A Carousel of Memories.

Nicholas was still hugging Beth and tears started flowing from his eyes without any hesitation. She too felt her eyes well up.

"What happened, niñito? Tell me. Please don't cry."

"I don't know what else to do. I talked to her today," he raised his head and looked at Beth's face with watery eyes. "I thought she would run into my arms like before but she refused to recognize me."

"Who is she, niñito? I want to talk to her. Tell me. Why is she hurting my son?"

"I love her, Beth. I can't forget her. I know she is my Nessie."

Beth wiped Nicholas's tears and placed both of her palms on either side of his face.

"It's ok, niñito. Calm down. Be strong. You need to take care of Erica too. Don't cry. She will be sad on seeing you like this."

"I'm trying. I can't believe I broke her trust. I had given her a promise that I won't make myself a mess again."

Erica left the meeting in a hurry and left everyone shocked behind her. She darted down the hall towards the underground parking and ignored everyone in her way. She was going down the stairwell when someone called her from behind.

"What's the matter, Erica? Everything alright?" asked Mark. Along with being the managing director of their company, he was a close friend of Nicholas and a specially close friend of Erica's. Erica both had a crush on Mark since she joined the office but neither dared to confess her feelings. She was in fear of ruining their friendships in case the Mark didn't feel the same way.

"Yeah. I am in a hurry, I will call you later. And can you attend the meeting in conference hall number three? Thanks, bye," she left without giving him a chance to speak.

She went straight towards the driver's cabin and without waiting, instructed her driver to fetch the car. Once the car had pulled up in front of her, she hopped in and directed the driver to drive to their farmhouse.

It took them a little over an hour to reach their destination. This hour was troublesome for Erica, Nicholas, Beth, and Vanessa but for some of the employees of the office, it was a matter of tittle-tattle. They talked about all sorts of things and some managed to link Vanessa's crying, Nicholas's anger, and Erica's departure altogether. It was uncanny for Nicholas or Erica to leave in the middle of the day without prior notification.

As soon as the car came to a halt in front of the white two-story farmhouse, Erica retreated from the car and ran inside. But unluckily, her heel broke and she stumbled in her steps. She removed her heels, regained her composure, and resumed her pace, completely ignoring the pain in her strained ankle.

The whole time, she prayed to God to help them and not let Nicholas be in the same condition as when Vanessa had left. At that time, it took him a quarter of a decade to get back on track. But once he did, he was unstoppable. He took over his dad's company and transformed it from a two-million-dollar business into a two-hundred-million-dollar multinational business.

Nicholas managed to convince Beth that he was fine and went back to his room. He walked towards the antique king-sized bed and sat on the edge. He removed his shoes before rummaging through his nightstand and finding a photo album of him and Vanessa during high school.

A carousel of memories came to life in the dreamland of his mind, showing all of their precious memories for a few minutes before switching over to the sad ones. The bright sun of his high school was covered with the gloomy clouds of separation. He flipped the photos until he reached a particular photo. The memories related to this photo were exceptionally dear to him, and they were to her. Vanessa was looking at him with love and trust as he was bent on one knee, in front of her. It was the day they had given their relationship a name and started dating officially at her sweet sixteen birthday party.

Due to excessive alcohol consumption, he couldn't differentiate between reality and memories and started having hallucinations. On the couch in front of him, he could see himself laying down, resting his head on Vanessa's lap. She gently ran her fingers through his hair and paused occasionally to give him little kisses, first on his forehead, then the nose, then covering his entire face with them.

"Promise me, Nicholas, you will never forget me. Even when we graduate and start college," she said with tears in her eyes. Nicholas sat up straight and wrapped an arm around her.

"What happened, why are you asking all this? Is there something worrying you, Nessie?"

"No, it's just that I feel different."

"Different?"

"Yes, today I had a dream. We were at the airport. I saw you leaving with another girl and you had a baby in your arms. I tried to stop you from leaving but you said that she was your wife and my feelings don't matter anymore," she had to forcefully pull the last few words out of her throat as she burst into sobs. Nicholas Placed his head on top of hers and tightened his grip around her. He tried consoling her and started talking once her tears had decreased their intensity.

"I am never going anywhere, honey. And I will never leave you or let you leave me. We will always be together. You are the only girl in this world who will be my fiance, my wife, the mother of my children, and my true love. It was just a nightmare, love. Try not to think about it, no one can separate us," his words seemed to have a magical effect on her and she calmed down just as quickly as she had started crying.

"I love you, Nicholas."

"I love you too, baby girl."

Nicholas, still looking at his old self and his former girlfriend kissing and laughing, starts to smile through his tears.

"I know you are hiding something from me, my love. I will do anything to find out about it and get you back. I saw the pain in your eyes today, I swear to ease it and turn it into happiness."

"Hello! Beth, Where are you?"

"Coming," she shouted from the kitchen. Beth darted from the kitchen towards the living room to meet Erica. She was wearing an apron covered in flour with a whisk in her hand.

"How is Nicholas? Where is he?"

"He seems devastated, my dear. What happened to him? He didn't tell me anything,"

"Don't worry. I will tell you everything. Just tell me where he is."

"His room, upstairs."

Erica gave Beth a quick hug and whispered in her ear, "He will be alright. Don't worry."

*Knock, Knock*

"I don't want to talk right now, Beth. I will be downstairs soon."

"It's me, Nick. Can I come in, please?"

