Ch. 96..100: The Wife I Never Met chapter 96-100
Chapter 96
” of course why did I not think of that, I’m sure she looked for accommodation wherever she will be staying.”
Matthew commented in realization, as he picked up the phone and revisited the browsing history. But after going through it, he noticed that Ciara had cleared her phone’s browsing history.
” I’ll have to give it to her, this woman is good I’m telling you. “
” bring it here. “
Liam knew that no one can be that thorough when covering their tracks, it takes a pro to do that. He took the phone, and only pressed a few keys before a name came up.
‘Aloe Ridge guest house.’
He then clicked on the link on it which took them straight to their booking site with contact details and an address for that guesthouse.
” Got you, not that clever now huh!.”
Right then Finnick’s phone rang, the screen on his phone showed that the person who was calling was one of his men also helping out with looking for Liam’s wife Ciara.
” Talk to me.”
He answered and then waited for the man’s briefing, which after acknowledging what the man told him, he hung up.
” OK this is one of my men, he just reported that Ciara got in to a plane and flew to Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape province. We should probably pack up and get ready to go there.
Knowing that Ciara was no where near him frustrated Liam a lot, and the fact that he could not do anything about it got him even more mad.
He tried hacking the camera surveillance at the guest house where they assumed that Ciara was staying in, but because he was too far from it, the hacking could not be carried out.
Since they were already driving their cars from their city, they decided to continue doing the same as they had a lot of equipment with them. They all went to their rooms and tried to get some sleep and rest before their 15 hour trip to Port Elizabeth.
About 3 hours after that Liam had gotten up and started waking everyone up as well. He felt that every second counted and it was important not to waste it on lazing around.
Finnick was used to drills from work so Liam’s technique of waking them up did not bother him, but Matthew on the other hand was grumpy for a very long time. After they were done putting their things in the cars, they started their long journey to Port Elizabeth.
They would only stop when one needed to use the toilet, buy snacks or put some gas on the car. Otherwise they just drove through all the towns and cities leading to their destination. By the time they reached their destination it was almost day break. They were able to book a very nice five star hotel in the city, the Radisson blu hotel. They took the whole floor to themselves as they wished not to be disturbed. They again set up their equipment with the video screens and computers and Liam immediately started working.
They called the guest house to see if they had a guest by the name Ciara Williams, but the receptionist refused to give them such information and said something about protecting their guests.
Now this left them with no choice but to personally visit the guest house themselves.
When they arrived, Matthew took out a huge roll of bank notes and looked at the receptionist.
” I called you a few minutes ago, but I need you to think carefully before answering as there are no second chances. Tell me do you have a guest called Ciara Williams?”.
The receptionist looked at the money and bit of his lower l*p, he did not know what to do. He was stuck between sticking to rules of his job and protect the privacy of his guests or take the money and reveal what ever information they needed.
It was indeed a big roll and by estimation that money could no doubt double his annual income. Thinking about how he would be able to build his wife the kitchen of her dreams, better yet extend the house.
It was really a tough decision to make, but in the end greed got the better of him as he turned his eyes to the computer screen in front of him.
” Ciara Williams you say?”
He started typing furiously on his computer keyboard and went through all the information available under that name.
” unfortunately we don’t have a guest by that name, however we did have a woman who stayed with us a few months ago, she only stayed for a week and then checked out. She was however very friendly and close to our cleaning staff, maybe you can find some information about her.
They wasted no time and went to the staff quarters where they found Suzi the cleaner, who was said to be close to Ciara during her stay here.
After exchanging their greetings, they did not beat around the bush but got straight to the point.
” We heard that you are close to the person we are looking for, give us the information we need and you will have no regrets in life.”
Matthew had again taken out another roll of money and desplayed it in front of the woman.
” What information do you want, I’ll answer you to the best of my ability. “
” Ciara Williams, where is she, did she tell you where she will be going before checking out of here?”
” Well Ciara was a very private person, we only spoke about general things whenever we met. I’m afraid she did not share those details with me. “
The men in front of her looked very disappointed with Matthew putting back the roll of money back in his pocket. They looked at her conflicted face before turning around to leave.
They walked out of the door, but just after taking a few steps away they heard a voice of the same woman calling them back. They looked at each other, then walked in again.
” Changed your mind?”
” wait here I just remembered something.”
She then walked up to her cupboard and opened one of the drawers before she took out a piece of paper, she looked at it for a few seconds then gave it to Matthew, the one who had showed her a chunk of money.
