Chapter 111 Love Amidst Sorrow
Susan's home.
At 2 am, four hours after Bryce and Marcus had left, Susan slowly opened her eyes. Her head hurt so bad, and her nose picked up a horrible smell. Her body was sticky. The light in her room was still on. She realised she was lying on the floor. She pushed herself up as she tried to recollect from memory what had happened. She saw the vomit she was lying in and recalled everything. Feeling disgusted, she carefully got up from the floor and walked into the bathroom. She stood under the shower in her bikini and let the water wash over her body before removing her panties and bra and dropping them in the bin. She put some shampoo into her hair and began to wash it. She realised immediately she had a cut at the back of her head. Her mind quickly went to the pain she felt at the back of her head before darkness covered her. After showering, she wrapped her hair in a towel and put on a bathrobe. She went for the mop and a mop bucket and cleaned the vomit from the floor, but her plan failed. She attended to the cut at the back of her head and went to bed at 4 am.
At Bryce's home, Bryce was pulled out of his sleep by a knock on his door. He frowned and sat up on his bed. He briefly scanned his environment before getting down from the bed. The knock came again, and Josephine's voice followed it.
"Sir, sorry to disturb your sleep, but your father is here and demands to see you," Josephine announced, and Bryce frowned.
"Okay, tell him I am coming," Bryce replied, wondering what his father wanted in his house this morning.
He entered the bathroom first, brushed his teeth, and splashed water on his face. He realised he had not slept well, but it was already 8 am. He left his bedroom and came downstairs to see his father wearing a robe.
"Good morning, Dad," Bryce greeted, and his father turned to stare at him, smiling.
"Good morning, son," Devon said, smiling, and Bryce wondered what was making his father smile. "I am proud of you, son," he said.
"Thank you," Bryce first appreciated. "If I may ask, what are you excited about?" he asked.
"I am happy you took my advice and accepted Susan," Devon said, and Bryce smiled immediately. "You sure are a sneaky one, but it appears the media's curiosity can fish out things," he added, and Bryce's frown deepened.
"What are you talking about, Dad?" Bryce asked.
Back at Susan's home, her phone rang, pulling her out of her sleep. Susan lackadaisically fetched her phone. It was Eva's name on her screen. She dropped her head on the pillow and answered the call.
"Hello Eva," Susan said, her voice filled with tiredness.
"You and Bryce made headlines. You two are trending like a newly realised album," Eva announced over the phone excitedly, and the tiredness quickly vanished from Susan.
"Really?" Susan asked and quickly pulled herself into a sitting position.
"Yes, check the news and see for yourself. The picture was also perfect. Very convincing," Eva informed her.
"Thanks, Eva, I will check it out now," Susan appreciated.
Back at Bryce's home, Bryce stared at the image of himself and Susan in an intimate position. In the picture, from the angle it was taken, it looked like Bryce and Susan were kissing. Bryce could not remember everything that happened. He was wondering if he had kissed Susan as he stared at the image. There was another picture of him walking with his hand draping down Susan's shoulders, and Susan's hand was wrapped around his waist as they walked towards his parked car. And there was a third picture. In that picture, the back seat of the car door was opened and Susan was leaning in towards Bryce like they were about to kiss again. Bryce's face was expressionless, but Susan's face carried a smile and their face's inches away from each other.
Bryce, after looking at the pictures attached to the news, wondered who had taken them. He read the news attached to the images.
It looks like Mr Bryce Moore, CEO of Diamond Corporation and the most handsome bachelor in the city of New York, is finally off the market. A lot of women had attempted to be his chosen woman, but it looks like Ms Susan McClean became the lucky one to be chosen. In as much as the Moore family had lost two dear family members at the hands of Ms Angela Anderson, it appears the love Mr Moore felt for Ms McClean was strong enough to overcome the sorrow.
Bryce stopped reading as every sentence he read got him angry. The title of the news was even annoying him. Love Amidst Sorrow.
"Dad, is this your doing?" Bryce asked through gritted teeth, knowing sometimes his father could go to certain lengths to get his bidding done.
"No, it's not," Devon said with a smile plastered on his face. "I wanted to convince you first. I didn't ever think the media was interested in your love life," he added, smiling.
"Dad, if you are behind this. Please stop. I don't love Susan, and I don't want to marry her. I am already married, and I love Angela," Bryce said, and he was surprised he used the L-word for Angela.
He was surprised he was able to say out loud that he loves Angela, but his father frowned immediately.
"Are you serious right now?" Devon asked angrily. "Have you lost your mind?" he questioned. "You love the woman who murdered my wife, your mother and my daughter, your sister?" he asked angrily.
"I believe she is innocent. She didn't do it," Bryce defended, even though he had nothing to support his claim except that he felt Angela was innocent.
"She is innocent?" Devon said angrily. "Do you have any evidence to support your claim?" he questioned angrily, and Bryce was silent. "You see, you don't have anything. Is it that her V is so sweet, it's controlling your mind, or what is it? Are you obsessed with her?" he questioned.
"I am not obsessed with her. I love her. Yes, I love her," Bryce said, and it sounded like he wanted to hear himself say he loves Angela a couple of times more, but not necessarily telling his father.
"You don't love her. I am beginning to believe what Susan told me. That girl did something to your head. Wake up, Bryce and open your eyes. She killed your mother and sister," Devon said. "Do you want to make us a laughing stock? How can I sit and watch my son marry the woman convicted of murder? The woman who murdered my wife and daughter. Your mother and sister," he said through gritted teeth.
"Dad, no one has convicted her of anything," Bryce defended.
"Oh, I see," Devon said sarcastically. "So I guess I imagined the news about the murder weapon having Angela's fingerprint all over it. Or what about this, the video of her stabbing Elena," he added, and Bryce frowned.
"What are you talking about?" Bryce asked as he had not heard anything about a video of Angela stabbing Elena.
"I guess you have not heard it. Yes, it's not in the news," Devon said. "See for yourself," he said and showed the video to Bryce.
Bryce took the phone from his father and watched in horror a video of a woman bent over a body, which she stabbed multiple times with a knife. The woman lifted her head, and the video ended. The face stuck on the screen was Angela's. Bryce's heart shattered within him, and he felt dizzy suddenly. It felt like the ground beneath him was slipping away from underneath him.
"No, it can't be," Bryce whispered under his breath.
"Bryce, are you alright?" Devon asked, seeing Bryce suddenly look sick.