chapter seventeen

Chapter seventeen

Gwen sat in-front of her vanity with worry in her eyes. Worry for her daughter. She stared into the mirror with lost eyes. Evan sighed when he entered the room and saw his wife sitting sadly at the vanity. "She will be fine, Gwen. She is a grown up, she can take care of herself and besides Maxwell mentioned that she will be staying with the Leroys."

"That is not the point, honey." She sighed again. "The point is that she wouldn't open up to us, why?"

"That has been settled. She has settled with the Leroys and for those scars that she got on her body, you don't have to worry about them." He waved a USB flash at her, "Max brought this too. He said to watch it when we want. So are you busy now?"

After watching the video that the USB held, Gwen said, "Why haven't the police found anything yet?" Connor's face was a total blur and Max hadn't mentioned who he was. All he told them was that she had been abused and they were working on it. But her worry was that they hadn't gotten back to her for the past two days.

"Honey, you need to calm down. Have faith in the young man. Remember when your mouth was so full of praises for him. Maybe this is fate writing their own love story. Trust me, she will be fine. I will also keep my tabs. If we give this to the police, what will they make out of it? We barely even saw the young man's face."

Gwen smiled a weak smile and sighed for the hundredth time that morning. She picked up her phone and dialed her daughter's number.

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The next days that followed were filled with tension between Regan and Elena. Regan left for work early as a part of the Resort was undergoing renovation and when he came back in the evening, she would always avoid him like a plague. She hadn't bothered to get acquainted with any of the household staff and she was mostly on her own or with Lucy and Zeke. She had heard from Max about the renovation and somewhere it tugged at her heart that he wasn't around and she missed him. She had also heard from Lucy that they would be moving the next day.

She took a walk around the house fixing the little things that she could then she settled in the patio that sat on one side of the alameda. She needed to clear her head. She had to be overthinking things. She sighed.

"I've lost count of how many times you have sighed today." Lucy said, interrupting her thoughts. "I know it's going to be very lonely when we are gone. Come and help us pack." She had gone in search of the Greek girl when she noticed her absence in the house. She knew it was not going to be easy to stay all alone couple with the tension she shared with her brother. But she had faith that they would settle their differences and return to the way they were. She held out a hand for her which she took and they stepped into the big house.

"I don't know how you'll do it but I am sure you will survive." Zeke said reassuringly. He knew of their little squabble too but he knew they would be good so there was no point meddling, Regan and Elena could handle themselves just fine.

"I can swear that I will die of boredom before you hear from me again." She groaned and plopped on the bed after folding a top and placing it into Lucy's box.

"I don't know what it is between you and my brother but I think y'all should resolve it." Lucy voiced her thought.

Zeke noticed her discomfort and said, "Or you can call us or even visit when you are up to it."

Elena sat up on the bed with a smile. "I promise I will."

Lucy was having none of it. Elena was deliberately avoiding Regan physically and now in discussions too. "Regan likes you and I know that you like him too. No set of normal people look at each other the way you two look at yourselves. Even with this stupid tension, y'all still steal glances at each other at table or wait. You think I wouldn't notice?"

Deafening silence arrived at the room but she kept on folding her clothes.

"I know sparks when I see one." Since she started talking, she didn't spare them even as much as a glance. She folded her clothes like it was the most lucrative task in the universe. "Stop running away from your feelings. I know Reggie can be overbearing at times but I can assure you that this time, he is waiting for you to come around." She finally looked up and stared at Elena straight into the eyes and said, "Don't let Connor or whosoever ruin what you have with my brother. Allow him to help you. Allow yourself to love him, you are worthy of love, El, stop telling yourself otherwise." And with the ending of her speech, her pointed stare turned into a soft pleading one which lasted for a fraction of a second before she resumed her task of packing her clothes. "That is the last of it. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

Zeke came around and kissed her on her temple, an action which made Elena smile. The man was too forward and open with the feelings he had for his wife.

Lucy let out a fatigued sigh, "Is dinner ready yet? All that talking and packing has really made me hungry." she asked the new chef.

"It just has to be in the microwave for a while." She replied with a soft smile while she zipped up the last of the boxes.