?Unattainable
Perfection?
Episode 37
**** ALEXA’S POV.
Stepping away from Lydia’s pathetic form, I gr-ab my dress and put it back on.
“Mark my words, you’ll come crawling to me and I’ll be waiting for that day to relish in it. For now, gave a good day”
I turn towards the door.
“You messed with the wrong person this time hun”
Sophie tells her and then follows me.
Reaching the door, I st©p and turn to face Lydia.
“And oh, lest I forget I’ve changed my mind about paying your hospital. Yep, I was re-ady to foot your bills even after you tried to kill me for the second time
. Unfortunately, I’ve paid an initial deposit which of course, isn’t refundable but… Good news is, I’ll leave you to pay for the rest of your bills for as long as you stay here. You can work by cleaning the toilets or scru-bbing the floors as payment, I don’t care. I won’t take care of an ungrateful human like you. I’d rather burn my money than spend it on you. And don’t expect to see anyone because I’ll make sure no one informs your family members that you’re hospitalized. Sleep well”
With that, I open the door ignoring Sophie’s ridiculous whistles behind me.
“Damn girl. I never knew you had it in you
. Remind me to never get on your bad side”
I roll my eyes at that, letting out a sigh.
“It’s been a long time coming Sophie. She pushed me to my limits and I kinda just snapped. Can’t say I regret it. She deserved that and more”
“Hmm. I’ll get going. I’ll call you”
she pu-lls me into a hvg.
“Thank you Sophie. For everything”
I mumble.
“Anything for my best friend”
We both pu-ll away.
She turns to William who was still standing by the door, arms crossed over his che-st, his shi-t clinging to his b©dy.
“I wish we could spend more time handsome but I got to go. And plea-se try to wear lose shi-ts because I’m a su-cker for such muscles. Broad che-st, muscles ripping everywhere, handsome face, tall and incredibly strong in be…”
“Oh my God! That’s enough! Go now!”
I push Sophie away.
Why can’t she speak like a normal person? Sophie turns and b!ows William a k!ss.
I gro-an .
“Bye handsome! Keep yourself h0t as always”
Oh Lord!
“Leave!”
I push her ha-rder until she saunters away laughing.
I bite myl-ip, turning my attention to William only to find him laughing as he shakes his head.
“your friend though”
“Don’t remind me”
“I like her. She’s bold”
I grumble un-der my breath as I make my way out of the hospital and into the car with William on my tail still chuckling.
I wonder why he’s not embarras-sed.
Opening the door, I sl!pinto the backseat only for William to join me.
He had st©pped laughing now and had a serious expression.
I’m sure he heard what transpired between Lydia and I.
“I’m.. I’m sorry”
I begin His brows furrow in confusion
“Sorry for what?”
“Hurting you. I know you hate me”
“I do not hate you Alexandra”
“But you still doubt my innocence.”
I say. He goes silent at that.
“William..”
“Alexa you don’t have to..”
“No,let me talk plea-se”
I plead and he sighs, nodding.
“I know this is gonna be the lamest excuse ever but trust me when I say I had no idea you had been arrested for helping me that night.
When I found out, I tried to speak to my father but I was locked up in my own room by my step mother.
She took away my phone and any means of communication I had to prevent me from telling my father you’re innocent.
On the day of the court case, I escaped.
Sophie helped me hit the guard in front my door into unconsciousness.
But it was too late.
You had been s£ntenced to jail alre-ady.
I begged my father to withdraw the case because you were innocent and he accepted but then he miraculously fell sick that day and never recovered till his death”
I laugh humorlessly at the mention of death wiping a tear furiously.
“Alexa..”
“Let me finish Will plea-se”
I sniff.
“I’m sorry for hurting you. I remember everything now..”
****
WILLIAM’S POV
I bite my l!pas I listen to her talk about the events that occurred that night and how she got those scars on her b©dy, about my mother’s accident and my attem-pted murder. It wasn’t her after all.
It was her sick friend in that hospital who had orche-strated everything to make me think Alexa had actually wanted me dead.
