CHAPTER 10

When he called her name in recognition she sneered in her heart. How dare this man call her after what he did, she thought. But she remembered that he hadn't done anything yet, at this moment they were just friends and he wasn't even due to start his conniving ways yet.

She looked up at his proud, handsome face incidentally, their eyes met and her slightly icy gaze came forward unrelentingly, and his look also remained firm.

As the two were stuck in a deadlock, she heard Michaels voice from behind, she broke eye contact and turned to her know boss Michael with a cheerful smile on her face.

Michael approached while fixing his suit jacket as he stood beside them, he could feel tension but he wasn't sure what it was about.

"Mr Stewart I came out to greet you as you hadn't arrived yet, and I see you have met April our new interior designer." He looked from one to the other.

She smiled and looked at James. "Nice to meet you, Mr Stewart." April didn't put her hand out to shake his.

James was taken back, why did she refuse to acknowledge their friendship, he had liked her for many years now. She was kind, caring and came from a wealthy family like his. He thought they were a good match. His fists clenched slightly in annoyance.

"April what do you mean by this? We are friends and you usually call me James."

April then turned to Michael ignoring James as much as possible, just know her emotions had slipped and he may have noticed too much of a change in her. She didn't like that he had the upper hand at this moment.

"I shall see you on Monday morning Micheal and thank you again for the opportunity."

Michael nodded at April and watched as she quickly walked in the other direction.

She hoped that James wouldn't pass on anything he may have noticed to Lucy, she wasn't sure how close they had gotten yet so she couldn't be too careful.

"Wait, April.."

James reached out but his hands were empty she had fled before his eyes. She walked away from him and he felt that at that moment he had lost something special and he had wanted to go after her. She was all burningly elegant, magnificently classy, overwhelmingly dominant!

Michael scratched his nose, he had obviously come at the wrong moment for James but he may have helped April somewhat.

"I want April to work on the project, that is my only stipulation." James looked up at Micheal.

Michael put on a customary smile and nodded, he was sure that April would refuse on Monday.

April walked away from the scum she had once thought that she had loved. He had used her innocence and pure nature to get what he had wanted. Abandoning her to die alone, leaving only ashes.

Shaking off the pain and resentment that would only be poison in her heart she walked under the pleasant evening sun towards the supermarket.

She didn't want to return to her 'home' where the two scheming witches resided so she would need to buy some necessities for her new home. On the way, she took out her phone and she disguised her number before calling.

"The Green and Jones residents, how may I help you?"

April smiled as Tom answered and had remembered to use her mother's surname as well as her fathers.

"Hi Tom it's me, can you tell my father that I will be sleeping over with friends this weekend and I will probably be back on Monday."

"Yes of course and I will take care of things here while you're away." Toms words filled her with warmth.

"Thank you, see you soon Tom."

April then hung up her phone and put it away again. She took pleasure in walking to the supermarket and basked in the sun, it cleared her head, she had started a new life and would enjoy the small things.

She entered the supermarket and picked up some daily necessities and food that she could need over the weekend. This would be her chance to relax and figure out her next moves before Rachel could. She whizzed around and once she had everything she went to the checkout and paid the bill.

It was getting darker now but it was still warm outside and although the bags were slightly heavy, she decided to walk to the condo. She had four bags and she balanced them as she walked the twenty minutes home. She smiled upon seeing her new home in the distance and a gentle breeze seemed to carry her to her destination.

On the same road driving towards Cerulean Condominium was an exhausted Dean Davis. His secretary Oliver had driven him home as Dean had worked non stop the past 48hours.

Dean leaned his head back and pinched his glabella, too tired from the stress and endless meetings, he now cleared his mind and thought of her. He wondered if she was okay and what she was doing at this very moment. Why her stepmother and step-sister being ruthless.

Oliver meanwhile was driving along, they had reached the street that led to Cerulean Condominium and he saw a well dressed young girl carrying four heavy bags, his eyebrow scrunched up. He looked in the mirror afraid to disturb Dean but also his conscience couldn't help but ask.

"Cough, Dean there is a girl who looks like she's walking towards Cerulean Condos and she seems to have some very heavy bags." Oliver peered in the mirror at his boss, waiting for a reply.

Dean furrowed his eyebrows annoyed by Oliver disturbing his thoughts of his angel. "Do I look like I run a taxi service? If you want to pick up every waif and stray then hand in your notice tomorrow and you will be free to do so."

