I THOUGHT WE WERE…

Augusta's Pov(past life):

After the events of the previous day, there was a growing distance between Augusta and Derek. He seemed unfazed by what he was doing and it affected Augusta more than anything. She knew what they had last night was intimate. He had never treated her that way before. She didn't want to believe that what they had was just a mere fling...no it had to be way more than that. But these days, she was deliberately avoiding any direct interaction with him, but he didn't acknowledge her presence either. She felt like he was toying with her feelings. So she decided to just stay in her room all night, so she didn't have to see him. She sat down on her desk and began to work something out on her computer. She had no idea what she was doing but allowed her fingers to do the work. So many things had been bothering her lately and one of them was her father's company. She somewhat had a feeling that the man who took over had a hand in her father's death because how could he legally own a company that wasn't even his? It was almost like he planned it all out. She stared at the skyscraper displayed on her screen. Then she heard a knock on her door. Augusta turned, wondering how a knock could be so faint.

"Come in." She stated and a little child walked in innocently, glancing about her room. She turned fully to face the young boy who was shuffling towards her. He looked neglected and lonely and it pressured Augusta's heart. She shifted to the young boy. He seemed to have come to her for validation...the validation he hadn't received from his father.

He first of all observed her for some moments, as though he was trying to see if he was free to speak and that she didn't have the kind of aura that Derek carried about.

"Is something wrong sweetheart?" She had no idea where that came from. But her heart melted at the sight of this cute little boy. She had to admit that his father was a bit too strict on him.

"Daddy seems to love you and my sister more than me." He said, and I had to be honest, there was no freaking way Derek cared that much.

If he did, he wouldn't leave me hanging. But I found myself getting so drawn to him to the point where I couldn't even pull away. Lamas had been trying to reach me, but he couldn't because of my lack of competence at the moment. I knew he had entrusted that girl...Elena into my hands but I couldn't help it. I'd gotten so drawn towards him these past few weeks and it was killing me.

"What made you say that?" It shocked me to the core.

"He treats you and Pearl differently. I don't feel like he loves me." He said, his eyes brimming with tears. She didn't blame him at all. His father had the attitude of a hidden rock, still, and hard...hardly breakable. She didn't blame the little kiddo for feeling the way he did. She had a father like Derek anyway. So she felt the little boy's story like it was mine.

"Your father loves you more than anything David. He only acts that way because he thinks of ways to make you better. He wants you to be tough and strong enough to protect your little sister. But he loves you, he just has issues expressing it the way you want him to." She stated. "Trust me, you're more than okay. There's absolutely nothing wrong with you. You're perfect, just like your father. He's trying his best to give you the life that you need. It may appear as though he's tough to you but later you will understand that he's doing all he does for your good." My heart dropped when I saw a tear stream down his face. "Your father is a good and wonderful man." Not to me though. She thought. "He can die for you if he has to. I've witnessed it. He'll do anything to protect you. He may appear strict on the outside, but he has a very soft heart on the inside. Come here." She opened her arms and he walked into it, embracing her. She was certainly going to have a small talk with him that night.

She walked up to his office door and knocked. She swallowed, not sure whether or not she should do this. Interfere in his family affairs. She walked into the office when he approved and then...there was a moment of silence. He was sitting, shirtless but standing close to his window as he stared at the city before him. She got carried away by the way his muscles flexed with every move he made. He turned to her when he sensed that she was probably staring.

"What do you want?" He questioned, moving towards his seat. She blinked, snapping out of her fantasy.

"Um..." She summoned boldness. "It's about your kids." She said and noticed as he paused what he was doing before resuming.

"What about them?" He asked.

"You are way too busy to have time for your kids and they both need you. Your son thinks you don't love him because you're too strict, but I know that's not the case. She jumped when he did the last thing she expected. He slammed his fist on his desk.

"Tell me, what gave you the fucking right, to discuss my family with me. I don't fucking know what got to you, but if you think you can discuss personal matters with me because of the last sex we had, then you're mistaken." He stated.

Astounded, Augusta spoke, "That's not what I meant."

"Good, so now get out." He said, his voice lowering dangerously.

Augusta was completely shocked by his reaction but knew better than to argue. She turned and walked out of the room before slamming the door behind her. She couldn't believe that Derek yelled at her like that. She hated herself for being so stupid. Stupid enough to believe that he would listen to her. She rushed to her room and hurried to her computer feeling so stupid. She typed away, trying to get her mind off the recent occurrence. She did whatever came to her mind on the computer. And that thing was to search for Elena's whereabouts. But something new came up. It was discovered that Matteo, this man that had Elena under his roof was dead and the girl... Elena was missing. But of course, it didn't all end there.