The weekend flew by. Ace treated Effie like a Queen. He took her to a local café, giving her a bite of his favourite brownie even though she had ordered cake. He made her laugh, teased her playfully whilst they lounged about in his massive apartment. He kissed her cold nose as they strolled down the vibrant London street at night and when they returned to his, he put out his home cinema screen so they could watch her favourite movies, waiting for the sun to rise. She told him her deepest secrets and he let her control what they spoke about. He blew his brother off for the first time in over a decade, and as they walked to the local café to pick up some hot chocolate he wrapped her up in his warm coat, giving her butterflies as he kissed her head. He had worked out by the end of the weekend that even though she said 'one sugar' in her tea, she really meant two. He calmed her down when she got mad at a group of teenagers who were hassling an old lady in a coffee shop and made fun of her when she got sassy with the checkout man at a shoe shop. By Sunday evening there was no denying the love they felt for each other. They were each other's completely - her lover, his best friend.
He drove her to her flat in the early hours of Monday morning, not wanting the weekend they had had to end. She turned to face him as he parked up outside, knowing that this was it, the moment she had been dreading, back to reality. He looked at her face that suddenly seemed full of sadness, "what's wrong?" he asked, putting his hand on her arm, stroking her skin caringly.
She looked out the window, not able to face him, "I just know the way things are, cannot carry on. I have felt so loved, so happy but I know that it can't be forever."
He turned her face towards him and kissed her, "Effie, nothing can change what we have. I am going to love you in your weak moments, in your strong ones, when you're happy or sad. I am here and I am not going anywhere."
She shook her head, pulling his hands from her face, "it isn't enough Ace. We are from two completely different worlds. We cannot be together at work... so what, we just hide in our own little bubble at the weekends? I don't want that. I want someone who is proud to show me off, that wants to have me whatever the consequence, but you have too much to lose. I cannot do that to you..."
He saw her eyes become teary, killing him that every word she had said was true. "Effie, I can speak to dad, I can change things..."
Her expression changed; his words different to what she wanted him to say. "You go. I will meet you at work. Wouldn't want anyone to see us arriving together. Might hurt your ego." She didn't wait for his response, grabbing her handbag and slamming the car door as she got out.
He watched her go inside, holding his steering wheel tightly in anger, his hands gripping the leather rigidly, "fuck!" he shouted as he turned the engine on and drove away.
Effie made her way slowly up the stairs to her flat door, her tears staining her cheeks, making her make up run. She got her keys out, sniffling as she threw her bags onto the floor when she realised her door was already open. She looked in confusion, holding her keys tightly in her fingers. "Cade?" she shouted out, pushing the door open. She put her hand to her mouth in shock seeing the mess in front of her. She walked inside looking at the pictures on the wall all slanted or pushed onto the floor and the shoe storage box had been completely turned upside down. The kitchen and living room had been pulled apart. She ran over to her family photo that was upside down on the floor, the glass smashed to pieces. "No, no, no", she whispered.
She suddenly got up and ran to the bedroom, looking for her family jewellery, the only things she had left of the family she knew nothing about. Her bedroom had been ransacked, her clothes all over the floor and her jewellery box opened bare on her bed. She grabbed the jewellery box and shook it, hearing just the clashing of a few rings that Cade had got her over the years. She crawled across the room to her bedside table, pulling out the top drawer and rummaging through the photos. She pushed down the back of the drawer, lifting up a corner at the front. Underneath was where she kept her most prized jewellery from her family and luckily the small pouch hidden inside hadn't been found. She grabbed it and held it tight to her chest as she leant back on the wall and cried. She felt her throat close up as she wiped at the tears falling from her already bloodshot eyes. She looked inside the pouch and gently pulled out her mother's silver chain with a purple amethyst amulet dangling from it; she felt a security with it in her fingers, the chain falling around her skin almost like it was absorbing something from her. She put it around her neck, attaching the clasp securely. She could no longer trust it to be safe in her flat, she didn't know why but she felt like it was important. She tucked the necklace into her top and grabbed her phone from her pocket. She dialled the number for Wesley Incorporated, not wanting to see or hear from anyone for the rest of the day; she didn't have the strength to even try.
"Hello, Wesley Incorporated. My name is Rita, how can I help?" Rita's cheerful voice answered.
Effie took a deep breath before replying. "Hi Rita, it's Effie. I'm not coming in today. There is some family drama going on at home. Could you tell Mr Wesley I will be in tomorrow, thanks. I won't be picking up any calls for the rest of the day."
