Chapter 33: Their First Meeting After 18 years

Or could he be wrong??

Could she really be his Aliyah he has been searching for??

The day for their exams came in the blink of an eye. Coincidentally, it was also the day scheduled for the meeting between Jones and Beauty. The meeting was scheduled for 11am so Martha woke up by eight to finalise preparation where necessary at the office.

Since Monica's first paper was by 10am, Martha decided she would drop her off at school before going to the office.

The whole family, including Peter and Priya were sitting at the dinning table happily enjoying their breakfast with faces full of smiles. It wasn't everyday they sat together to have a meal as one of them will be absent with one reason after another.

"Hey Peter, gonna get your first F today huh" Priya teased Peter whose face immediately turned red with embarrassment.

"Shut your mouth pri" Peter growled back at her.

"Why an F Peter? Didn't you study??" Mr Claire asked Peter with a 'you better have a good excuse' kind of gaze.

"Um...dad..I mean I did...s..tu..dy.." Peter stuttered.

"Yes dad, h...e di..d...St..udy.." Priya Laughed while imitating Peter which made Monica's suppressed laugh come crashing down.

"Peter..." Mrs Clara called out in a questioning tone.

"I studied Mom. Its just that...its my language teacher...she...um..." Peter tried to complete his sentence while stuttering but ended up receiving an outburst from Monica and Priya with an amused smile from Martha also.

"Enough now. Have your breakfast quickly we will drop you guys at school today" Mr Claire said breaking the laughter of the girls.

"Dad... dont you think I should be going to school by myself, I mean look at Chris and Wesley they aren't dropped off like kids right?" Peter retaliated in an upset voice. Although he was already 17 years, his parents still dropped him in school like a kid is dropped even though its only at frequent intervals.

"Alright Alright. You can go with Chris if you want I won't stop you. I plan on getting you a car on your 18 years Birthday anyways so you can learn to drive from them" Mr Claire said.

He noticed Peter's brightened face and smacked his head when he realised what he said.

"Really... I'm going to get a car??" Peter screamed in excitement.

"Oops" Mrs Clara said as she shot her husband an accusing look. It was meant to be a surprise until blabber mouth said everything.

"Thanks dad." Peter said as he ran upstairs humming a song. Chris was already 19 years ago so it wasn't a surprise he got his drivers licence earlier than him.

Though, some of them start driving at age 16, neither Mr Mitchell nor Mr Claire were comfortable letting their precious boys into the roads at such age.

Priya wasn't too affected by the fact peter would be getting a car while she won't or maybe will but she remained neutral throughout breakfast.

After breakfast, Priya and Peter rode with Chris who came to get them while Monica followed her Mom. On their way to school, they talked like most mother and daughter would. Monica talked about her experiences in school(excluding Kiarra's trouble), her friendship with Max and a new girl Carla.

They spoke during the 15 minutes plus drive and arrived at Sky High by half past 9. Martha wished her daughter goodluck and said her goodbye with a kiss to Monica's forehead before returning to the office.

She arrived at the office about 15 minutes to 10. She met Drake on the way to her office and he was so happy to see her that he followed her to her office with a smug look on his face.

"Martha, am I the only one that noticed you look beautiful than usual today??" Drake asked with a smile to which Martha blushed to.

"Stop it Drake, you are just blabbering nonsense. Enough now I got to round up my presentation"she said with red ears as she settled in her desk searching for her presentation.

"Okay okay I'll just sit and watch this beautiful goddess while she work" he said as he asked in the chair directly opposite to hers.

Martha couldn't help but smile when she saw his handsome face in her front view. She got to work immediately and summarised her presentation within 30 minutes.

All the work in the presentation had been prepared beforehand so the work she had to do was at minimum. After she finished, she was met with the constant flattering from Drake. Even though everything Drake said was laughed off by Martha, he knew she could see the sincerity in his eyes when he spoke.

In less than 10 minutes, they were called to the conference room for the meeting with the arrival of the Jones representatives.

Martha was nervous on her way there while thinking of the possibility of meeting her parents or even her younger sister. She missed them everyday in the last 18 years she was away. She always observed them from afar everytime she misses them but it still didn't change the amount of love she has for her family.

The walk to the conference room wasn't a long one but for some reason, Martha felt she has been walking for at least ten kilometres.

Drake could feel Martha's nervousness so he held her hands on her way there giving her a reassuring smile that everything was going to be okay.

They entered the room after Martha's slight hesitation at the door. The sight before her was definitely one capable of leaving her tongue-tied.

Her father...the one she missed with every fibre in her bone, every seconds on a daily basis was sitting right behind the conference desk.

The one who she only sees from afar whenever she misses him is sitting right in front of her. And worst of all, she couldn't embrace him. She couldn't cry her heart out to the one she felt guilty for offending for the past 18years.