Edwin watched the news and saw Jessica. He checked her profile to confirm she was Jessica Graves. He was so happy that he was able to find her. He sent her a message and she responded to him in minutes. They continued to talk for hours and hours until finally, he fell asleep on his phone.
Edwin watched the news and saw Jessica. He checked her profile to confirm she was Jessica Graves. He was happy that he was finally able to find her, and that she looked even prettier.
Roy was in his office watching the news as well when he noticed Jessica on TV. He wasn't certain she was the one, but if she was, then Edwin would be happy! His eyes widened with excitement as he ran into Edwin's office.
"Edwin, are you watching the news? Did you see it? Something is going on!."
"Yeah, I saw it," Edwin asked with a hint of pain.
"Did you confirm?"
Edwin gave a silent nod. Roy fell to the chair opposite Edwin's.
"So she is really back." He said, exhaling a little.
Later that evening, Edwin and Roy went to the bar to discuss. Though they tried having different conversations, Jessica's return was just at the tip of their tongues. There was no need to hide it. Edwin was sad she left, but he was more upset that she had left without telling them. The two were talking and they didn't notice anyone or anything else around them.
***
Jessica and Gary went to celebrate her return at the bar. Gary had a soft smile plastered on his face. He couldn't stop the feeling of happiness that was settled deep in his heart. Previously he had to travel to see Jessica, but now she was where he was. Meaning they could meet whenever they wanted. His smile went a bit wider, and he knew he had to caution himself to stop it.
"Aren't you so happy tonight?" Jessica teased. Gary smirked. So she noticed his smile. Did that also mean she was attracted to him?
"Well, I am happy." He confessed.
"Oh? What's making you so happy? Care to share?" Jessica asked, leaning into her hands which were placed on the table. Their drinks were just served at the moment, making her change her position.
Gary stared at her every movement, he didn't want to miss any detail. His emotions and thoughts were swirling in his eyes, raw.
Jessica however, was oblivious to it. Either that, or she pretended not to notice it.
"I'm just so excited that you're back here. Like, I don't have to travel miles and miles apart to see you."
Jessica went full-on laughter because of his explanation. "Gary! You're exaggerating! Florida isn't that far from Cali."
Gary nodded. "Yeah, yeah. But when you have someone you always want to see, it feels very far away."
Jessica smiled sadly. "True though." Her mind was wandering to Edwin. Little did she know that the feeling of someone's gaze boring into her skull which she had been struggling not to react to, belonged to the man she escaped from. Gary smiled at her response. Did that mean she always also wanted to see him?
Edwin finally noticed them, sitting and talking so sweetly to each other. Even though he couldn't make out their words, he misjudged them by their expressions. He felt hurt. He still loved her. Moreso, seeing her with Gary made his pain turn into anger. Did she leave him for Gary?
Did she just have his heart broken because of his business enemy? He was going to confront her. He couldn't stop himself from going toward their table. He needed answers and she must give them to him.
"So J. What if I -"
"Jessica Graves," Edwin called firmly. He made sure his voice was as deep as it could go, and void of any kind of emotion, anger included.
"Finally decided to grace us with your presence, huh?"
Jessica opened her mouth to speak but closed it almost immediately. She wasn't going to reply to him. He deserved whatever treatment she was giving, and was going to give him.
"Can't say anything now? Cat got your tongue? Aw, and you returned with your little puppet." He mocked, turning to Gary. Gary held a murderous gaze. But as much as he wanted to beat Edwin, he didn't want Jessica to see his violent side.
"You can't beat me up." Edwin tsked. "I should have known. It was you all along. I knew you had a hand in her disappearance. Hell, you must have had a hand in her appearance as well. That's two hands in this matter, Gary."
"Oh, you must have planted her in my company. You couldn't stand the fact that I'm better than you in everything, including running a successful business, so you decided to use underhanded means? What? Did I lie?" He taunted.
"Can you defend yourself? Can you?" He growled towards the man. Gary was mute. He was raging within himself and it took all his willpower to do nothing. Turning to Jessica, his gaze softened a little.
"You tempting enchantress. You just waltzed into my life for the purpose of making me fall in love, then you ran away." He said. "I cannot believe that the first time I decided to try out for love, I got heartbroken."
He exhaled. "What actually hurts is that you left without saying a word. Jessica, you left me. Did I mean nothing to you?!" He demanded.
Roy grabbed him from behind and pulled him away. Jessica watched him being pulled away. Her eyes were a bit glossy. Gary watched her expression vary across her face. Did she still love him? After all these years?
Jessica was pained. Hearing him talk about loving her brought fresh pain to her heart. She blinked twice and turned to face Gary. He was also in thought. Their celebration was ruined already, and somewhere, it affected her to see Edwin hurting.