Mark broke down as he punched the steel bars repeatedly and shoved himself on the floor in a very dispirited stance.
The passing of Mr. Hendrick was another heavy blow for him.
The cops had calmed down seeing Mark stay rooted on the ground.
They left him alone allowing him to mourn his loss.
“Mr. Collins, we found this piece of paper inside Mr. Hendrick’s fist, and was gripped hardly.” After a while, one officer dared to interrupt Mark as he handed him a strip of paper with handwritten words.
Mark’s sharp eyes landed on the paper first.
He stared at it deeply before he got it from the officer without any word.
The officer quickly ran off.
Still bursting with dangerous anger, Mark opened the crumpled paper and read the words on it.
‘I told you so… don’t mess up with me.’ B.S.
The words written on the paper were mere answers to his questions.
B. S.
The person who awfully made this to Mr. Hendrick is none other than Bill Sky.
Extreme anger surged up in Mark’s eyes.
His heart was bursting with rage toward Bill.
He could not just sit there.
He wanted to see Bill Sky suffer in his hand before he would personally kill him.
Mark quickly tore the paper into pieces and threw them to the ground.
Then, his head slowly looked up at the old man who was still hanging in front of him.
His furious eyes were swearing and cursing at Mr. Hendrick.
“Rest in peace, old man. Thank you for everything you had done for me. I swear, in front of your body that I will not stop until you would be given fair justice. That Bill Sky would go down beneath the ground!” Mark swore decisively clenching his fists hard.
Three days passed and Arabella stayed in Bill’s penthouse trying to wait for him but he didn’t come.
She still couldn’t get rid of her dream that night.
It suddenly appeared and bugged her which made her feel restless.
Also, she was thinking of Bill’s plan.
What if he failed?
What if Trishia would kill her or the Senator?
It was too complicated.
Adam’s safety made her so worried too.
Today, she made an appointment with Eric Grant.
The man was too busy and he always stayed abroad for his main business.
But she sensed something Eric wasn’t stable.
He seemed too bothered with something.
Eric invited her to his house.
The house where she used to live together with Ivan.
Now, it was only Eric there since Ivan was also living abroad with him.
This huge mansion was already empty and only had a single soul whenever Eric was in the country but it was very seldom.
Their lives became so different but Arabella understood her brother, Eric.
She could also see how Hanna made a big impact on his life.
It was just too bad they didn’t make it.
Eric was still in pursuit of finding Hanna but it seemed Hanna didn’t want to be seen.
It was very difficult to find someone who didn’t want to be found but Eric was determined and didn’t want to give up too.
Arabella just hoped that the two would find what their hearts true desires.
Eric offered Arabella to pick her up but she declined as she didn’t want Eric to know that she was living in one of Bill’s properties.
She wasn’t the secretive type to Eric but at this time, it was about her morals that she wanted to protect.
Bill’s marriage was broadcast all over the world.
Whatever it is, it wasn’t right for her to live on a married man’s property.
It was not right through the people’s eyes.
When she arrived at his mansion, Eric greeted her with a warm smile.
Arabella was happy to see her brother, Eric.
They hugged each other then they went inside with grateful hearts for seeing each other again.
“So, are you sure about your decision?” Eric looked more mature now.
He had beards growing up and his eyes were serious and tired but his handsome face never lessened a bit.
Arabella smiled and nodded.
She wanted to process her divorce from Eric a long time ago but she was always caught in bad times and conflict situations.
Now, Bill was urging her to finally put an end to her marriage with Eric.
They both knew that their marriage was nothing and it was just to lure Bill Sky at that time.
“I am… I think I am brother Eric.” She added with a smile.
“How are you?” Eric frowned like he was guilty of her.
“I’m good,” Arabella answered briefly.
What could she possibly answer to him?
Her life was always hanging at the moment and always full of surprises.
“So, Bill Sky and you…?” She could smile and pretend she was okay in front of Eric but she could not escape from Eric’s interrogation.
Arabella just smiled at him to light up the mood.
Eric knew her relationship with Bill Sky.
He helped her before and it seemed Eric could not believe that she was going to end up loving Bill Sky.
After all the hatred she had for Bill Sky, now she was processing her divorce just to be with him.
Arabella knew all about these and she was also in disbelief at the fast twist in her life.
The man she hated the most is now the man she loved the most.
