Chapter 1: WINTER
Laurel looked out the windows, her heart was still heavy as she watched the snow fall to the ground. Winter was here, everyone was closing early so they could go and enjoy the holiday with their loved ones.
Laurel always appreciated nature, she loved winter, infact it was her favourite time of the year not after what happened last time. 'No' Laurel had already prepared herself for this moment, she wasn't going to let another tear fall. Enough was enough, she was done crying.
With a tired sigh, Laurel began packing her things as she cleared her desk, everyone was living for the holidays, some were retuning home to their loved ones. Laurel didn't have plans yet, for now she would just return back to her condo to rest for the night.
As she packed some files into her bag, a slip fell out, Laurel picked it up as she looked at it. This slip had been here all their while, she remembered getting this from one of her patients, the old lady was so grateful to her and so she gave Laurel this slip, up till now Laurel had not opened it yet. Well it had only been a few weeks since she got it.
Laurel couldn't reject and so she accepted it but up till now she had not really looked at it very well.
"Ohhh" Laurel said in surprised as she read the words on it. It was a free trip and accommodation to one of the resort's in Paris, 'Tranquil Haven Resort' . It was some kind of holiday vacation "Fancy" Laurel said as she continued to look at the slip for a while before placing it inside her bag.
She grabbed her keys and then head outside her office, before leaving she looked at her secretary and then smiled.
"You are leaving early today boss" Sarah said as she giggled and fixed her glasses, normally on holidays like this, she knew her boss would even prefer to spend the night at the office.
"Ha ha very funny Sarah" Laurel said as she reached her hand into her bag and then brought out the check. "Here" Laurel said as she hands the cheque to Sarah, her holiday bonus.
"Thank you boss" Sarah said excitedly as she collected the cheque.
"Are you not leaving now?" Laurel asked as she began to head for the elevators .
"No, I just want to finish up here, I'll leave soon" Sarah added before waving her boss good night and then bringing her attention back to the computer screen.
Abigail arrived at the parking lot and noticed that they were still some cars around, perhaps they were still some people like her who didn't have anywhere to go to for the holidays.
Without wasting anymore time outside as the weather was cold, Abigail quickly entered her car and drove away.
..............
"Did she pick your calls?" He asked as he looked at his wife who was now having a sad expression on.
"No, voice mail" She said as she dropped her phone down and went to sit next to her husband.
"I'm sure she's doing alright, maybe she just wants time to herself" He spoke as he consoled his wife even though he knew deep down that he was worried.
"It's been a year now, she still doesn't want to talk to us or even tell us what happened" She complained as she sighed.
"The last time I called Sarah, she confirmed that Laurel was alright, let's just let her be, she's just taking time to heal" Robert said before placing a kiss on his wife's cheek. "Come on, time for bed" He spoke as he helped her up so they could get some rest.
Moria knew her daughter too well, she knew that everything was not alright with laurel, no matter what anyone said, she was still concerned about her daughter.
...........
"Well you can't turn down granny's invitation this time, I mean the old lady just wants us all together for a family reunion, what's it with you?"An annoying voice complained over the phone, from the way he sounded one could tell that he was getting tired of talking.
"I didn't say that I was not coming Tommy, my schedule is tight, if I can then I'll try" Oliver answered with his eyes fixed on his computer screen.
"Tight schedule? Seriously? You could have thought of a better excuse than that. It's the holiday for God's sake, how tight can your schedule be?" Tommy complained and now he was starting to sound like a child.
"Tommy you are distracting me" Oliver said as he tried to dismiss his brother.
"Whatever, the flight is in three days okay, I don't know what you are going to do but just make sure your tight schedule is fixed soon. I already told granny that you would be present so don't you dare break her heart by not coming" Tommy said his words coming out like a threat but it was clear that he was just trying to be strict.
"Good night Tommy " Oliver said before ending the call. Oliver sighed as he finally got the peace and quiet he was longing for, he closed his computer screen and got up from his chair, he was looking tired with his sleeves rolled up and his hair messy. He had a long day today, too many business meetings he had to attend to.
He was hoping that he would finally be able to be alone during the holidays but now he had to go for the family trip, if it were possible then he would prefer not to go but now that Granny is involved, he had to attend.
"Long night " He said to himself as he brought out a bottle of champagne and poured some in a glass for himself. He walked over to the glass walls overlooking the city as he sipped from his glass of champagne.
So many thoughts running in his head as he watched the busy night he had no plans of returning back to his apartment and would rather spend the night at his office. For the trip, he would just have to attend but he wasn't going to stay for long, he would only spend a week and then leave.
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