Like a shard in the gut that never leaves, choking her breath from her body and short-circuiting her mind, Alia felt heartbroken by everything happening all around her.
On one hand, was her husband, locked behind bars in a faraway country with no hope of release anyti soon.
On the other hand, was her father blinded by his quest to reunite the family and failing to see the devil in them?
Not to talk about her mother-in-law's fragile health which Alia and so mber of the Anderson family have been doing their best to manage ever since Maria learnt of her son's arrest.
Alia was trying to be strong in all of these setbacks. But it seed fate was not done dealing with her.
On top of all of her many problems, now she had to deal with Gwen's pregnancy termination.
"When do I get a break from all of this?" Alia echoed in her heart, wiping the silent tears streaming down her cheeks while staring absent-mindedly as the busy city street passed by in a blur.
"Ma'am, are you alright?" Pascal asked while silently observing her from the rearview mirror.
Alia's gaze shifted away from the window to the rearview mirror. She plastered a smile on her flustered face and nodded briefly before asking.
"How long until we get ho?"
"In less than five minutes ma'am."
"Good." Alia returned to staring at the window.
Through to his words, they arrived at the Anderson mansion in less than five minutes, pulling over by the mansion driveway opposite the magnificent water fountain.
When Alia alighted the car, she was approached by the faithful mansion butler, with a warm smile framing his face.
"Welco ho, madam." The butler bowed curtly, a polite smile brightening his face.
"Thank you, dear. How is mom?"
"She's doing great, madam." The butler reached out to carry the bags Pascal was bringing out of the car. "She's currently out taking a walk with Mr Henry in the garden."
"Oh..." Alia bead. "Then I'll go join them." She collected a white shopping bag from Pascal and left for the garden.
Taking a left turn that veered to the extensive garden, Alia could hear Henry's distant harmonious laughter resounding through the peaceful natural environnt.
It brought warmth to her troubled heart, easing her burden a little.
Henry has been one great and supportive friend since the incident with the explosion began. Not only did he relocate to Salvine City to provide the Anderson with moral support, but he placed his career on hold for the sake of friendship.
Thanks to his chatty and lively presence around the mansion, Maria slowly ca out of her shell of depression, embracing each day with renewed hope, knowing her son would soon co back ho.
Taking a deep breath to push aside her hurt, Alia followed the sound of Henry's calm and relaxing voice, until she trailed them to the gazebo located in the heart of the garden.
They were both seated and engrossed in a deep conversion like mother and son, without realising Alia's presence.
"So what gift did you finally get her?" Maria was asking Henry, who seed to be blushing from cheek to cheek.
"A 3D guitar LED night lamp."
"A guitar night lamp!" Maria quirked her brow up in disapproval. "What kind of unromantic gift is that? What happened to flowers, beautiful accessories, or chocolate."
"She's not that kind of girl, mom. I have co to realize that aspect of her the hard way. Flashy n and gifts completely turn her off. She saw as a player and outrightly turned down when I asked her out."
"Really!" Maria smiled, her mind drifting to soone special.
"Yes, mom. I had to completely tone everything down to make her realize that I was serious about her. She is completely different from all the girls I've ever dated. She is unique, caring, sweet and beautiful just like her pretty cousin."
"Of course, she is, lover boy." Maria chuckled.
"I'm not exaggerating Mom. She is pretty amazing. Can you believe at barely twenty, she is an already successful online brand influencer?"
"What do you expect? She has a very good ntor." Maria's voice echoed with pride.
"Very true. She's lucky to have such an amazing and successful cousin to look up to. I hope I get to sweep her off her feet one of these days. But for now, I'll have to play by her rules and remain friends with her. Finishing with top grades from college seems to be her top priority and not dating."
"Well, that is a focused young lady for you. Just make sure you don't lose her."
"Not this ti mom. I won't let such beauty slip off my finger again like her cousin. Thankfully, there is no Mr handso and cold to compete with ."
