It was a mistake.

    Jade sighed as soon as the man outside turned around. Seeing a seemingly look-alike of the man she misses the most pained her heart.

    Marcus. She frowns at the thought of him. Yes, she misses him greatly and sometimes look for a newspaper or  a magazine to check on him but even the business magazine where he was mostly featured has seemingly forgotten about him. There are no news about him for the past few months.

    What could have happen to him?

    She''s worried, yes. But she has to keep it to herself since she chose to leave his man. Marcus might be living with Rachelle and their child privately, she thought and that mere sentence brought back the pain she has to endure all alone.

    The end of her long-awaited dream has come to pass--which was Marcus, and the death of her daughter when she was about to be born. It pains her and the memory keeps on killing her over and over again.

    How she wanted to die to forget about the pain... yet, she has to endure and live with it for the sake of the children around her. Those orphans needed her and that alone gives her strength each day to face the uncertainty of tomorrow.

    "Hey, what are you thinking?" Her friend, Jessa tap the daze woman. Looking at her pitiful face made her frown. "Your sad.. again." Her heart breaks whenever she sees her friend looking at a far distance. Jade may not say it out loud but her countenance speaks it all.

    She doesn''t have any idea who Jade is, her background, her past and all but she never dared to ask the woman about it. Not that she doesn''t care about her but she respected Jade''s privacy.

    When they first met, Jessa has a lot of questions about her, especially when she learnt about her pregnancy. A lot of ?ssumptions came to her mind but she never spoke about it even once. Her mother prevented her from asking as well. All they did was accept the woman without further investigating her. Not that they don''t care about her history but seeing how depressed the pregnant woman, they decided to take good care of her instead. She seems to be a good lady after all.

    They can wait until Jade decides to trust them about her past.

    Yes, that''s how they treated her the past few months. All they know was that, she is a good person to adopt a lot of abandoned children and help the modern Saint Theresa raised the kids at the mountainside.

    "Because I know how it is to be an orphan." It was the only explanation they heard from her when they asked why was she spending a lot of money for the children not blood related to her.

    "It''s the least I can do to thank the Almighty for not abandoning me." A hint of sadness enveloped her statement.

    They were touched by her kindness and so they decided to aid her with some little helps. The town is considered as the poorest in the country so every cents counts for them. But Jessa and her mother could only help with little things like cooking some hearty meals once every two months or collecting donations at work like unused clothes and remake it to suit the kids.

    Jade considers them angels in disguise and the mere fact that they never once ask her about her life overwhelms her. She doesn''t need judgmental and nosy people around  her for now. All she wants is peace and joy. Yet, she''s struggling to obtain it since her past keeps on haunting her dreams every now and then. And the memory of her beloved ex-husband still swarms her dreams almost every night!

    How she wants to be with him! how she longs for him every single moment of her life! How she misses the man''s warmth embrace... his half cracked smile, his deep penetrating gaze... his--- he, as a whole!

    "I''m sorry." She force a smile at Jessa who was looking at her with sadness. "I''m okay, don''t worry."

    "If you said so." Jessa heaved a sigh before standing. "I''ll go in first, I still need to report to our manager. Make sure to sign all the necessary documents cause I''m telling you, we have a lot of things to do."

    "Do we have a may guest today?" Jade was curious.

    "Not just ordinary guest, they''re VVIP''s!" Jessa exclaimed.

    "VVIP''s? What kind of VIP is it for today?" She thought. With the current state of the city, it is too way impossible that celebrities or business men and women would want to do business here. That''s why Jade has a lot of thoughts about it.

    Anyway, it''s not her own business now. She''s just a mere unknown employee of the said hotel. Why would she think about the hotel''s affairs? She shook her head lightly.

    "I''m going. See you later." Jessa bid her goodbye before returning to work. As for Jade, she still needs to wait for 30 minutes before going to the human resource department.

    Unknown to Jade, someone outside the hotel''s café is taking some pictures of her. And that mysterious person smirked evilly. "I finally found you, little mice."

    ************************

    "But what if she''s dead?"

    The question keeps on ringing in his ears.

    Marcus staggered a bit upon hearing what Barry has said. All these months, they''ve been looking tirelessly for Jade. But they never once thought about the other possibilities. Yeah, what if she''s dead?

    That mere thought alone sent an unexplainable ache in Marcus'' heart. He suddenly feels suffocated. And even the way how his father said it gave a jolt of confidence. Did he already found Jade?

    No, no... He doesn''t want to think of that option yet. Not now, not yet until he sees her corpse. He will only believe what his eyes would see.

    That''s the only way for him to control the pain trying to kill him inside.

    "Dad, don''t you think you''re going too far on your remarks? I won''t believe it until I saw her corpse with my own eyes." After uttering it, Marcus strode outside the house and head straight to his condo.  Yes, he decided to stay away from his father''s grasp. Although he knew that he is being watched and tracked but being alone somehow relieves him.

    ''Jade, I''m not giving up on you. Please be alive along with our child.'' He mumbled and pray as he drives back home in the central city.

    MEANWHILE, As soon as the young man left the mansion, a shadow appeared in front of the old man.

    "Have you completed the task I gave you?" He asked as soon as he lit his cigarette.

    "It''s almost done, sir." The mysterious guy answered.

    "Make sure to be done within this week. Marcus doesn''t need such kind of a lady. It''ll only make him weak."

    "I understand." The man bowed in respect before placing a sealed envelope in Barry''s table. "I''m taking my leave now." He voiced and left in a hurry.

    He finished his cigarette in just a few minutes before opening the envelope. Inside it are various photos of a certain person.

    "I''m sorry, but you must be eliminated at all cost." His eyes glowed with determination. ''Your mere existence will only destroy my plans."

    *Author''s note: Please be aware that this story is only contracted under . If you are reading this in another platform, please do notify me. Thank you!