CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

KACEY POV

With my savings intact I was ready to start anew afresh without Liam. Or my mother. Her betrayal had hurt the most. I looked up to her when my father disappeared without a trace.

But she wasn't much of a saint either.
They were both bad parents. I looked at my cell phone which was flashing a warning that the battery was shutting down.

Tears flooded my eyes as the only thing I clung to went off. Just like that my life had come to a stand still once again. I was alone again.

FLASHBACK

I felt her hands in my hair slowly massaging my scalp. I definitely had the best mother in the whole world.

"You have very beautiful hair, Kacey , you should take care of it."

"You're just like your sister Stacey always lost in her own world she never pays attention to anything."

I looked over at Stacey who scrunched up her nose because of something she was watching on her phone.

She barely knew that I existed even though we weren't identical twins. We had the same color and eyes but Stacey was taller than me and she had the body of a supermodel unlike me.

She didn't need to wear glasses either because she could see properly.

Before we had the bakery my father was the one going to work and my mother would stay with us and keep us company until he returned.

We went to the same school but both of us had different social circles there. She was popular and me on the other hand I wasn't.

She barely acknowledged that I existed and I didn't try to correct her when everyone at school thought that I was just her cousin. I knew that Stacey preferred things that way because she was ashamed of me and our parents. That's why I never had the courage to tell the truth because it would hurt their feelings.

Was it possible to hate someone I was related to?

I kept watching my sister wishing that I was her. In fact I envied her.

Our eyes locked and she frowned at me.

"What is it Kacey? Staring at someone is rude, do it somewhere else, freak."

I looked away.

In the background I could hear my mother scolding Stacey but the truth was she wasn't even listening to her.

I was only a shadow.

A part of me was glad that my father had taken her with me because I couldn't stand being in the same house as Stacey. I was secretly relieved that she was gone and out of my life because I didn't have to put up with her but yet another part of me felt guilty.

She was my sister. I couldn't hate her no matter how hard I tried. One day we might bump into each other but it wasn't going to be any time soon.

Would Stacey even embrace me? Or would she just continue to reject me?

I had no clue.

PRESENT DAY

After the train ride I found myself staying at a small motel which was located in the countryside but I didn't plan on stopping here. After a few days I would pack up my things and disappear again because I didn't want anyone to find me.

The truth was that I didn't want to be found.

I looked at the green field's ahead. Being here felt very powerful.

"It's a beautiful view right?" A male voice muttered quietly beside me.

"Yeah it has its charm" I replied without looking at the person next to me.

"I've seen you somewhere before."

I shook my head negatively.

"I don't think we've met."

He nodded quietly.

"You're probably right, maybe I'm just mistaking you for someone else."

I looked at him when he offered me his hand.

"My name is Anthony."

I grasped it slowly.

"Kacey."

"So what is a beautiful woman like you doing out here alone?"

A small smile curved my lips.

"Maybe that beautiful woman wants to be alone."

I swallowed hard and looked at the sunset.

It's been a month now and things are still the same. It's just a matter of time until I run out of money to pay for the motel.

I had to find a job as soon as possible.

"I'm sorry if I bothered you Kacey. I just wanted to keep you company because for the past few days I've been seeing you at this motel."

"You didn't bother me. I'm just a little stressed out because I haven't found a job yet but I don't want to bore you with the details."

"You can tell me anything you want. I'd never get bored, in fact I'm here to listen."

"I can help you find a job, just tell me your qualifications."

I stared at my feet and sighed deeply

"I didn't have the chance to graduate at the University so I don't have any qualifications."

"I was supposed to graduate next year but things didn't go as planned I guess and now I'm here in the middle of nowhere homeless."

"I'm sorry to hear that Kacey, if there's anything that I can do for you just let me know."

He placed his hand on top of mine.

"I think I can help you find a job but my company isn't located in the countryside, it's actually in Australia."

"That's pretty far."

I nodded quietly.

"Yes but it will be worth it."

"Can I ask you something?"

He nodded quietly.

"Sure."

"You said that you own a company right? Then what are you doing in the countryside and especially a place like this?"

"That's pretty simple, Kacey , I'm here because sometimes being in the city for too long drives me crazy."

"And just like you I would also like to disappear as well."

I nodded quietly.

"You and I aren't that different Kacey because we both want to escape everyone around us at some point."

"How did you know that I'm trying to escape?"

He shrugged carelessly.

"It's just a hunch I had."

"The both of us are trying to escape some demons from our past."

"Today was supposed to be my daughter's birthday."

He looked at me.

"She would have been seven years old."

I felt slight pain in my chest.

"Anthony…"

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"You don't need to feel sorry it was a long time ago."

I swallowed hard.

"I came here to escape the pain. A part of me doesn't want to acknowledge that she's gone and she's never going to come back."

"I named my company after everything that I owe to her."

"Her name was Wendy."

"What about you Kacey? What brought you here?"

I sighed softly.

"I ended up pregnant and my mother wanted to abort the baby."

"And I hid the truth because I don't want Liam to find out that I'm carrying his child. He doesn't know that I'm pregnant and that's why I left because I don't want him near me especially after what he did to me."

Anthony nodded quietly.

"But he's still the father of your baby. At some point he's going to figure it out and connect the dots."

"Then the tip of the iceberg my mother broke my trust. She was having an affair with my best friend."

"She's old enough to be his mother but that didn't seem to stop the both of us from sleeping together."

The mere thought made me shudder.

"That's definitely messed up."

"I couldn't stay in the same house with them, I just couldn't stand looking at Elijah or my mother."

"Come with me to Australia."

"I'll be leaving in a few days and I will book a flight for you so that we can leave together."

"You'd really do that for me?"

"Yes I just want to help you."

"So what do you say?"

"I'd like to thank you so much Anthony."

He smiled at me.

"Don't mention it."

AMELIA POV

It's been a month that Kacey girl was nowhere to be seen. This meant that I could finally get my hands on Liam now that she was out of the picture.

He would always come by the club absent minded and I took it as my opportunity to make him fall in love with me.

I knocked on his door gently.

"Come in," he answered from inside.

I pushed the door open and gently closed it behind me.

There he was looking handsome as usual.

He looked up and continued staring at his laptop.

"What is it Amelia? I'm kind of busy."

I walked towards him and sat on his desk.

"You've been looking so lost Liam and I just wanted to come check on you. I'm worried about you."

He closed his laptop.

"Since when do you suddenly care about me?" He asked curiously.

I was about to touch one of his cheeks but he held my hand stopping me.

I swallowed hard when I saw the anger in his eyes.

"If you have nothing better to do then get lost, Amelia."

He released my hand and winced in pain while rubbing my wrist.

"Are you rejecting me because of that girl?"

"Get out Amelia before I'm forced to call security."

"Not a day goes by without me thinking about Kacey and our unborn baby."

"She's the one who left you Liam just move on."

Liam grabbed my hand and threw me out of his office. I fell to the ground and the other girls started laughing at me.

I glared at Liam.

"This is where you stand Amelia and that's at my feet."

"You'll never measure up to Kacey because you'll always be second best."