26

THE NEXT DAY.

Melinda decided that she was not in good shape to go to the office today so she thought it would be better to work from home. Meanwhile, Dee had gone to her publishing house but not before making breakfast for Mel which she refused to eat till now. Dee, however, promised Mel that she was going to see her later in the evening.

After working non-stop for three hours, Mel decided to take a break to eat something and as soon as she rose to her feet, The doorbell rang.

She wasn't expecting anyone. Even though her best friends and Tracy promised to visit her today, It was too early for them to show up as they ought to be busy at their workplace by now. So no doubt it was Alexander that was at the door.

Melinda reluctantly walked to the door after which she let out a big sigh before opening up. She opened the door and found Alexander standing there with a very worried look and Mel did not fail to notice his heavy eye bag as if he had not slept for days.

"Babe, I have been so worried about you," Alex said as he began approaching Mel. But before he could even come close to her, she took two steps backward, giving him that 'don't you dare come close to me look.'

Alex exhaled then shut the door behind him.

"You refused to pick up my calls and didn't even reply to my messages. Do you know how worried I was?." Alex whisper yelled. He was starting to get annoyed as he does not seem to understand Melinda again.

"Cut that crap Alexander or whatever your name is. And stop pretending as if you care about me because you will never get what you want." Mel shouted at him which took him by surprise.

"Did I do anything to offend you?" Alex asked with a very confused look.

Mel gave him a very ugly glare and left his sight.

Alex was confused at Mel's behavior. The fact that she refused to let him come close to her hurt him a lot.

Soon enough, Mel came back with a brown envelope which she threw at him.

Alexander was able to catch the envelope before it fell.

He quickly opened it to see what was inside. Immediately he saw the items in it, his world being crumbled. His heart started beating three times faster. He looked at Mel who was fighting to keep her tears from falling.

"Mel, I can explain," Alex said, guilt evident in his voice.

Upon hearing his statement, Mel let her tears fall. No doubt he was guilty. Frank was right. She fell for the wrong person. A gold digger. A murderer.

Part of her wished he would deny and tell her all of this was a lie. "Maybe I was never destined to be loved by a man," She said to herself.

"I thought you were different. I thought you really loved me. I thought you were the one for me. But No. I fell for a murderer." Mel said in between tears.

"Please just let me explain, Mel. Please listen to me." Alex said with a sad voice as he tried to keep his tears from falling.

"What's there to explain? Absolutely nothing. These documents say it all." Mel said.

"I won't leave here unless you listen to me. Please hear me out." Alex pleaded.

"Go on. I'm listening." Mel said reluctantly as she insisted on standing while Alexander sat on the couch opposite her.

"My real name is Alexander Oliver Knight. I was born and raised in Chicago. The city of Naperville to be precise. My dad died when I was 4 and my mom had been the only one for me since then.

I graduated with a degree in computer science. I followed my passion since I was good with technological stuff.

After my graduation, I got a well-paid job and my mom and I were living just fine.

Around that time, I was dating a girl, Marian. We were deeply in love with each other.

Things started to crumble when my mom fell sick and was diagnosed with cancer. I did all I could to save her. I spent a lot of money on her treatment, I took loans from the office which they ended up sacking me for because I didn't pay them back. I sold my car, the house, and all other valuable stuff, just to get money for my mother's treatment.

Even though Marian wanted to help then, I refused. Though she was from a rich family, I still refused her help.

The surgery which was supposed to be the last one turned out unsuccessful. I lost my mom." Alex said as he wiped a tear that fell from his face. Melinda kinda felt sorry for him but she refused to show any emotion.

Alex sighed and continued. "I got so broke and couldn't even afford to rent an apartment so Marian urged me to move in with her which I accepted."

Few weeks after my Mom's burial, Marian found out she was pregnant and we were both happy about it. I was really excited to be a Dad. The fact that Marian was carrying my unborn child even motivated me to want to do more. So I started hunting for a job, but I got none. I would come back home very grumpy and sad but Marian will console me and say that we will be fine as she has more than enough to take care of all the expenses.

