Shadows Of A Forgotten Spring

Back in the city, days had passed with no sign of Emma. Alexander was physically present in his meetings, but his mind was elsewhere, consumed by the mystery of her sudden disappearance. She had asked for a week to sort things out, yet in two days, she had vanished as if she expected such a move from him to divorce her. Matters had just gotten even more complicated when her car was found abandoned in the middle of nowhere, and his mother, Brianna, was relentless in her demands for answers. Coming out of the meeting hall, Alexander was met by Kevin, his right-hand man, who wore a sorrowful look. "Sir, there's no trace of Miss Emma," Kevin reported. "No records of her leaving the country, and none of her friends have seen her. It's like she vanished into thin air."

Alexander's patience snapped. "She's not a needle! She can't just have disappeared! Find her, Kevin! If you want to keep your job, you'd better find her!" His voice was laced with an underlying threat, and Kevin visibly flinched at it.

"Yes, sir. I'll keep searching," Kevin quickly reassured him, his voice urgent. "Also, Miss Annie is waiting for you in your office."

News that would have ordinarily generated some semblance of satisfaction in Alexander merely contributed to his irritation on this particular day. His mind simply would not quiet from the thoughts of Emma even though Annie, the woman he had always purportedly wanted, awaited him. Now that Emma was gone, there was a strange emptiness at the bottom of his stomach. He wore a mask of contentment for his office as he made his way towards it, keeping in his mind that he had Annie, all he had ever needed.

He stepped into his office. Annie rose from the chair, her face lighting up as she looked at him. "Alexander," she said warmly as she walked towards him with a soft smile on her face.

He smiled, small and tight-lipped, fighting the growing turmoil inside him. "Annie," he said, his tone flat.

Annie noticed his her lack of enthusiasm but pushed the feeling aside and reached up, circling her arms around him in a light embrace. "I missed you," she said softly, laying her head against his chest.

Alexander stood rigidly for a moment before he reluctantly wrapped his arms around her. He longed for the warmth that he used to feel whenever she was close to him, but his mind was filled with Emma and where she might be. Was she safe? Was she hiding from him? The questions chewed at him, making it difficult to focus on anything else.

"Is everything okay?" Annie asked, pulling partially back to look up at him; concern etched onto her face.

nodded. "Just a lot on my mind lately," he lied

let it be. She leaned into him instead and pressed a soft

even as her lips met his, Alexander's mind was miles away, chasing the ghost of the

ΑΛΛΑ

out of her old life, started fresh, and now this. As the reality of the situation set in, she realized that the last connection to Alexander was still with her, inside

her overwhelmed her, bringing mixed feelings-glad to be a mother, yet with deep sadness, knowing her child would grow up not feeling the love of a father. Yet, she kept telling herself that it was all for the best. She felt the pain Alexander had caused her was too great, and she swore to keep the fact that she had his child from him, believing he would make attempts to take

take matters into her own hands and dictate the course of her life. She had always loved flowers for their beauty and the joy they brought; thus, she sought work from a

up. She would start anew, and she and her child would leave behind all sorts of shadows of her past life. This job was just the first step in building that future, one where she could finally find peace and happiness, even if

finally a place where she would attempt to start anew after everything that had happened in her life. A small triumph in the sea of her calamities. Soon enough, she started to become one of the best workers in the flower shop: her attention to detail, her care for plants, her silent

she arranged roses or watered orchids, the troubles of her past marriage and the heartache somehow dissipated, at least for a while. But while her heart had been bruised by Alexander Black. The man who once called himself her husband-something new had been in bloom on the inside of her. Her stomach began to swell-a real reminder of the life that was growing inside. Every time she looked at her tummy, she smiled. The child in her womb just seemed to be a blessing, the one guiltless and bright thing to come from the ruins of her marriage. Whatever hurt Alexander had caused, their child was a treasure that would always be close to her heart. Lying in bed every night, she promised the

afternoon, and Emma was watering flowers along with some of her colleagues when the little bell above the door of the shop gave

voice yet firm, she ordered white lilies. Finally, one of the workers had just begun to serve her when something suddenly went wrong. The old woman gasped in shock, clutching at her

days when her father, who had died of a heart attack, would come home; the signs were so

beside the old woman, commencing CPR, her hands flew as she counted out