"Where the hell is she?" Caesar wondered as he stared at the elevator doors for the umpteenth time, clutching a bottle of greek yogurt in his hand. Granted, the last time he spoke to Amaliah had been a coincidence and that had been two weeks ago. They'd not made any arrangements to meet here on the rooftop but he'd been hoping that a miracle would bring her back up here again. He had nothing to share with her, but the idea of simply sitting together, gazing at HavenHill Central's skyline, crossed his mind. He wondered when she might trust him enough to let her guard down. "Maybe never," A voice chimed in his head. "Rafael's lies could be deeply ingrained in her mind about you. Forget it." "You," An unamused female voice interrupted him from behind. Caesar turned, surprised and relieved to see Amaliah. She was here! He masked his excitement and cleared his throat. "Hi," He greeted. "This isn't a coincidence," She stated, suspicion narrowing her eyes. Amaliah was adorned in a m
Two weeks laterHe missed her and it felt as though a part of him had been severed, causing him pain. The irony lay in the fact that they weren't even friends; he had regarded her as such, but she had merely tolerated him to avoid appearing distant. No longer visiting the rooftop, he strived to conceal his emotions from Bryan, believing he had succeeded. However, Bryan barged into his office with a determined expression on his face.He realized that his illusion of control had shattered, as Bryan, the perceptive genius, had sensed his distress. Had he inadvertently revealed himself during the morning meeting with the department heads? His preoccupation had caused him to miss his own name being called until Bryan intervened with a tap. Yes, undoubtedly, it stemmed from the events of that morning."That's enough," Bryan declared, his patience worn thin. "I've given you ample time to brood. I refuse to leave until you spill the beans. It's not like you're going through a midlife crisis
Amaliah's opportunity for a discussion with Caesar was thwarted when Mark Robles, the office gossip, informed her of Caesar's one-week trip to Belize. She hadn't asked him, but he had willingly offered the information when she accidentally mentioned going up to the executive floor to see Caesar.If she were someone else, she knew he would have bombarded her with questions until he was satisfied."Why do you want to see Mr. Masterson?" Mark questioned, his raised eyebrow nearly vanishing into his hairline. "You two are seeing each other, aren't you?"Despite knowing his tactlessness and lack of a filter between his brain and mouth, she still felt offended by his assumption. She was starting to show, and office rumors were circulating about the real identity of the biological father of her baby. She knew the entire situation originated with Mark as the source, yet she hadn't bothered confronting him as she deemed it a waste of time. After all, he would only twist her words when recount
"For dust we are, and unto dust, we shall return. May the soul of our dearly departed brother, son, father and friend rest in peace.” The priest’s voice reverberated in the otherwise quiet cemetery. Amaliah’s gray eyes were glazed over; raw, dull and full of grief. She was in shock, and she would’ve collapsed on the floor and rolled into the freshly dug grave if it was not for her mother’s firm grip on her arm and her friend's support on her other side. She reached up and ran her hands through her loose ponytail, raking her fingers over her scalp. She didn't care if she bled, all she wanted was the pain and relief that came with doing that. The scrunchie she had put in place to hold her hair came off, and her lush brown hair cascaded down her shoulders. Her limbs were stiff and her legs threatened to give way under her. A dizzying feeling washed over her and bile rose in her throat. The coffin was lowered into the open grave, and Amaliah started to tremble. The priest grabbed a
Amaliah's friend, Sheila Brown was perched on the kitchen counter eating from a bag of chips and chatting with Amaliah when the latter's phone rang. “Hello, am I onto Amaliah Rivers?” a gruff voice spoke up on the other end the instant Amaliah picked up the phone. “Yes, this is Amaliah Rivers speaking. Who is asking?” She placed her cellphone between her ear and her shoulder and continued to chop carrots for the salad she was making. “This is Ted Williams. I'll go straight to the point ma'am. I work for a loan shark, and we deal with loans and investments. Your now-deceased husband, Rafael Rivers took up a loan of $350,000 with an interest of $150,000 to be paid back after five months. All attempts to get across to him have been futile, and after making our findings, we heard that he was buried three months ago. Fortunately, I was able to get your contact information from a source. So I'm calling now to know how and when you intend to make the payment." The knife clattered to th
Whenever they were asked, Rafael would say it was love at first sight. It was for him, but his wife didn’t quite agree that it was so on her part. For Amaliah, it was an intense attraction at first sight, but it wasn’t love, she was sure about it. They met on a Thursday afternoon at the beginning of the summer, after Amaliah’s shift at the coffee shop downtown. He had first caught sight of her a few days before then, but she had no idea. She had been standing in front of the coffee shop, consoling a lady whose shoulders were heaving with sobs. From their body language, he guessed they were friends, and he watched in admiration as Amaliah finally succeeded in making the crying friend smile and wipe her tears. It was a beautiful view, and he felt good watching them. Not many people could make someone smile after they just cried their eyes out. He came to the coffee shop for a few days after that, watching her until he was able to take note of when she usually got off work. On that Th
“Hey girl!” Sheila called as she let herself into the small brownstone. No one had answered the doorbell, so she guessed Amaliah was either cooking or cleaning and didn’t hear it ring. She went through the small hallway and stopped briefly in puzzlement when she noticed that everywhere was dark. The curtains were drawn and a putrid smell hit her nostrils. Clothes, toys and stuff littered every corner, and the kitchen was in worse condition. There were several pots of burnt food on the counter, dirty dishes piled high and all the cabinets were open, with the contents haphazardly fit into them, as if someone had hurriedly shoved them in. Sheila's face registered shock. Amaliah was the neatest and most organized person she had ever had the honor of knowing, so this scene in front of her eyes meant something was terribly wrong. She hurried to Amaliah’s room but didn’t find her there. “Amaliah! Where are you girl!?” Sheila called out, her voice sounding more frantic this time. Had t
“I want to marry you, Amaliah, and I will,” Rafael said to her one day. Her shift had just ended, and she was heading for the bus stop. As it had become his tradition for the past week, Rafael was walking her to the bus stop. He sauntered beside her, back walked and even skipped. She laughed at his child-like enthusiasm and realized that it was one of the things that had drawn him to her the very first day they had met. He had a kind of inner joy, one that seemed to be unquenchable and she envied him that joy. She loved people who could be happy, no matter the situation they found themselves in. She was not one of such people; she could not keep her joy when she was hurt, disappointed or in any form of pain. She was an emotional person, and could not mask her emotions no matter how hard she tried. “You just like saying a lot of nonsense, don’t you? ” she glared at him playfully. Even as she did, she knew he was right. She would probably marry him and the realization both scared and