Chapter 76 - 76

Alaric did not know where to start.

"My uncle was very intelligent and very skilled so he handled all their businesses. My father on the other hand was the youngest of two sons. He did not have any business sense, but he was very ambitious. 

He worked under my uncle, but he was always jealous of his achievements. My father was always looking for an opportunity to prove to my grandpa than he was better.

My mother is from a rural town. She came to the city in search of a job, but then she met my father, and they got married. People mocked her at any gatherings because she was from the countryside. She had no idea how being upper class worked.

She used to imitate my uncle's wife because her family was wealthy. My mother hated that my uncle was handling all their finances. She wanted to be as lavish as my aunt when she went shopping. My parents never paid attention to me when I was growing up. They had their issues. I grew up depending on the maids who loved me dearly.

I remember there was an old lady that came to our house, claiming she was my maternal grandmother. My mother was ashamed of her roots and never wanted anyone to know how poor her family was.

My grandmother came to see us. My mother told her never to return, but she will send her money. My grandmother felt bad but agreed since her daughter's happiness mattered the most to her. She knew that it might affect her daughter's reputation.

Once grandma fell ill, so we went to visit her. She asked my mom to leave me with her for a few days. My mom agreed. She had no maids, and the place was so different. I had difficulty adjusting to that environment. My grandma took care of me. She made me all my favorite food, pampered me, and spent time with me. The time spent with grandma was some of my best days. 

My grandma introduced me to music and taught me how to play the piano. After coming back to the city, I told my parents I wanted to pursue learning to play the piano, but they opposed it. They said it was a waste of time.

Seeing that I was adamant about it, my fraternal grandfather let me learn the piano. I met Mellisa at a piano class. I got attracted to her kindness. She was very soft-spoken, and she seemed like a nice person. We became friends first, and then I proposed to her. She rejected me, saying she was poor, and my family might not accept her. But I reassured her that I will take care of her and will never let that happen. She finally agreed after a while.

I wish I knew she was just faking it. I was so blinded. I did whatever she asked, one of those things was to avoid you.

My uncle was approached by unscrupulous people to start this illegal business, but he rejected it. My father thought it was his time to shine and signed with these people behind my uncle's back. That's where my downfall began.

The government halted the project as soon as they got wind of it. Because of this, the company incurred losses. My uncle wanted to remove my father from the company. But my grandfather retained his position in the company without giving him any power. 

My parents started to pressure me to join the company, but I wanted to be a pianist, so I refused. We had huge fights every day. 

Later my grandma got severely ill. She needed major surgery. She did not have money for the operation, so I asked my parents to help. My father made me a deal. If I join the business and quit my music, he will take care of my grandmother's medical expenses. I wanted to save my grandma at any cost, so I agreed.

My mother never cared for her mother. She was just worried about how to fit in with high society. The operation was in two days. My father sent me to another city for a very important meeting. He promised that he would take care of my grandma. So I went and closed the deal, but when I came back, my grandma was dead. 

I was so devastated. My father told me that the surgery was unsuccessful. They did everything they could. 

But a few days later, I learned that there was no surgery. My father lied to me. He did not want to waste money on an old lady. He never thought I would learn about it.

I felt so horrible. My grandma would have been alive if she had got the surgery.I cut off all ties with my family from that moment. Melissa supported me a lot during that time. She told me she would always stand by my side. 

I thought even if I lost everything, it was going to be okay. As long as I had Melissa, my one true love, everything is possible. 

I decided we needed a fresh start. So we both went abroad to fulfill our music career. We got a small room, we took part-time jobs, and played the piano every chance we got.

Melissa would cheer me on whenever we had a problem. Seeing her go through so many trials, I promised myself, when I become successful, I will make sure that she will never go through any of this again.

We went to every music studio to see if we could get lucky, but we failed. Day after day, we got nothing but disappointment. Finally, we found someone who would sign us. There was one condition. They can afford to sign one artist. So it was either me, or Melissa.

Melissa asked me to step back and let her do it. I agreed, seeing how much she tolerated my situation. 

She got her first big break, and slowly she started to change. She started wearing very revealing clothes. She said she needed to do it so she could attract the audience better. She was not sweet like before. She started to get irritated with small things. Then we started fighting. I thought it was just a phase, and everything will get better.

She started being over-friendly with guys. She was okay with men touching her cheek and wrapping their arms around her shoulders. I warned her to stay away from her manager. I told her I felt he had bad intentions. 

I always saw him leering at her. I did not feel good about it. She shrugged it off as me being jealous because I was not successful like him. We had a huge fight, and later I gave in, we reconciled. 

Melissa was ashamed that I was a nobody. She never invited me to meet her peers. She always made excuses. Some nights she would stay at work overnight, saying she had to practice for the events. 

She was at one of her overnight sessions. 

I decided to surprise her the next day since it was our anniversary, but instead, I got surprised. I saw her in bed with her manager.

I was torn in half, she made me so angry.

When I confronted her, she told me her manager can get her more opportunities. I was nobody. She said that she only liked me only because I was rich. She only stayed because she thought the one I would go back to handle the family business.

She said she wasn't getting any younger and she couldn't wait for me. She had to look for other options to get rich. She said all that to my face without even flinching. It was like she was someone else. 

When we broke up I lost interest in everything. I just kept working to occupy my time. I stopped playing the piano. 

My luck came back when I got discovered at this event the restaurant I was working for was catering. The band's pianist backed out last minute, and I volunteered to play for extra cash. The owner who was hosting the event had a music company, and they signed me immediately. That's how I became famous abroad.

Later, I heard from someone that after I broke up with Melissa, the manager ditched her after a few months. He did not fulfill his promise of giving her more contracts. He just said that to get her in bed. She was replaced by another talented artist.

Melissa lost everything overnight and was again on the streets.

When I came back to this country, I realized that I should have kept in touch with you. I made a mistake. I loved you, and I just wanted another chance.

I guess I came too late. You already found someone. I won an international music competition, but I lost you. When I came back to this country, I had two goals. I am happy at least I got to fulfill one of them," Alaric said sadly.