Chapter 97
Matthew took the paper from Suzie and scanned through it to see what exactly was on it, only to find out that it was an ultrasound baby scan that Ciara had left behind.
” I found it in her room when I was cleaning it back then . She must have misplaced it when leaving , so I kept it for her and as a memory of the friend I had in her.”
” Ok that will be all.”
Matthew took the scan, threw the roll of money at the woman and then walked out of the guest house along side his friends. when they reached their hotel suite, it was time to go through all those details found on the ultra sound report. Although they did not understand a thing on that report , they were able to get the doctor’s name and practice address.
since they had a breakthrough in their search , they decided to reward themselves and this time Matthew was against ordering their meal to be delivered to their suite , instead he wished to go out and enjoy his meal.
” if that is the case, I will pick the restaurant. That is not up for negotiation.”
With that said , they were now all going to be following Liam’s direction.
he went through his phone for a while, then picked up his jacket and left.
” Are you guys coming or what?”
” Dude!”
they wanted to complain, but ended not saying anything and followed him to where ever they will be eating. After they got in to the car Liam instructed the driver where they will be going and the driver asked no questions but did as told. The car drove for a while till it stop at a secluded building with only a few people coming in and out of it. when they walked in , they were welcomed by the hostess of that restaurant who led them to where they will be sitting. as they settled down they found that apart from them there were only five other people dinning in there. the restaurant was traditional looking, and served top of the tier traditional and western cuisine. Not sure what to get , Liam ended up ordering beef stew and dumplings where as the other two non picky eaters order a bit of everything , they were sure to try everything as long as they could stomach it. After waiting for some time , their meal was finally brought out to their table and they started digging in. Liam would from time to time look out at the table at the corner where two women sat and enjoyed their Meal and were chatting happily not aware at the man looking at them.
They continued to eat, while discussing their way forward and what they will get up to on the following they. After they were done they settled their bill and walked toward the door out of the restaurant but instead of going straight out of the door Liam, turned and walked to the two women sitting at the corner table.
” Hey man, you are a married man, remember we are still looking for your wife and she wouldn’t like to see what you are doing now.”
Matthew had long noticed Liam looking at these women from the they entered the restaurant and assumed that he had taken a liking to one of them. What he did not know was that there was a reason why Liam chose that restaurant to eat in, and it was exactly because of those women. When he got the name of Ciara’s doctor he Google her and even stalked her social media that was how he knew that Donna and her friend would be here right at his restaurant so he brought his friends along with him.
Hearing Matthew’s comment, Liam turned to look at him in confusion then proceeded walking to the women at the corner.
He did not bother to politely ask if it was OK for him to join the, He just pulled out a chair and sat down.
” Hey Hey, what are you doing? You are not invi…..”
The woman failed to finish her sentence as her eyes met Liam’s, she froze on the spot taking in his rare beauty, one that she only saw on the TV but today the man of her dreams was sitting right in front of her.
Liam on the other hand did not bother entertaining her but focused on Donna in front of him whose eyes never left him since he came to their table. Her reaction made him think that she knew something, either that or she was one of those groupie girls who would throw themselves at him when an opportunity was presented.
” Dr nice to meet you.”
He said that with a smile but still maintaining eye contact with her.
“You, you came!”
Said Donna as she stuttered, she could not believe her eyes as well. The man that her friend loved dearly was right in front of her but she did not know how to react.
Liam raised one of his eyebrows as he questioned the woman in front of him.
” So you do know who I am.”
” Yes Ciara, eeeh uhm, I mean who wouldn’t know who you are. Your press conference was all over the news and besides that, you are always featured on the business current news.”
She noticed she was about to give herself out and changed her words, even so, Liam could tell that she was spewing nonsense. There was more to her story than what meets the eye.
” Is that so? Why do I have a feeling that you know more than that Dr? “
” No, really. That’s all I know.”
Seeing that he had everything he wanted to know Liam stood up with a smile on his face, just before he left the table he asked for a favor from Donna.
” Could you not tell my wife I’m already in town for her, oh and thank you Dr for taking care of her for me.”
He then left with his crew following him behind.
Chapter 98
Donna was left dumbfounded as she watched Liam and his friends leave the restaurant.
” What did I say, why would he assume that I know his wife. Aarg!”
” So you do know his wife, huh?”
Her friend asked with a sly smile, she was happy to receive the front row as the drama unfolds. She wanted to know who was this lucky woman who was able to tie down the beast himself. It surely couldn’t not be the Ciara she was thinking about, right? The one whose husband left her to fend for herself while she was pregnant. The one who only earned a minimum wage and was useless to even find a better paying job than that.
