Chapter 10

“Thank god that I have Alex’s condo spare key, or we would have had to wait out for a long time.” Linda sighed loudly.

“I am not really surprised. He works too much for his own good. He himself invited us for lunch, and now when we are here, he ditches us for his stupid meeting.” Jenny said annoyingly.

“He is just going to be an hour late. So, relax.” John tried to calm the ladies down.

“I need a drink; I will try to find something in the kitchen,” Ronny said loudly and made his way into the kitchen.

“Jesus Christ!” Ronny cried loudly, which made everyone run to the kitchen.

Looking at both the sisters of Alex, he said, “Your brother is a mess.” A whole lot of ketchup spilled on Ronny’s shirt.

“Alex’s clothes should fit you. Come on, let’s grab his shirt.” With that, Jenny and Ronny went to their room to find a clean shirt.

After Ronny changed himself into one of Alex’s shirts, he saw that Jenny was as still as a rock for a few minutes before he came towards her to see what

caused her to have this reaction. He was even shocked when he learned what Jenny was looking at.

Both of them came to their senses and picked up the photos, which were messily kept in the box.

They even took the cardboard box out and opened it to remove all the items in it.

Both Ronny and Jenny had been inside for quite some time, which made the other couple come and check on them, but they had the same reaction as the

previous one when they realized the reason for Ronny and Jenny’s absence.

Alex hurriedly went towards his condo. He didn’t want to be a victim of his sister’s threat as he was already sixty minutes late.

He opened the door and found his living area empty. He was confused until he heard some whispering from his room, so he went inside only to find his

biggest secret on display in front of his family.

His marriage photos that were clicked in court with their parents as witnesses, the marriage certificate, their marriage rings, the envelope in which

Marissa repaid him every penny which she used, the last letter which she wrote to him and a good deal of other stuff were out in front of him.

Before he could say anything, Ronny came towards him and punched him straight in his face. It was John who pulled him back from throwing any more

punches. He calmed Ronny down and made him sit on the bed.

“I can’t believe this. Marissa was your wife.” Linda exclaimed. “When were you going to tell us, Alex?” Linda asked him angrily.

“Probably never. Come on, Linda. Why are we even shocked that Alex hid such a fact from us? That’s what he always does.” Jenny stated angrily.

“Guys...” Alex tried to say something but was interrupted by Jenny.

“Do you have any clue, what you have done, Alex? You ruined Marissa’s life. She has been through so much just because of you.” Jenny shouted at him.

“I apologized to her for my past behaviour, and we are both good now.” He tried to defend himself.

“Alex, you still don’t understand and probably never will. After you left her, she had been in places you could never imagine.” Ronny said. “You know

what, I cannot tolerate you even one second in front of me. Stay away from my best friend, or else I will forget that you are my fiancé’s brother.” With

that, Ronny stormed out of Alex’s room.

“John, go with Ronny. He is pissed.” Linda told him.

“What did he mean? I know what I did with Marissa was wrong, and at some point, I wanted to tell you all but didn’t know-how. At first, I was shocked

that Marissa told none of you about our marriage, but then I was glad because things might have gone back to as they were before if you had known about

it. I didn’t want to lose you both.” He said to them shamefully.

Jenny was beyond frustrated.

“Alex, you still don’t understand what I am trying to say. It is not about us. It is about her. Marissa literally lost everything when she signed those papers. Yes, she and Ronny got together and opened their dance institution, but on an emotional level, she has got nothing left.”

“It can’t be that bad,” Alex whispered with his fingers crossed.

“The first time I met her was when she was in a goddamn hospital where she was fighting for her life. And it was definitely not an accident. Alex, Marissa only has a dance institution and four of us who she can actually call a family and no one.”

“What do you mean?” Alex asked her in desperation. “I know that she and her family don’t get along. I know what kind of people they are.”

“Alex, Marissa’s family, let her die at the hands of Rob.”

“What...?” Alex was floored by the new information.

“Somewhere in her heart, Marissa still yearns for her parents’ love, so she gave them another chance and agreed to date Rob. It was another set-up to combine two alliances, but they didn’t know that Rob was the son of the couple who Marissa’s parents bamboozled. So, as revenge, Rob tried to woo her and, for the sake of his parents and she decided to give him a chance.

Rob had a perfect plan in his mind. He kidnapped Marissa and asked her parents to repay everything to him and change the company’s ownership to his or his father’s name. Unfortunately, he didn’t know that her parents had no ounce of attachment towards Marissa. He video called them and warned them that he would shoot her if they didn’t agree with the deal. Despite that, her parents didn’t agree. Initially, he thought that her parents were playing tough, but it was much later when he realized the truth. Rob’s father decided to take the matter into his own hands. As the last straw, he again threatened his parents, but to no effect, so he shot her leg to tell them that he was serious. Rob realized what his father was planning to do, but he didn’t want any bloodshed, so he decided to kick the gun off of his father’s hand, but in the clutter, Marissa got hit by the bullet near the heart area.” Jenny explained to him the whole truth.

Alex was not able to take in the new information.

“Alex, throughout life, Marissa has been paying for her parents mistake. She lost the championship because of them. She lost her first love because of

them. You bullied her because of them. Rob ruined her life because of them. Alex, please, if you are just trying to befriend her because of her parents’

mistake or some kind of revenge, then just don’t. Because if you even try to hurt her one bit, I will forget the fact that you are my brother.” With that,

Jenny left.

Linda was quiet during the entire ordeal. But this time she came towards Alex and hugged him.

“Alex, I know you have the best intentions in your heart. But please, don’t be upset by Jenny’s words. You know how she is when she is angry. I won’t tell you to stay away from Marissa because it’s yours and Marissa’s decision, but I will tell you that please don’t hurt her again. Because, if by any chance, history repeated, then I wouldn’t think twice before supporting Marissa instead of you.” With that, even Linda left.

Alex never felt guiltier than before. He knew that he needed to see Marissa and talk to her as soon as possible.