She heard Rita whispering to someone and the phone line went all funny before she came back on to her, "okay Effie, no problem. I will let Mr Ace Wesley know. Hope it is all okay. See you tomorrow girl."
Effie hung up, suddenly exhaling, not realising she was holding her breath throughout the entire conversation. She looked down at her phone on the floor as it started pinging repeatedly, again and again and again. She sighed, expecting it to be Ace trying to get through to her but as she brought the phone in front of her, her heart dropped. Three messages from an unknown number...
'Found you baby girl. Your parents would be so disappointed getting involved with a Wesley boy.'
'Souls meet for a reason. You have met your match. We are not that different after all. When a soul finds comfort in another separation is no longer possible. We are brought together by fate, no accident. You needed a reason to live. He needed someone to show him how to love.'
'Recognise that quote from anywhere Effie? You can't run, you can't hide. We look forward to meeting you very, very soon.'
Effie threw her phone to the floor, her heart beating at speed as she ran to the front door, grabbing her bags as she looked around the hallway worriedly and slammed the door. She couldn't breathe, her mouth dry, her body shaking. She ran to the living room and grabbed the photo frame, the glass cutting her fingers until blood covered the floor around her. She put the family photo in her pocket for safe keeping and lay down on the fluffy carpet beneath her, not caring her blood-stained hands were making the cream colour go a deep red. She struggled to swallow; her whole body numbed by her pain. She felt heart-broken and alone, not seeing a way out. She crawled across the carpet until she reached her tired looking sofa and pulled herself up. She sniffled as she pulled the purple blanket on the side around her, cocooning herself within it to make her feel some comfort. She closed her eyes, letting her tears fall freely from her eyes and slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.
Twenty minutes later she woke to her front door slamming shut and a voice screaming her name. Whoever it was came up to her on the sofa and shook her shoulders aggressively. "Effie! Effie, you stupid bitch, get the fuck up."
Effie sat up, looking around her to get her bearings. "Woah, woah, okay, I'm awake. What are you doing here?"
Hayley shook her head, standing up angrily and folding her arms across her chest, "Rita called me. She said you had called in sick with some family drama but when she spoke to Ace he said you had no family to have drama with so she panicked."
"Right. Nice to know he cares enough to come round himself..." Effie said bitterly.
Hayley dragged Effie off the sofa to her feet turning her hands over, "why is there blood everywhere? What did you cut?"
Effie looked on the carpet and followed the trail of blood on the floor to the empty picture frame. She looked at her hands again. Dried blood stained them but there was no fresh blood anywhere, the cuts from the glass having healed. She looked at the time on her phone, it had only been twenty minutes, there was no way her cuts would have healed that quickly. "Effie! You're scaring me. What the hell has happened here? It's a mess!"
Effie looked around her, remembering the state she found it in. "Erm, it was Cade. Said he was looking for something. He managed to destroy the flat in the process though."
Hayley kicked at some dirt on the floor, turning her nose up, "well, as long as you are okay. I am managing Sevens today so I really need to get back. I am going to come back and check on you later though Effie. Do not think you are having more than one day off work for some made up family drama. You get your shit together like you always do and go back in that office. Make Ace see who the fuck you are. Got it?"
Effie nodded, her ego boosted as per usual by her doting friend. "Love you Hayls!" she shouted down the hallway, hearing her open the flat door.
"Love you Effs. Always!" she shouted back before slamming the door shut.
*
Rita turned to face her desk phone as it rang, making her jump. "Ace?" she whispered, furrowing her eyebrows. She picked up the phone, "hello Mr Wesley, how can I help? Aren't you in a meeting?"
"The meeting finished. Have you spoken to Effie?" Ace slurred over the phone.
Rita put the phone down and walked casually over to his office – the only reason for him to be slurring was if he was drinking excessively which never mixed well in a working environment; it was only 2pm on a Monday. She smiled as she passed some of their co-workers and knocked on Ace's oak office door before stepping in. Ace kept his eye gaze through the glass window and carried on sipping his drink. Rita closed the door slowly and walked over to the chair opposite his desk and sat down. "Mr Wesley... Ace... Is there anything I can do? Effie said she will be back tomorrow, but anything urgent that needs addressing?"
Ace shook his head and glanced over at her, "I know you hate me Rita. Not sure why, but Effie's told me you disapprove..."