I never wanted that. I want to be able to provide for my family. Also, I never had any good relationship with Marian's brother(s) because they thought I was after their sister because of her wealth.

I never gave up and I kept on looking for a job. On one fateful day, I got called for an interview in Toronto. I had applied for the job online.

I never wanted to go for the interview because I couldn't afford to leave my family in Chicago while I work in Toronto. But Marian insisted I give it a try and then if I got the job, we would work something out.

She was able to convince me and she even bought me a flight ticket just to avoid the struggles that came with traveling by road.

The night before I was to leave for Toronto, Marian decided we would have a romantic dinner and celebrate my success ahead. She was at home cooking dinner while I went to a nearby grocery store to pick up some stuff.

By the time I came back, I met the door of Marian's apartment wide open and when I entered inside, everywhere was scattered. Most of the furniture was broken and everything was just upside down, then I saw Marian lying on the floor beside the kitchen counter, unconscious.

I called 911 and we were able to get to the hospital. Fortunately, we were attended to on time because of Marian's influence.

But the doctor refused to give me any update because he said he was instructed by Moses, Marian's eldest brother not to give me any information." Alex paused to look at Melinda who was looking at him with pain-filled eyes. He sighed then continued.

An hour later, Moses walked in with two policemen, claiming I killed my girlfriend and unborn child.

I tried to defend myself but the police didn't believe me. Moses said he knew I was a gold digger and I wanted his sister just for her money. Then he brought out a ticket from his pocket. Apparently, that happened to be my flight ticket. It turned out that Moses had accompanied the policemen to Marian's apartment and after doing their search, they found the ticket and came to the conclusion that I deliberately killed Marian and faked the scene which was the reason I had bought a flight ticket. To escape with all her wealth and property.

I defended myself that it wasn't true and how can I even inherit someone's property when I'm not even legally married to her.

Moses then said I'm faking it all. That a few days ago, Marian summoned their family lawyer and made me her next of kin. That surprised me because she did not discuss such with me.

To cut the long story short, I was arrested. I wasn't able to afford a good lawyer and the one that was assigned to me was not ready to help me.

Two days later, Moses visited me in jail and told me Marian was dead, she lost the baby, and that he would make sure I rot in jail.

I was angry. I felt helpless, betrayed and I cried. I was just recovering from my mom's death and then the same thing happened to my girlfriend and my unborn child. I questioned God. "Why me??"

Three months later, no justice. Then I decided to escape from prison. I knew it was wrong but I had no option. Four of us planned the escape. I was good with technological stuff so I was able to hack into the prison's system and we escaped. The police survived in killing one of us but the remaining three of us escaped.

Concerning these passports. I had someone do them for me before I decided to come to Philadelphia. I needed to change my identity. If not, I could be traced.

So that's how I got to Philadelphia. I told Amanda and her husband everything and they have helped me up till now.

When Amanda's husband approached your dad for a job for me, he said I will only be needed part-time. That is, mostly on weekends, to run errands. I still accepted the job and decided to look for something else to supplement it. Maybe a job as a chef or so. But that didn't work because your dad later called me that his daughter needed a driver so I can now work full time.

I planned on being a driver for the meantime, to save some money and establish a small business of mine.

And the first time I saw you, Melinda, I couldn't keep my eyes off you. I dreamt of you day and night and you took over my thoughts completely. It was hard for me to accept it but I eventually did and I took it as a sign. Maybe Marian wanted me to love again and move on with my life.

I confided in Amanda and she told me to not give up on you. After our date, she called me and told me to tell you about my past.

She said once trust is broken, it takes time to be built again. And I blame myself for not telling you before now."

Alex paused as he looked at Mel who had a pool of tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Melinda. I'm deeply sorry for not telling you about this sooner. I wanted to but I was scared. Scared that you will find it hard to believe me. Most importantly, scared that I was going to lose you."

"I know you need space and I will give you that. I love you, Mel and I'm sorry I broke your heart. I never intended to. The last thing on my mind is to hurt you. I hope you can forgive me. I will always be waiting for you." Alexander took one last look at Mel before exiting her apartment, giving her the space she needed.