Reputation Jeopardized !

Vanessa listened to Nicholas's pleas and taunts for a few minutes while crying until she realized that Nicholas was not going to leave this easily. She had to think of something quickly before this got out of hand.

"Nicholas, can we please sit down and talk calmly?"

"No, I gave you the chance yesterday, Vanessa. Where the hell were you for the last ten years?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you, Nicholas. Stop this madness and leave before I call the cops!" she shouted, getting control of her tears.

His confidence was broken. He had thought that Vanessa would confess the reality once she met him in a comfortable setting alone but she was adamant. He left her arms and just stared into her eyes, he saw a whirlpool of emotions in them. Anger, love, guilt, remorse, regret, all of them at once. He wanted to remove those negative thoughts and fill her life with happiness if only she would talk.

He tried to move toward her and hug her but she moved back. She ducked under his arm and went for the door. She opened it wide and hurried to her neighbor's door. She knocked at the door senselessly and called out Mr. Wilkins' name. He opened the door immediately.

"What happened? You alright?"

"Can you please help me?"

"Who is that guy?" he asked with a frown, eyes fixed at an enraged Nicholas emerging from her flat towards them.

"I will tell you everything later. Just save me from him," upon hearing Vanessa's worried tone, he removed his phone from his pocket and dialed the security guard downstairs without letting Nicholas know.

"Vanessa, just tell me the reason. I promise I won't force you to be with me or trouble you. I just want to know why you left me. And I am not leaving without getting an explanation," he urged while maintaining a respectable distance from her.

"I am not going to talk to you about anything! Just leave! I ha—" she was interrupted by security guards marching towards them from the elevator.

~~~~~

'Meanwhile, Erica received a call from Mrs. Beth'

"Erica? Is Nicholas there?

"No, Beth. Didn't he come back from the walk?"

"He told me that he will be back in a few minutes but he is not here yet."

"Oh god. You shouldn't have let him go," Erica let out a long breath which she didn't realize she was holding, "You know what, I guess I know where he is. I need to go to him before he does anything stupid, talk to you later."

"Take care, Erica," Mrs. Beth disconnected the call. She knew that she had made a mistake by trusting Nicholas's words. And has also made the situation more troublesome for Erica. Nevertheless, she couldn't do anything right now except wait for things to fall in place.

~~~~~

The security guards and Nicholas were arguing for a few minutes when Mr. Wilkins broke the quarrel, "Enough of this! Guards take him out."

"Don't you dare touch me! I just want to speak with my girlfriend over here."

"I am not your girlfriend and I don't want to talk to you."

Once again, Vanessa and Nicholas started to debate loudly and Mr. Wilkins threatened him by saying that he will call the cops if he doesn't leave. Their argy-bargy ceased to exist by Erica's arrival.

"Nicholas!" she snapped at her brother.

"Erica, what are you doing here?"

"I should be the one asking you this question."

"I came here to—"

"To turn my peaceful day into havoc," Vanessa cut him off mid-sentence. "Please take him with you before I call the cops and you get apprehended."

"You can't do such a thing to me," he countered.

"Maybe she can't but I very well can do," Mr. Wilkins has had enough of the dispute and was on the verge of losing his temper.

"Don't do that, we are leaving," Erica said in a careful voice and held Nicholas's forearm, urging him to get moving.

"Not until I get an answer," Nicholas took a few steps closer to Vanessa and she copied his pace while moving backward. She bumped into Mr. Wilkins standing behind her, he took hold of her upper arm and pushed her to one side and he stood in front of her. He stared into Nicholas's eyes, silently challenging him to take a step closer if he dared.

Nicholas stopped in his tracks and tried to get past him but Mr. Wilkins' unbelievably fast reaction caught his arm before he could touch Vanessa and turned him around while bending Nicholas's arm behind his back.

