Marcus stared at the entranceway, waiting impatiently for Cara’s car to arrive. Suddenly the place seemed to be overcrowded with people. Traffic police jumped to the rescue trying to control the massive crowd who suddenly appeared from nowhere.
“What’s going on?” asked his mom, looking at the crazy crowd chanting, ‘Rohesia’ deliriously.
“Cara is a Hollywood celebrity. These are all her fans,” said Nicholas, making her mom do a double-take and stare at the crowd with disbelief. Four black cars, guarding a limousine, came to a halt. Uniformed bodyguards alighted and opened the door to the limousine. Marcus held his breath as his desperate eyes looked on to catch a glimpse of her, his Cara. She might be Rohesia, a celebrity for the world, but for him, she was his Cara, the love of his life. His heart thumped loudly with hope. Would she recognize him? He couldn’t confess his feelings for her, he couldn’t express his love for her; she had left him forever. Did she even remember him?
The crowd went crazy screaming her name hysterically when a pale and thin woman appeared from the limousine, wearing shades and a scarf to cover herself. The crowd cheered and chanted her name while the police tried their best to hold them back. She waved and blew kisses to them when reporters appeared from nowhere.
“She isn’t Cara,” said his mom with a scoff but no one answered her. Marcus stared at Cara as she struggled to escape the reporters. The bodyguards literally barricaded around her as they escorted her towards the entrance of the court. His family moved into the courtroom for the hearing but he stood rooted to the spot with his eyes fixed upon his Cara. She took off her sunglasses and scarf and walked towards the courtroom with the bodyguards following her close behind. Suddenly her eyes fell upon him and she faltered, tripping on the steps. Marcus was about to dash towards her to catch her before she fell but one of her bodyguards did the job in the blink of an eye.
Marcus couldn’t look away from her. Why did she look so unhappy? Was it because of her dad’s case? He noted the tired eyes, the dark circles, the pallor of her skin with concern. She didn’t look normal. It seemed she had lost a lot of weight, her body looking thin and pale, although she had grown more than the last time he saw her.
“Cara,” he mumbled incoherently but she looked away as if she didn’t recognize him at all. Marcus’s heart crumbled like powder at her lack of emotion. Did she not recognize him at all? Tears choked his throat and all he wanted to do was to hold her and give her a shake. Maybe it would rattle her brain and make her remember what they used to share.
He followed her into the courtroom like a lost puppy, sitting beside Lucas. The judge walked in and started the proceedings but his eyes were hooked upon her although she didn’t even look this way even once thereafter. It seemed as if she didn’t recognize any of them. For the first time, he saw the jaw-dropped look on his mom’s face. The case was easy since all evidence pointed to negligence on their part. Lucas, their mom, and Nicholas were summoned to the witness box. Thankfully they didn’t involve him as he was in no way related to the business world.
It was soon proved that Henry Sullivan was innocent and had been falsely accused by Donnelly Financial Services and framed by the actual culprits. Their general manager, Mark Carsten, the Vice President of their Finance Department, Victor Douglas were the main culprits along with their immediate assistants. It was a conspiracy against Sullivan which eventually destroyed him and his family compelling him to flee to lead a life of anonymity. The evidence further led to prove that Henry Sullivan and his wife had been murdered five years later when he had gathered enough evidence to prove his innocence. It was a foolproof plan and pointed to an accident, and therefore the case was dismissed forever. After Henry Sullivan’s death, the culprits roamed around freely as there was no one left to prove their crime.
They were sentenced to life imprisonment while Donnelly Financial Services was penalized and ordered to compensate Henry Sullivan’s family for destroying their lives. “I don’t want any monetary compensation, Your Honor. I want Donnelly Financial Services to give me a written letter of apology as well as a legal document to clear my father’s name. I also want them to release a press conference to state that my dad was innocent and framed in the fraud case. He isn’t a thief. Thank you,” said Cara with tears in her eyes that she couldn’t hold back.
