Mr. Harsh & Her

Chapter 32

Rachel's POV

"I know that there are still a lot of things that I carry with me every day but I can't seem to leave it behind," he said with soft voice.

"I carry so much resentment, Rachel. I carry resentment for everything in my life. I don't even know where to begin telling you," he choked out with more tears streaming down his face. This was the hidden side of Alexander who always had his tough act on.

"It's okay," I cooed. "Start at the beginning," I said gently.

He nodded and wiped his face. "Before my parents died, they gave me the world. Although mum was hated by dad's family, it never affected us. When I say that I had the best mum in the world I mean it. There wasn't a thing that she didn't do for me. She loved me so much." It seemed that he was reminiscing the past as he spoke about his mother. I smiled at how he was lost in a daze thinking about her.

"William was my dad's younger brother. He was always the jealous type, he still is. Dad and grandpa were like two peas in a pod. Best friends and grandpa was the best mentor for dad. It was the father-son relationship I dreamed of having."

I ran my fingers through his hair trying to provide some warmth and comfort for him.

"I was around 12 years old when things changed. Mom, dad and I were getting back from a little family vacation. It was the best holiday of my entire life. I remember we went to the Canary Islands. Grandpa was finally warming up to mom hence he allowed dad to use his jet. It was so sudden when everything happened. I will never forget that day. It was barely five minutes until we would land when the engines failed and the parachutes dropped."

By now Alexander was deep into memory lane remembering his most painful experience. I attentively listened to him still running my fingers through his hair.

"Everything is such a blur but mum shoved me in the back of the plane. She hugged me tightly with tears streaming down her face while dad looked at me frightened out of his mind trying to help the pilot. I remember her telling me how I was her strong boy and that she'll always look out for me. She protected me, Rachel. She held me tightly as she shielded me from the plane crash. I didn't even get to say goodbye to dad..."

I wiped the tears from his cheeks and kissed his forehead softly. This was so hard for him but I know that he needs to talk about everything. It eats him up every day.

"That's how I got this scar. It's mostly faded, but you can still see it," he said and touched the scar on his face that ran all the way past his neck.

"Life was horrible after that. I stayed with grandpa for a bit until I recovered but one day I overheard him talking to William. I should have known that he would have been up to something, he always had it in for my dad. I was stupid to not see it sooner but grandpa was addressing the fact that what he did to his brother would make him rot in hell."

I gasped at his statement, the pieces finally clicking as to why he held hatred for William.

"It didn't take a genius to figure out that William strategically planned for the engines to cut off five minutes before our landing time began. He wanted to ensure that there would be absolutely no time to get figure out a solution. Therese was his girlfriend at the time who assisted him with everything, Unfortunately for them, my mother protected me with her life," he laughed out bitterly.

"Life became bleak after that. I was only 12, but I felt way older than that. Everything dad owned I inherited. With that money, I left staying at the estate. I hopped between hotels, motels and dorms until I was 18 years old when my parent's insurance finally paid me out. I couldn't bring myself to live in one place or in an apartment all by myself. Everything was so lonely."