"Are you calling my son cold?" Maria shot Henry a an but playful glare.
"No Mom he seems to have changed a lot thanks to his angel of a wife?"
"Is soone talking about ?" Alia said softly after hearing enough to make her cheeks turn red with imnse happiness.
Both Maria and Henry snapped their heads backwards, surprised to see Alia standing beside a flower shrub and smiling at them.
"My darling...." Maria stood up, closely followed by Henry as Alia made her way towards them.
Both won embraced briefly, with Maria carefully observing Alia's mood.
"You look a bit stressed, my dear. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine Mom. There is nothing for you to worry about." Alia kissed her mother-in-law on the forehead.
"Here, I got you this." Alia handed her the shopping bag containing her favourite red grapes.
"Aww! Thanks, darling." Maria kissed her on the cheeks before collecting the bag from her.
"Hello, Henry." Alia tilted her head towards him, smiling.
"Hey!" Harry smiled feverishly, walking up to her and embracing her politely before pulling away. "Have you been standing there the whole ti listening to our conversation?"
"Maybe!"
Henry's eyes widened in mortification.
"Or maybe I just arrived." Alia winked playfully at him, happy to know that he was crushing on her cousin.
"That ans you heard all Mom and I were discussing." Henry could feel his heart pounding in his chest.
"Relax Henry. Nothing goes by in this mansion." Alia gestured for all of them to sit down. "I have always known that you were crushing on my cousin since mom's welco ho party."
"What!" Henry's jaw dropped while Maria burst out in laughter.
"And he thought I was the only one who saw him sneaking around?" Maria wiped the tears in her eyes with the back of her forefinger.
Henry pinched the bridge of his nose lowering his head as a dawned on him that others might have seen him.
"Who else knows about this?"
"Let's see..." Alia lifted her gaze upwards as if ransacking her mory. "There is Mamo, Aunt Vera and her husband, Naomi and her husband, Aunt Vera's eldest son, Eugene, my aunt and her husband..."
"And don't forget to add ..." Maria chid teasingly.
"Aha! Mom and .*
Henry's face pald his forehead. "That's virtually everyone."
"Yep!" Alia clicked her tongue playfully.
"Was I that obvious?" Henry pouted.
"Very!" Alia drawled, laughing out of her heart.
"Vera thought he was a dog on heat with the way he was chasing after Sarah who seed uninterested at that point," Maria added, amplifying Henry's embarrassnt.
"But don't worry, Henry. I'm okay with you dating my cousin as long as you do not hurt her because if you do..." Alia's face turned all serious, scaring the shit out of Henry. "I will literally choke the life out of you with my bare hands."
"You don't want to ss with this face Henry," Maria noted, still laughing.
"I wouldn't dream of it." Henry vowed, lifting his right hand up and placing his left hand on his chest as though he was making a pledge.
Another ripple of laughter erupted amongst all three followed by silence, except for the gentle rustling of leaves by the wind and tweeting of birds in the trees nearby.
This brought a wave of tranquillity and unspoken agony buried deeply in the heart of the family.
"Henry, thanks again for being here for us and keeping Mom company in my absence. I'm truly grateful." Alia said softly as Maria leaned her head on her shoulder, trying her best not to give in to her agonizing emotions.
"You don't have to continually thank , Alia. I'm simply doing my duty as a son to mom. You both are my family just like Blaze is my brother. I'll always be here for you two. I just want the both of you to be strong in this trying ti. I'm sure everything will soon turn around in our favour. You'll see."
Alia nodded, stroking her mother-in-law's hair while bathing her eyelashes to push back the tears that had gathered at the corner of her eyes.
"So how did he go with your visit? Were you able to talk to your step-sister and did you get a chance to visit the cetery with your father?"
Alia released a long sigh that forced Maria to lift her head.
"What is wrong, Alia?"
Instead of words, Alia broke down in tears unable to suppress her overwhelming emotions any longer.
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