The court granted her request and the case was closed. She was escorted out of the courtroom while Marcus stared on, without batting an eyelid whatsoever. His heart was bleeding seeing her tears and although he wanted to hold her and comfort her, he knew that he lost the right. She had forgotten him and moved on. Lucas and Nicholas apologized to her before she left, promising to grant her wish at the earliest. She smiled briefly and walked away. Marcus ran after her like a madman, standing like a statue on the steps and staring after her as she left with her group of bodyguards. He was now sure that she didn’t love him at all. Maybe he was the only one who loved her so much! The reporters flocked to her, the crowd chanted her name while he stood transfixed to the spot, his eyes not leaving her even for a minute. Was this the last time he would meet her? At last, she climbed into the car and opened her sunglasses but before the car sped away she glanced at him, looking straight into his eyes. Even from a distance, Marcus noted the tears spilling out and cascading down her cheeks. It was strange that although she was successful in getting justice for her dad, she wasn’t happy.
Tears fell from Marcus’s eyes too as he stared at her maybe for the last time. The cars started moving and he raised his hand to stop her from leaving him again but she rolled up the tinted windows, blocking him out forever from her life.
“Mark, let’s go home,” urged Lucas, leading him to their cars. Marcus came back to his senses and looked at his brother with unfocused eyes brimming with helpless tears.
“She left me again, bro,” he whispered. The reporters rushed towards them and Lucas had to leave him to handle them. Nicholas escorted their mom to their car. Although she looked devastated, Marcus didn’t have any words for her. He started his car and just drove away to Southampton. He was done with New York and needed to hide till he got a grip over himself. On the way, he dropped by at aunt Maggie’s house but it seemed to be locked up. Where did aunt Maggie and Cara’s siblings go?
Lucas called him all day but he wasn’t in the frame of mind to take anyone’s calls. In the evening, to his surprise, his mom too called him a couple of times but he had nothing to say to her. For the next few days, he just drowned himself in alcohol to get over the pain constricting his heart. He wanted to forget but couldn’t. He wanted to sleep but couldn’t.
A week later, Ben Duncan broke open the main door and rescued an unconscious Marcus, and admitted him to the nearest hospital. He summoned Lucas and informed him about Marcus’s critical condition.
“I need to go to Southampton to save Mark. He’s critical and admitted to Southampton Medical Center due to excessive intake of alcohol leading to alcohol poisoning,” said Lucas with a grave expression.
“Alcohol poisoning is very serious, Lucas. I want you to bring him here. It’s not safe for him to live alone,” said Sienna, who was a nurse before taking over her dad’s pharmaceutical company.
“Cara is responsible for this. If anything happens to Mark, I won’t leave that bit*h,” said his mom.
“No mom. If anyone is at fault, it is you. They love one another but you forced them apart. You have insulted Cara to such an extent that you’ve compelled her to leave. So don’t blame anyone else. You have separated two people in love. If anything happens to bro, it will be solely because of you,” said Nicholas, storming out of the room. “I’m going to the hospital, Luke,” he threw over his shoulder before disappearing, leaving his mom pale and frozen.
“Am I responsible for all this? Is it true, Luke?” asked his mom, looking dazed.
“I don’t have time for speculation, mom. I need to rush to save him,” said Lucas.
“I’m coming with you,” she said looking determined. Lucas didn’t have the time to argue as he left in a rush, followed by his mom. They reached the hospital at last and rushed towards the emergency unit where they found Nicholas sitting in the lobby with a grave face.
“Have you seen him? Has he gained consciousness?” asked Lucas but Nicholas shook his head.
“He has turned bluish and the doctors don’t have much hope of his survival,” said Nicholas. Ben Duncan rushed towards the lobby along with a doctor.
“Please doctor, you have to revive him. Do anything, just revive him, please,” he pleaded.
“I’ll try my level best,” said the doctor as he walked into the emergency room.
Ben Duncan turned to Lucas and couldn’t control the tears anymore. “He had locked himself in. If I wouldn’t have broken in, I wouldn’t have been able to save him. It seemed as if he didn’t wish to be saved,” wept the old man. The color drained from their faces as realization hit them that Marcus was trying to end his life. His mom staggered to a chair, finally realizing what she had actually done.