CHAPTER 5

“I have to go now,” Alan responded and hung up the phone before Ms. Daniels could say anything further.

Rose was still beside him and he didn’t want her to start getting any ideas. In any case, that was not the most important thing to him - the most important quest was how he would convince his wife not to divorce him.

Ever since he got married to her, she was one of his major motivations in life. If she went through with the divorce, he would never get attached to another lady not to talk of marrying her.

But why the weird accusation? He never stole a dime in his life before so why would Rose accuse him of stealing a pendant?

At that moment, a memory flashed through his mind. 

“Wait a minute, darling. Are you talking about the golden pendant? The same one that your family accused me of stealing a few years ago?”

“Oh! So you remember? You remember that you stole the pendant. Do you even know what that pendant means to this family? Apart from its financial value, It is basically our good luck charm. How dare you steal it? How stupid of me that I even tried to defend you.”

Rose was vibrating with anger, forgetting the fact that her soon-to-be ex-husband was bandaged from his head down to his ribs. All the pity she had for him vanished. 

Her father delayed her visit to see Alan at the hospital to give her a kick-ass reason why Alan didn’t deserve to be her husband and Rose definitely felt for this one. She didn’t want to be stuck with a thief. Not after everything she had endured to be with him. She felt like strangling the riff-raff to death.

And to think that she fought against her family many times to prove his innocence.

Alan was dumbfounded. “If you really think I did this, what is your proof then? Or are you just going to believe what they told you? You are aware that they always hated me right from the moment I stepped foot in your family house.”

“Perhaps they knew that you were a thief. You deserve your face being disfigured much more than this. I wish I left you to die in that ring like a skinned fowl. God-forsaken monster!”

Alan’s face was filled with a deep sadness. He couldn’t believe that Rose was saying all that to him. 

“You need proof, right? Here is your proof,” Rose uttered, bringing out her iPhone from her handbag before opening her gallery. “Take a look at that. What does that look like?”

One of Alan’s eyes was bandaged and he couldn’t see clearly with the other but he managed to get a proper view of the video before him. 

And…damn!

He couldn’t believe it. The video looked like one pulled out from a CCTV footage, showing a figure sneaking into Mr. Billing's room like a thief and reaching for the pendant in the secret compartment of Mr. Billing’s drawer.

“Can you see that? My father even told me that he tried to give you a second chance and expected that you would come clean if you noticed a change in his attitude towards you but you didn’t. Now, I don’t blame him - If I were him, I would hate you too,” Rose pressed, her voice cold as ice.

“But, darling, that is not me. This footage was either altered or staged,” Alan defended himself.

He felt for a moment that his swollen eye was playing tricks on him. Yes, the figure looked exactly like him, and the clothes the person wore were even the same color as the shirt he usually wore especially on his errands - the same black and purple striped shirt with grey pants.

But it was definitely not him. He had never stolen a dime from the Greysons before. He wouldn’t do such a thing.

“I am fed up with your lies, Alan. Sign the damn divorce papers,” she barked, pointing towards the paper and bringing out a pen from her bag.

“Take, this is a pen. Sign the damn thing.”

Alan slowly received the pen from Rose, fighting against the pain as he sat on the bed frame.

“Oh, and for your information, Mr. Lawrence - the CEO of Doubas Corporation has already proposed to marry me as long as I cut ties with you,” Rose informed Alan, adding more salt to his injuries.

“Mr. Lawrence? Doubas Corporation?” Alan muttered. “He is not even a bachelor - he has a son and no one knows the whereabouts of his wife. Is that the kind of person you want to marry?”

“Just shut up and sign the document.”

Alan had reached his breaking point. His wife who always loved him was now disrespecting him. 

He flashed back all the memories he and his beautiful wife had made one last time before signing the divorce papers.

“That’s it. You now have what you want,” he said, handing over the document to Rose.

“Better! Now I am free.” She spoke harshly, dragging the document from him before storming toward the door.

“Goodbye, Alan.” Rose exited the room.

It still felt like a dream to Alan. Was he hallucinating all these while? Everything was happening way too fast. What would he do now? Where would he go? The questions were coming in pretty fast.

He suddenly recalled Ms. Daniels's phone call. How could he forget it anyway? A bright smile dawned on his face. After all, there could be a light at the end of the tunnel.

He picked up his phone and dialed Ms. Daniels’ number again. He was dealing with a serious controversy with Rose which meant that his last phone call was still a little blurry in his mind.

He wanted to hear from Ms. Daniels again and be sure it was real.

“Hello, Mr. Greyson. I see you called back since you ended the last phone call quite abruptly,” her warm voice soothed through the phone.

“Oh, I am really sorry about that. I was a little distracted but I got the information. Have you spoken to my Dad? Is he going to be at the hearing?”

Alan had a fallout with his dad and vowed never to associate with him because he blamed him unfairly for their Consortium’s downfall.

“Yes, of course. He is going to be at the hearing,” Ms. Daniels responded. “I am surprised you don’t know that already.”

There was a brief awkward silence before Ms. Daniels spoke again. “Your father has even appointed me to oversee a transfer of all of his assets and money to you if the court ruling ends in our favor and his assets are unfrozen. He wants you to become the heir to his empire.”

What?! Alan’s eyes widened with disbelief, a grin spread across his face.

“This is, uh…it is impressive, it is unbelievable,” Alan muttered on the phone.

Ms. Daniels giggled. “There would be a slight change of plans though. Meet me in my law office at 67, Imagination Lane, Trafford Avenue before we head together to Court.”

“Well noted Ma’am.”

“Don’t forget how I asked you to be dressed, Mr. Greyson,” she reminded him.