Chapter 73: Chapter 73

NELINA

Marica invited me to have lunch at her house. Possibly, catching up after a week of a hectic schedule of events. I haven’t told her about Roxie calling me, so I thought it would be the best time to tell her about Roxie being a bitch again. Though it was kind of weird why we had to do it in their house.

Quarter to 12 when I arrived at Marica’s residence. She was waiting for me in the living room.

“You’re here. Welcome! It’s been a while you haven’t visited,” Marie said, kissing me on the cheek.

“Is that the reason why you invited me? We could have lunch in our favorite cafe.”

Marica’s face dulled up. “No, but we’ll talk about it later. Let’s have lunch first. The food is already served on the table. Come.”

The food was great as Marica had them cooked by their in-house chef. I couldn’t complain. Halfway through our lunch Marica hasn't told me the specific reason she invited me to their house.

“Nelly, how was Royce lately? Is there anything you want to share?”

“Nothing worth mentioning. We’re both busy. The last time I talked to him about his company was the partnership deal to distribute their products. I didn’t ask much these past few days. I was occupied with our current event.”

“I see.”

“How about you? How’s Leo?”

Marica chuckled. “Well, it’s almost the same. Leo started working in their company. He barely has time to hang out with friends especially since his close and trusted friends are in Australia. We get to talk on the phone sometimes, though.”

“That’s good enough, at least the communication is still there.”

“Yeah.”

“Marie, you haven’t told me why you invited me here.”

“I will. Let’s talk about it in my room.”

My eyebrows narrowed. “Why does it need to be so private?” Gosh, do you have a problem?” I asked, my eyes bulging in curiosity.

“No, Nelly, it’s not me. As I’ve said, let's talk about it in my room.”

“Fine, I’ll wait.”

The lunch was great and then we headed to Marica’s room after it. Her spacious and elegant room hasn’t changed much. It has its own living space, tea table and chairs, and a beautiful balcony with a panoramic view of the mountain at the back of its property. I used to sleep with her way back in high school.

“I miss your room. This used to be our happy place when we were teenagers.”

Marica laughed. “It is, we have beautiful memories here. Besty, sit down, I have something to show you. Let me get it in my drawer.”

“Sure.” I sat on her couch and watched her retrieve a folder from a drawer.

“Nelly I need you to be open-minded with what I’m about to show you,” Marica said, her face hardened as she sat opposite me.

I felt her hesitation but I was eager to know what she had to say. “What is it, spill it out. I’m waiting.”

Marica retrieved an envelope from her bag and handed it over to me. “Open it.”

My eyes narrowed, weighing Marica’s facial expression, she seemed serious. It got my heart hammering in my chest. I didn’t even know why. I held a bunch of folded papers from the envelope and slowly opened them.

“Read it.”

I read every page, trying to weigh if Marica is pranking me or not. Every page I flip the more things become clearer for me. With a heavy heart, I stopped reading when I ended on the last page.

Tears started forming in my eyes as I glanced up at Marica.

“Marica, what is this? Where did you get this?”

"Nelly, I need you to come down."

"Marica I am calm, just let me know who gave you these papers."

"Someone sent that to my office, I need to verify it first and then we can make another move."

"No. Have you read it all? have you seen the photos?"

“He thought about all of these. Royce planned everything. How? Why is he doing this to me? Is it business?”

“Nelly, calm down. We have to know if these things are authentic. We have to talk to the person who saw Royce that night. I only show this to you so that we can find out the truth together.”

“What else do we need to know? Have you seen the photos? He was the man in a black leather jacket. I should have known this the first time we met. This is my fault," I said angrily, slapping my palms on my head.

"Nelly, stop that."

“This must be the reason why he kept on delaying on discussing the investigation he had. Royce said he had the accident reinvestigated when I asked him for help.”

“Nelly, what do you mean? The case was closed.”

“No, Marie, the nightmare that keeps bothering me wouldn’t let me rest. I asked Royce to help me solve the case. I’m sorry I haven’t told you about this. We started investigating the accident. I even asked for help from Apple, my brother's former secretary.”

"Oh my God, you did that?"

“This is my fault, this is my fault. I never learned my lesson. He took advantage of my weakness. This is why he had me investigated.”

“What? Royce, have you investigated?”

“I found the documents when I went to his library, it was in a folder. I was mad learning about it. Royce told me it was his only way to get to know me which was hilarious. By that time he already had my contact number when I left my phone in his car. He made an excuse that I was unapproachable when we met and that I even called him names the first time he called me.”

"You called him names?"

“Yes. Remember the night you drove me to meet him? The first time we had dinner together.”

Marica nodded.

“When I arrived home he called me and his number was already on my contact list. I was annoyed by his audacity to do it since I never asked for his number. Royce made it sound like investigating me was his only way to get to know me.”

I slapped a hand in my mouth to stop myself from sobbing.

“Royce fooled me all this time and I hate myself for allowing him to abuse my weakness. I hate him. He must be hiding something dark that he didn't show up during the investigation. If Royce is innocent he would have helped us solve the case. I need to find out why he is doing this.”

Marica stood up and walked over to comfort me. She wrapped her arms around me. I couldn't stop my tears cascading on my face as I sobbed on Marica's shoulder.

“Nelly, don’t be too hard on yourself. I am here for you, we will find out the truth.”

"Why?... Marica, why? I feel like the worst person on this planet that I deserve to be treated this way. Do I don't deserve to be happy, huh?"

"Nelly, you know that's not true." Marica wiped my tears with her hands and tucked my hair in my ears.

"You are the best person I know. Those horrible people don't deserve you and they should be out of your life. The right one will come at the right time."