Chapter 102 The Pull I had Buried
JOAN COLE’S POV
The street outside Hart & Associates was chaotic.
Reporters swarmed the entrance, cameras flashing, microphones held forward. In the middle of it all, Alex stood there trying to push through the crowd with a cardboard box under one arm. His shoulders were slumped, and his face looked pale and exhausted.
He looked nothing like the confident man I remembered.
My heart sank.
Before I could think twice, I swung my car into the narrow space in front of him, blocking the reporters’ path.
Then I rolled down the passenger’s window.
“Hop in!” I shouted.
He froze, his eyes widening when he saw me.
For a second, he just stood there, staring at me as if I were a ghost.
The reporters closed in again, shouting questions.
“Any comment on Marcus Reed’s arrest?”
“Alex! Get in!” I shouted again.
He finally snapped out of it, yanked the door open, and slipped into the passenger’s seat with the box on his lap.
I hit the gas before the reporters could surround us.
We drove in silence for the first few blocks. I could feel him looking at me, but I kept my eyes on the road.
“Thank you. Thank you so much,” he said finally.
“I didn’t expect… I mean, it’s been a long time.”
“Yeah,” I replied softly.
“It has.”
I pulled into the parking lot of a quiet coffee shop on the edge of the town. When we entered, we found just a few customers, and then we moved to a corner booth.
Alex set the box beside him and ordered black coffee. I got a latte, mostly to have something to hold.
He stared into his cup for a long moment absentmindedly.
I cleared my throat and spoke.
“What happened?” I asked, my voice low.
He stared into the blank space then turned his gaze to me.
“It all started when my mother forced Cassandra on me,” he said.
“She arranged everything. She even drugged my drink one night so that I would sleep with her. I didn’t know until later. She also forced her into my house and I tried to be responsible.”
He swallowed hard.
“Then I caught her in my study taking photos of documents. I installed a camera and saw everything. When I confronted her, she pretended to faint. I rushed her to the hospital… that was when I overheard her on the phone with Marcus. The baby wasn’t mine and they were planning to get married after they took my company.”
His voice cracked slightly but he kept going.
“Marcus was my partner… my best friend, but he was behind huge money transfers, client losses, and everything. He used Cassandra as a pawn. Now the board has taken control of my company. I’ve lost almost everything.”
He looked up at me, his eyes tired but honest.
“I disowned my mother. I told her to stay away, so I’m free from her control now… but I’m completely alone.”
Silence fell between us.
I didn’t know what to say.
The pity I had been trying so hard to push down for days rose again, stronger this time.
“Alex…” I whispered.
He let out a small, sad smile.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to fix it. I just… I needed to tell someone who wouldn’t look at me like I’m pathetic. And seeing you today… It felt like the first good thing in months.”
I reached across the table and touched his hand lightly.
“I’m sorry this happened to you,” I said softly.
He didn’t pull away.
And for the first time in a long while, sitting across from him in that quiet coffee shop, I felt the old pull I had tried so hard to bury again.
We sat there for a few more minutes in silence, then he spoke up.
“I should go pick my car up,” he said, rubbing his temple.
“Oh, right,” I replied.
“Thank you so much, Joan,” he added.
I let out a small smile and we both walked out of the coffee shop.
“Get in. I will drive you back,” I muttered.
“No, Joan. I will just take a cab.”
“I insist, Alex,” I retorted.
“Thank you.”
I dropped him off at his office building and drove straight to Dave’s apartment.
On getting there, he wasn’t home.
I had been calling him and sending apology texts but he hadn’t been responding to any of them.
I couldn’t call Jane.
I just couldn’t.
I waited for a while, hoping that he would arrive soon, but he didn’t.
Disappointed, I walked back to my car and started the engine.
The next day, the news kept coming in on the industry blog.
Marcus is facing serious charges. Hart & Associates barely survived after the board handed control to new investors. Alex’s face appeared in every article, tired and defeated but still standing.
I sat on the couch with my laptop open as I read the latest piece.
I felt deep pity for him.
Not the kind that made me want to run back to him though.
But then I remembered seeing his face again.
I remembered feeling the old pull again.
I quickly pushed the thoughts away, because I already had Dave.
The scandal filling every conversation in the group chats wasn't helping things.
I couldn’t get him out of my mind.
Was he eating?
Was he sleeping?
Was he fighting, or had he given up?
I closed my laptop and walked to the window, watching the gleaming city lights.
“Alex looked so lonely,” my inner voice chided.
And somewhere deep inside me, another small voice I had tried to ignore whispered.
“Maybe you are too.”
I stood there for a long time, staring at the lights and wondering what would happen next.
Just then, Lena snapped me out of my thoughts.
“What’s up with you and Dave?” she asked.
“I don’t know, for real. He hasn’t been picking up my call, nor responding to my messages. I didn’t see him at his place when I went there yesterday either.”
“Hmm. Do you think he will forgive you?”
“I really have no idea.”
Lena was about to give me a reply when I got a text on my phone.
I opened it, then I saw a photograph attached to a text.
And it was a photo of Dave.
“What the hell is this?” I snapped.
“What is it?” Lena asked, her eyes widening.
I turned the phone to her and she gasped.
“Oh my God! This can’t be true.”