A promise unfulfilled or a heart left unbroken? This was the dilemma that faced Alex Mace as he stood in the rain, contemplating his next move. Across the busy street stood Mia, the love of his life. Alex wondered how and when his simple life had gotten so complicated. Was it the day he realized that he was in love with Mia? Was his hatred for her father the cause of his predicament? Or was it the promise he had made to his own father not so long ago – an oath of vengeance.
Alex went back to the time when his father lay dying on a worn hospital bed meant for criminals. But his father was not a criminal. Only an innocent man who had been punished for his naivety, Phillip Mace had been cheated by his business partner and framed for a murder he did not commit. Alex remembered visiting the lawyers office every other day and attending each court hearing, watching with dismay as his father kept losing hope with each passing minute.
IPhillip Mace had been found unconscious, hands stained with blood, next to the body of his assistant who had a dagger embedded in his chest. The police investigation found that Phillip had been under the influence of alcohol and, as per the testimony of his business partner, Darius Constantine, had threatened to kill the assistant who had discovered that Phillip was trading drugs under the cover of his export business. With his fingerprints all over the scene of the crime, including the murder weapon, Phillip was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Phillip was traumatized and suffered a major stroke while serving the first year of his sentence. Alex looked up at the night sky, drops of cold water falling on his upturned face, and remembered his father’s dying words – ‘Avenge me’. Since that day, the ruin of Darius Constantine became the sole purpose of Alex’s life. He had to find out everything there was to know about the man, his family, his past, his present, his strengths and his weaknesses.
Alex sought the help of his friends from the streets that he grew up in. They planned a hoax kidnapping, where Alex, risking his own life, would save Darius from supposed kidnappers. The plan was executed to perfection and Alex instantly became the object of Darius’ extreme gratitude. ‘Anything you want, it will be yours, all you have to do is say it!’ Darius said as he repeatedly thanked his savior. Alex smiled within and thought ‘In time, all in good time’.
Alex chuckled lightly as he remembered how triumphant he felt when he convinced Darius to place him as his assistant, playing the card of trust that he had just won. ‘History is going to repeat itself Darius,’ he had thought, ‘only this time, you will be the one praying for death.’ Alex had remained close to Darius, gradually handling all of his work, gaining his trust bit by bit. Still, Darius was a cautious man, and would not yield the reins of his empire without facing absolute defeat.
Alex soon realized that Darius had but one weakness – Mia, his only child and the sole heir of his massive fortune. To destroy Darius, Alex chose to use Mia as his weapon as well as his shield. ‘Win her trust, and her love, and you will have Darius eating out of your hand’ said a voice in his head, and Alex believed it. He used all his resources to find out all he could about the child of his enemy.
Mia Constantine was nothing like what Alex had expected. Blissfully unaware of how her father had acquired such an enormous fortune in such little time, Mia was all heart while Darius was all mind. A quintessential rich daddy’s girl, Mia lived every minute of her life as though it was her last. Laughed and joked with everyone she met and played pranks on her assistants and servants, and she had many of them!
Alex looked across the street at Mia and their eyes met. He could not tell whether her face was wet with rain or tears. Was she shivering or was he just imaging that he saw her tremble? Alex remembered how he hated Mia when they first met. She had arrived at her father’s office to surprise him but had found and empty cabin instead. Not knowing how to pass her time as she waited for her father to return, Mia chose to make his new assistant the latest target of her prank.
Putting on a ‘spoilt rich brat’ persona, she ordered Alex to her out shopping. Taken aback, Alex responded with compliance although he loathed taking orders from Mia, but felt helpless as he knew that she was the ladder he needed to use to get to Darius. For over 4 hours, Mia made him carry her shopping bags, hold an umbrella to shade her from the sun and open the door at every shop she visited. When Alex began to show the first signs of irritation, she smiled.
Alex felt warm as he remembered that first smile, so sincere, so pure that, if only for a moment, it made him forget his purpose. ‘Never again’, he reprimanded himself. When Mia’s feet began to ache after 2 hours of walking, she made Alex give his comfortable shoes to her and made him carry her 7 inch red suede stilettos. Alex felt his anger rise again, and again, there was that smile, making him forget. After testing him for hours, Mia had made him take the back seat of the car and drove him to work. As he got off at the pavement, turned towards him and said, ‘You really don’t know how to say NO, do you?’, and flashing that smile, she drove away without meeting her father.
As the months went by, Alex worked hard to stay focused on his purpose – revenge. He kept building Darius’ faith in him and kept seeking opportunities to be with Mia so that he could win her heart. However, the more he got to know her, the more unsure he became that he was meeting her for his own motives. He hated himself for every genuine laugh that he shared with her or the time that he had listened to her talk and forgot why he was there. Finally there came the time when Alex was not sure why he really needed Mia. Did he need her, or did he want her?
Soon, Alex felt that there was a war waging within his soul and he found himself torn between using Mia to seek his revenge or telling her the truth and leaving the rest to fate. He felt as torn right now, as he hesitated to cross the street to be with her. In the earlier case however, he had finally been able to accept that he was, in fact, in love with Mia. He loved her so much that he was willing place his trust in her and tell her the truth. He hopes that this Mace and Constantine relationship would not meet the same end that its predecessor had met.
‘Was it all that I was ever to you? An opportunity, a weapon, a step towards your purpose?’ she had said as tears slid silently down her pale cheeks. ‘My father deceived yours and you deceived me. My father broke your father’s trust, and now you have avenged his act by breaking my heart’ he heard her say but he could not respond. He kept wondering how could he have replaced that smile he loved with these tears that were ripping his soul to tatters. She finally rose and said, ‘I am leaving this city tonight and will return to neither you nor my father.’ At the door, she said ‘I wish you well, I always have, and will’, and left without a backward glance.
Alex watched after her, hoping that she would miraculously reappear and would forgive him. Hours went by, and Alex sat frozen, wondering what had made him this cruel. He remembered his promise to his dying father. What would his father have said about what he had done to Mia? She had played no part in her father’s actions and was, in fact, punishing by not allowing him to be a part of her life anymore. But Alex knew, that she would be suffering every moment from then on and nothing else seemed to matter. He had to win her back, he had to.
Rushing to the airport, he stood in the rain, scanning the crowds to see if she had arrived. He kept running between cars to make sure he would not miss her. And now, there she stood, watching him. He looked at her, she closed her eyes, and he was certain that he saw a tear trickle down her cheek. She turned away and he could not bear it anymore. He crossed the street running blindly, rushed to her side but stopped short of holding her in his arms. They stood silently, their eyes saying unspoken words. Mia smiled. ‘Never again,’ said Alex as he wiped a lingering tear off her cheek and cupped her chin in the palm of his hand. ‘Never again,’ said Mia and they stood holding each other in the rain.
