Chapter 1 – A Clean Slate
Bella POV.
Who would have thought that Bella Summers could turn out to be a winner in life?
The past six months of my life have been an epic saga of love, loss, and redemption. They had also become my journey of self-discovery. I have discovered hidden strengths, battled inner demons, overcame moral dilemmas, and learned the simplest truth of Life:
“To fall is not to fail.”
The night of Alex’s triumph had long ended. The morning arrived slowly but loudly. It was the day after Athena City won the Stanley Cup. It was also the day after I discovered that I was born Emily Miller.
My twenty-year-long nightmare of a life had ended, too. The realization was not lost on me. In less than twenty-four hours, my entire world — which had been upended months ago by the sudden arrival of a dashing hockey heartthrob named Alex Williams — had turned upside down again.
In the middle of it all was the man of the hour — Alex, standing tall and flashing pearls for the cameras — while a circus unfolded around him.
Hundreds of journalists, thousands of fans, and a dozen media interviews were lined up for the entire day. Alex and his agent, Brad, could not even have a proper breakfast. They were mobbed even before they had taken the first sip of their morning coffee.
We were yet to return to Athena City, and Brad informed us that our flight back home was scheduled for midnight. Which meant that the circus and pomp surrounding Alex would continue throughout the day.
I quietly took a few steps back and let Alex hog the limelight. He deserved it.
I excused myself from every media event planned for the day and retreated into my hotel room. I needed some alone time, some ‘me’ time, to ponder over the revelations made by Albert Miller the previous day.
Yes, Albert! From being the most formidable rival to Alex, to suddenly announcing his retirement from the sport, to disclosing that he was my half-brother, Miller has had the most dramatic impact on my life so far.
Alex was my future. But Miller was linked to my past, and would remain a constant presence in my new life.
And that’s the way I preferred it.
Unfortunately, I had no clue how to come to terms with it.
He literally stole the spotlight from Alex this morning by making his decision to retire from the sport public. The swarm of news cameras and media personnel mobbing him must have made Alex envious.
The curiosity was limitless. The questions were never-ending.
“Albert, what prompted you to suddenly announce your retirement from hockey?” asked one journalist.
“Is it because of your team’s loss to Athena City in the final?” asked another.
“What next, Albert?”
“Do you have a physical injury we don’t know of, Albert?”
Their queries were relentless and demanding. And I was shocked to see him answer them all smilingly.
If Alex was soaring like a falcon, Miller was holding his ground like an elephant — imposing, yet dignified.
The more I watched him deftly handle the media, the more I became impressed with him. My half-brother was as capable of handling pressure and scrutiny as my love.
I was the only exception.
I had no idea how to break the news of my newly discovered birth name to Alex, nor had any clue of when to inform him that the business tycoon, Adam Miller, was my biological father.
There was only one person I could turn to for help. And that’s what I did once his press conference was over.
Albert Miller.
I sneaked out of my hotel room, took the service elevator to avoid the prying eyes of the media, and arrived at Miller’s dressing room a little after lunchtime.
His press conference had just ended. And he looked like a picture of calm and serenity in a sea of chaos and madness.
A warm smile broke out on his face when he spotted me.
“Hi, sis! What brings you here? Aren’t you a part of the winning team?”
“I … um … would like to talk to you about something,” I stuttered in hesitation.
“As would I,” he replied smugly. “Here is your ticket.”
Saying this, he took out a flight ticket from his jacket pocket and placed it in my hand.
I was taken aback. I was dumbstruck.
What the hell was this?
“Didn’t I ask you to make travel plans yesterday?” he had that naughty smirk on his face now. “You and I are going to meet Dad tomorrow.”
“Tomo — where?” I gasped in surprise.
“Saltwater Creek,” he pointed to the destination mentioned on the flight ticket. “Our father — Dad — has a private ranch over there. He is expecting you with bated breath and teary eyes.”
He chuckled like a naughty schoolkid, taking pride in his latest prank. Oblivious of the impact this sudden plan would have on me.
On my mind. On my sanity.
“He … he knows?” I asked after a while, still rattled from the unexpected travel plan Miller just mentioned.
“Yes, I informed him last night itself. He cried for a while, then started smiling, and finally, ordered me to book a flight for tomorrow.”
“Okay …,” I muttered meekly, unsure of what to say next. This was certainly more than I had braced for when I arrived at his dressing room.
“Saltwater Creek?” I managed to regain my composure after a while. “Isn’t that far away?”
