Alex and Nicole were currently having a meeting inside their lawyer's office.
Attorney Furton looked at his client's expectant faces. "Guys, because you are cooperating well with the annulment process, we will be expecting a favorable result from the court. More or less the marriage will be dissolved in six months, that is my estimated time of completion," he said.
Nicole was wearing a satisfied smile on her face. She heard of horror stories of other couples whose annulment case runs for many years due to the lawyer's incompetency. Her soon to be ex-husband deserved her praise for hiring the best lawyer of the country to handle their annulment case.
On the other hand, Daniel was wearing a blank expression on his face, no emotion whatsoever.
After one hour of discussion, the lawyer dismissed his client because he will be entertaining a new client in the next fifteen minutes.
Daniel and Nicole both exited the lawyer's office.
Nicole glanced at her husband. "By the way, did my friend Brenda contact you nowadays? I haven't seen her for a while. The last time I heard, you and my friend already broke up. We lost communication after that. What happened between the two of you?" she inquired.
"None of your business!" Daniel snapped at her.
"Oh, okay...Jeez...I'm just asking a simple question and you're being salty!" she glared at him.
Daniel released a deep sigh. "After Brenda and went our separate ways, I never heard of her again," he lied. He just can't tell his ex-wife that her friend was already dead buried in the ground in some unknown grave somewhere.
The one reason why he entered a relationship with Brenda because he knows that she and his wife were friends, just to get back at his wife and make her jealous. But his wife didn't feel jealous at all and never wanted to come home.
He did feel some kind of guilt towards Brenda even if he knows that woman was also after his wealth. He did the proper thing to do, before Brenda fall head over heels in love with him, he broke up with her because he was not serious in making Brenda, his next wife.
They arrived at the parking lot and entered their respective vehicle no longer talking to each other.
Alex watched as his ex-wife's car left the parking area of the building.
In, fairness to Nicole, she was very cooperative during the processing of their annulment papers. Between the two of them, she was the one in a hurry for their marriage to get annulled so that she can marry somebody else.
He's hurting inside because his ex-wife has no regard for his feelings...but then he can't blame her. She falls out of love for him and she must move on fast with another guy. Easy for her to do just that.
Well, their annulment was already in full swing, they were destined to separate sooner or later.
It's something that he will get used to as time goes by.
He started the engine of his car, moving out of the parking lot, going to the nearest mall to buy some personal stuff for himself.
~o0o~
On the same day.
Mike dropped his wife Caroline together with the housemaid in the Citi Mall. They will be doing grocery shopping while he has a business meeting to attain to.
Caroline and Guada entered the entrance of the shopping mall.
Ten minutes later, Alex also parked his car in the parking lot of the said mall.
He entered the mall and walked straight ahead to the liquor store to buy his favorite wine. Then he will go to the grocery section to buy some stuff for himself.
Meanwhile...
Caroline and her companion entered the grocery store of the mall and Guada secured a pushcart for them. Caroline took out her list from the pocket of her shoulder bag and began putting items in the cart.
She was in that estate when Alex saw her, just a few meters away.
He did not approach her, he just observed her from a distance after discovering that she was not shopping alone, she had a companion which looks like to be her housemaid.
He was planning to say hello to her if he sees her alone.
But as long the housemaid won't leave her side, he can't approach her.
Sighing, he put items in his pushcart, while maintaining a safe distance between them. Occasionally, he would glance at her direction not wanting to lose sight of her.
Caroline was choosing between two different brands of cooking oil when she felt like someone was staring at her back.
She looks over her shoulder, her eyes widened in surprise, cause she saw Alex nearby, a few meters from away from where she stood.
Alex raised his head, their eyes locked for a few seconds and they both looked the other way.
Caroline wants to go to Alex's side and say hello but the housemaid is with her. The maid might report to her husband that she was talking to a stranger in the grocery store. He doesn't want her husband to feel suspicious, so, she ignored Alex's presence.
She continues her grocery shopping aware that Alex was watching her movements. She can feel that he was just waiting for the opportunity for her to be alone so that he can speak to her. She was losing track of the siblings' activity. Wanting to know if Allison was finally lead to rest and what is the name of the cemetery where they buried her. She also had lots of questions for Alex.
But then, it's for the best, the mental torture she went through in the hands of Allison is something that she doesn't want to remember anymore.
Caroline was now down on the last list of items she needs to buy for the house. After grocery shopping, she will find a fast food restaurant to eat some snack, she's getting hungry, and she needs to eat something!
She reached for the two packs of bread and put it in the cart. "We're done here. Let's go to the cashier's section and pay our groceries," she told the maid.
"Yes, Ma'am," the housemaid replied. "Where are we going next?"
"Let's find s restaurant I need to eat something, I'm hungry," she answered.
The two women went to the cashier's section and Caroline paid their purchases. They went to the baggage section and left their shopping bag there and proceed to the nearest fast-food restaurant. Between the pizza and chicken restaurant, they entered the restaurant which offers mouthwatering crispy fried chicken.
Caroline ordered two value meals for the housemaid and her.
They began eating the hot crispy fried chicken. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Alex entering the same restaurant and ordered his food in the counter.
Finished ordering his food, Alex chose a seat nearby which is two tables away from where Caroline and her maid were sitting. He began eating his meal...glancing at the two women every minute.
Fifteen minutes later.
The two women finished eating.
Caroline took out some money from her wallet and the OB's list of vitamins for her to take and gave it to the housemaid. "Buy these vitamins in the pharmacy, I will just wait here," she told her.
"Yes, Maam," Guada responded and stood up. She exited the restaurant and went to the location of the pharmacy.
That was Alex's cue. He immediately went to Caroline's table and lowered himself on the chair. He looked into her eyes. "How are you, Caroline?" he smiled.
Caroline smiled a little. "I'm fine..."
"So, how's your married life?" he asked.
"Great. My husband and I are doing well," she replied.
"I'm happy for you," Alex said earnestly. "How's your pregnancy?"
"Good," Caroline replied. Now it's time for her to ask questions. "D-did you already buried Allison's remains? I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend her burial," she said.
"Yes, in the Divine Peace Cemetery. Do not apologize, I know the damage my sister has done to you. I'm the one who should apologize for what she had done to you," he said.
"It's okay, it's over now. No need to apologize, you are not the one who blackmailed me. Let's just stop talking about the past. By the way, thank you very much for sending my phone and tablet to my mother's house. I appreciated it very much!"
"It's my pleasure," he said looking intensely into her eyes, memorizing every detail of her pretty face 'coz this might be the last time they will bump into each other.
Caroline smiled and coughed. "My maid will return anytime soon..." she reminded him.
Alex understood what she's trying to say. "Okay...thanks for your time. Take care of yourself and the baby. I hope we will see each other again in the future," he said and rose to his feet.
Alex no longer returns to his table because he was already done eating, instead, he walked to the entrance and exited the restaurant. He waved at Caroline before going his way.
Caroline watched Alex's fading back until she saw her maid entering the restaurant.
She's ready now to leave the restaurant. The maid went to their table and handed her the vitamins she bought from the pharmacy.
"Let's go home," said Caroline.
The two women went back to the baggage section and retrieved their shopping bags. They exited the mall and flagged a taxi cab going home.
Alex saw the two women boarding the taxi. He watched the taxi until it fades away from his sight.
He can't understand himself, there's just something about Caroline that he can't forget and every time he laid eyes on her, he feels happy and excited.
Too bad she was already owned by somebody else.
He wouldn't dare covet other people's wife unless she will be the last woman standing on earth.