CHAPTER 8

April woke early as the sun started to rise and shine through her thin curtains, she stretched her long limbs on the single bed. Today she would uncover more secrets and continue her journey of revenge and redemption. She had a spring in her step and a cheerful smile on her face as she got up and went to shower, once washed and dried she looked in the mirror.

She was wearing her robe but it hung on her like a hanger, she studied herself more. She had to do something about her complexion and limp hair, she used to get praised for her looks as a child but once her stepmother had taken over the family, she no longer looked after herself or worried about her appearance. This was again another fault of her own she had let her stepmother take advantage of her kindness for too long.

She had hidden her beauty and figure in old baggy clothing to please others. As the clothes were Lucy's they were of course baggy, they had different shapes and wore a different size, she had once had a full figure but was now on the thin side as her food had been basically leftovers for so long.

She tied her long black hair up in a high ponytail giving her a youthful look and wore her stepsister's clothes, she couldn't wear her mother's clothes and hadn't bought any for herself just yet as she could not change automatically and as it would alert Lucy and Rachel.

She went to the kitchen and saw Tom, he was cooking some porridge.

"Morning Tom."

"Morning miss, I thought we could eat together." Tom smiled, he looked younger when he smiled. He had hoped April would eat with him again. He knew she was too thin for her age and it had worried him.

"Sounds great, I have some organic honey I bought from a farmer's market let's add some to sweeten it up." April went to the pantry to get the honey, her small figure reached up to the shelf using her tiptoes.

"You always had a sweet tooth miss." Tom helped her, he was a tall sturdy man so he had no bother reaching.

"Tom please call me April."

Tom deliberated for a while, his eyebrows slightly scrunched together then he sighed as he had given in.

"Only when we are alone."

"Okay, that will do for now. But when you come to live with me it will be April from then on okay?"

"If that's what you prefer then I will." Tom grinned and he served up two bowls of the porridge and watched as she added some honey in both bowls. He had no family of his own as he had lived in foster care when he was young and then he had been in the military for year's but had gotten hurt and had to medically retire. He stumbled upon Aprils mother Kathleen when he went to her art gallery and she gave him a job then he moved in as a butler, from then on he looked at Martin, Kathleen and April as his family.

After breakfast April made some pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage for the other three who were still sleeping, she left it in the oven to keep it all warm and turned to Tom.

"Will you serve breakfast? I would like to be out before everyone wakes up."

"Yes, no problem. But... your father stayed in his study last night and has already left for work."

"Okay, I'll leave the rest to you then." She ran out the door and Toms face grimaced in worry as he watched her, she was growing up and he could aid her only a little. Determined to help her, he had to stay here for now. After all, Kathleen's paintings were all that she had left.

April thought about what Tom had just said, confusion written all over her face. That had been news to April, she didn't know that her father had not stayed with Rachel last night. Was this a new development or had this happened in her past life and she wasn't aware, she wasn't sure. She went to her room and grabbed her bag and rushed out through the back gate.

As she walked through the community to the security gate she noticed a silver Audi A6 drive past her and into her gates. She knew exactly who it was, this car was owned in her past life by her ex-fiancé James Stewart. Who on the day she died was due to marry her stepsister Lucy, she could not contain her searing stare of hatred on her face. She had to meet and deal with these people one by one sooner or later. So she had to get used to seeing them, she walked out of the security gates and jumped on the next bus. She decided not to think any more about those disgusting people.

She arrived at a Cerulean Condominium, it was within a gated community and each condo had stunning gardens surrounding them. She went to the security desk and smiled at the security guard. She took out her I.D and card and set them on the desk.

"Hi, I would like to register my I.D. I now live in number seven."

The guard looked her up in down, sceptical that she owned a condo but with the key and her surname matching the tenant's name he could only register her details into his computer.

"Okay, Miss Jones you are now registered. My name is Jace, if you ever need anything come to the security desk and ask."

"Thank you, Jace."

April took her key back and smiled at the guard as she took the lift up to her new home.

She got out of the lift and saw two white doors that faced each other, number seven and number eight. She went to number seven and opened the door, she could hardly contain her excitement. As she opened the door she was taken aback, she closed the door and entered.

Inside was a luxurious home, her mother's influence was everywhere. Her mother's paintings hung on the wall, there were pictures on the cabinet of her, her mother and father together. These intimate details made their heart fill with warmth and hot tears streamed down her cheeks, this is what she was lacking in both lifetimes.

