Marcus woke up feeling much better the next morning. He had a tight schedule coming up and quickly got ready for the day. Driving towards his gallery, he remembered the phone call Mr. Warnock made last night. He wasn’t in a position to entertain his call last night so he would have to deal with that as well. However, the moment he walked inside the gallery, he found everyone excited and happy, eagerly chatting all at once.
“What? It seems no one has any work,” he said, walking inside to check the number of paintings sold. Mr. Warnock was in his office and came rushing out to talk to him. However, the moment Marcus entered the gallery where the exhibition was being held, he found the whole place empty. Whirling around, he frowned at Mr. Warnock looking more puzzled than ever before. Last night before he left there were twenty-four paintings left in his collection. Where did they go?
“Where are the paintings, Mr. Warnock?” he asked curiously. Maybe, Mr. Warnock, had them shifted somewhere for some reason. Some more employees also came in to crowd around him.
“They’re all sold, sir. That was why I called you last night,” answered Mr. Warnock. Marcus’s eyes popped out hearing him.
“What? How can twenty-four paintings worth millions sell overnight?” he asked with disbelief.
“Rohesia, bought them, sir. She came here last night and bought them all. You should have been here. All her fans were going crazy outside, although she was under disguise. I wanted an autograph but she was sad it seemed, and I couldn’t ask her for one,” said Shane, one of the marketing guys. Marcus froze hearing the name again. Who was Rohesia and why did she buy his paintings?
“Yes, I saw her wiping her tears,” said another.
“Who’s Rohesia? I’m not getting anything at all,” said a confused Marcus, his head already reeling.
“Yes, Mr. Donnelly. Rohesia Carys is currently the most popular music artist, topping the world music charts for the last six months. She sang the title song for the Hollywood blockbuster movie, Summer Love, released last month. I’m crazy about her!” exclaimed Lauren, who was in charge of the packaging and shipping department. Marcus stared at all their excited faces with disbelief. How could it be possible? Why would such a celebrity want to buy his paintings? His heart filled with hope. There was only one explanation to this but he didn’t want to think about that possibility right now. What if he was wrong? How would he prevent his heart from shattering again if he was wrong?
“What rubbish! I don’t know of any Rohesia. In fact, the name sounds weird and foreign. I’m sure you guys are mistaken,” said Marcus with a scoff, walking towards his office with the whole group following him out.
“No, sir. She has paid for all the paintings she bought. She has transferred the money into your account sir. You can check with your bank,” said Mr. Warnock.
“We will dispatch the paintings to her California home as her manager specified. Packing is going on full-fledged, sir,” informed Lauren.
“Have any of you checked today’s newspapers? We’ve all made it to the headlines,” said another employee from the packaging department, as he rushed inside the gallery with two newspapers in his hands. He froze upon seeing Marcus and hid the papers behind his back.
“Show me, Lewis,” asked Marcus curiously. He was now determined to go to the root of the matter. He would have to check his bank account. Lewis handed him the newspapers and Marcus gazed at the hazy photographs flashed all across the gossip sections.
Celebrity Pop Star’s Love For Art
The headlines read as it went on to describe how Rohesia was seen outside Inspirations By Marcus Donnelly, in New York. It also explained how she bought a lot of paintings of the elusive Marcus Donnelly. There were lots of speculations about how his previous paintings were inspired by Rohesia. Marcus’s eyes went round with disbelief. His previous paintings were inspired by Cara, not Rohesia. It could mean only one thing. There was no doubt that Rohesia was indeed his Cara!
Mr. Warnock took the newspapers from his hands and read the article. Everyone left to start gossiping about their picture published along with Rohesia’s. Their day was made and they couldn’t contain their excitement while Marcus sat dazed, checking his bank account.
“No wonder she shed tears as she stood before each painting of yours, sir. I’m sure you know her,” he said with a sigh, leaving the newspapers and walking away. Marcus noted the huge amounts of money transferred from Rohesia’s account and sighed. If indeed she was his Cara, he would have given everything to her for free.