“Yeah…” Arabella answered Eric with a soft grin. “It’s weird. I know… but brother, I can’t help it. I love him. God knows how I fought for this feeling and you witnessed it yourself but fate really has something to surprise us. I never thought I would love him this much. This the first time I fall so hard brother.” Arabella couldn’t help to confess with her sweet smile never leaving her face.
Eric smiled at her too.
Hearing her is enough for him and felt satisfied.
“Oh, come on! You don’t need to talk so cheesy to convince me to divorce you.” He joked as he laughed. “Tomorrow, you are completely free.” Eric sincerely announced. After Arabella contacted her about their divorce, Eric arranged everything through his secretary as he was more capable of doing the process fast.
It was about time that they had to let go of their pretend marriage.
Though admittedly, Eric was in love with Arabella before that was why he suggested this marriage to her for his benefit but it didn't work.
There, he realized that true love couldn't be forced.
You cannot force someone to love you because you loved him or her so deeply.
In the end, you found yourself happy with the person you had loved seeing her or him happy with the person she or he chose to love.
And for Eric, that was the lesson he learned from loving Arabella Jones.
He didn’t want to hurt her but he didn’t know how to handle her and his family.
Who would he choose? It couldn’t be both.
There should be only one and Eric had not reached the answer to that question until now.
Thinking about this, Eric couldn’t help to ask Arabella as he felt so bothered all of the sudden, “I don’t mean to spoil whatever happiness with your relationship with Bill Sky right now but,” Eric stopped for a while like he was thinking it was right for him to ask this kind of question to Arabella. “What about Bill Sky? Does he really love the person who he blamed for the death of his father or is this still part of his revenge?” Eric asked it anyway.
He was worried about it and of course, he didn’t want Arabella to be hurt again and again.
Right after hearing Eric’s question, Arabella jolted while her heart skipped a beat.
How could she forget about that?
Bill Sky was so close to his father, Ed Sky.
Until now, Kelly Sky could still not forgive her.
She still kept on blaming her for what happened to her husband more than 7 years ago.
Through her eyes, Arabella could see hatred towards her and she didn’t know what to do to ease Kelly’s rage for her as she could not bring back the life of her husband.
It seemed Kelly also hated herself and her husband for allowing her to enter their family before.
If none of this happened, her husband Ed Sky was still alive.
Eric’s question was like an eye-opener to Arabella.
There was no doubt that she love Bill a lot but she could not tell if Bill really loves her or if Eric was right, everything is just part of his revenge.
With her thoughts, Arabella became so restless.
There was panic, nervousness, and a deep sadness she instantly felt in her heart.
“Hey! Don’t take it to heart.” Eric quickly snapped her back to her senses. “Bill Sky is different from me. He is not me and I am not him…okay? We have different and special ways of handling things, so… don’t overthink. Okay?” Eric tried to appease Arabella’s lost expression.
Arabella smirked at Eric.
She knew Eric was just trying to appease all her worries right now.
Then she heaved a heavy sigh.
Of course, she didn’t want to think that Bill was not tricking her.
She wanted to believe that his words that night in the hospital were all genuine.
She wanted to believe that Bill loves her very much.
She wanted to believe that they had mutual feelings for each other.
That they both love each other and shared the same goal, to complete their family and live happily together like in the fairy tale stories.
Now, that she started to hope again and believe in Bill again wholeheartedly, why she suddenly felt scared?
She feared that everything she put up would be shattered to pieces again.
She feared her heart which was now trying to be whole again would be broken again into million pieces.
“Brother…” Arabella suddenly called Eric.
Her tone was deep like she was caught in a serious situation.
Eric looked at her seriously.
“If you have to choose between Hanna and your family? Who would it be?” Arabella asked filled with curiosity and eagerness to know.
Eric looked at Arabella keenly.
He didn’t want to hurt her but she needed to see the reality.
She had to get ready for another knock-off of her life.
“Family. I will choose my family.” Eric answered with serious eyes pierced into hers but after realizing Arabella's expression turned disheartened, "Come on, little sister... trust love. You never know if your love will bring miracles. Just don't jump to a conclusion and close your book, we never know what will happen. The most important thing is that we are always ready to get hurt. Of all people, you knew that love is painful but you still choose to love, right?" Eric uttered cheering her up.
Arabella smiled stiffly at Eric.
The truth was she didn't know what to do or to think now.
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