Well although it was the same woman, what she and everyone else didn’t was that Ciara did not need that job herself as she was already well-off, from her own creations and movies she made.
” something like that, we are actually friends but that’s not the point.”
This friend of hers was narrow minded, although they grew up together and were able to attain the success they currently have, Donna’s friend was not as polite and humble as she was but was purely mean and would always look down on people who were not as successful as she was.
She was also Ciara’s colleague who held a management position in the company. Everytime she saw her, disgust will rise up from the bottom of her belly. Apart from the ring that she wore, everything about Ciara spelt poverty which was why she never understood the reason why Donna would be friends with her. “
” friends? So why do you keep the other pregnant Ciara if you have friends like that. Being friends with useless people like her will embarrass you in front of people like Mr Jones and his wife. “
Donna frown at such a mean comment that her friend just mentioned.
” You have to watch what you say, never judge someone because of how they look. “
” But Dee it’s not how she looks, that girl just poor. I know because she works under me, I even know how much she makes in a month. I wonder how she pays for her doctors appointment…. Owh my god, you don’t do it for free now do you?. “
Donna laughed it off, she wished not to hear someone belittle her friend like that, but still didn’t know how to defend Ciara without releasing some of her private files.
” You know Ciara is way capable and richer than the two of us combined. Don’t do anything that you might regret in the future OK.”
‘ Richer than the two of us combined? Owh come on! How is that even possible.’
She felt that Donna was just fooling around, if Ciara was as Rich as Donna claims her to be, why would she be still working under so much pressure while pregnant.
” Girl you know that’s a lie. If she’s rich, why is she still working?”
” I’m pretty sure she has her own reasons for that.”
Donna was in no position to disclose Ciara’s business, but she knew that everything will come out in due time so she decided to just let her friend be in the dark for a while. They ate up their meal and left after sometime of bickering about Ciara’s life.
Back at the hotel when Liam and his friends got home, he started hacking in to the doctor’s practice system where he found Ciara’s appointment dates and all of her details including her residential address and work place. So he jotted everything down, but since he didn’t understand all the medical terms used on her file, Liam decided to pay the doctor a visit on the following day. He wanted to know if everything was fine with his wife and child.
When Donna arrived at her office office the following day, she got the shock of her life. She had never expected to find someone already sitting comfortably in her office waiting for her, worst of all they didn’t even have an appointment. She still wanted to relax and take her time to herself before her first patient’s appointment but know there was someone in her office and she had to attend to him.
” We meet again Doctor, no need to worry as I’m not here to stay but need a few information about my family then I will be on my way.”
Donna heaved a sigh of relief as soon as she heard that. She was glad that Liam wasn’t there to create chaos but to inquire about his family. Since he was the patient’s husband Donna was more than happy to help him out, so she stepped in and closed her office door.
“Good to see you again Mr Jones, how may I assist you?”
Seeing that the Doctor in front of him was willing to help him without any greed or wanting to be bribed, Liam continued freely.
” My wife, you know her right?.. How is she and how is the kid? Are they both healthy? “
He shot a series of questions leaving the doctor’s head spinning.
” Cici is doing fine, both her and the baby are doing fine but…”
She paused for a while which left Liam panicked and moved closer to the edge of his chair. He tried to conceal his emotions and be serious.
” Doctor you better get straight to the point, what do you mean, but? Talk What happened to them? . “
” well nothing too bad, really. Cee is overworking herself, she really doesn’t need to work and can just stay home till she gives birth but what she is doing right now is also stressing the baby and could potentially lead to early birth. We both know how dangerous that can be to both mother and child. “
” what you are telling me is that Ciara needs to stop writing? “
Liam knew it would be hard to get Ciara to stop doing the one thing she loved the most, she even chose to be without a family than to stop writing.
” Sir I don’t think you understand me, it’s not the writing that is straineous to her body, but it’s the environment she works in. She is now a junior editor for a small company, and it seems like some of her colleagues mistreats her. Maybe you can talk to her.”
Liam was confused and angry at the same time, he didn’t understand why Ciara would put herself in so much stress and pressure but also angry at the people who are abusing her.
” Since you are calling her Cee and know so much about her, I’ll assume that you are not only her Doctor, right? “
Chapter 99
“well yes, I would like to believe that we are friends.”
Liam then asked her to keep their conversation between the two of them as he still needed to assess the situation at Ciara’s company, see if there are people who needed to be punished. He also got all the information he needed about Ciara’s place of work.
