Unforeseen Chemistry

137: Seeking Forgiveness

"Hold on," Bryce said and briefly looked at Angela to ensure she was still sleeping before exiting the ward. "What happened?" he asked once standing in front of the ward.

The four guards with him were also outside, standing in front of the ward.

"Sir, I went back to the house and found the gate opened with the two security men dead inside their security post. Three guards were lying on the compound dead, and two servants were killed, with one seriously wounded and the remaining two tied up with some bruises. Those two were locked up in the storage room. Josephine Brown was nowhere to be found. I checked the cameras in the house and the only camera functioning captured Josephine being dragged out of her bedroom by two masked men," Martin reported.

"Do everything you can. Make sure you find her," Bryce said.

"Should I get the police involved?" Martin asked.

"No," Bryce replied. "I have a feeling my fake father could be involved. Start the search with him. Do not let him know you are onto him," Bryce said.

"Yes, sir," Martin replied and ended the call.

"Sir, is there anything you would like us to do to help?" one of Davis's family bodyguards asked.

"No," Bryce replied. "I will let you know when I need you to step in," he added and went back inside the ward.

If Devon has Josephine, it only means he knew all along, Josephine was his mother. And if he knew, the only reason he had captured Josephine was to use her against him. Bryce thought and sat down on the chair staring at Angela.

He doesn't understand why Josephine stayed in his apartment for three years but never made an attempt to let him know, she was his mother. It made him care less about her. His concern now is earning Angela's forgiveness. He had wronged her greatly allowing the situation to get to him instead of paying attention to the details. He allowed his emotions to get to him, crowding his judgement of the whole situation. He could have looked at Martin's report earlier instead of believing everything in Ian's report based on his experience with him, and not once thinking Ian could have changed and passed his attitude of working with the highest bidder to him too. Again, his family the Moore's had wrong Angela. She had every right to have hated him but she only left his side. Maybe to find the truth but he sent her to prison, divorced her, abandoned her and even called their child a bastard.

He reached out and held Angela's hand. He planted a kiss on her hand and rested his head on her hand. Angela slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry but slowly became focused and her gaze fell on the person sitting next to her bed. It was a man but she only wondered who.

Angela's slight movement made Bryce raise his head from the side of the bed. Their gaze met.

"Bryce?" Angela whispered his name.

"Angela," Bryce replied and moved his chair forward a little still holding her hand.

"What are you doing here?" Angela asked, surprised to see Bryce by her side.

She briefly looked around and figured she was in a hospital.

"You, you, were attacked," Bryce said and Angela remembered the incident inside her cell at the prison.

Her hand moved to her neck and she felt some burns when she touched her neck. There were some bruises on her neck. Angela pulled her hand out of Bryce's.

"Please leave," Angela said turning her face away from Bryce.

"Angela, I am sorry," Bryce said and Angela was surprised to him apologize.

She shifted her gaze back to him and realised he was on the verge of tears. The pain he was feeling was evident in his eyes.

"Why do you care now?" Angela asked her voice nearly a whisper. "You never cared before," she added.

"I didn't know the truth back then. I do now," Bryce replied staring at Angela's face.

"If you were looking for evidence to care, it only means, you don't trust me. If you don't trust me, it also means, you don't know me. I don't want to be around people who do not know me. I would have to provide evidence for everything. I can't do that," Angela said.

"No, I allow my emotions to get the better of me. I was hurting losing the only sister I had and the one I called my mum. I believed in your innocence and I wanted to prove to the world you were innocent. My only mistake was asking for help from the wrong person," Bryce said and a tear dropped from his eyes.

Angela was shocked to see him cry. She had seen Bryce get emotional around her but not to this extent. Crying?

"What do you mean you asked for help from the wrong person?" Angela asked trying not to be moved by Bryce's tears.

"I put my best investigator on the job. I tasked him to find the murderer of Patricia and Elena. He brought the report and everything he found pointed to you. He was one person I knew as good at what he did. He could find out things people couldn't. When his report said you were guilty I was broken," Bryce said.

"So what changed?" Angela asked, hurt and annoyed at the same time. She moved her gaze to the ceiling.

"Before I tasked my friend to do the investigation, I had given that task to Martin. I saw the report of Martin and I questioned the report from my friend. Your mum also came to me and revealed something to me. It made me question a lot of things. I had Martin run another investigation and the true murderer was revealed. It was Eva," Bryce informed her.

"I thought you said your friend was the best," Angela said. "So why did you believe Martin's report over that of the best investigator?" she asked, still hurt, hearing him say how he came by the truth.

"My friend is good but will always work with the highest bidder. His loyalty is to himself. He was once loyal to me but I guess those times were gone and I didn't know. I also believed in your innocence, so I chose the report that exonerated you. I looked further and realised what a fool I had been," Bryce said. "Angela, I am sorry for all the pain I have caused you. I am sorry for abandoning you and I am sorry for believing in the lie," he added. "I want my wife back," he said.

"You are only here because you found out the truth. Bryce, our coming together was not out of love. It was just to cover, I don't know what to call it. You took responsibility for me and made me take responsibility for you. This is why we don't trust each other. I left you because I believe someone in your family murdered my parents. I am glad the truth is out and I forgive you. That is all you get from me," Angela said.

"You are right. Our marriage was out of the blue. We didn't know each other but yet we never objected to the marriage," Bryce said and Angela frowned.

"You threatened me," Angela said almost yelling, feeling angry.

"Maybe, but we still got married," Bryce said. "Staying together under the same roof, we grew close. We slept together, yet I never raped you," he said, hoping to calm her.

"You forced me a couple of times," Angela reminded him.

"Maybe, but how long did you battle with me before yielding?" Bryce asked and Angela felt embarrassed but her body remembered how good she felt when he touched her.

"We had a chemistry Angela, even if we didn't recognize it. I was not lusting after your body but I was rather after what made me complete," Bryce said and Angela knew she felt that same way about him. "Angela you are my missing half," he added trying to convince her to come back to him.

"It doesn't matter how we feel about each other," Angela said. "I will be going back to prison until I am officially set free," she added, trying to tell Bryce, they could not be together again.

"I already took care of that. I came to get you out of prison and that was when I found out someone attacked you," Bryce said.

"I need time," Angela said, as she had run out of what to say to send Bryce away.

"Okay," Bryce said, hoping Angela would come back to him. "I give you the time you want. Please don't leave me," he begged and kissed the back of her hand.

Angela felt a pain in her heart but she could not forgive him yet for all he did to her. He claims to love her but does not believe her. He believed some cooked-up evidence and had her thrown into jail. He didn't even show up at the court. He divorced her while she was in prison and called their child a bastard. How could he turn around and claim he had loved her? They had a chemistry which she didn't even know how it all started but at this moment, she couldn't trust him and for that reason, she couldn't bring herself to accept him and be with him.

"I will go call the doctor," Bryce said and started walking towards the door.

Tears filled Angela's eyes as Bryce walked out the door. She couldn't understand what was making her cry. She was happy to hear she was free though.