Chapter 243 - Long Time No See!

Four days later.

Sunday.

Day of Allison's burial held at Divine Peace Cemetery.

About more than 50 people gathered around the cemetery to pay their respect to Allison for the last time.

The attendee consists of the following...Larry and his family, the family attorney, Allison's adoptive brother, the sisters and nuns from the orphanage as well the three daughters, few of Allison's friends in the charity organization circle which she was an active member. Alex and Allison's house staff, Owen and others.

The funeral mass has started.

Everyone's faces were solemn while staring at Allison's beautiful casket.

The priest blessed the casket with holy water, then recites various blessings and readings from the holy bible by a family member and the priest, the offering of bread and wine...

Then the priest recites a short prayer for the deceased. "Receive the Lord's Blessing. The Lord bless you and watch over you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord looks at you with affection and gives you eternal peace in his kingdom in heaven. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit..."

"Amen," the attendees replied in unison.

The funeral mass was about to end soon.

While everyone's attention was on the priest officiating the last rites in front of Allison's coffin... a black car stopped nearby. A woman dressed in black and wearing a wide rim sunglasses on her face exited the car.

She looked at the funeral happening a few meters away. She doesn't want to go there yet...she will wait inside the car until everyone leaves.

She's here for two reasons...say her last goodbye to Allison and talk to Daniel.

She went back inside the car and waited for the funeral to finish.

Back at the funeral site.

The funeral mass finally ended and the coffin was being laid down into the ground for its final resting place. The people threw the red roses into the coffin giving Allison their finally love and respect. In their minds, they felt sad for Allison's tragic untimely passing, and at the same time, they felt lucky that they are still alive and not the one buried inside the coffin.

When all the flowers have already been thrown into the casket, they looked like a sea of lovely decoration to the coffin.

The cemetery worker holds their shovel and starts pouring back the soil to cover the entire coffin.

Some people returned to their seats as the refreshment was already being displayed on the table.

Larry, Alex, Greg, and Owen were left standing staring at the freely covered grave of Allison.

Different thoughts were running in their mind.

Larry was asking forgiveness for his adopted sister because he was distant and aloof to her after their father died. They seldom see each other unless there's an important thing related to the business that needs Allison's signature. He failed to include Allison during family events. He failed so miserably in that department. He regretted somehow that he didn't reach out to her the way real siblings do.

Greg was staring hard at the grave, tears shimmered in his eyes. He wanted to cry but he can't, there are too many people here, later in his room, he will shed tears for his beloved sister. The most loving and generous sister who did everything just to please him and cater to all his whim.

Owen can only ask Madam's forgiveness in his mind, over and over again. It's still hard to believe that she already left this world. He was used to seeing her every day, hear her voice and laughter, and witness her evilness a few times. But despite that, Madam will always be someone he looked up to as his benefactor.

Alex stared at the freshly dug grave. Throughout the funeral service...his sister's coffin remained closed because her face was disfigured. He wants everyone to remember his sister the way she looks when she's still alive. His sister may have committed many evil things but he tries to focus more on the charitable side of his demented sister.

He knows that his sister is not a deranged murderer, she does not kill people out of whim. She is not a serial killer, she just acts impulsively and with reckless abandon. No matter how much he tried to justify his sister's killing, still, he can't take away the fact that Allison killed four people in her lifetime. He felt deeply saddened about it.

The attendees indulged in the refreshment provided in the table and chatted with each other for almost two hours.

Then slowly they began to disperse until only a few people left.

Larry was talking to Alex. "Bro, if you are not busy next week, please drop by at my office so that we can discuss how to settle sister's Allison's last will of testament and her properties. My family and I are leaving the cemetery. Let's keep in touch. You can call me anytime," he said.

Alex nodded his head. "Thanks, bro, I will drop by at your office next week," he replied.

"We're going now," Larry said.

Alex nodded his head and watched Larry walked towards his family, they sauntered towards the parked car a few meters from the burial site. His attention was drawn to the black Honda Civic car parked near his vehicle.

The window of the car was opened, he spotted a woman wearing a black dress and black sunglasses staring at him.

And the woman took off her eyeglass and looked at him.

His heart skips a beat, a voice screamed in his head. 'It's your estranged wife, Nicole...!'

The woman closed the window of the car.

