Alison's POV.

"You okay? You seem out of it."Luke asked, concern oozing from his voice.

I smiled weakly, nodding at him,"Yeah, just a bit tired."

He hummed, not believing me, but letting the subject slide. After my encounter with the man I despised the most, I had been extremely cautious. It was obvious from his previous gestures that he wanted me back. Probably to be available to higher business deals. Laughing dryling, I rubbed my palms against my skirt. From the corner of my eye, Luke gave me a confused look, his eyebrows raised.

"Okay, that's it."he declared, slamming his towel down on the table and turning around to face me,"What's wrong? Who should I beat up? And don't give me that 'it's nothing, I'm fine Luke' shit."

I chuckled at his horrible imitation at my voice. Wringing my hands together, I bit my lip, uncertain whether I should tell my best friend or not. Not wanting to keep my feelings bottled up and let them get to me, I let out a sigh.

"He came today."I mumbled, looking down at my shoes.

"What?"

"Blake...he-he visited me this morning."

Luke's eyes enlarged,"What?!"

Cracking a smile, I avoided his gaze,"Yeah, surprising right?"

He didn't seem to hear me, instead striding forwards and grabbing my hands, before turning me around.

"Did he hurt you Al? If he even touched you...did he touch you?! I swear to God that asshole is going to get it!"

I laughed, covering his mouth with my palm. Waiting till he finished his rant, I removed my hand, grinning sheepishly at the curios staff nearby.

"Shut up, he didn't hurt me. I did though."

He furrowed his eyebrows, obviously not understanding where I was going,"What do you mean?"

Taking a deep breath, I begin to explain what had occurred this morning. By the end of my little story, Luke was grinning smugly before pulling me into an embrace.

"You make me so proud baby sis."

I rolled my eyes, prying his fingers off my waist which was to no avail. His grip remained as strong as steel.

"Let me go Lu!"

He laughed, releasing me but of course not without giving me a noogie. Grumbling, I took a few steps away from the annoying man, shooting him a glare.

"For the last time Luke, not the hair!"

Luke grinned cheekily, shrugging.

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Placing a dish carefully on a table, I smiled warmly at the customer. The woman gave me an irritated look as I scrambled to take another customer's order. Today had been hectic. It seemed like the whole city wanted to enjoy lunch at Madame André's. Great for the restaurant but terrible for the staff. My soles were aching, and I was tempted to take my heels off and throw them at the bald man near the water fountain. He was extremely picky, constantly questioning me about the ingredients, whether the kitchen was clean, hygienic and all.

Mrs André, my boss, was immensely distressed as well, begging us to pick up our pace. She was my idol.

She had found me working at the local McDonald's, barely earning a reasonable salary and had pitied me. After recognising me, she had questioned me why the wife of million Blake Ryder was working at such a shop. At the time, the news of break up hadn't reached the ears of the media. Luckily. Breaking down, I began to tell her my life story, grateful to have someone to free my emotions too. After listening to me she had offered me the job at her restaurant, and putting a roof under my head. I would forever be thankful for her generosity.

"Mrs André, calm down."

The woman gave me an incredulous look,"Calm down! Alison we have so much customers, and most of them have horrible attitudes. How could I calm down?"

I sighed, placing my hand on her shoulder, in attempt to show some sign of comfort,"We've got it under control. You can trust the staff and I."

Beside me Luke nodded, grinning,"Yup, chill Mrs A."

Mrs André chuckled lightly, giving both of a grateful smile.

"Thanks guys, I needed that. Now get back to work."

Luke sighed,"And here I was thinking I was going to get a pay rise."

I scowled, elbowing him in the rib. He winced, glowering at me. Returning the gesture, we watched as Mrs André threw us an amused smile before moving off to test a cake by one of the chefs.

Luke slung an arm around me, shoving me gently towards a waiting customer,"Well you heard the woman. Back to work."

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Pressing lightly on the nuzzle, I watched as white blob appears on the table. I rubbed my towel over it, another hand pressed against the surface of the table to keep my balance. My eyes drooped, and I reached over, grabbing the cup of coffee. Today had been a long day. Two men had gotten into a particularly fight over a business contract, resulting with the food splattered over other guests and mayhem rising. Luckily a few other men had stepped in, separating them as they snarled viciously at each other. Women and men had watched on with disgruntled expression, obviously unpleased by the fight beside them.

After security had ushered both men out of the restaurant premises, Mr André had handed me a detergent and a cloth, ordering me to clean up the mess. And so here I am, on my hands and knees as I grimaced as I peeled a wedge of cheese of the table. Shoving it into the plastic bag beside me, I pulled the band of my gloves lower down my wrist.

"Done yet?"

Raising my head, I give Luke an irritated look.

"You asked me that five minutes ago, does it even look like I'm anywhere near finished?"

He rolled his eyes, letting out an exaggerated sigh and throwing his hands up,"Ok, ok. Calm down, I just want to head home."

"Just get down and help me here."

He raised an eyebrow, his eyes darting between the mess and me,"Yeah, I'll pass."

