Gerald walked out of the office, different thoughts running through his mind. He did not see any of this coming -Ciara's aunt seemed to be, not only one but two steps ahead of them.
He couldn't help but marvel at how fast Ciara aunt's brain worked faster; how she managed to turn everything into her favor in a twinkle of an eye.
"Had she to be planning all of this beforehand? Or she just decided to make use of the opportunity, why it lasts?" He muttered under his breath, rubbing his temples slowly.
On the flip side, Gerald did not want to agree with his theory -even though that's the only possibly way he could think of.
"There is no way all of this would have been planned, right?" He asked himself, but couldn't find the answers to his question. Yeah, if Dwayne's death was planned -how about Ciara's predicament?
He runs his hand through his head as he felt like he's going nut soon, he couldn't think it through, no matter how hard he tries. Gerald knew that he needed to do something, and fast.
He couldn't let Aunt Elsie continue to manipulate Ciara like this, it was just too cruel. But what could he do? He was no match forAunt Elsie's wits, and he had no idea how to stop her from doing what she was doing.
He felt helpless, like he was caught in a spider's web and there was no way out. But he had to try, he had to do something to save Ciara from this nightmare. He owed it to her, he had to at least try.
Gerald paced back and forth in the hallway, trying to come up with a plan. He knew he couldn't go to the police, there was no evidence to support his claims. He needed something concrete, something that would prove Aunt Elsie's wrongdoing. But what?
"Gerald...?" He heard a feminine voice, snapping him off his train ofthoughts.
He turned abruptly towards the direction of the voice and was surprised to see Milan. "Oh, it's you..."He said, his voice barely escaping a whisper.
"What are you doing here?" She asked with curiosity. "I thought you wanted to talk to Mrs. Kent. Is she not in the office? I saw her go in earlier before your arrival."
"I did try to talk things out with her, but I don't think this is something we can handle lightly." Gerald muffled out, heaving out a heavy sigh. "She's having the upper hand here; she even threatened to sue me for defamation."
"We can'tjust sit back and watch hertake overall that Ms. Fellers had toiled hard for." Milan lamented in despair. "With her act earlier, she seems to be hiding something none of us can figure out -I can tell that something about her is off!"
"I know, right? That's why I'm here, actually." Gerald answered, his voice sounding tired and drained. "I was trying to come up with a plan to stop her, but I'm stuck."
Milan gave Gerald a sympathetic look. "I know it's hard, but we have to do something to help Ms. Fellers. She's been through so much already, and she doesn't deserve any of this." She enunciated, with concern laced in her voice.
Gerald nodded, his eyes focused on the floor. "This is the least I can do for her, but look at me...I'm stuck with nothing to come up with." He muttered, ruffling his hair. "I feel like I'm not enough."
Milan reached out and placed her hand on Gerald's shoulder. "You're more than enough, Gerald." She said gently, hervoice reassuring. "You've been there for her since the beginning, and you've done everything you can to help her. Don't beat yourself up over this, we'll figure it out."
Gerald met Milan's gaze, a flash of gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you, Milan. I really needed to hearthat." He said, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "I'm glad you're here to help me through this."
Gerald couldn't help but marvel at how soothing her words were, he couldn't deny it -even though they've nevertalked to each other before, he could tell how good she's with words.
Milan smiled back at him. "Why wouldn't I help? It's my boss we are talking about here -what use am I as her worker if I can't be of help to her when she needs one from us?" She reasoned and paused her lips, hesitating for a while. "Can we meet after I close for the day?"
Gerald raised his brows in questioning. "We should meet later in the day?" He vocalized, repeating her question. "Why...?"
"Why?" Milan wasn't pleased with his choice of reply. "Isn't it obvious? Why would I want to meet you if not to see Ms. Fellers?"
Gerald felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I should have known that." He said sheepishly. "But uh -I'm not sure if we can, that old lady wouldn't approve of it and besides, I can't...I'm not sure, I can let you see her in such a devastating state."
"Why not? Why can't I see her? It's just a harmless request of a secretary to see her boss, is it too much?" Milan stated, wearing a displeased look. "It's not like I intend to harm her-I'm not her aunt, Gerald."
Gerald shifted his weight uncomfortably on his left leg. "I know you're not her aunt, but still... Ms. Fellers wouldn't want you to see her like that." He explained, trying to reason with Milan. "She's a very private person, and she wouldn't want anyone to see her in such a vulnerable state."
"But I'm not anyone, Gerald." Milan countered, her brows furrowed. "I'm her secretary, I've been by her side even though it hasn't been foryears."
Gerald sighed deeply, his shoulders sagging in defeat. "I know that, but still... Mrs. Kent will surely kick against such an idea as this." He explained, his tone apologetic. "I'm not sure of how she will react if she sees you around, Ciara."
Milan bit her lip, deep in thought. After a moment, she looked back at Gerald, her expression softening. "I understand what you're saying, Gerald." She said, her voice gentle. "What about during lunch? We can go there without Mrs. Kent's having a clue, right?"
But he did not say anything in reply, he only stares blankly at her-fighting his thoughts. "Please, I promise it won't take long." She persuaded, not ready to back out easily. "It's only right if I share in her pain too."
"Fine. I'll let you." He finally answered, letting out a sigh afterward. "Just this once, and you won't tell anyone else about it!"
"Sure, I won't!" She replied almost immediately.
Even though the idea of Milan going to see Ciara did not go down well with Gerald, he was left with no choice than to agree -little did he know that Milan had her plan.
As Gerald left the hallway, leaving her behind, Milan couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. She knew she was lying to him by not telling him about her true intentions, but she felt like she had no other choice. She had to do what she thought was best for her boss, even if it meant going behind Gerald's back.
As she sat down at her desk, she couldn't help but feel anxious. She couldn't tell if what she was about doing was wrong, but she also knew that she had to do it. She just hoped that her plan would work, and that she wouldn't get caught...