“Farther than far away,” Miller chuckled in glee again, evidently deriving pleasure from my discomfort. “He wanted to meet you there, away from prying eyes, the media, and civilization itself.”
“But … I haven’t told him yet,” I muttered under my breath, talking more to myself than to Miller.
“Haven’t told whom?” he raised his brows. “Alex? Oh! You have plenty of time to inform him. Besides, I could do it on your behalf if you so wish.”
I stared at him in awe and disbelief. Was this guy real? Until yesterday, he was the fiercest opponent Alex had ever faced. And now …
“No,” I replied emphatically. “I have to do it myself. But I wish I had more time. It’s all too sudden, too soon.”
“Look,” he stepped forward and held me by my shoulders, “I understand if you need more time to process and plan. But Dad will find it difficult to wait. Twenty years is a lot of waiting to get reunited with one’s daughter. I would rather not break his heart by postponing your visit.”
Twenty years! So true. Nothing could be more important than this reunion with my father.
I had no memories of him. And I doubted if he had any of me.
The name ‘Saltwater Creek’ has always baffled me. It was close to the ocean, but lush and rich in tropical greenery as far as I knew. It had rivers and forests, creeks and waterfalls, and probably an airport, too.
It was difficult to imagine it as a place I could belong to. But I certainly did.
It would be wrong to say that I didn’t feel tempted to smell the fresh air of Saltwater Creek, and listen to the birds sing on age-old branches of centuries-old trees. I wanted to know how it would feel to dive into the cold running waters of its meandering rivers, and run wild through the corn fields.
Nothing would give me more peace than to doze off to sleep under the soft warm rays of the afternoon sun while the church bells rang at a distance.
But above all, I wanted to stand in front of my father. Quietly. Without making a movement. Without uttering a word. Just stand and stare at him in love and longing.
It would be a homecoming for me. I will be returning home twenty years after my birth.
I needed to go.
“Okay,” I nodded slowly. “Tomorrow it is then. Instead of returning to Athena City, I will be flying with you to Saltwater Creek.”
“You are such a sweetheart!” Miller planted a kiss on my forehead affectionately. The gesture made me whimper in both happiness and grief.
Grief that I had not been kissed on my forehead before. I grew up without a brother, or a father, or even a biological mother. An affectionate kiss was an unfamiliar concept to me.
But I was happy that I had found a brother at last. And I could have a father as early as tomorrow.
“Why don’t you bring him along?” Miller suddenly interrupted my chain of thoughts.
“Bring who? Alex?” I replied smilingly. “I don’t think he would want to come. Besides, he will be busy for the next few days with media appearances and interviews. All booked in advance.”
“The perils of stardom,” Miller winked at me before turning around to leave. “The price you have to pay for fame.”
As I watched him leave, I could not help but wonder the price I would have to pay for my newfound fortune.
A lifetime of curses had suddenly been replaced with a surge of good luck and happiness.
What if I was not equipped to handle this blessing? What if I made a mess of it?
And Saltwater Creek? It was a place as remote as the North Pole, as some would say. Most of its land was privately owned, perhaps the largest private property on the planet.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Adam Miller turned out to be the owner of all that land.
But it was also located on the other side of the country. Alex and I would have the entire nation between us if I were to travel there tomorrow.
“Distance makes the heart grow fonder,” so they say. But I was not sure if that would apply to my case.
Even though the season was over, and Alex was now the world champion, he still had tournaments coming up in a month or two. Could my absence — especially a prolonged one — jeopardize his chances of winning in those events?
Could I stay away from him for long? A newfound brother and father sounded all very good, but my present and future were all Alex.
And he didn’t even know about the secrets Miller revealed yesterday. Especially that Miller was behind the plot to defame him on the night of my last birthday.
That particular thought made me jittery and nervous. Knowing Alex the way I do, it wasn’t difficult to imagine how he would react.
He would be hurt and upset with Miller, but confused and doubtful about his relationship with me.
His feelings for me could never be in doubt. But he might feel reluctant to get close to me in the future, or trust me as blindly as he does now, considering that I was now Miller’s half-sister.
I bit my lip and made up my mind. I would have to be selective.
He needed to know about my past, my identity, and my travel plans for tomorrow. But there was no need for him to know that it was Miller who hatched the plot to defame him.
Besides, it was for Miller to come clean and unburden his sins. It’s not supposed to be my job. Let me handle my share of the responsibilities.
And that was that.
I had to tell Alex everything. Today itself.
He knew Bella Summers. He would need to know about Emily Miller now.
