The whole morning, they avoided one another. Alyssa made lunch half-heartedly, but her mind was far away with her best friend, Eva. She tried calling her since morning, but Eva had kept her phone switched off. None of their friends accepted her call. What was going on? A sense of dread crept into her mind. Did Alex create any problems at the wedding? Everything was possible with her brother!
She hadn’t wanted Eva to marry Maxwell, but with time, seeing how nice he was, she had accepted their relationship. She knew her friend wasn’t happy with Maxwell but with Alexander still in denial, there wasn’t any option left. Nicholas didn’t come into the house for lunch and she waited for him for hours. Where could he have gone, leaving her here, stranded and all alone? It wasn’t fair at all. If she couldn’t attend the wedding, neither could he!
It was nearly two in the afternoon when she just lost her mind. It seemed as if Nicholas had gone to attend the wedding without even informing her. A mad fury coursed through her veins. How could he be so insensitive knowing how close she was to Eva?
She took out her mobile phone, deciding that she wouldn’t stay on the island a minute longer. She called the boatman whose number she had saved earlier and asked him to pick her up from the island.
Rushing back to the villa, she picked up a piece of paper and searched for a pen. She found one on the desk of the bedroom suite. She scribbled a note for Nicholas, the hurt she felt portrayed in her message.
I’m leaving, Nicholas. I’m deeply hurt by your gesture. How could you attend your best friend’s wedding but stop me from doing so? A relationship isn’t about tying a person forcibly to you. It’s about letting her free. If she loves you, she’ll come back to you. I love you, Nicholas. If you trusted me, and let me go, I would have returned to you.
Your Alyssa.
Tears pooled in her eyes and she just picked up the stuff she came here with, her mobile phone, wallet, and beautiful dress. Wiping the tears away, she dashed out of the villa towards the pier, hoping that Nicholas wouldn’t come now to stop her. Her mind was heavy as she waited for the boatman to arrive.
After ten minutes, she saw the boat speeding towards her and heaved a sigh of relief.
“Hello miss. Are you returning alone today?” asked the friendly boatman with a smile.
“Yes,” said Alyssa, giving him a fake smile. She climbed into the boat and soon the boat sped towards the mainland. Alyssa’s heart was heavy as she stared at Oyster Island with longing. Her heart wanted to stay here with Nicholas, but her concern for Eva was too much to ignore. She had to find out what was happening. By now, the wedding would have been over and the reception party would have started in full swing. There was no reason Eva would switch off her phone.
She reached Norwalk and took a cab to her parent’s house, where her stuff was. She had moved out of Alexander’s apartment the day she had been abducted and left her stuff at her parents’ house. It was strange that her dad never called her to ask about her whereabouts. Wasn’t he concerned about her sudden disappearance?
She called Sienna on the way and miraculously, this time Sienna accepted her call. “What’s going on Sienna? Why has Eva switched off her mobile phone? I couldn’t attend her wedding. Is she upset with me?” she continued breathlessly.
“I know, Alyssa. Nicholas abducted you.” Alyssa gasped with surprise, wondering how she knew!
“How do you know?” she asked.
“We all know. Anyway, you missed nothing as there was chaos at the wedding. Alexander married Eva instead of Maxwell!”
“What?” exclaimed Alyssa, shocked at the information.
“I’ll tell you everything in a while. I’ve got to go now. Bye,” said Sienna, disconnecting the call in a rush. Alyssa sat, shocked, wondering what was going on. How could it be possible? Did Nicholas know about it? The cab sped towards her childhood home and she wondered if her parents knew about it. Were they at the wedding venue? The cab at last stopped, and she got down and paid the driver. The house looked empty, as if her parents weren’t there, but she still went towards the main door. She had nowhere else to stay! With a heavy heart, she pressed the doorbell, and a housekeeper opened the door for her.
“Alyssa ma’am? Mr. Van Every and ma’am aren’t at home,” said the middle-aged housekeeper.
“It’s okay, Kelly. I’ll just wait for them in my room.”
“Do you need something, Alyssa ma’am?” Kelly asked courteously. Alyssa never interacted with her much as when she stayed here the last time, Kelly was on leave.
“Please call me Alyssa. Yes, can you get me something to eat? I missed lunch today,” she said with a sigh, remembering the food she had cooked for Nicholas and herself. He would be so upset when he would return to find her gone. Had she done the right thing? She didn’t wish to go to the venue and meet Nicholas there, although she was dying of curiosity.
After a while, Kelly brought her some chicken nuggets to munch on. Despite everything, Alyssa didn’t feel any happiness at all. Her heart remained on Oyster Island with Nicholas. Strangely, he hadn’t even called her. What could that mean? Did he not return to the island? Didn’t he see her note?
After two hours, her parents returned home and were shocked to see her at home. “When did you return? Where’s Nicholas?” asked her dad, shocking her totally. How did he know she was with Nicholas? Didn’t he have any objections? Everything happening around her was so shocking that she did not know what to think of them anymore.
“I returned two hours ago. Where were you?” asked Alyssa. She knew where exactly they were, but wanted to hear it from them. Her dad looked uncomfortable at her direct question and started walking toward his room.
“We were at Alexander’s wedding. The lesser we talk about it the better. I don’t wish to spoil my mood,” said her dad, walking straight to his room. Her mom too followed him, leaving Alyssa even more curious. What could have happened that no one wished to discuss it with her? Unable to stop herself, she called Sienna again in the evening.
“Are you free to talk, Sien?” she asked curiously.
“Yes, so how did Nicholas let you go so early? Is there good news that you’re hiding from me?” Sienna asked instead of answering her.
“Yes, I’ve agreed to be his girlfriend. Now tell me what happened at the wedding venue today?”
“Chaos happened and your brother fought with Maxwell and stopped the wedding. Maxwell called your parents to put some sense into Alexander’s head, but everyone failed, and he married Eva instead.”
“Was Nicholas there at the wedding?” she asked, hesitating a little.
“No, he was with you, wasn’t he?” Alyssa didn’t tell her he actually wasn’t with her.
“Yes.” Alyssa couldn’t concentrate on the rest of the discussion. That Nicholas did not attend the wedding worried her. If he hadn’t returned here, then where did he go? Was he somewhere on the island when she escaped? While Sienna told her in vivid detail what happened at the wedding, nothing registered in Alyssa’s head. Finally, Sienna disconnected the call and Alyssa went down to dinner.
“We were just discussing you, Nicholas. Come, join us for dinner,” said her dad while Alyssa froze. Nicholas was here at her house? When did he come in? She hadn’t heard him at all! Slowly, she approached the great room, her heart racing with dread. What mood would Nicholas be in?
The moment she entered the room, all eyes turned to her. “Come here, my dear. I’m so happy that Nicholas and you have planned to get engaged. When do you want your engagement, Nicholas?” asked her mom, looking extremely pleased. Alyssa’s jaws dropped with surprise. When did they plan to get engaged? She had just agreed to be his girlfriend!
“Tomorrow, aunt Jodie. Then Alyssa can move in with me. We will have the wedding this weekend. I’ll make the arrangements if it’s a problem,” said Nicholas with a smile, as if he wasn’t dropping a bombshell on them.
“No, not a problem at all. We can have the wedding in the backyard. I’ll just contact a wedding planner right away,” said her mom.
“Why are we rushing it?” Alyssa protested as diplomatically as she could without getting her parents suspicious, but in reality, she wanted to throttle Nicholas for dropping such bombshells upon her. Couldn’t he have consulted her once before deciding?