Past:Mrs. Chairtall had told Michelle how proud she was of the way she was handling a difficult relationship.She was patient with Tom´s eccentricities and never picked up a fight with him. At all costs, Michelle wouldn´t allow Scott to grow up amid a violent family. Mrs. Chairtall witnessed her struggle to guarantee some reliability for her baby.When Tom was absent, Michelle had a schedule that she followed with much effort. She would study online every morning, and then do house chores, while Scott was entertained by his favorite TV cartoons. He stayed in his bin with many toys and stuffed animals. In case he got tired of TV and asked for his mommy, Michelle would pick him up and play with him, or share some fruits and milk. He liked to fill her mouth with food and since she made funny faces to him, Scott laughed a lot on such occasions.Before lunch, she took him to the park, which he loved. Tom had got him used to this, which Michelle co

Past:It is strange how Tom seemed to sense a change in Michelle. She continued to do all her usual chores and she never complained or treated him in any different manner. But her heart was not on it anymore. It was as if she had stopped believing that they had a future together. She was even more quiet and thoughtful than usual.Tom only saw life in her eyes when she was playing with Scott. Even her lovemaking was sort of automatic and at those moments it was like she had not only shut up as he preferred, but also shut off. Her mind appeared to be somewhere else and Tom was not a fool, so he concluded that she was out of his reach.His mean words didn´t affect her anymore and she just nodded to him when he mistreated her or asked her to do extenuating chores, like cleaning the bathroom after midnight or ironing all of his shirts first thing in the morning for no reason at all.It was as if Tom was testing Michelle and after a few weeks, he changed

This time Michelle knew that Tom had gone away for good because he had left her a note that said ‘More than naive, you are a fool. Goodbye!!!’He had not said a word about Scott. And the goodbye was pretty emphatic. She decided to keep the note, in case he changed his mind and asked for the boy´s custody. So she could prove that he had abandoned his son.Anyway, she didn´t believe that Tom would want to have his son with him because he had proved his distaste for responsibilities.Another indication of his intentions of never coming back was that he had taken all his belongings with him. Moreover, the joint bank account showed a withdrawal of all its amount except for three dollars.But it was not the first time that he had left zero provisions for Michelle and Scott, so she didn´t feel helpless.One thing surprised Michelle though. She was not as devastated as she thought she would be. Her dreams of a wedding had evap

The main building of the Global Bank of the World was an impressive skyscraper. The facade had the capital letters, GBW, detached in a golden sign.There was no other way but to face the redoubles Tom had caused her. And in order to do that, Michelle needed to understand her situation in detail. The men that had visited her home were not the ones that had lent the money to Tom. They were simply the employees in charge of collecting the delayed installments.When she told them that she preferred to visit the bank personally, there was no argument against it. That is why she was here staring at the building and gathering her last drop of courage to go in and face her predicament.Michelle was surprised to be ushered into the banker´s office. She thought she was going to deal with a manager or an assistant, but Stanley Worthgold himself was shaking her hand and offering a seat in front of his enormous mahogany desk.“How can I help you, Ms. Clark

Now:Besides singing, another form of entertainment of Bedouin people had been storytelling, for centuries.In the same way that some people have the gift of singing, dancing, or painting, there were those that could create realistic images in your head through the way they told stories. And there were many topics to be explored, such as treasure hunting, revenge on wrongs, impossible loves to conquer among others.Bethany noticed that the people in her caravan felt great enthusiasm when someone started telling these great tales of their land. Every three or four days, they would sit by the fire and hear legends from the past, as well as jokes and anecdotes. It made the long trips more bearable.“Don´t you want to join them to hear some stories, Adjia?”“No madam, thank you. I prefer to stay with you. Just in case the baby wakes up.”Ben was reacting well to all the changes in his life. He hadn´t lost his

Past:SWEET TALKS, SWEET DATESStanley took Michelle out for dinner at least once a week, sometimes twice. And they talked about everything, arts, politics, sports… They enjoyed sharing facts about their lives, their dreams. She often mentioned how much she was relieved for not having to go to jail.“At least some good came out of all this stress, Stanley.”“What do you mean?”“Well, according to the conditions of my loan, and again, thank you so much for that… In six years, I will have paid all my debts and become the proud owner of a nice restaurant. I can finally have my own business which has always been my dream.”“And you made a new friend.”“Yes, Stanley. You are the cherry on top of my cake.”“Sweet silly girl.”“I am not so young anymore. I am already 26.”“Tell that to a guy who is 38 and you will make

Life is full of surprises and it had shifted in Michelle´s favor. Not only had she married within few months of the proposal but also she found herself completely in love with her husband.Stanley had taken her to Paris for a wonderful honeymoon. You can´t get more romantic than dinners at candlelight and romantic walks to explore old monuments. During these walks, they often told each other about their love and made many plans for the future.Stanley also insisted that they visited the most exclusive clothes stores and he showered her with gifts. Clothes, shoes, hats, gloves… Nothing was missed. Not to mention jewelry, makeup, or perfumes.It was really like a dream. For both of them. It was curious how Stanley got the same amount of excitement in buying these gifts as Michelle felt by receiving them.When Michelle told him of her concerns about him spending too much on her, the answer was that a man is lucky if he is not reduced to bu

It turned out that the beach house was a great acquisition and Michelle enjoyed being there with Stanley and Scott. She made sure to bring Nancy along because when Stanley went to exercise at the beach or locked himself in his office to take care of some businesses, Nancy kept her company.Scott was a smart and healthy five years old boy. He made friends with the neighbors´ kids and they took turns playing their games in each other´s houses.One afternoon, while they were sunbathing by the pool, Nancy told her friend,“I never thought this could happen to me.”“What do you mean, Nancy?”“Well, living in a mansion with you and Scott who I love dearly, and spending most weekends and all the vacation months in this magnificent beach house. Maids come here to serve us ice tea, imagine that. A luxurious life like this was not even part of my dreams since I considered it impossible to happen.”&ldquo

From the day Bethany was born, Stanley started to shine. He took the baby on his lap and danced cheek to cheek with her.Stanley sang to her, talked to her, and bought her many clothes and toys.He was generous to buy them for Scott too. The truth is that Stanley enjoyed being a father. Many of his appointments were canceled because he would rather go to the park with Michelle and the children.They spent weeks at the beach house and he explained to Bethany about the ocean, and the sky, the trees, and nature in general. She couldn´t even speak but she seemed to be paying attention to her dad and she followed his hand as he showed her around.Scott also loved Bethany with all his heart and he called her ‘little sister’. He often gave her his toys and offered her ice cream or chocolate. Michelle explained to him that the baby only drank milk for now, but it was very kind and generous of him to offer. He was proud to be a big brother.<

Michelle was in such a happy phase of her life that it amazed her that they had already celebrated Bethany´s third birthday. Time seemed to speed. The birthday party had been mentioned by every paparazzi in town. Hundreds of guests who belonged to top society came to wish the best to the toddler. They brought bracelets, necklaces, and earrings made of gold. She also received the best clothes and toys as presents.And Bethany had a smile for everyone. People were drawn to her and she welcomed them all. Of course, her favorites were daddy, mommy, and Scott which was expected because they also loved her much. Bethany liked grandpa too but she saw little of him because the billionaire man traveled a lot on business.Life was so perfect that Michelle was not ready for the tragedy that came her way. One afternoon, while Bethany was taking a nap and Scott was busy at school, she noticed that Stanley was already late to get home. He was supposed to be getting ready since