The same one who had posted Alexa’s nûd£ on the internet and tried to stab her today.
For what reason?
I fv¢king had no idea.
Who would want to hurt a kind and sweet soul such Alexa? I shake my head.
There are all kinds of sick people walking on this earth who’ll even go as far as hating you just because of your skin colour.
That was sick.
Damn sick.
I can’t believe I was so blind to think Alexa had something to do with all this.
She was the victim.
“I’m so sorry William. I un-derstand your hatred towards me. Forgive me plea-se”
she breaks down crying.
“No Alexa. If anyone has to apologise, then it’s me. I had m©l£st£dyou, almost r*ped you. Nothing can compare to how horribly I’ve treated you. You deserved none of it Alexa. And I’m sorry”
Before I know it, she lunges herself at me.
I caught her just in time as she wra-pped her arms around me, sobbing silently.
And I let her.
We stay like that for a while until she st©ps crying.
Her breathing normal.
My phone chimes and I pu-ll it out
. I sigh.
“It’s Mr Dante Alexa. He says he’s been trying to reach you but your phone has been off”
I tell her.
“I don’t care. I don’t want to speak to him”
she mumbles in my che-st.
I was about to reply when another message popped up.
“Alexa he says you’re nee-ded at one of your father’s companies. There’s an impending project that nee-ds to be started and since you have the power of attorney, your signature is nee-ded on the cheques that will push the money into the project”
There was silence for a while before she spoke up
. “Now?”
“It says here that the meeting commences at 4pm so you have an hour at most to rest. You nee-d to eat as well. Yeah?”
She only nods in response.
I pry her away from my b©dy and ease her onto the back seat.
She closes her eyes immediately while I climb out, ma-king my way to the drivers side.
****
ALEXA’S POV. 3:35PM
Setting the now empty plate aside, I chew the last bit of pizza, wipe my hands with a napkin and then step in front of the mirror accessing my attire.
I was wearing a white blouse neatly tucked into a black high-w@!st office Sk-irt st©pping at my knee.
And a black coat over my blouse.
My hair was pu-ll-ed back into a ponytail and a few locks I had purposely cut with scissors falling over my forehead, covering a major p@rt of the scar.
“Are you re-ady?”
I hear William’s voice behind the door.
“Ugh yes.”
I pick up my handbag from the be-d and walk out.
I watch nervously as William’s eyes travel up and down my b©dy.
“I look bad don’t I?”
“Umm.no.. You look beautiful. Very stunning”
he replies and I smile.
“Shall we?”
“Definitely mademoiselle”
he bows dramatically ma-king me giggle as I follow him.
***
It was fifteen minutes past four when we arrived at the company.
It was a six floor building and my father’s company occu-pied three floors and the meeting was to be held on the second floor.
Thankfully.
“You sure you’ll be okay?”
William asks I slight.
Giving him a reas-suring smile, I reply
“yes. I’ll be back soon”
Shutting the door, I make my way inside.
I could feel eyes on me as I walked towards the receptionist.
“Hi, good evening may I know where the meeting for the building of the orphanage project is being held?”
The receptionist looks up, eyeing me as she chews on her gum loudly.
“And who are you? What business have you got there?”
Wow, are these the people my father hired?
“I’m Alexandra Wallace”
I reply, enjoying her wi-den in shock them embarras-sment.
“Thanks for your cooperation. I’ll find my way. And plea-se, next time, be polite to whoever comes to you for information.”
I add and walk out on her.
It was almost five minutes till I found the room where the meeting was being held.
. Knocking slightly, I turn the knob, pushing the door open as I step in. Several pairs of eyes belonging to middle old men stare at me.
Only about five out of the fifteen men were quite young.
“Good evening. Sorry I’m late”
I say trying not to feel intimid@t£d.
I nee-ded to get out of here fast.
“Umm can I plea-se have the cheque so I can sign? Sorry I kept you waiting”
There was silence until they all bur-st out laughing.
“You? Sign what? Ate yoi sure youre not lost girl?”
One of them tease.