Nicholas struggled to loosen the grip which seemed to be getting harder with each passing second. Erica requested Mr. Wilkins to let go of her brother on the condition that they would leave right away. As soon as Nicholas was released, Erica grabbed his forearm and tugged on it to gesture to him to leave. With one last glance at Vanessa, they turned around to walk towards the elevator.

They exited the building with the guards following them closely. They marched straight towards the driveway, where Austin was leaning against the Ford while chatting up a blonde girl who seemed to be enjoying his company. Austin introduced the girl, Feodora, an intern in a nearby design firm, to his friends. He exchanged contact information with her and bid her adieu before turning to face the company with a sheepish smile.

"Austin! I told you not to support him in his foolish plans!" Erica hit him with her handbag multiple times while he tried to get away from her reach and Nicholas chuckled while standing at a safe distance.

"Wait, wait, wait. It was your brother's idea!"

"And you went along with it!"

They quarreled for a few minutes and had to be quiet after a passer-by gave them a death stare. Austin got into the driver's seat while Nicholas called shotgun.

"Austin, take him straight back to where you picked him from. I have some work so I need to stop by the office. I will join you guys later," she waved at them as their car gained speed and vanished from sight.

Instead of getting inside her car, she strode towards the building and in a few minutes, found herself standing in front of Vanessa, who was now explaining the situation to Mr. Wilkins.

"Hi there," Erica attempted to draw attention to herself in a low voice.

"What are you doing here?" Vanessa questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I know it's you. You can baffle Nicholas but not me and you know it."

"I am. And I don't want your brother to know about this," Vanessa said quickly and let out a long breath.

"Why do you think I won't tell Nicholas?"

"Because I have by my side an ex-cop who has witnessed the whole scenario and the surveillance camera footage. I can report your brother to the HR department and sue him for harassment along with many other violations," Vanessa countered.

"She's right. If any of this gets out, your brother will make the headlines of every newspaper in the country and your business's reputation will be damaged to no extent," Mr. Wilkins chirped in with a knowing smile plastered on his face.

"I assure you that he won't know this but you have to tell me why you left out of the blue. No call, no text. You just disappeared from our lives. Do you know how much it hurt us? Nicholas was depressed and was getting into alcohol addiction. Only I know about the sacrifices I made and the trouble I went through to handle him and pull his life back on track. I think I deserve to know what the hell gave you the right to make our lives hell."

"It was your brother's doing that made me leave and just so you know, you're not the only one who suffered. I left my home, my friends, my school, and had to restart my life from square one."

"But why?"

"I don't want to talk to you about this. You asked me a question, I gave you an answer. Now please leave me alone."

Erica sighed and left. Vanessa joined Mr. Wilkins for a cup of coffee in his apartment. She told him everything that had occurred that evening which made her leave everything behind. They talked for a couple of hours until Mr. Wilkins got a call from his friends who were supposed to meet him for lunch. Vanessa went to her apartment and freshened up to remove all the negativity.

She later decided to meet her friend, Eva, who knew the situation with Nicholas. A few years after Vanessa abandoned her old life, she was sitting in a coffee house where she crossed paths with Eva. Over time, they formed a deep friendship and helped each other heal their wounds.

Vanessa reached Eva's house and called her. Eva joined her best friend with a big smile and they drove to a nearby diner. Vanessa told her all about the chaos that took place yesterday and today. The lunch was filled with occasional frowns, smiles, and sympathetic nods.

"And then she left and I had some coffee with Mr. Wilkins," Vanessa said, marking the end of chaotic events.

"Wow! That must have been so difficult for you," Eva gently squeezed Vanessa's hand which had formed a fist during the conversation.

"Yes, but I just don't know what to do anymore. I can't leave the job, it pays well and I don't have any experience and the landlord is going to evict me if I delay the rent this month too."

"Oh, I wish I could do something."

"Thanks, it means a lot to me that you're here with me." Corners of Vanessa's lips curled up into a sweet smile, a smile that was doing a great job at covering up the frustration and sadness hidden behind it but her eyes betrayed her, they looked glassy and filled with sorrow.