After going through Ciara’s file with the doctor, Liam excused himself and was about to exit the door when Donna stopped him.
” uhm Mr Jones Sir, today in the afternoon Mrs Jones will be here for her regular check-up. You can come if you want, I’ll organize a room for you so that you can watch everything live and you will be able to see the gender of the baby if you want. Cici is still waiting for your presence, she wanted you to be present when she finds out.”
” Thank you.”
Liam was really greatful to the doctor, he knew that she was a true friend to Ciara and was doing all she could to benefit the two of them, but since there was still a lot to fix he too opted not to know the baby’s gender and will find out when both him and his wife are in the same room at the same time.
After confirming the time of Ciara’s appointment he left the practice and headed to a small dinner at the center of town where he started his work for the day.
Ciara walked in the editorial company that she worked for and signed in for the day, she warmly greeted the secretary who was the only person apart from the cleaner who treated her like a normal human being probably because they thought they were on the same level when it came to their backgrounds and affordability.
The secretary also greeted her back with a warm smile.
” Hello dear, how’s the little one treating you? I hope she is behaving herself otherwise auntie will whip her small butt when she comes out.”
They both laughed at the statement, Ciara even pointed at her belly and talked to her little one.
” You heard that baby, you better behave yourself now because auntie is really going to smack that butt of yours. “
She ended up not answering the receptionist as they were both busy laughing at their jokes. She then walked in to her work station and sat down staring at the pile of documents before her. It looked like it was going to be another long day for her. She needed to proof read everything on those documents and fix any mistakes found on it.
It may sound as an easy task, but sitting in one place and reading the never ending documents for 8 to 9 hours a day can be exhausting and especially for a pregnant woman. She sigh but still took out the first document and read through it.
“Guys did you see the weather for today? They said it Will reach 42 degrees Celsius.”
” that’s too bad, so the misus here together with the sun will definitely make us sleepy..”
” Owh God not again, why doesn’t she go home and come back once she has given birth? “
The comments were so mean and were directed at Ciara as the only pregnant woman in the office. She too could not believe that such comments came from women, the only people who were supposed to be understanding as they too will be mothers one day. She did not give them any credit and just continued with her work totally ignoring them.
” What do you mean go home? How will she afford to take care of her child without an income, remember that, that baby doesn’t have a father. Hehehe even her husband left her to fend for herself.”
Ciara did not mind them bad mouthing her, or throwing nasty comments at her but to involve her loving husband and her unborn child was just overstepping it and unforgivable to her.
She stood up and gave that colleague a deadly and disgusted look. It was the first time seeing Ciara that cold and aloof, and they were all frightened by her. They all saw her as a timid, abandoned, pregnant woman who was not able to defend herself and can be pushed over, however they wanted.
” I dare you to say that again!”
She even walked closer to the woman’s work station, walking in full determination and filled with vengeance. Everyone kept quite and waited for the brewing storm to strike.
” I said that, uhm.. Eeh. I mean people talk, everyone knows that your husband left and now your child is without a father. All I said is true, you are poor than all of us and still have to raise an abandoned child.”
“tsk tsk, where did you get that? You know I can sue you for that and best believe I can come for everything you own. And that goes for everyone in this room.”
” haha what do you mean, how can you even afford a lawyer when you can’t even buy yourself decent quality clothes. “
” waaaa hahahaha. “
Everyone in the room also started laughing at Ciara which further angered her, so she raised her arm ready to give that colleague of hers a hard slap.
” I wonder if you know the consequences of doing that Ms Williams. “
At this point Ciara was just tired of playing nice with these people, and she no longer cared whether she got fired or not as what she could not stand the most was to watch them badmouth her husband.
” And what will that be? “
” I’m afraid I will have to let you go, violence leads straight to dismissal. I know very well that is not what you want .”
This was her manager and Donna’s friend who never really liked Ciara. Although she was warning her, Ciara knew very well that it was all just an act.
” OK, so as the manager what do you say about all the abusive comments that I received from them all the time.”
The manager smiled and looked at Ciara in a provoking way.
“What about it, colleagues bicker and fight all the time why don’t you just let that pass?”
“paaaaaaaah!”
Ciara did not wait for her manager to finish talking as she had already given her rude work mate a hard slap that sent her head spinning.
Chapter 100
After the hot slap landed on her rude colleague, she then turned to look at her manager. She wanted to see her response and how she’d handle the situation and whether she would be biased in solving it or turn a blind eye like she told Ciara to.
While the rude lady was rubbing her tingling cheek, Ciara’s manager shouted at her as she felt disrespected by her especially after she had clearly warned her not to lay a hand on her fellow work mate.