"Luke!"

"Sorry Al, but I'm not touching that."

Grumbling under my breath, I rubbed the cloth with a new roughness.

"Uh Alison?"

Not turning my head to face him, I snapped harshly,"What?"

"You already went over that spot...about three times now, actually."

Giving him a cold glare, I ignored his amused chuckles as I got up and made my way to the opposite side of the table.

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It had taken me a few hours to complete the job, and I was sweating profusely and pieces of food stuck to my hair. Shuddering in disgust as I stripped out of my uniform, replacing it with a pair of casual jeans and a white T-shirt. Waving goodbye to a few colleagues, I made a final attempt to pull my long brown hair into a reasonable ponytail. After successfully removing any traces for food from my body and hair, I had washed my face before exiting the restaurant.

But as I slipped past the revolving doors from the entrance of the restaurant, , my body collided with a firm structure. Spluttering, I was sent spiralling to the floor. Throwing out a hand, my palm lightly grazed the gravel as an arm snaked around my waists preventing me from my embarrassing and possibly painful fall.

Twisting around to thank my saviour, I grinned, opening my mouth. But the smile was wiped from my face as my eyes rested on them.

"What the hell are you doing here!"

Pushing myself away from him, I stumble backwards, desperate to make as much space as possible between us.

"A thank you would've been nice."Blake mumbled, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

This moment was one of the rare times I would see Blake in causal clothing. He was usually donned in his work clothes, claiming that he was of to the office. How stupid I was back then, his constant need to be at his workplace was strikingly suspicious but my pitiful past form couldn't bear the thought of him unfaithful.

"I would never thank someone like you."I spat, pressing harshly at my last word as I looked at him with pure disgust.

He looked down in remorse, and I fought the urge to scoff. He reached forward, grasping my wrists in attempt to pull me closer. I widened my eyes, quickly slapping his hands away.

"Don't fucking touch me unless you want a replay of what happened last time."I snapped, internally patting my back smugly at his fear stricken face.

"Alison please, give me a chance."

I shoved him further away, my cold glare becoming even harsher. My whole body was shaking slightly and the anger that I had bottled up within me seemed to explode. Striding forward, I raised my palm, landing it firmly against his cheek. The distant sound of the slap echoed in the crisp night air, as he stared at me with wide eyes.

I, myself, was shocked by my actions but relieved. Ever since the night he had dropped the news to me, shattering my heart in the process my body itched to hurt him. Sadistic maybe, but after quenching my urge to slap him I felt immensely smug.

"You."I snarled, my voice dripping with hate and venom, as I jabbed a finger to his chest,"You have a nerve to ask for my forgiveness after what you put me through! Do you have any idea how long I waited every damn night for your arrival just to be disappointed by your nonexistent form in the house the morning. And I would search the whole house for you and all I would see were the tangled sheets and strewn blankets as proof that once again you had entered the house before fleeing off to 'work'. "

His eyes softened, but my ranting did not cease. The memories of our time together seemed to be played on a record, its speed heightening as the video rolled by. All my emotions began to tumble out and I was soon engulfed in a slick covering of spitting orange fire.

"My naive self was heartbroken to know that I had missed the chance to see you, maybe even if it were for a minute, but a minute was enough for me. Just to see you. You. The man who was yet to ruin me. And I must say I was grateful that I never did see you at those late nights because God knows who you were with and what you were doing. I was saving myself from early heartbreak but of course the truth must come out eventually. You were nothing but a lying, unfaithful, manipulative, idiotic jerk who only knew nothing but getting what he wants. But guess what Ryder? This time it doesn't go your way. This time, I'm in control and there is no chance that I'm every coming back with you. No way in hell."

Reaching forward again, his arms wound around my waist, locking me in place. Squirming in his hold, I narrowed my eyes at him.

"No Alison, stop. Just listen to me for a second."

The vulnerability in his voice, wrung with the guilt and sadness stirred something deep within me. His brown eyes seemed for an acceptance of his apology which I would never agree to. What was done, was done. And it was unforgivable in my view.

"I...I wasn't ready."

Scoffing, I successfully pulled two hands out of his hold. Giving him a murderous look, I pressed my palms against his chest before giving him a firm push to remove his body from mine. My approach did work and he stumbled slightly as he took a step backwards.

Turning around, I began to walk at a brisk pace, but halting. Slowly changing my form of direction, I remind myself to keep my face neutral as I locked my eyes with his.

"Neither was I, but I tried Blake. Something that you didn't do."

It was like at the sound of my voice all his pent up feelings seemed to emerge, and I was soon looking into eyes which contained so much sorrow. Loss. Hurt. Remorse. Want. And something else that I was yet to find out.

But as I gazed into those brown eyes, I staggered back. The intensity and emotion in them was unexplainable. Anyone who would've looked into them would've hightailed it out of there. But there was something that was drawing me in. Pulling me into his world of pity. A swirl of pain and tears.

Blinking, I shook my head. This was his fate. Not mine. This man was a monster. A devil from the underworld, and this was his punishment. And he would serve it till the end of his days.