When We Meet Again
Chapter 46

"What did you just say?" Melvin asked Hannah, his eyes widened in shock.

He had just gotten back after a stressful day at work, hoping he could get some rest away from all the troubles he had been going through and all he could get was this news. That was the last news he had expected; he found it very hard to believe. They had no issues before he left the house.

Why would she leave without a word?

"Did you say Alexia left the house?" He asked again to be sure about it.

Hannah nodded. "She did. She left the house a few hours ago with her bag."

Maybe she had a concert. Melvin thought. Or maybe...

There wasn't anything for him to think about; nothing to justify why she left the house without informing him.

Maybe she left a message for him but Hannah forgot to tell him about it.

"Did she say why?" He asked.

Hannah shook her head. "She said nothing. I tried speaking to her but she ignored me."

Melvin suddenly felt tired; he sat on the couch.

Why would Alexia leave without a word? He wondered. He had not expected that from her. Maybe she kept a letter somewhere in the room explaining why she left. She will not just leave like that. Would she?

Melvin stood up slowly and headed to his room. First, he checked the table for any notes but there were none. There wasn't any note on the couch or the bed either. Melvin began to search every crook and cranny of the room for any letter but there wasn't any.

He groaned. Did Alexia leave without a word like she usually does? He sat on the bed, brushing his hair backward. What has he gotten himself into? He wondered. What is he going to do now that the person who caused everything has fled? But this wasn't their agreement. He thought. She wasn't supposed to leave now that he needed her the most. Was she?

He groaned. This was all her fault. She was the reason he was in this mess. If she had not acted as an anonymous person to speak about his divorce to the media, things would not have gone south. If she had not talked about his divorce, the media would not have been dragging him and that would not have affected his company's stock.

Melvin began to regret his decision to divorce Charlotte. He regretted agreeing to Alexia's request which had cost him a lot.

What had he gotten since Charlotte left? He wondered. Nothing but frustration. The first three months were okay; no one knew about his divorce. He only had a little fight with Alexia and she sent a tip-off to the media about his divorce. He knew the moment he saw the news that Alexia did that; no one else knew about his divorce aside from her and his friends.

He had spoken to her about it and she said she did that because she was angry. She asked him to forgive her and also promised that she was going to make things right. She has been unable to do that and he has gone from one trouble to another. The board members are very angry with him, the media are dragging and now Alexia has left the house.

He was lost. He did not know what to do next. Just when he thought that he had finally succeeded in scheduling an interview with the media so that Alexia could revoke all the information she had shared, she fled without a word. Melvin placed a conference call to his friends; they were the only ones he could talk to now. They have been the only ones who have stayed with him since things went south; Mia and his mom have refused to help since they found out he divorced Charlotte because of Alexia.

Now that Alexia had run away Melvin wondered what the reaction of his mother and sister would be. As he waited impatiently for one of them to speak from the other end, he had a lot to think about.

"Hey, what's up with you?" Ryan asked. He was the first to speak. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine, I guess," Melvin replied.

"You guess?" David asked.

"I guess I am holding up well," Melvin answered. "Alexia has left the house."

"What?" Ryan said almost in a yell.

"She did?" David said.

"I knew she would," Matthew who had been quiet from the beginning mumbled. "Did I not warn you about her? I did but you would not listen. Now did you see what you have gotten yourself into? You should have just stayed with Charlotte but you would not listen."

"This is not the time to blame anyone, Matthew," David said. "We should find a solution."

"What solution? Alexia has left like she always does without a word." Matthew said. "Charlotte who would have helped out had been divorced. Do you think she will be willing to help? I am certain she is no longer in this town." He sighed. "Well, I do not have any solution to render. Maybe you and Ryan might."

"How about we meet up," Ryan suggested. "We might be..."

"I have a business meeting to attend to," Matthew answered. "I can't make it."

"Matthew, I know you can," David said.

"I can't promise you that I will but I will try my best."

**

It's been three months since Charlotte got divorced and left the town. She has been able to gather up some money from her numerous jobs due to her experience at the Miller Empire. She was able to get investors that are willing to invest even when she hadn't started her business yet. Not only that, she got a grant from the government too. Everything has been happening so fast, it was like a dream to Bella but Charlotte thought there might be someone pulling the string for her and it wasn't just about her experience at the Miller Empire.

She wondered who could be helping her and would have spoken to Bella about it but she doesn't want her to be worried. She began her search for a space with the help of Bella. It took longer than they had expected. Every space they found was either too big, too isolated, or too expensive.

"Do you think we will find a space soon?" Charlotte asked Bella, after another fruitless day of searching.

"I am sure we will," Bella assured. "We just have to keep searching again, tomorrow."

"You have missed two days at work, already. You should go back to work," Charlotte said.

Bella smiled. "And let you do all the search alone?"

"You have tried for me, Bella. I am serious about you going back to work. It would be selfish of me to keep you. I can't let them deduct money from your wages too. We are short of cash already. And if your boss finds out you are helping me find a place to start a fashion business, you might lose your job." Charlotte answered.

"She won't do that. You have nothing to worry about. I am just a secretary by the way."

"It doesn't matter. You love your job. You can't lose it because of..."

"I am not losing my job and I am not changing my mind about helping you either. Charlotte, I feel so happy I could help."

"I feel really, bad making you go through all this with me."

Bella smiled. "There is nothing to feel bad about. I already told you that I've got you."

"Thank you, Bella."

"Can you stop telling me that?"

Charlotte smiled. "I can't..."

Her phone rang and she stared at it. It was an unknown number calling.

"Who is that?" Bella asked.

"I don't know, but let's find out.". Charlotte picked up the phone and after a while, she dropped it. It was a call from someone who wanted to sell her space. "Do you think she is for real?" "How about we go find out?" Bella asked.

They left the house to the place the caller had told them to meet her up.

"Do you want to lease this place out?" Charlotte asked the old woman, after checking out every necessary thing.

"I would like to sell it," she answered. "I am going to meet my son."

Charlotte nodded. That sounds like a good reason to sell out this place.

"You won't be coming back?" Bella asked.

"There is a slim chance of me doing that. I heard you want to start a fashion house. I have always had an interest in fashion. I thought you might be the best person to give this place to." Charlotte smiled but said nothing.

"So, how much are we talking about here?" Bella asked.

"Not much. A few thousand dollars will do."

Charlotte and Bella stared at each other. What does she mean by a few thousand?

"What do you mean by a few thousand, ma'am?" Bella asked.

"Ten thousand dollars would be enough." She answered.

Charlotte blinked. For a space like this? Isn't she going to consider the location?

"Can we talk for a few moments?" Charlotte asked and the old woman nodded. Charlotte pulled Bella to the side.

"She isn't saying the real price. Do you think we can trust her?" Bella asked.

Charlotte shrugged. "I don't know. Who asks for a few thousand dollars for a space like this?"