章 57: His Lies
Tuzla is a municipality in the province of Istanbul, Turkey. It is on a headland on the coast of the Marmara Sea, at the eastern limit of the city. While there are many shipyards in the country, the biggest is found in Tuzla.
Turkey, on the other hand, is a country that occupies a unique geographic position, lying partly in Asia and partly in Europe. It is bounded on the north by the Black Sea, on the southwest and west by the Mediterranean Sea and the Aegean Sea. The capital is Ankara, and its largest city and seaport is Istanbul.
Most of the population is composed by Muslims, but its strong
secularism has resulted in what have been perceived by some as strictures on the freedom of religion. In addition to the Muslim majority, there also exist small populations of Jews and Christians.
Gretel Shipping Lines operated several cargo ships which covered in almost all ports of the world. Though its name only covered the shipping lines, it also owned a smaller shipyard compared to more than thirty shipyards in Tuzla, Istanbul. It was one of the ship repair facility in the Tuzla Bay. Perhaps due to poor management, it was not identified with remarkable naval work. However, due to much lower rate in drydocking , repair and conversion services, it was not left behind in terms of contracts. In this particularly less productive area, Allie was assigned.
Allie squinted her brows when she scanned through the company's profile , financial history and number of clients. She also compared it to the status of other shipyards. One thing was lacking in this company, a good management and advertising program. Perhaps, she thought, the investors of this company were just contented of their present status. Or perhaps, they were investing into much larger and more promising business ventures than this one. And this shipyard was just among their few investments.
After her first lunchbreak, she locked herself in her office and did a video call with her parents. There she saw her daughter, jumping vigorously as she was held up to the screen for her to get a good view of her. Chloe looked up and, perhaps, she recognized her because she stopped from her jumping and stared at her. Then in the next second, she cried as she babbled her name.
"Ma -mmma, mammma! "
"My love, I'm sorry mama is away... "
"Mamma.... "
"Baby, I'm so sorry. "
Allie felt her heart was stabbed. The innocent calls of her daughter and her engorged breasts sent her an indescribable pain deep inside that she cried hard and bitterly. All she wanted at that moment was to fly back home and hold her close once again! Without saying goodbye, she turned off her computer.The sight of her precious family was too hard to bear.
She recalled the night after she talked to Andrew. Ajie called her up
and they did a video call.
"Why are your eye bags swollen? "
Ajie asked worriedly.
She did not reply but her tears immediately ran down her cheeks.
"Allie, I don't want to see you like that. Please book a flight as soon as possible and come over here. " He sincerely demanded.
"Where are you now? " She asked, looking past him and into the background which looked like a feminine bedroom.
"I'm in my assigned room in Mr. Lopez' house here in Japan. "
"It looks feminine. " She commented.
"Yes, this used to be Jane's bedroom. "
Jane. He was calling her in a first name basis.
"Jie, I happened to talk to Andrew this afternoon and he told me many things about you and Cherry. "
Ajie furrowed his brows and his smile disappeared.
"What did he say? " He asked.
"He said that you and Cherry were into a relationship. "
"What? "
"Yes. Adrian, tell me honestly, is it true? "
"My love, what are you talking
about? Haven't we talked about it already? Cherry was special to me but only as a friend. "
"Andrew has lots of evidence. He showed many photos of you and Cherry kissing each other. "
"I have kissed only one woman and its you. "
"What about those photos? "
"It's likely photoshopped. "
"How can you prove it that it was not
you? "
"It's simple, my love. Trust me. That is the only way I can prove myself. And besides, it's all in the past. "
Suddenly, the door opened and Dr. Jane barged in. Startled, Ajie suddenly seemed to forget that she was still there.
"What happen? " Ajie stood up and turned to her.
"I'm. scared, Adrian. I heard a strange sound in my room. Can I just sleep beside you?"
Without waiting for Ajie's answer, she turned off her laptop.
___
While lying on her bed feeling so bad about what she saw, her phone vibrated. A notification popped up that Andrew sent a video. She hurriedly opened it up and it was now a clear evidence that Ajie really lied at her.
The short video opened up with a closed up image of Ajie and Cherry whose faces were only about an inch apart. Then, the camera was was zoomed away from them. Ajie was then shown bending down his head while his hand held up her chin. They were kissing!
That was the most painful truth being slapped at her. She could have accepted it if only he was just being honest.
Now, there was Dr. Jane. How strong could he resist her?
During the days that followed while waiting for her papers, she still chatted and answered his calls, pretending that she did not know about his lies. And she was hurt by all those sweet words he threw at her. She never expected that all those were just flatteries.
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