"Erica? What are you doing here?" he kept the photo album securely back in the nightstand drawer and walked towards the door. He pulled the handle and opened it wide.

"I found out you were here so I came too."

He moved to a side and gave her enough space to enter.

"You consumed alcohol, didn't you?"

Nicholas was too guilty to reply so he just closed his eyes and let out a long breath which he didn't realize he was holding

"Just try to forget her. It's been ten years. Why don't you understand that she isn't your Vanessa anymore?"

"I can't, princess. I can't forget her after knowing that I have one more chance to make her mine again."

"But she doesn't want you. I am not talking about just today. You haven't even locked eyes with another girl for a decade. This is craziness. Just move on."

"You are right but I know that no one can keep me happy but her. I saw the desperation in her eyes today. I know she still wants me and loves me."

"So what are you gonna do? She doesn't even want to recognize you."

"I just need to meet her in a more comfortable place. According to your reports, she lives in the Arbora Court apartments, right?"

"Yes, but you are not going anywhere."

"I am sure she will talk to me now. Maybe she was shocked to see me, that's why she refused to."

"No, Nicholas. She doesn't need to go through this right now and neither do you. You both need some time to clear your heads. I have sent her home today."

"That you did well. I just want to talk to her for a few minutes. I will be right back."

"I am not letting you go anywhere. Not for a few days at least. If not for me or yourself, then stay here for Vanessa. She is in no condition to face you right now. Please, Nicholas."

"Ok," he nodded. "Can you get me some water?"

Erica left her brother's room and went down the stairs when her phone rang.

"Hello. Erica Alberto here."

"Hey! I am Amelia Roy, the secretary of Mr. Blake Ericson."

"Ok. How may I help you?"

"Mr. Ericson had a meeting with Mr. Alberto tomorrow but due to some emergency, he has to go abroad for a few weeks urgently. He is free for two hours today if Mr. Alberto is available."

"He can't go like that. We need to get this meeting done tomorrow. Otherwise, it would cost us a great deal."

"Yes, ma'am. I understand and we are truly sorry for the inconvenience. Can Mr. Alberto attend a meeting today?"

"He is occupied with something else but I and our managing director, Mr. Mark Romano, will be available in an hour and a half."

"Thank you, Miss Erica. I will inform Mr. Ericson and we shall be at your main office in two hours."

"Ok, see you soon."

"What happened, Erica mi querida?"

When Mrs. Beth asked her the same question once again, she decided not to test her patience and told her everything. Beth sprayed her ankle with some pain relief spray after noticing Erica was partially limping. They talked for forty minutes, sitting at the dining table when Erica remembered that she had a meeting to attend and Nicholas had asked for water. She told Beth about it and left after Beth assured her that she would take care of him and not let him leave the house for the next two days. Beth told her that she had also been preparing Nicholas's favorite dishes for dinner and invited Erica too. But she had to decline because of the workload.

Beth carried some snacks and a bottle of water to Nicholas's room and entered it without knocking or waiting for him to open. Nicholas emerged from the washroom door and went straight towards the bed and sat on the edge next to Beth. Beth handed him the water and he placed it on the nightstand after gulping down half the bottle. She then gave him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich but just as she expected he made excuses to not eat it. But Beth knew him well and after a few minutes of persuading, he finally gave in and accepted the sandwich.

They talked for a while until Nicholas fell asleep. Mrs. Beth gathered the broken pieces of glass from the floor quietly and started cleaning his room without disturbing his sleep. She could hear him talking in his slumber.

"Nessie, come back Nessie. I need you. Come back."

"You are mine. Don't go."

"I always loved you."

Beth turned off the lights after cleaning and closed the door slowly before leaving.

Erica absentmindedly arrived at the office and walked straight in the direction of Mark's cabin. She didn't realize she was barefoot until she felt something prick the sole of her left foot. She winced and leaned against the nearby water fountain. Blood was emerging from her soft skin. The lively hallway was unusually empty.

"Hey! Where do you think you went? Sending me to that horrific meeting," she heard a thick Italian accent from behind her and recognized it without delay.

"Come here, Mark. Now instead of giving me a hard time, will you please help me?"

"I will have to think about it," he stood in front of her and crossed his arms over his chest. He wanted to tease her a little more but changed his mind when he saw tiny droplets of blood dripping from her foot.

"Here," he offered her his arm for support and she accepted it. She clutched his upper arm for support as he guided them both towards his cabin.

He opened the door and settled her on the couch as he got on his knees to inspect her wound. He grabbed some tissues and started to clean the blood off of her foot's sole.

"Now, tell me. How and why?" he asked as he walked across the room to throw the tissues in the waste bin and returned to sit across from her.

"Well, it's a long story. I will tell you everything but there's something more important right now."

"What's it?"

"Amelia called from Ericson and sons group. They want to pre-pone tomorrow's meeting."

"Where's Nicholas? He needs to attend this."

"He can't come. I told them that both of us will attend instead of him. Is it alright with you? I should have confirmed with you but Mr. Ericson is leaving tomorrow and we need this."

"When is the meeting?"

"They should have been here by now. I guess they are running late."

"Ok, I will attend it this time. But this is the last one. I will have to reschedule all my plans for this."

"Thanks, Mark. You're the best! And I will inform you earlier next time."

"Do you have an extra pair of shoes around here or are you planning on attending the meeting barefoot?"

"I will ask someone to bring it from my cabin but first I need to use your laptop, please. I need to re-check the presentation."