Hey guys, this one is really unedited. But as usual enjoy!

I would like to dedicate this week's chapter to emeraldogechi Thank you for the amazing votes! I truly appreciate it! ❤️

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Brian's POV:

Cold water splashed onto my face. Not even the soothing effect of the droplets could ease my mind. I held onto the sink, and took a deep breath before I looked into the mirror. That face. Sometimes I wished I didn't look like him.  The constant reminder did do me any good. The fact that mom decided to remind me his presence by arranging this so called death anniversary didn't help either.

I closed my eyes once again. 'You can get through this. You will get through this!' I wished my own voice could be heard above the rest of the cluttering noises, but the more I tried, the louder it became.

Wait! I think the voices were from the outside.

I pulled a t shirt over my body, and rushed out of my room. Just as I jogged down the stairs, mom entered the hallway with a prominent frown resting on her face. She walked towards the side hall without so much as a glance at me.

"Mom!" I called out, but there was no answer. I followed her pathway, only to be surprised by another presence in the room.

"Mrs. Mathews?"

Her eyes lit up as she looked at me. She immediately got up, and embraced me in a hug. "Brian! It's so good to have you back. How was the trip?"

"Good. How are you doing?"

"Good. I just miss my son."

"He will be back so soon. Sit down please." She took a seat on the single sofa opposite to my mother's while I sat in the central large one. "Not to sound rude, but what are you doing here so late? Is there any problem at home? If there is, do not hesitate to tell me. I will do-"

She shook her head with a smile. "No son, do not worry. I know you will be there to help in case of emergency, but I am not here for that." She looked at mother. "Your mother said Cath had finally returned from.. uh.." She looked a little uncomfortable, and I tried not to show my frustration out.

"Rehabilitation centre. It's not a hard word."

She chuckled nervously. "Sorry son. I didn't mean to offend you. How is she?"

"As you would have heard from the commotion, a little bit cranky. I wanted to apologise for that. She gets like that sometimes. It might be a side effect of all the antidepressants messing up with her already messed up..."

The glare I directed towards my mother would have been enough to shut her up. "What mother?"

She cleared her throat, and looked away. "Nothing." A forced smile then spread on her lips. She probably wanted to bite my head off now, but unlucky for her we had a guest witness. "I was just saying that we could find subtle changes in her. Our Cathy would never raise her voice."

"Maybe you should start considering why she does then. Perhaps something or someone caused it?"

Her lips twitched. I could see the anger boil in her eyes, but she couldn't do anything. Not in front of the guest. "What are you even saying Brian? Who could do such a thing? I am just worried about her. You know with her history of a mental dis.."

"Depression mother." I gave her a warning glare. "Depression. That's all it was, and now she is back. Better than ever. No matter what her difference is we're going to accept her and love her for it. This will be the last time ever to talk about this."

She plastered a smile on her face, and leaned back on the sofa. "Of course!" Her eyes lit up as she gazed at the doorway. "Oh here she is. We were just talking about you Cathy dear."

Just then Cath, and Sam entered the hall. Cath froze as she took in the scene before her. Mom smiled at her like she hadn't just talked behind her back. On the other hand Mrs. Mathews looked about ready to cry at the sight of Cath. Great! This was going to be a long night.

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Everybody remained silent. Everybody smiled awkwardly. None of them wanted to be here, why were they then? I had a reason. I had a suspicion on why Mrs.Mathew was here and I didn't want Cath to deal with her alone.

Cath could be too nice for her own good, and wouldn't know how to turn down Mrs.Mathews if she did bring up the topic of "Cathy, and Jamey!" There was no "Cathy and Jamey" anymore. And Cath being the good girl that she was, wouldn't want to bring her heart by saying that.

"So.." Mrs. Mathews smiled and took Cath's hand in hers. "How are you, my daughter in law?"

Sam spit the water she had been drinking right on my mother's face. Her eyes widened before she quickly ran away muttering a sorry. I picked up a tissue from the table and handed it over to mom, trying hard not to laugh.

"So how are you?" Mrs. Mathews encouraged Cath, taking her hands in between her own.

"Uh, good." Cath looked down.

"Don't be so rude. Ask her how she is." Mother intervened.

"Mom." I sighed. "Don't do that."

"I am just sayi.."

"It's okay Annie." Mrs.Mathews shook her head. "I just wanted to know how my daughter in law was. I am happy that she is okay."

I sighed and rubbed my hand over my face. "I don't mean to be rude Mrs.Mathew. We're happy to have you over anytime, but Cathy and I've had a long day. She is too tired and probably too nice to say this to you. Would you mind if we continue this conversation in the morning? I just want her to get some rest."

Mrs. Mathews smiled at me. "Not at all son. I was just talking with Annie, and thought I could have a look at you kids while I was at it." She gazed at her phone. "It's getting late anyways. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Don't talk nonsense. You can stay as long as you want. One sleepless night isn't going to affect anyone." My mother glared at me.