“Get out girl.”
Another says and they ignore me as a paper was being pas-sed around.
“Umm with all due respect, you’ll have to excuse me but I really nee-d to be upd@t£d on the project before anything else”
Yet again, they all laugh.
“Look girl you’ve made us laugh enough to re-lease our stress now plea-se leave. We’re working else we’ll have you thrown out f0rç£fully”
an old man tells me.
“Who the fv¢k is she by the way?”
Another murmurs.
They continue discussing.
Now I’m getting it irritated.
“Maybe you don’t know me. I’m Henry Wallace, the owner of this company’s daughter and heir Alexandra Wallace. And I’m only here because I’ve been tasked to sign a few do¢v-ments.”
They all stare at me then bur-st out laughing.
God.
Reaching into my pocket, I pu-ll out some papers and give it to each of them.
“Is that evidence enough that I’m Henry Wallace’s daughter?”
I ask.
“Nons-en-se! Bullsh*t! We’ll have no little girl come here and Lord over us! No fv¢king way! You’ll be the head of the company and order us now? Ha! So damn hilarious! Never heard a funny story in years!”
Someone spits! God knows I tried to be polite at first.
“Oh well,your loss. If you do not believe me or you have a problem with a little girl like me as you term it, have a say in business matters, then…”
I take in a de-ep breath.
“You may turn in your resignation letter and leave. I could always hire someone else as your replacement. Besides I’m sure you’re way past your retiring age. Anyone else has something to say because I’ll gladly take your resignation letters. Anyone plea-se?”
There was Silence.
Episode 38
**** ALEXA’S POV
There was a sickening silence after my outbur-st.
Like a graveyard.
I let my eyes wander around slowly, scrutinizing each face and watching them with satisfaction as their jaw drops to the floor one by one.
Clearing my throat, I take a seat at the farthest end of the table ignoring the murderous glares boring holes in my forehead.
They could go burn the sea for all I care. I c@m£ in peace after all.
It’s not like I wanted to be here in the first place.
I’m only here because my coward of a father wouldn’t dare step a foot here because he still wants everyone to think he’s dead, for his selfish gains.
. Perhaps, he’s too much of a coward to face the crowd.
Either way I don’t care.. I’m just glad to be here since this project will be in favor of all the homeless kids out there.. Placing my handbag near me, I br@ce myself.
“Shall we plea-se start gentlemen?”
Oh dear, if looks could kill, I’m sure all these men would have stabbe-d me continuously by now.
****
Two hours later, I step out of the elevator, ma-king my way throu-gh the large space towards the exit.
“Have a nice evening ma’am”
I turn at the voice. Raising my eyebrow at the rude receptionist who just greeted me,I shoot her a smile.
“You too”
I inhale the fresh breath of air as I finally step out.
. The air conditioner in there was killing me.
How do people manage to sit in such cold from morning to evening? A wi-de grin takes over my face when I sp©t William leaning over the car, scrolling throu-gh his phone abs£ntmindedly.
I jog towards him.
“Sorry I kept you waiting”
He look up at me,pushing the phone into his pocket.
“Not a problem. I used my time wisely”
he grins. Hmm. I sl!pinto the car and so does he.
“Here. Some chocolate milk and burger”
he holds out the bag to me. Overwhelmed by his unexpected gesture, I lean in and place a k!ssto his cheeks.
“Thank you”
“No problem. I figured those two slices of pizza you ate must have alre-ady digested and some turned into waste waiting to be pas-sed out throu-gh your….”
“Sheesh William! Don’t even complete that s£ntence. Gross”
I scrunch my nose in mock disgust earning a de-ep, rich laughter from him.
“Your mouth has no filter. I don’t know why I haven’t gotten used to it alre-ady”
Rolling my eyes, I dig into the bag and Begin eating like a food starved cannibal.
I didn’t realise how hungry all the big grammer and figures in that meeting had made me. On the way, I look into the rearview mirror and notice something behind me.
Turning, I notice two shopping bags seated on the backseat.
“What are in those bags William?”