Alex was astonished. His wife is back! But he was not happy about it. He knows why she's back! She returned because of the money, not because she loves him. He knows her too well!

He released a deep sigh.

He turned around and walked towards Owen's side. He lowered himself on the chair beside him. "Owen, you may go home now. Bring the children with you and their two nannies in the mansion for a tour. So that they will be acquainted with their new living arrangement. If something comes up, don't hesitate to call me," he said.

"Okay, Sir. We will leave now," Owen replied and went to the children's side.

Alex watched as Owen and the children boarded the car and leaving the entrance of the cemetery.

He sauntered towards his brother's side and joined them. "Guys, aren't you wanna go home yet?" he asked them.

"It's up to Greg, Sir," Rudy replied.

"It's still early, I want to stay here a bit more. I want to accompany sister, while there's still daylight left," Greg replied. He rose to his feet and walked towards the grave.

Thirty minutes later.

The surrounding starts to darken.

Greg approached his brother sitting on the chair. "Rudy and I will leave now how about you?" he asked.

"I'll stay here a bit, I will leave after ten minutes," replied Alex and addressed his brother's companion. "Rudy, drive safely," he reminded him.

"Yes, Sir!" Rudy responded and together with Greg they boarded the car and left the cemetery.

Alex was the only one left.

As expected, the woman exited the car and walked slowly toward the freshly dug grave. She was carrying a bouquet and candle in her hands.

Alex watched as his wife put the flower on the grave and lighted the candle. He walked to her side.

"Long time no see," he said in a flat voice.

"Condolence, Daniel!" Nicole conveyed her sentiment. "I didn't expect that Allison will pass away in a tragic accident. After hearing the news on TV. I immediately boarded the flight going back here so that I can attend her burial," she explained.

"So...why you're back suddenly? Just for this reason or there's something else?" he asked coldly.

"I'm here to settle our annulment once and for all. We can never be together, so we should go our separate way for good," Nicole replied.

Alex's eyes darkened. "I see...so how much you want this time? All of my properties and money?" he asked in a voice filled with contempt.

"No! On the contrary, I'm not after your money anymore. I just want a quick annulment from you so that we can continue living our separate lives in peace," she explained.

Alex raised his brows. "Why are you in a hurry in getting the annulment? Did you already find somebody else?"

Nicole breathed deeply. "I'm sorry, Daniel. You are correct, I already found somebody new to love and he is much richer than you, besides I'm already one-month-old pregnant. We want to get married as soon as possible," she replied.

Alex released a deep sigh. His wife finally returns to the country to ask for an annulment because she is pregnant with somebody else child. Wow! Just...wow!

"You are indeed...one of a kind Nicole!" he gritted his teeth in anger.

Nicole looked at him. "Common, don't be angry anymore. I'm no longer asking for you money, just speed up the annulment process and we will be good," she said.

Alex was fuming. Although, he no longer had any feelings left for her. He still can't get over her blatant abandonment of him. "Tell me why you suddenly went away? Why did you abandon me?"

Nicole cleared her throat. "I...I'm sorry, Daniel. After one year of our marriage, I reconnected with my ex-boyfriend that I love so much and we decided to give our relationship another chance. Since he was assigned in the US by the company that he works for. I followed him there and we live under one roof as husband and wife. Unfortunately, we separated again. Then I meet a wonderful rich American guy. The rest is history..."

Alex closed his eyes. Looking back, he was now questioning himself why he even married her in the first place? It's just a whirlwind romance, love at first sight, he was besotted by her charm. He thinks she feels the same way too towards him. But he was wrong!

Anyways, the past is past. No use crying over spilled milk.

He realized that some relationsh.i.p.s weren't meant to last. He and Nicole's marriage was short-lived.

"Okay, I will give you what you want. I'll talk to my lawyer about it so that the annulment process will start as soon as possible," he said without a trace of sadness in his voice.

"I'm so sorry, Daniel. I hope you will find a perfect wife for you soon," Nicole said genuinely.

"Alright, you may go now. I still need to talk to my sister." He dismissed her with a sigh of irritation in his voice.

Nicole looked at him one last time...and walked slowly towards the black Honda Civic car.

Alex watched as Nicole's car was moving towards the entrance of the cemetery and disappeared from his sight completely.

He remained standing still beside Allison's grave in the next fifteen minutes, done saying goodbye to her sister, he took his leave.