Capturing The Little Belle

Chapter 3

Jasmine was standing beside the railing of the balcony. She was looking at the football match that Ashton and the other boys were playing. Her eyes were all fixed on his handsome face. He was looking so focused and irresistible at that moment.

His sharp facial features and light greyish eyeballs are so engaging and tempting that any girl can get absorbed at first glimpse.

Jasmine knows his temper very well. She is 27 years old and works under Mr. Houston (the head of this organization). She is very intelligent and compassionate.

Mr. Houston is almost 48 years old and has been looking after this whole orphanage from the start. He was the one who gave shelter to Ashton when he was a teenage boy whom he found alone on the street almost 16 years ago. Young Ashton was sleeping there on the footpath and was shivering in the cold. Houston couldn’t leave him there shivering like a fish out of water. The poor boy was looking miserable so that Houston's heart melted like a piece of ice.

Houston was not a very rich man from the start. He was just a kind-hearted human who lost his son in an accident and was living there in a small house at that time when he found Ashton.

His house was destroyed in a project that the government was starting in that area. Since then, Ashton brought him here. Houston looks after this organization very well. Several other employees are working under him to ensure the security and status of this institute.

Jasmine works under him as well. She is the daughter of the worker who got killed in an attempt to save Ashton. His father was Ashton’s saver when he got attacked by the opponent gang suddenly. So Ashton has a softer side to her in this regard.

Jasmine quickly ran inside the corridor when she saw that Ashton was coming upstairs.

The moment their eyes met Jasmine’s heart skipped a beat, he was drenched in sweat and his black shirt clung to his body, showing the bulge of his muscles underneath. His tie was loosely hung around his neck.

He was holding his coat in his hand such that most of the coat was thrown at the back of his shoulder.

Jasmine smiled as he approached nearer on the way. Ashton was looking serious at that moment but he still gave a slight smile to Jasmine, making her happier.

Ashton was in a hurry. He was planning to go back to the mansion after meeting Mr. Houston. His phone was jerking continuously and his attention got diverted from Jasmine towards the phone.

He walked past her without greeting her or saying anything.

Ashton picked up the call when he was at some distance.

“ Hello ..,” Ashton spoke in a heavier tone.

“ Sir …., the weapon truck that was sent last night was robbed on the way by the anonymous crew ….. The captain and a few members of the squad got caught by our men while most of them escaped…., ” Ashton’s man informed him in a serious tone.

The truck was fully loaded with heavy, expensive weapons that were collected with great difficulty from different areas across the world.

Ashton was fuming with rage inside. His hands were fisted and his face was more serious than ever.

“ Bring the main person alive and the skulls of all the other members….,” Ashton ordered in a roaring tone. His voice roared in the empty corridor.

Ashton felt a presence behind him, he turned around and found Jasmine standing closer. There was a horrific expression on her face and she was looking a bit spooked at that point.

“ Do you want to talk about anything? “ Ashton asked in a slightly furious tone.

" Mr. Houston is waiting for you in his office…., ” Jasmine spoke in a low tone. She was waiting for him to just look at her for a second but he was too angry to respond to her at that instant.

Sometimes he looks at her warmly and sometimes she feels that he is a stranger. It's been years and she was still there looking at the Ashton that once comforted and protected her when she was left all alone after her father died.

But he was distant now. He looks untouchable and far away, and he had become scarier and more inhuman. The humanity in him was slowly disappearing, making him more stringent and tough.

………………………………………………………………

It was 9 o'clock in the morning and Lucy was standing closer to the small wooden window.

She was looking at the man standing far away from the house, closer to his truck.

She had been seeing this man for the last few days. She had heard about him from the neighborhood. He was a foreigner that came here from far away to get the harvested stuff from the farmers.

Lucy had been stalking him for so long, she was thinking that he might be the person who could help him in sending the letter that she had written to Belle’s parents last night.

At first, she was dedicated to telling Belle the reality that she had been hiding from her, but when she looked at her wholesome and innocent face her words got adhered in her mouth, and regret swamped her, making her feeble to think that Belle would hate her, and might not even glance at her like this if she came to know about anything.

Lucy had written everything about how it all started. Lucy was standing there looking outside but suddenly she got lost in the reflections that drifted her toward the past. Lucy was once Belle’s caretaker in that huge beautiful villa. She had been working there for years and for the first time in 16 years, the cries of the newborn roared in that villa, making everyone living there happier. Mrs. Jackson was feeling so grateful to God for the gift he had given her after 16 years of patience. She was holding her child in her arms with tears in her eyes.

For years she had felt so empty and incomplete and that day was her day to feel alive. Lucy and all the other staffers welcomed their new small little mistress with so much joy, but who knows that a human can become so much crueler when it comes to one’s child. Someone out there had lost his entire family and there they were celebrating their own. Lucy was the most trusted servant of Mrs. Jackson and the most senior one. That's why Mrs. Jackson made Lucy Evelyn’s caretaker, knowing that her child was in safe hands.

Time had passed so rapidly and Evelyn was growing quickly. She was the light of her parent's eyes. She was the small little princess that was everyone's favorite. She was so excitedly packing her bag with lucy one day. Finally, it was going to be her first day at the daycare school. And Evelyn was feeling so enthusiastic. She was 5 years old then and so eager to go to her new school. But someone had waited so long for this day to come. He was stalking every move and everything about Little Evelyn waiting for her to come out of that huge villa surrounded by many guards and CCTV.

How could someone hate Evelyn this much? What has happened in the past is still unknown to everyone. Evelyn’s birth had not been easier for someone in the past and by that time he was all motivated to attack, to show the world that he still existed, to show that he had not forgotten anything.

Poor Evelyn and Lucy were at his stake all the time and they were completely clueless about that fact. Lucy was going to stay with Evelyn at the daycare for the first few days until she adapts to the new environment..........

A loud thudding sound brought lucy back into the present, distracting her from her thoughts. The moment she looked outside, there was no truck, that man was gone and she was still standing there.

" How stupid I am. What was I even recalling...., " lucy cursed herself for being distracted for so long.

The door was creaking with loud thuds, making her more irritated.

" Hold on for a second..., " Lucy shouted in an angry tone. She was slowly walking with the help of her stick, slightly coughing in between.