"It's no problem. I just live opposite to you. We can meet up any time we want. Let them get some rest." She kissed Cath's forehead. "Good night dear." And then she was gone.

I stretched my arms out and got up to leave only to be blocked by my mother. She glared at me. "What was that Brian?"

"What was what mother?"

"That behaviour! Attitude! How could you be so rude to a guest who had the courtesy to wait for you when the two of you had run away to God knows where!"

"I don't see how stating that we're tired was being rude."

"You practically told her to get out!" She hissed.

"No. I requested her to get out. There is a difference." I held out my hand to Cathy. "Come on, let's get some sleep."

Mom blocked our way again. "Where do you think you're going?"

I sighed. "Mom I am really not in the mood to fight. You are in no condition to increase your blood pressure too. Did you take your medicines?"

"I can handle myself. I am quite stable unlike some." Her eyes drifted to Cathy.

"Don't say another word." I tried to control my angry. I pulled Cathy's hand and jogged up the stairs when she spoke again.

"Wouldn't be the first person in the family to be that way wouldn't it? Maybe it's all in the genes."

That's it.! My grip on Cathy's hand loosened. The whole house fell silent as I turned slowly to look at my mother. She stood frozen for a moment before she composed herself. I pulled my emotions back behind a blank face. "Good job mom. You've just proved yourself not worthy of even fighting with." With that I rushed towards my room.

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Cath's POV:

Every step I took towards his room felt as heavy as a stone on a sinking boat. I knocked on the door, but there was no reply. Taking a deep breath, I twisted the knob. The door opened in an eerily quiet manner to reveal a dark room.

For a second I was scared he wasn't there, but then a light from the balcony caught my attention. He stood leaning on the railing with his eyes looking up at the sky. I slowly closed the door behind me and walked upto him. I could see that he had sensed my arrival by the slight tilt in his head, but he didn't move any more than that.

I walked upto him, and stood beside him. I placed my hand over his and pressed it lightly. He smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him. The two of us remained silent.

"Do I remind you of him?"

I looked upto him. His eyes were still on the dark night sky, but I could see a shimmer of liquid dazzling in his eyes. "Yes." His head whipped in my direction. "Sometimes."

He pulled away from me and walked to the other side of the balcony. His hands looked like they could squeeze the steel railing any second now. I wrapped my arms around his and laid my head on his shoulder. "I meant that in a good way."

He looked down at me. "What is so good about it? All my life I've been trying not to be like him. The constant reminder from mom makes me want to hate myself sometimes. I don't want to be like him." I could hear the disgust in his voice and it hurt my soul.

"Hey." I turned him around so he could look at me. "Don't say that. I know you love him too."

He smiled painfully at me before he completely looked away. "That's the worst part. Can you love someone that you hate equally?"

"You don't hate him."

"Do you?"

"Never." He looked at me and pulled me into a side hug.

"You're too good to hate anyone."

"No. I mean it truthfully. I can never bring myself to hate him no matter what." I pressed myself closer to him. "I wish he was here sometimes."

The silence became louder and the sound of crickets were the only things that could be heard.

"Me too."

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The moment I entered my room I was tackled by a body. "You alright? What happened? What took you so long? Did she talk about the marriage again? Did your mom tell you anything about killing me?" I wanted to laugh at her bewildered expression if it weren't for the tiredness in my body.

"Sam!"

"What?"

"Take a breath!" She did and released me from her hold. I took the time to walk around her and sit on the bed.

"Cath! Say something! I am dying of suspense here! I wanted to come back but I don't think I was ready to face your mom after spitting on her face."

I chuckled and she groaned. "It's not that funny. Tell me what happened! Right this minute."

I smiled mischievously at her. "Maybe it's time for you to suffer in suspense for a change."

"Cath!" She hit my arm playfully. "When did you become so evil?"

"A little too late considering the fact that I am your best friend."

She chuckled. "True. But I wanted to give you something. Since you're not talking, I wouldn't give it to you either."

She walked upto the dresser and pulled out a rectangular solid wrapped in a white courier sheet. "What is it?"

"Ah, we would have to open it to know that. Since you're too busy keeping your mouth shut, I guess we'll never find out." She smirked.

I sighed. "Fine. Brian made Mrs.Mathews leave long back. Mom got angry and fought with him. I wanted him to feel better. So I was with him for a while."

"Is he okay? Should I go check up on him?"

I shook my head. "No. He is okay. He just went to sleep. Now where is the thing that you wanted to give me?"

Her eyes lit up as she jogged to the bed and threw it between us on the bed. "I would have prolonged this wait, but I myself am curious to know what that is. Be happy I didn't open it before you came."

