"Remember I told you he has been moving slowly. He probably took his last move and left. The last place he was seen was Astra's house. A strange car picked him up from his house to Astra's place and he entered an entirely different car to leave," Sarah said. Now he was actually worried. The news changed from just normal to actually worrying.
"What!" Nicholas exclaimed and Sarah's eyes almost jumped from the sockets.
"Relax for God's sake. It might be a false alarm. We will try to get his whereabouts today," Sarah said and Nicholas tried to be calm. He was chained to his bed, literally, and his life was falling apart.
"Try your best to the track the owners of the cars Thompson got to Astra's house with and the ones he left with. That might be our best shot to get him," Nicholas said and Sarah said.
"I will get to it," Sarah said and Nicholas frowned. He was not so sure he liked the fact that Sarah was so involved in his life. He did not want her to be hurt, and especially not because of him.
"Don't over stress yourself Sarah, you are a mother and you are my cousin even before this job. Try not to get hurt in this mess, I will never forgive myself. Call the chief of security to help you out. I will also make some calls, pull a few strings," Nicholas said and Sarah nodded.
"I am doing this for you Nicholas. I want you to be happy. I promise not to get hurt, I will definitely be strong and healthy for Theo and you," Sarah said and Nicholas smiled.
"I am going now, and I am pleading with you to rest, please. Don't over stress yourself, don't overdo anything," Sarah said and pressed a kiss on his forehead before dashing out the house.
Nicholas felt very useless as he laid down on his bed plotting on what to do, various situations and complications raced in his head. The information overload was too much. The only thing he was sure of was the fact someone was trying to sabotage him, and the person was relentless.
~~
Astra was having a very bad day, not only did it seem like nothing was working in her favor, but she still had the feeling that someone was spying on her. It was unnerving to say the least.
There was also the fact that she was not sure what to do with all the information she amassed over the few days. And it seemed like all the information were contradicting each other. She badly needed someone to talk to, but she was still a bit cautious of Stephanie because of Ray. She had not still told Stephanie of her weird observations about Ray and it was killing her. She was not sure if she could mount all her problems on Jared but she felt it was too early. The poor man was just getting to know her.
After their lukewarm kiss the previous day, they went to their separate apartments. He called her that morning, and they talked for an hour as it was Saturday. Astra then tried to clean her house, but she was too tired so she stopped halfway. She then tried to compose applications for the firms she would like to apply to for jobs. She was very serious about wanting to leave her job. If they were not forcing her to take Nicholas' case, they were badmouthing her for existing, she could no longer take it.
Writing the applications were frustrating as she could not even find a suitable place that was accepting new intakes. Her resume was also not very extensive as she had worked in only one firm since she started practicing law.
Astra had no idea what to do, the day was just passing by and she needed someone to talk to. It seemed like it was Godsent went her phone rang. Astra groaned when she saw it was Stephanie, but she figured she had to talk to her friend eventually.
"Hi Astra. I am so mad at you, you know. You just forgot all about me," Stephanie said and Astra sighed. Her friend had the right to be mad, it had been a while since she even called her.
"I am so sorry Steph, things have just been hectic lately. How are you doing? How is the baby?" Astra asked and she could almost hear Steph's smile.
"That's okay, that's okay. It feels surreal you know, I don't know how to explain it. I am carrying another life," Steph said and Astra smiled sadly, the feeling of nostalgia hit her again. It was another reason why she had not talked to Steph recently. Her pregnancy brought back memories for Astra.
"That's nice," Astra replied.
"You would understand Astra. I want to go shopping for baby things. Are you free? Would you like to come?" Stephanie asked and Astra sighed. She was her friend after all.
"Of course, maybe we can have lunch after so we can talk a bit, so much has been happening," Astra said.
"Yes, no problem. I can come pick you up so we can go in the same car okay. Just get dressed. I will be there in thirty minutes," Stephanie said.
"Of course, that's okay," Astra replied.
As Astra picked a strapless A-shaped gown, she thought about not telling Steph about Ray. She was pregnant and Astra would not want anything to jeopardize her pregnancy. But then again there was the fact that Step knew what she was going into before she went into the marriage. There was no way she did not know how her husband was. At the end of her mini debate, Astra decided to tell Stephanie if the moment arose, she was winging it.
Astra was already done dressing when her doorbell rang. She opened the door and saw her friend looking absolutely radiant. Her cheeks were glowing and Astra could see the small bump from the straight gown Steph wore. It occurred to Astra then that Steph might have been trying to hide the bump from her for a while.
"You look so radiant love," Astra said, hugging her friend.
"Thank you," Steph said and smiled.
"It feels like forever since we have seen. Come in and have some tea," Astra said, leading her friend in.
"Thank you," Steph said and sat on the living room chair as Astra made some tea.
"How has the thing with Jared been going?" Steph asked as Astra brought back the tea. Astra gave her friend a sly smile as she came back in with the tea. Trust Steph to fish for details immediately.
"It has had it's ups and downs but we are good at the moment. I pray we stay that way," Astra said, sitting beside Steph.
"Oh really, so no more Nicholas?" Steph asked and Astra had to think twice. She remembered Sarah and her words. It was best to leave things the way they were.
"No more Nicholas," Astra said and Steph looked at her.
"You don't seem so happy about that," Steph said.
"I don't know. I have been in love with him for so long that it is hard to stop," Astra replied.
"Okay, I can understand that. Life is meant for growth though, you will also grow past this stage," Steph said and Astra could agree with that. She would grow past pining over Nicholas. She would probably grow into loving Jared. All it would take was time.
"Let's not talk anymore about depressing topics. So, how far are you along?" Astra asked and Stephanie sighed.
"I am already four months gone. It seems all time does is fly," Steph said and placed her hand on her stomach. Astra knew then that she thought right, Steph hid the pregnancy from her for a while. Astra could not blame her though.
"Four months? That means you have just five more months to go. You have to tell me all about your baby name choices," Astra said, it took a lot of effort for her to be light about it.
"Oh, I was thinking Iris for a girl and William for a boy," Steph said, her eyes looked wistful and she looked so happy. Astra could not help but smile. One day, almost five years ago, she was in the same condition.