Rita interrupted, "I never said I hated you. I'm just not necessarily excited about your existence and I think she could do better."
Ace smiled, putting his drink to his lips once more, "Rita, you're right, she does deserve better." He turned his chair to face her and leant his elbows on his desk, "but the thing is, I can't see her with anyone else, so I know I need to become better."
Rita pursed her lips, trying to hide her smile. She had seen the change in him over the last few months and knew how much Effie meant to him. Anyone who would ever try to hurt Effie had a fight on their hands with Ace, and he was not someone many people would want to cross. His reputation said it all. "You love her, huh?"
Ace leant back in his chair and put his glass up to his lips. He swirled the ice around and suddenly looked expressionless, "I can't imagine the day I won't."
Rita stood up, flattening her pencil skirt, "look, Ace. My mother always used to say to me that if two people were meant to be together, they eventually find their way back. Now it's not my job to make you feel like a man... I can't make you something you are not. But I swear to God Ace, if you break that girl's heart you will have a lot to answer for from a lot of people."
"Look Rita, I think we have got off on the wrong foot over the years..."
Rita turned around as she reached the door and looked at him powerfully, "Ace, look at yourself, all you got are two wrong feet and some ugly shoes that everyone is talking about."
Ace looked down at his feet then back up at her laughing, "oh Rita... at least people are still talking about me, that's what makes business work."
Rita looked at him baffled as she nodded her head at him and walked out, shutting the door behind her.
*
"Excuse me, can I help you?"
Effie jumped back, startled, in her own little world. "Sorry, yes. I have been receiving some weird messages on my phone and I wanted to get a new number if possible?"
She looked at the man curiously, noticing something familiar about him. "Erm, yeah that's fine. Do I know you?"
Effie smiled, putting her hair behind her ear shyly, "no, I don't think so. You do look weirdly familiar though."
He nodded, "yeah, I thought that too. Anyway, if you give me your phone I can sort out a new number for you."
Effie grinned, "great, thank you!"
She watched him take her phone and walk behind the counter. The way he moved reminded her of someone who was pushed so deep down into the back of her brain she didn't know if it was real or just something she had dreamt about. His brunette hair was wavy and thick on top of his head, it looked like it needed a good cut. He had broad shoulders and beautiful purple eyes that glanced up at her curiously every now and again. She walked over to the counter as he beckoned her over, handing her a pen and a pad of four papers stuck together. "Right, if I could just take some details then that's all done."
Effie looked down and read through the information, writing her name, address and workplace and signing at the bottom. The man took the piece of paper back and looked at it in confusion, "erm, sorry, you forgot to write your surname?"
"Oh, I don't have one..." she replied quickly, a little embarrassed.
"No family name or anything? I can't process the form without it."
Effie chewed her lip in deep thought when she suddenly remembered speaking with Mikaela and Steve a few months before about her mother and her surname. "Actually, yes, I do have a family name." She grabbed the pen and wrote it down. "Right, how much then?"
He was ignoring her, staring at the name like he'd made a massive realisation. She waved her hand in front of his face, grabbing her purse out her handbag with the other hand. "Sorry, what?" he looked up and took her completely in for the first time. How had he not seen it before?
"I said, how much?" she said grumpily, losing her will with this man who seemed in a complete daze.
He looked again at her workplace and smirked, "erm, on the house. We take care of our customers here and the Wesley's are good friends of ours. We like to keep them close."
Effie nodded, looking at him curiously. His eyes were wide-open, staring at every inch of her face in detail, like he was taking a picture with his brain to remember her. "Ooookay then... Thanks, I guess. What was your name?"
The man smiled, his memories flooding back as Effie's purple amethyst eyes glared at him. He held out his hand, "Nyx. Funny enough my surname is Reynolds too."
Effie lightly shook his hand, slightly worried she was about to have a stalker on her hands and grabbed her phone before power walking out the door. Nyx couldn't take his eyes off her as she left, the visions of his mother imprinted on his brain. He had forgotten for so many years who he was, feeling lost in the centre of London with no reason as to why he was there but out of nowhere, a few months ago, it was like a lightbulb moment and his memories had been crashing in like waves crashing into the shore on a stormy day. He remembered his parents, the way they died, his mother's horrific family destroying everything he knew to love around him and this little baby his parents had tried to protect. She had disappeared. But then out of nowhere he recognised her within a heartbeat – the downside, she had no idea just how powerful she really was and the danger that was unfolding right in front of her very eyes.