Chapter Six

     ~Two months later~

Stella's marriage to Paul was done and dusted. She was happily married, yet her divorce from Lex was still incomplete. She lay on the bed wearing a long red gown that exposed her curves.

A few minutes ago, she had visited the nursing home for the first time since she married Paul. 

She had returned a necklace, her very first gift from Lex. It was handed over to Lex by his father, and it was all he had of his mother. 

Thinking about Lex's situation, Stella sighed deeply. 

A part of her felt happy for listening to Amelia. Paul has been a good husband to her ever since, and Lex on the other hand has not improved in his recovery. 

Her gaze fixated on the ceiling as she counted every little spot or object she could see in the air or ceiling.

“Goodbye Lex," she mumbled, her voice like a heartfelt apology. Her eyes were filled with tears but she held them back. It was time to let go of her love for Lex and focus on building a new family with Paul.

She sighed and stood up quietly. She undressed herself and walked into the bathroom. It was late already, and she wanted to make dinner before Paul got back. 

***

Back at the nursing home, Lex lay on the bed, his gaze steady. Suddenly, he had a blurry vision. He quickly wiped his eyes, trying to clear off whatever was hindering his sight. 

After constant trial, his sight remained the same, so he flared up from the bed in panic.

In no time, his sight was restored. He darted his eyes around the room in silence wondering where he was and how he got there. 

Seeing the room, he realized that he was in a hospital. He couldn't remember anything, except getting hit by a truck. 

He groaned, pressing onto his forehead to remember anything at all, and suddenly, he felt a dangling necklace around his neck. 

He took it off and was shocked. His mother's necklace. His first gift to Stella. He darted his eyes around, hoping to see her, but there was no one. He couldn't help but wonder, why was he wearing her necklace. 

Immediately, the door went open and a nurse walked in. On seeing Lex standing on his feet, the nurse was startled. Her file fell to the ground. 

Lex waved at her, wondering why she was surprised, and she came at him with a beaming smile.

“Oh my goodness! I can't believe this!" She exclaimed.

“You're healed. How did it happen? You've been here for months, and Mrs. Stella just left here a few min ago. Did she do or say anything to you?” The nurse asked, and Lex darted his eyes to the necklace in his hands.

“Can you please tell me what happened? Where is Stella right now? Can I talk to her please?" He asked, and the nurse shook her confusedly.

“Uhm! I don't know, she left. I think she went back home, you know." 

“So when can I leave? I'd like to meet my wife right away," he said.

"Sure, I mean your bill has already been settled for the month. You can leave whenever you want after leaving your signature since Stella is not present to sign for you. However, don't you think you should wait for her? I'm sure she'll be here the moment she hears that you're back to normal,” the nurse said, and Lex chuckled.

"I'm always normal, ma'am. Sorry, but I don't want to meet her here. I'd like to meet her at home. That's if I'll ever get to meet her at all,” he responded with doubt in his voice. 

The nurse sighed and dropped a diary for him to sign which he did without hesitation. 

“You're free to go, sir," she said, and Lex lowered his head in appreciation. 

As he made for the door, realization hit him, and he realized that he had no money on him. He turned around, and the nurse was staring at him. 

“Uhm! What's your name, nurse?" He asked.

“Sandra," she responded and he nodded his head slowly.

“Do you think I can get a couple of bucks from you? I mean I've been here for months and I don't have anything on me,” he pleaded.

"Sure,” she said and brought out a $20 for him. He showed his appreciation before leaving the place.

Inside the cab, he couldn't stop staring at the necklace. 

Many thoughts were running through his mind, and one of them was that Stella had moved on with her life. Probably why she returned his necklace. 

It was going dark when they arrived at the house. He paid the cab driver and sauntered towards the entrance. 

His movement was cut short when he found a little girl running around the little garden by the corner.

He had just been out for months, there was no way Stella could have a baby this grown, he thought. Immediately the door opened, revealing a blonde woman with curiosity on her face. 

At first, fear was all over her features, and Lex noticed, so he raised his hands in the air indicating peace.

“Sorry, My name is Lex Giovanni. I'm sorry to disturb you, but I'm looking for Stella. I mean, the woman who used to live here with her husband and family," Lex said, and the woman came at ease. 

“You mean, Mariana and her children?” She asked, and Lex nodded in approval.

"Oh! They moved out. Last I heard, it was after her daughter's wedding. You know, the Stella you mentioned,” the woman said to Lex, and he furrowed his brow.

"Wait! What?" 

“What wedding? Who did she get married to?" He asked curiously, and the woman shook her head.

“I'm sorry, I can't help you. I only moved in not long ago," she said.

He buried his gaze on the ground thinking who she could marry when immediately he realized that Paul Asher exists. He scoffed and shook his head, while the woman stared at him. 

“Is everything alright, sir?" The woman asked, and Lex faked a smile.

He thanked her for her assistance and left the place immediately. 

While wandering the street that night, he had no money on him. No job, no family. He was confused about where to begin, so he decided to find a place to spend the night. 

Along the quiet street, he found an old man lying on the bare floor under the icy weather. He darted his eyes around and saw a little poster saying, “Help, I'm hungry."

He shook his head and dropped the remaining of the bread he had bought earlier. On seeing the bread, the man quickly dived into a happy meal while Lex watched him with a heartwarming smile on his face.

“Come on old man, you should leave this place. The weather is not looking good, you know. God damned it, I wish I had an apartment,” he muttered to himself.

As he turned to walk away, the man called him back.

“Where are you going, kind sir?" The man asked, and Lex sighed deeply.

“Honestly I don't even know. I'm just going to spend the night somewhere around, you know," he said and the man stood up slowly. 

“Mind if I show you the best place for you?" The man asked, and Lex chuckled. 

He had nothing to lose, so he decided to make the old man happy as much as he could. They walked together side by side towards a narrow road that led out of the city. 

After walking a few meters, Lex was tired. Surprisingly, the old man still had energy in him. Later, they arrived at a monastery full of monks. 

The old man got too much respect and familiarity from the monks, and Lex was quick to understand that he was not an old beggar. Rather, he was Abbott. 

Lex was offered a good room for him to stay as long as he wanted, and he had the Abbott to thank.

***

The following morning was the weekend.

Stella woke up feeling tired. She looked around but Paul was not in the bedroom. A glance at her cell phone, she realized that she had mail waiting for her. Shockingly, it was from the hospital.

She opened the message, and it was a report of Lex's sudden recovery. Stella stood from the bed, her gaze fixated on the air.

“Oh my God! Lex is back," she muttered. She touched her neck, but the necklace was not there, and suddenly she felt bad. 

A loud knock on the door outside was accompanied by the continuous ringing of the doorbell.

Could that be Lex? She thought. But he doesn't know of her new house, how can he find his way here on his own? She thought.

She quickly hurried to the door panting slowly and hoping to see what he looked like now. As she opened the door, standing before her was a lady with a goddess-like beauty. 

She was about 5.7 feet tall, average size with an hourglass body shape. Her little smile displayed her perfectly arranged white teeth, corresponding to her V-shaped face with a narrower, more pointed chin. 

Her tender skin was as smooth as silk and petals. She was a racially mixed ebony, making her a wholesome beauty. If beauty was a person, she was standing right there before Stella. 

Stella pouted, wondering who she was when two hefty men pulled up to her with shotguns in their hands. 

Stella was frightened, her jaw dropped. Her heartbeat increased, pounding profusely as she stared at the lady in silence.