” Ciara Williams, how dare you? In my office, NOW!!!.”
It was clear in her voice that she was angry, but that did not scare Ciara one bit. She stood grounded where she was, she knew no one would dare raise a hand on her as she was pregnant and it was illegal to hit a pregnant woman as that could endanger the life of her unborn baby.
” Mananger if you have something to say, it’s ok to say it in front of everyone, we are colleagues after all.”
Everyone looked at her as if she was a fool, they thought she was being foolish by challenging her manager like that. Everyone feared the dragon lady but Ciara was bold enough to stand against her today.
Even though everyone was scared of the manager’s wrath, none of them cared enough to warn Ciara or try to stop her from digging her hole even deeper. They all sat and watched on as if they were at the movies and Ciara was the bad guy, forgetting that they started everything.
” I say apologies now to your colleague, or else you will suffer the consequences.”
” excuse me manager, why not turn a blind eye to this as well? Colleagues do fight and bicker quite often after all, don’t they?”
The manager was caught by surprise as Ciara threw her words back at her. But as the manager she needed to set an example and removing Ciara out of the equation wasn’t a bad thing either.
” As I said before, violence is not tolerated and is regarded as a dismissable offense. We all know that you need this job more than any of us here and you still need to take care of that growing fatherless child of yours and pay rent at whatever shack you live in, so hurry up and apologize. “
” I will never apologize for protecting or defending my family. As for the job, you can keep it. “
She then packed up her stuff and left while everyone looked at her in shock. Not only did she challenge the manager in front of everyone but she also quit her job.
‘ How foolish can she be?’
They all gossiped among themselves, they wondered how she was going to take care of herself after this.
” I bet she will go back to where ever city she comes from.”
” Hahaha don’t be funny, go home with what money when she didn’t even collect this month’s salary. You know what, I think she will come back with her tail tucked deep in her butt and will be begging for her job back. “
” Is she that shameless? Hehe he, either way I don’t care, I will be here watching the film go on. “
As everyone sat and gossiped about Ciara, the manager just turned and left for her office as she was uninterested about what they had to say about Ciara.
Time went by quite quickly as it was already 2pm,the time for Ciara’s appointment. As always she got there on time, after filling in her details and doing the pee hormone test she returned to the waiting room to wait for her turn.
Not long after that she was called in, they measured her weight and recorded it on Ciara’s maternity card.
“Hey mommy, we are growing quite well I see. Your weight gain is consistent and healthy. We are now at 26 weeks, Our fetus continues to mature and develop reserves of body fat. At this point, hearing is fully developed so you can talk to the baby more, it’s will be good if the baby could hear both your voices. The fetus changes position frequently and responds to stimuli, including sound, pain and light.”
When she said that the baby needed to hear both their voices, Donna shifted her eyes from Ciara to the top corner on the ceiling as if she was now talking to the wall above.
Ciara did not pay attention to this movement though, she was just amazed at how much her unborn child had grown.
” would you like to see the baby now?”
” yeah sure that would be great.”
They then walked out and headed to the ultrasound room where Liam got the front row view of everything, today was the day he was seeing his wife for the first time in more than 6 months and also seeing his child for the first time. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was a bundle of mixed emotions.
He watched as Ciara removed her top and layed flat on the hospital bed in the room. Donna then applied a gel like liquid on Ciara’s belly and then started using a transducer, moving it around the area with the clear gel substance. They were able to hear the the heartbeat of the fetus, measure the circumference of the baby’s head, and track the development of the baby’s organs. Once they were done, Donna again printed out a few copies of the baby scan. She also printed another set for Liam when Ciara wasn’t watching.
They then returned to the consultation room as soon as Ciara was done with wiping herself clean.
Donna scribbled on the maternity card for a while, then looked up to Ciara once she was done.
” You guys are doing well, apart from the fact that you are always stressed everything else is looking quite good. Baby’s organs are developing as they should, no major set back. But you need to work less and focus on yourself more, maybe that will reduce the stress. Surround yourself with positive energy. “
Ciara smiled at her Doctor friend,
” As you wish ma’am, I have quit my job so hopefully we can solve the stress issue. How about you be my positive energy for today, I kind of miss my husband and I wish not to be alone. Bring a plus one if you want, Melissa is also good company.”
Apon hearing Ciara request Donna again looked up at the hidden camera placed at the top corner of the ceiling.
” you did what? My God finally, it was time for you to stop torturing yourself like that. We are definitely coming don’t worry . “