Red String of Fate

Chapter 3: Intertwined

"Bakit ka umiiyak?" She asked. 

"Si Daddy..." Lee Ann sobbed as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand and somehow Alexa understood. Kung meron man masyadong apektado sa kalagayan ng Daddy nila, it would be Lee Ann. 

"It's okay. He'll be fine." She murmured. 

"Paano kung di na sya gumaling?" 

"Gagaling sya." Alexa said pulling out a handkerchief from her bag and handing it out to her younger sister. She suddenly felt a twinge of jealousy. Her father chose to leave her and her mother for Francesca and Lee Ann after all. But she looked at the sniffing young girl and her heart melted. "Wag ka nang umiyak." She said as she grasped Lee Ann's hand. 

"I wish you were here the whole time. Dad talked endlessly about you." Lee Ann said. "Sabi nya you're smart, beautiful and brave kaya I have always been excited to meet you." She uttered. "We planned on attending your graduation but he was already so sick by then and the doctor forbade us to travel." She added and Alexa just nodded her head. Lee Ann's words opened old scars. He wanted to attend my graduation? She asked in her mind. "We were able to see your college graduation though, but we stayed far away. Daddy said it was enough that he saw you. I was with him and he thought you would be... displeased... I mean not that you're mean or anything... but..." The younger girl stammered as she tried to gauge Alexa's expression. 

"I understand. You don't have to explain." Alexa muttered and smiled when Lee Ann sighed with relief.  

"He's ready to see you..." A balding man in white lab gown announced and Alexa clenched her fist to stop herself from trembling. She felt soft hands held hers and she smiled at the younger girl beside her. 

"Tara na, Ate." Lee Ann whispered and Alexa nodded squeezing the other girl's hand.

 "Where in the hell are you, Alexander?" Nickolai's cold voice permeated Alexander's foggy mind. 

"In a hotel." He replied. 

"A hotel where?" Nickolai asked. 

"A hotel in Boston." 

"What the hell are you still doing there? Nauna pang dumating yung anak ni Atty. Carbonel sayo! Di ba isang linggo lang binigay ko sayo?" 

"Nick, stop nagging. Ano ba kita nanay?" 

"I gave you a week off and you're a day late in returning!" Nickolai yelled and Alexander moved his phone away from his ear and shook his head.  

"I got myself in a tangle." He murmured cryptically. 

"Is it a woman?" Nickolai asked. 

"None of your business." Alexander replied sourly remembering the ruckus his presence and the girl's absence caused. Her roommates had threatened to call the police when they saw him inside her bedroom. He had to show them the note she left tucked on her headboard to convince them that he did not kill her contrary to what the blond girl suggested. The girls had laughed themselves to tears when they read the note - a note that thanked him for an enjoyable evening. Alexander had never been so thoroughly humiliated in his life. 

"It is my business since you're working for me!" Nickolai's irritated voice cut through his musings. 

"No, Nick I'm working with you and not for you." He corrected. 

"I'm the one making sure you that don't get yourself in trouble and I rescue you every time you get yourself in a fix so you are working for me, you idiot!" 

"Nick, your logic is seriously twisted for a lawyer." Alexander retorted. 

"Well, Atty. Alexander Sandoval, I suggest you get your ass back here!" 

"I rescheduled my flight for tomorrow; my plane will leave at one in the afternoon." 

"Can't you make it earlier?" 

"No, Nick. Do you want me to buy a plane to get there earlier?" Alexander asked sarcastically. 

"This is not because of her, is it?" Nickolai asked and Alexander instantly knew who his brother was talking about.

"No, it's not. I told you I got myself in a fix." 

"Nandito sya ngayon." 

"Wala akong pakialam. Besides, two years na kaming di nagkita nyan." 

"Still, brace yourself because she's back." 

"Is that a warning?" Alexander inquired. 

"It's a simple statement but you can take it as an insult or a warning whichever way you like." 

"Nice, Nick...you're still an ass." 

"And you're still an idiot." Nickolai replied. 

"I thought it was hereditary." Alexander retorted coolly earning a smirk from his older brother. 

"See you tomorrow, idiot." 

"Oo uuwi na ako bukas. Pero teka, yung anak ni Atty. Carbonel, what is she like?" Alexander asked curiously. 

"Which one?" 

"You know which one." He replied rolling his eyes. He could almost see his brother smirking on the other line. 

"I have not met her yet."

"Let's just hope she's gorgeous since she'll be working with us." Alexander joked. 

"One Carbonel is not enough, huh?" Nickolai asked back and heard his brother snort. 

"I have no plans of sleeping with her, you pervert." Alexander announced. 

"Tsaka di ka papatulan nun, taga-Harvard yun kaya may utak hindi tulad ng kapatid nya kaya wag ka nang umasa." Nickolai laugingly said. 

"Ulol!" Alexander snapped before he ended the call. He stood up and headed to the bathroom to wash his face and saw the scratches on his shoulders and chest. Hindi ko man lang nakuha ang pangalan nya. He thought and closed his eyes as visions of her chocolate brown eyes paraded in his head.