I inquire. He takes his eyes off the road for a second and wi-nks at me.
“It’s a surprise”
he shrugs.
“Just tell me.”
I wait for him to say something but he doesn’t.
“Just tell me! I don’t like surprises!”
I whine.
“Patience sweetheart. Don’t be a p@rty pooper. You’ll find out in due time”
Realising there was no way he’ll tell me,I huffed out a frustrated ‘fine’ then lean back in the seat,drinking the chocolate milk he got me.
***
THE NEXT DAY… 8:00AM
Yawning and stretching my muscles, I pu-ll the duvet away from my b©dy as I step down the be-d.
With my eyes still half closed, I pad begrudgingly into the bathroom to freshen up.
Wiping the last droplets of water from my face, I wra-p the small towel around my n£¢k and step into the small be-droom.
I suddenly st©p in my tracks when I realise the same shopping bags from yesterday lying on the be-d.
Throwing the towel onto the floor, I squeal excitedly as I rush towards the bags and turn it upside down, pouring the contents onto the be-d.
A small card catches my attention,I pick it up to re-ad.
“Wear this dress and shoes and meet me by the lake by 9:00am. PS: Make yourself so beautiful, just for me”
I bite myl-ip, feeling my cheeks burn from smiling too wi-de.
Dropping the card, I pick up the dress and take a good look at it.
It was a yellowish yet flower embroided off-shoulder dress whose length I was sure wouldn’t surpas-s my knees.
It had a slight di-p at the w@!st line ma-king it curvy.
Dropping the dress, I pick up the woven beads that were made into a n£¢klace and nûd£ stilettos.. I g@sp.
Tears sting my eyes at the most wonderful gifts anyone had given me.
No amount of money or expensive product could compare to this beautiful gesture.
***
I smooth my hands over the dress,feeling the soft fabric un-derneath my f!ngers.
It was indeed beautiful and fit me perfectly. I must say, William had eyes for good things.
Picking up my pencil, I brush it over my eyebrows once more before applying redl-ipstick to myl-ips.
I hum in satisfaction at my look.
Glancing at the wall clock, I realise it a few minutes past nine.
Oh shoot! gr-abbing my purse, I rush out of the room in search of William.
I sp©t him standing by the lake, staring abs£ntmindedly into the lake,both hands in his pockets.
I take in his appearance.
He was wearing a plain white long sleeved shi-t whose sleeves were rolled nearly to the elbow with the ends tucked into the blue jeans that he wore.
I can’t un-derstand how a man can dress so simply yet look very elegant.
As if s-en-sing my pres£nce, he turns and our eyes meet.
His eyes travel over my b©dy, taking in my appearance, a small sm-irk pla-ying at the corners of hisl-ips as he walked towards me.
He st©ps in front of me, takes my hand and k!sses it.
“I should have known. You’ll look good in any dress. You’re beautiful love”
he whispers ma-king me blus-h at the fact that he didn’t say I look beautiful, instead he said I’m beautiful.
“Thank you. The dress is beautiful and the shoes too”
I bite myl-ip.
“Yellow looks good on you. And red definitely looks good on yourl-ips”
“Are you flir-ting Mr Wilson?”
I fl!pmy hair to the side dramatically. He sm-irks
“Is it working?”
“Naa. Try ha-rder”
I tease,laughing at his reaction.
“Aww. Did I bruise your ego? Sorry dude but I couldn’t lie. Your flir-ting skills su-ck, try ha-rder”
I whisper, leaning closer to him until ourl-ips are breaths away. His eyes travel to myl-ips as I lean in further. Just when ourl-ips were about to t©uçh, I pu-ll away, sm-irking triumphantly at his crestfallen face.
“You better up your game Mister”
I pat his che-st and begin to walk away when he snaps out of his daze and lunges for me… I squeal and begin to run..
“William st©p! I can’t run in heels!”
“You’ll pay for teasing me miss Wallace! Sooner or later”
he scowls ma-king me laugh.