"No no I was just... never mind." Oliver kept driving and eventually drove past April. She had her head up and seemed to be smiling and not struggling. Oliver's heart felt relieved.

____

April reached the condominium and she smiled as she saw Jace, he must have just finished working as he wore his casual clothing and he was chatting to a new guard that stood behind the desk.

Noticing April walk in with four heavy bags he abandoned the desk and sped around to her side.

"I'll help you." Before she could even refuse Jace took her bags from her hands and walked to the lift with them.

April smiled and nodded thanking him.

"I'm really okay, I carried them from the supermarket so this little distance is not a bother." They entered the lift together.

"Still, you should have got a taxi. I wouldn't let any of my sisters or my mother carry this amount while I am around so I can't possibly allow you. My mother would kill me if I ignored you struggling with bags."

"Okay, I give up." She smiled at Jace as the lift door opened. "I will look into getting a car soon."

"Good, but if you need any help you can always ask me or any other guard at the desk."

April took out her keys and opened the door, Jace left the bags on her kitchen counter and smiled. "Have a good evening."

"Thanks, Jace, safe home." April showed Jace out and closed the door behind him.

After the door shut Jace walked straight into a muscular back. Looking up he saw a pair of indifferent eyes. He knew Dean Davis, he was a powerful, tyrannical and ruthless CEO. He backed away, hitting the lift button. He knew better than to stick around.

"Mr Davis I am so sorry... have a good evening sir." He jumped in the lift quickly and hit the ground floor button.

Dean down up at the young man as he backed away and jumped into the lift like a rabbit fleeing from a wolf. He smirked, am I that scary he thought. He went inside his apartment and huffed at the thought that he had a neighbour now, wondering who had moved in next door for a fraction of a second. He then gave it no more thought as he took off his suit and jumped into the shower. The warm water ran over his sculpted muscles and relaxed them.

He had worked for the past two days straight without a break, after getting full control of the Davis family and Davis Conglomerate he had a lot of meetings to share. He had already fired several directors and department heads due to incompetence and laziness. But his uncle's men were spread far and deep into the company for him to fully gain control he needed to get rid of those leeches first.

He got out of the shower and dried off, he put on a pair of black jogging bottoms before wiping his hair roughly and throwing the towel away, small drops of water dripped from his hair on to his muscular chest and down his abs.

He poured himself a glass of whiskey and he swirled the amber liquid as he then downed it in one. He leaned back on the bed and lay with his eyes closed but his brows furrowed. What is she up to now?

Meanwhile, April wasn't tired at all, she was pumped after getting a job so she put away her groceries and got into some comfortable loungewear. She then walked to her painting room, she would always spend her time painting so she could lose herself away from the pain, the loss of her mother has brought her.

Instantly picking up the brush, she sat on a high chair then piped brown and white colour from the small tube and then entered a state where nothing else matters but her hand moving. She poured her heart onto the canvas, splashing colours on to it, her eyes started to space out into a wider state looking at minor details, her mind understanding nothing but his piercing eyes that were at the tip of her mind, and her lips slowly turned up into a small subtle smile.

This is April without anything to tie her down in her raw unfiltered self.

Colours were mixed into her palette, hues of browns that made skin, shades of blacks that made hair, shades of reds that made lips, shades of blues that made a person's shirt.

After a few hours of painting it was already the middle of the night, April yawned and covered her mouth. Only when she stepped back to look at the finished piece after hours of ongoing work did she notice the picture on her painting. No, not just a picture, but a person's image. She blinked repeatedly almost as if she could not believe the finished painting.

She then remembered the face she had just painted, recognition dawning on her. She had met him twice, once in both lifetimes. She stared intently at the painting and trying to remember the details. She had seen a glimpse of him at the bank but in her past life didn't she nurse his wounds one night when he was attacked.

She tried to piece together the life of her last life, it was her stepsisters birthday night that everything had happened. That night she had left the restaurant alone after being humiliated, when she was walking to her small apartment she bumped into him and had taken him home. Would he need her help in this lifetime too? she wondered, her sisters birthday was a few weeks away.

She glanced at the painting again, those eyes captured her soul. She shook her head unsure of what she was doing, she had painted without thinking. She left the painting to dry and walked to her bedroom, falling onto the comfortable bed and wrapping herself in the duvet. Tonight she had a soft king-sized bed all to herself rather than a small bed with damp bedding. She was in a burrito-style cocoon and the warmth heated her from the inside out. She thanked her mum in her heart for the condo before passing out. A lot had happened and she had a lot yet to achieve.