Walking on a thin ice

Alexa froze. Has she been caught? She totally didn't expect the man to pay attention to the way she prepared it, owing to the fact that he was reading a newspaper while she was making it.

The old man took a whiff before sipping it. He nodded at the taste before putting the tea cup down.

"Who taught you how to make tea this way?" He questioned.

"My grandmother," Alexa smiled when her grandma's face flashed in her mind. Wish she was still alive. Maybe she wouldn't have fallen to this extent in life.

While she was reminiscing about the sweet relationship she had with her grandmother, Old Man Clinton interrupted her thoughts.

"Henceforth, the duty of making me tea will fall on you," the man suddenly said, leaving Alexa wondering if he was teasing her.

She was about to question him when he suddenly changed the topic again, like a chameleon.

"The Clinton Group was started by my friend and I. At that time, we were 15 and 16 years old. The business started as a street food with barely any customers for three years. My friend and I didn't run the business for long before we were forced by the government at 18 to mandatory military service." The old man stopped talking and started staring at space as though he was reminiscing.

"At that time when we were serving in the military, my late wife and her best friend took care of the company in our stead. They developed the business from an unappetizing street food to a small restaurant.

"My friend and I were elated. When we returned from the mandatory military service which lasted for three years, the four of us joined hands and continued to improve the business, using my family recipe.

"Then one day, a bigger food company in the area which saw us as a threat sabotaged our business and sent us back to square one.

"My late wife's friend gave us hope, so we relocated to another area and started again. We already had sufficient knowledge and skills to not make the same mistake that once ruined the business, so we were very careful.

"We thought by moving a few streets away would make the company owner take his eyes away from us, but we were wrong. The CEO, who seemed to have connections in the military, had the higher ups send my friend and I to war," Old Man Clinton smiled bitterly and finished the tea in his cup.

Alexa listened attentively. Once he finished his tea, she would pour him more before eating her toast or sipping her coffee.

"My friend and I went from one war to another, with few breaks in between. Each time we returned to see how the business was faring, we would find that it was struggling.

"At a point, we found out the reason for the lack of business was because of that CEO. We knew we had to get him off our backs. It took some months before we finally took our revenge.

"From then on, our business started to flourish. I married my late wife and my friend married my late wife's friend."

Alexa wondered what the revenge was, but it would be rude to ask, so she stayed silent and continued to be a listener.

"My wife's friend died after giving birth to their daughter, Chloe and the company went bankrupt due to the fact that we couldn't keep going after our dear friend passed away.

"When Chloe was five, her father and I were sent on a mission by our higher ups. On the mission, my friend took a bullet for me and died. The responsibility of taking care of Chloe fell on my wife and I.

"I had two children, a wife, and Chloe who needed to be catered for. I knew that I couldn't wait on the penny the government was paying me. If I also died in a war, my wife and the children would suffer, so I resigned and reopened our business with the inheritance my friend left for his daughter, plus all the money I and my wife saved over the years.

"Starting again in a different city wasn't easy. Our second child died, leaving us with Wilfred and Chloe. After three years, things started to get better and finally, our business expanded and became a multi-billion dollar company."

Alexa was mesmerized by the story. What caught her interest and admiration was their friendship and the old man's determination.

Unlike the old man who had a true relationship with his friends, she had never had one. All the friends she ever had were those with benefits.

Alexa longed for true friendship, but their society taught them that there was nothing like true friendship. Whoever had something to give would be everyone's best friend. Once such a person loses their worth, they become everyone's enemy.

Alexa herself had also dumped 'friends' who lost their values, which was why, when everyone deserted her, she didn't moan over it. It was a norm and as a realistic person, she was quick to accept her fate.

If not that Jerry was one of her flings who deluded himself with the idea that she would come back to him, he wouldn't have agreed to help her change her identity without something in return.

As for Nora, Alexa has no idea why she was welcoming. It may be that Nora saw some value left in her that she could explore. But whatever it was, Alexa was willing to allow Nora take advantage of her as much as she wanted.

Alexa would never say it out loud, but she envied people with true friendship and true love. It had always been her utmost desire to find love and true friends, which was why, after Lucian forced his way into her heart, she became his idiot.

She thought she finally found love In Lucian, but unfortunately, she was way too ahead of herself.

And the only man, Aiden, who had shown her kindness and compassion without strings attached, she meant no good for him.

Alex sighed softly before she remembered that Old Man Clinton was still sitting across from her. Why was he even telling her his story?

"Grandfather-in-law, why are you telling me all of these?"