer,” Karla said, her voice tense. “He wants to meet up with us. Tomorrow.”

“Do you think he's aware?” Liam asked, worry creeping into his voice.

“I don’t know,” Karla replied, her mind racing. “But we need to be prepared.”

The following day, they were in Karla’s office waiting for the lawyer. The atmosphere was tense. With a blank face, Mr. Collins entered the room after what seemed like eternity. Karla stopped breathing for a moment as she did not know what to expect.

“You are welcome, Mr. Moore and Ms. Randolph,” he said sitting down. “I appreciate your coming on such short notice.”

“What is this all about, Mr. Collins?” Karla asked.

“There have been some… rather major issues concerning the validity of your engagement,” Mr. Collins said while looking from one of them to another. “It has been clearly stipulated by your grandfather that it must be a real wedding, feelings and all, not just an agreement.”

Karla felt her heart skip a beat. “If I may ask, who raised these issues?”