I frowned as I picked up the parcel. "You don't know? I thought you got me something."

She shook her head. "No. Mary gave this to me when I was coming up. Said this came for you in the mail."

I frowned as I looked at the package. The top part of it was decorated by two words in an elegant handwriting. Catherine Lawrence. Nothing else. I turned around to find nothing else written on it. "That's weird. There's no from address."

"Who cares! Let's open it already." Before I could stop her, Sam ravished the cover like a wild animal starving in hunger. Her smile fell when she saw what was inside. "A book?" She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I thought it would be something more interest."

"Hey it's a novel. And novels are interesting. Don't you dare insult them."

"Yeah yeah whatever you say Shakespeare." She rolled her eyes and got up from the bed. "I am going to sleep now."

Once she entered the bathroom to do her nightly duties, I picked up the book. "Impossible love" - the cover read. A love story perhaps. I turned around to find no summary at the back of it. It only had one sentence instead. "Mysteries are more fun when you have no clue about them."

I chuckled. That looked like something Sam would write. The book intrigued me even more. I opened it, and a paper fell off from between the first page and the outer cover. A yellow paper. I picked it up to open it but just then the bathroom door opened and Sam walked out.

I immediately pressed the paper back into where it fell from and closed the book. She stretched her arms out and yawned. "Can we turn off the lights already or are you going to go on a book marathon?"

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Sam's snores filled my ears. Her arms were wrapped around my torso squeezing the life out of me. I couldn't sleep. I had one more mystery to unveil. I slowly tugged my body out from Sam's hold and replaced a pillow in my place. She squeezed it closer to her body.

I tiptoed my way across to the dresser and switched on the small yellow bulb above the mirror. I turned back to find Sam still asleep. Sometimes I loved the fact that she was a heavy sleeper. I slowly opened the drawer without making any noise and pulled the book out of it.

My heart beat increased as I gazed at myself in the mirror. For some reason I had a bad feeling about this, but I knew I couldn't give my mind a rest without reading it. I flipped open the hard cover and the yellow paper glared at me. Well, here goes nothing.

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Michael's POV:

I pushed the door open and entered inside not bothering if the loud noise woke up the whole building. I was way beyond angry at the moment. "I am sure I would have at least had a minimum of 5000£ on my cash card, but imagine my surprise when I find out I had zero balance on my account when I tried to pay for my food."

He sipped onto his glass of whiskey as if he hadn't heard me burst out in anger. He slowly turned around in his chair and smiled at me. "That's a shame. Did you earn all that money?"

I glared at him as I stomped towards him. "Don't pretend like it's all your hard earned money. My grandfather entrusted the company onto you hoping you would take care of his daughter but you being the selfish bastard you are claimed it during your divorce settlement."

A nerve popped up on his nerve as he glared at me. "I made my way up the corporate ladder. Nothing was handed upto me easily like you had. So don't talk to me like you know everything."

"Are you jealous of your own son?"

He took a swig of his drink before he poured himself another glass. "No, I am just resentful of the fact that some undeserving people get everything handed out to them in a plate while some of us had to fight around in the streets for it."

"Maybe you should have been left there to suffer. Would have made my life easier!"

He jumped onto me and wrapped his hand around my neck. I pushed him away. "Don't you dare touch me!"

"You're not getting a single penny from me!"

"I don't want any of your money. But remember I have shares in the company too!" I shouted too.

"A company you don't care about!"

"Yeah unlike you I care about people, and not money!"

"Good! I hope you still care about that girl enough to know that I am the only one who could help you in this matter."

I closed my eyes trying to control my anger. "You're just a piece of shit!"

"And you're the son of that piece of shit!"

"Like you ever make me forget that!" With that I stormed out of his room just as fast as I had come.

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My body shivered inspite of wearing a heavy leather clad jacket. I pressed the bell button again hoping the door would be opened soon. Just a second later my prayers were answered and I had never been this happy to look at his face.

"I knew I was irresistible!" Blake smirked. Maybe this wasn't that much of a good idea either.

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Cath's POV:

My hands trembled as I finished reading the contents of the paper, and it swiftly flew away from my hold. I could hear each beat of my heart in my ears. My lungs constricted, and I couldn't breathe. My body gave out, and I had to hold onto the dresser to stop myself collapsing onto the floor.

Each breath I took in became more painful than the previous on, and my chest ached. My eyes found my face on the mirror and I could trace tears falling out of my eyes. My eyelids drooped and all I could think about was one thing. Why?

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Hey lovely people! I hope you all are fine! Now it's question time!

What do you think of Brian now that you know a little bit of what's in her head?

Do you think the pace of the story is a little bit slow?

And is it so confusing to read so many POVs in the same chapter?

Comment and let me know so I could find a way to improve my writing!

Don't forget to vote for this chapter!

Until next time,

- Love, Sara!