“You can try”
I stick my ton-gue out pla-yfully at him and turn to leave only to feel the dry gras-s un-derneath my feet crushing with each step he took as he raced towards me.
Squealing amidst laughter, I kick my heels off, abandoning them and duck just before William could gr-ab me.
Without waiting for him to regain his balance, I speed up,the laughter rolling out of my mouth slowing me down.
“St©p chasing me Will! I’m gonna fall down and then this dress that I was planning to wear two or three times before washing will get dirty”
I lean against the coconut tree, p@n-ting. William st©ps in front of me, sm-irking.
Evilly.
“Okay I’m sorry. Sorry for teasing you. plea-se forgive me?”
I pout.
“Is that the best apology you could come up with? You could do so much better miss Wallace”
“Then how do I apologise, you tell me”
I ask.
To answer my question, he takes a step forward and in one swift movement, he gr-abs me by the w@!st, pu-lling me towards him.
I g@sp, my hands flying to his che-st for support.
I feel his breath on my face as his eyes scan mine, like he’s figuring me out. I look up at him, my eyes going to hisl-ips.
If I were to move an inch, we would k!ss.
I bite myl-ip,blood pumping throu-gh my veins ma-king my heartbeat accelerate ten times fas-ter.
“St©p looking at me like that plea-se”
I plead in a low voice.
Not because I don’t want him looking at me.
No.
But because the way he stares at me so intently, makes my knees go week.
They hypnotize me.
Tra-pping Me in place. My pleads fell on deaf ears as one of his hand leaves my w@!st, traveling up my arm, softly, slowly, his f!ngersgrazing over my skin ever so softly, in a featherlight manner, s£nding shivers down my spine and ma-king goosebu-mps rise on my skin.
His hand continue sliding up until he st©ps at my face.
My eyes automatically shut close as I concentrate on the feel of his f!ngers, brushing over my eyes,nose and then…. Oh God… I inhale a sharp breath when his f!ngersfind myl-ips,trailing his f!ngersover them. I bite myl-ip, holding back a mo-an threatening to come out at his slow and torturous t©uçhes.
William holds my chin, pu-lling my bo-ttoml!pfrom in between my teeth.
“So fv¢king beautiful.”
He whispers, hisl-ips breaths away from mine.
Unable to hold back, I stand on ti-ptoe,pressing myl-ips to his.
He let’s out a low growl, k!ss!ngme back almost immediately, dominating me.
And I let him.
I let him dominate me as his grip on my w@!st ti-ght£ñs.
He pushes me backwards until my back hits the tree.
He de-epens the k!ss.
I do same.
k!ss!nghim with every ounce of strength I’ve got.
b©dy against b©dy.
Arms around w@!st, arms around n£¢k.
Breath for breath. Heat for heat. Pas-sion for pas-sion.
Yearning against nee-d..
.l-ips againstl-ips. I k!sshim like never before.
He k!sses me like no man ever had and ever will.
Together, ourl-ips moved.
Like a perfect rhythm. Like lyrics going perfectly with the beat.
Like a harmonious symphony, only un-derstood and known by us.
Only. In that moment,as we pu-ll-ed away to catch our breaths, the world seemed to fade away.
Our impending d@t£ long forgotten.
My worries flying out with the wind like they never existed.
That’s who this man was.
That’s what this man always did to me.
He makes me forget everything.
He was my saviour. My home.
My safe haven. Something I would never trade.
He stares at me. I stare at him.
I blink, once,twice and then li-ck myl-ips b!tt!g them in the process.
“Will”
his name tumbled off myl-ips like music to my ears.
His mere pres£nce overwhelming my s-en-ses.
“When you say my name like that Alexa…”
he grips me ha-rder, intensifying the nee-d burning for him.
“It makes me wanna rip off this dress of you and take you until I have you squirming and p@n-ting in nee-d, screaming my name only. Oh the things I’ll do to you Alexa, you’ll be paralysed by the time I’m done with you”
he growls.
“What are you waiting for? Take me and have me. I’m all yours. Do with me as you plea-se. Make love to me William”
****
Tbc