His glance fell upon the newspapers and he picked them up to see her pictures. Although the pictures were a little hazy, Marcus could make out Cara’s curvaceous figure in the photograph. He knew each and every inch of her vividly. The wig and scarf couldn’t hide her from his gaze as he took her in minutely. Yes, now he was sure that she was his Cara.
“I found you, Cara. So what if you’ve made it big and become a star. I shall pursue you to the end of the world!” he swore out loud. He picked up his mobile phone to search for her details. The moment he typed Rohesia, he saw the meaning of the name and gasped.
It’s an old English and French name meaning “Kind; Rose; Fame”.
His mind immediately went to Rose. It was Cara’s middle name indeed. Then he thought about Carys, the name that followed Rohesia. Why did she choose Carys? He searched for it and his eyes widened seeing the results.
Carys is a Welsh name derived from Cara and meant the same thing, beloved, precious.
So, in other words, Rohesia Carys meant Cara Rose!
Marcus got up and stormed towards the packaging department to check the address that her manager had left behind. He would go himself to see her even before his paintings reached her.
“Lauren, do you have the address to which we need to dispatch these paintings?” asked Marcus impatiently.
“Yes, sir,” she said hesitantly.
“Show me,” asked Marcus. Lauren checked her desktop as Marcus peered curiously, noting down the address. He stormed out of the gallery and checked the address as well as the phone number. Did it belong to her? Should he call? No, he didn’t want to alert her unnecessarily. The address was in Malibu, LA, California. Did she live there now?
Marcus walked towards his car when his phone buzzed with an incoming call from Sienna. He sighed and accepted the call. “Marcus, where are you?” asked Sienna right away. He groaned inwardly knowing that he couldn’t escape her at all.
“At the gallery now. Why?” he asked with dread.
“Your artworks are sold out already. So what are you doing there, anyway? Get your lazy ass here. It’s Alex’s birthday and she won’t celebrate without you. Also, Lucas needs to talk to you. It’s important,” scolded Sienna.
“Oh, is it the 12th already?” he asked, dreading her answer.
“Yes and she’s very upset with you. So you need to figure out how to please her,” said Sienna. Marcus groaned, knowing how difficult a task it would be to please Alexia.
“I have no idea how I forgot! Anyway, I’m on my way to your place,” said Marcus with a sigh. He drove over to the nearest shopping center to get Alexia’s favorite gifts. He had remembered till last night but today his world had turned upside down after getting to know about Rohesia. After attending Alexia’s birthday party, he would book the first flight to LA.
In an hour, he reached Lucas’s house with lots of gifts but was only greeted by Sienna and Maria at the door. “Where’s everyone?” he asked, looking around. Sienna didn’t look very elated seeing him, making Marcus wonder what the matter was.
“Alex is sulking in her room. Go see her and then come over to Lucas’s study. Everyone is there,” said Sienna. Marcus nodded wondering what it was that Lucas wanted to discuss with him. He went to Alexia’s room and peered inside. She looked up and snorted with anger and sat with her back towards him.
“Sorry, Princess. I was a bit busy. I’ve brought all your favorite things, see? Happy birthday,” he said sitting beside her. She looked the other way, not at all convinced.
“How could you forget, uncle Mark?” she said in a hurt tone.
“I didn’t. I remembered last night but then I had a fever and today in the morning there was such chaos that I totally forgot myself,” he said with a sigh, not expecting her to understand anything he was saying. How would he explain to her what he was going through?
“I know. I can forgive you uncle Mark if you get me an autograph of Rohesia,” said Alexia, making his jaws drop with shock.
“How do you know of Rohesia?” he asked with disbelief.
“She is Cara, I know,” said Alexia, turning to look at him. Marcus’s jaws dropped to the floor.
“How do you know that?” he asked curiously, still unable to believe it.
“She sent dad an important letter and everyone is going crazy over it,” said Alexia. Marcus gaped at her. What important letter was she talking about? He had to find out!