She went through each room and saw the same homey touches throughout. The condo had floor to ceiling windows that let in a lot of light and had an open plan Livingroom, kitchen. There was a large bedroom with a bathroom and closet attached. Without knowing it, she started to shed a few tears as she walked around the house, her mother's presence was everywhere.

The last room was her favourite it was a large painting room, set up with paints, brushes, easels and canvases. She ran her long delicate fingers over the last painting her mother had painted. This has to be her favourite so far. It was an acrylic painting, on a black background an angel was falling into the abyss as two masculine hands reached out to catch her.

The painting was an indication of how her mum might have felt before her death and it also resonated with April at this moment. She wiped the stray tears on her lashes as she looked around the room.

This was now her home, she wanted to move here as soon as possible, but she had to finalize a few things first. As a young woman, she knew it would take time to establish herself. She walked to the closet and sure enough, there was another safe. Hope and a small smile returned to her face, surely her mum had left her another letter. She input her birthday and it clicked open.

Inside was another letter and a black bank card. She went to the king-sized bed and sat down to read it. Her fingers slightly trembled as she opened up the letter. He took a deep breath in and out, composing herself before reading.

"To My Beautiful Daughter April,

If you are reading this I want you to know I am very proud of you, you have taken the first step to independence. I would love to be with you on your journey to becoming a strong woman, but sometimes things in life don't work out the way you hoped. I hope you like the condo, you can change what you don't like.

Keep painting sweetheart you have so much talent and potential. I believe you will surpass me, so keep up with it.

I have left you my bank card in the safe and the password is your birthday. Even when you get married make sure you have your own money, this was my own savings. I love you and your father so much. You are both my world.

Unfortunately, this is the last letter I will leave you, if I had one piece of advice it would be to learn to love and be loved. I know you will face this harsh world without me and meet many people along the way so allow the good in, not everyone has bad intentions.

Take care of yourself and your father for me.

Love Always Mum xoxo"

April didn't allow herself to cry, she held it in as much as possible and it took all her strength. She wondered why her mother would have left her everything. She had left her letters, a condo and money. Did she know she was going to die?

April was determined to find out the mystery behind her mother's death.

She would follow her mother's advice, but love that was something that was not a priority, it was a foreign concept to her. For many years she hadn't felt any love and she had too much to accomplish first.

April put her mother's letter in the bedside cabinet drawer. She then went to the vanity table, it had many unopened limited edition items including perfumes, body lotions, makeup, concealers and masks. This is exactly what she needs right now, she got excited. She took off all of Lucy's clothes and put on the softest white cotton robe, she filled the bath with a coconut bubble bath. While it filled, she put on a face mask then a hair mask, taking her phone to the bath she then took off her robe and got in. The warm coconut bubble bath soothed the tension in her body and allowed her to relax.

April scrolled through the latest news and tried to remember back two years in her past life. The city was about to boom with more business's, restaurant and high rise buildings. A thought crossed her mind and she logged on to the job website and saw the advert for Walker Interiors that she had applied for last night. If she could get an interior decorating job while she built up her art portfolio, it would help her get her name recognised. She searched for a while but found no other job listings she could apply for. The bath had started to cool down so she put her phone down.

She washed off her face mask and then scrubbed her hair, she got out and wrapped herself in the soft robe feeling refreshed. She looked in the mirror and started to see that her hair was shinier and her skin had a natural glow again, she would defiantly need more treatments.

Ring Ring

She hadn't given anyone her phone number so when her phone rang it made her jump.

"Hello is this April Jones?" A cheerful masculine tone enquired.

"Yes, who's this?"

"Hello, this is Michael I'm calling from Walker Interiors. I am phoning you because I would like to offer you a job as an interior decorator, you would be an intern for six months before we would offer you any permanent post."

"..."

"Hello, Miss Jones?"

"I'm here, are you serious?"

"Haha... Yes of course I am, are you interested?"

"Yes, I am... definitely."

"I know it's Friday but can you come in this afternoon to fill out some paperwork. We have a lot of new clients recently and we need our team to hit the ground running on Monday."

"Yes, no problem I will be there in around an hour."

"I'll look forward to it then. See you soon Miss Jones."

Beep Beep

As soon as she hung up the phone she screamed in happiness. April was over the moon, this was her first job in both lives and she would make the most of it.