A/N: Thanks to sundaym0rning who has been my constant supporter! Hee... Have I updated soon enough?

Disclaimer: Ian - not mine. The rest, yes. Thank you.


Chapter 4

All the paperwork were scattered haphazardly on the desk; Ian was practically buried behind piles of papers. He was typing furiously on the keyboard, his eyes almost glued to the computer screen.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. "Come in," Ian called, still unable to tear his eyes away from the screen.

"Mr. Wallace?" A female voice said. The voice was sweet, and also familiar to him.

And that smell? That… that perfume! Ian thought. Immediately, he looked up from his computer and stared at the woman standing in front of his desk.She was fairly pretty, and had long black hair. But it was her eyes that disturbed him most.

I know those brown eyes… it's all too similar! And she looks a lot like Daphne too! She even wears that perfume that Daphne liked best!

He stared at the woman, blinking rapidly. And obviously, the woman was becoming a little uneasy as she shifted from foot to foot. "Um… Mr. Wallace?" She repeated.

Ian jolted out of his own thoughts. "Uh… yes?"

"Well, these are the files that you need to signon, Mr. Wallace," she told him, placing some files on his table.

"Oh, okay. Thanks. But… um… who are you? I haven't seen you around." Ian asked somewhat awkwardly.

"Oh yes, I forgot to introduce myself!" The woman laughed softly. "I'm Rebecca Hunter, your new secretary." She said. "I see that Mr. Thompson forgot to tell you about the interview and everything concerning the replacement of your ex-secretary?"

"Uh… yes, as a matter of fact. He forgot." Ian replied, nodding his head.

"Okay. So, um, if that's all, then I take my leave, Mr. Wallace," said Rebecca, moving towards the door.

"Yes, yes, that's all. You may go now." Ian dismissed her with a wave of his hand, his mind racing. The uncanny resemblance between Daphne and Rebecca had been unnerving, but at the same time, he felt an indescribable sensation bubbling inside him. He had never felt like that anymore since Daphne's death. The feeling of love has long departed from him, but it seemed as though it was all coming back to him….

No, stop it. Stop thinking about Rebecca. He reprimanded himself silently. You promised you'd remain true to Daphne, and you do just that, Ian Wallace. There is no way you're gonna break that promise, and hurt Daphne at the same time…


Rylan sat in class, doodling on a piece of paper. It was Art lesson now, and he had no idea of what to do or draw. Ms. Roderick had said earlier, "Class, today I'll let you draw whatever you want to. You can draw your favourite things, or your favourite place. You can draw anything, do you understand?"

Rylan understood perfectly, but the problem was that he didn't know what to draw. He didn't have a toy that he liked in particular, and neither did he have a favourite place in mind. All he could think of was drawing shapes. The paper was decorated with lots of circles, triangles and rectangles.

"Rylan? What are you drawing?" Ms. Roderick suddenly appeared at his side. Rylan shrugged, without bothering to look up. "Ahh… I see different kinds of shapes! They're beautiful! How about drawing something else now?" Rylan did not respond to the praise.

"You don't have anything to draw?" Ms. Roderick guessed. Again, Rylan did not look up, but nodded. "Well, then how about drawing your family? Your mother? Your father?" She suggested.

This time, there was totally no reply from the boy. No actions, no answers, nothing. Flashing him a hopeful smile, though knowing that he couldn't see it, Ms. Roderick sighed quietly and left him on his own again. She knew that Rylan was a very soft-spoken child, and she always had a hard time getting answers out of him, but she also knew that Rylan was a terrific artist. He draws wonderfully for a five-year-old, and he draws even better than most teenagers she taught in other schools.

Rylan thought over Ms. Roderick's words. "…Drawing your family? Your mother? Your father?" Smiling sadly, Rylan turned his paper over to a clean, blank page and started drawing again. Lines and circles soon appeared on the paper, and within minutes, a life-like sketch was produced.


"… Okay. Thanks for your opinion, Mark. And as I was saying… sorry, what did I just say again?" Ian froze, and slapped his hand against his forehead. He was feeling very embarrassed now, for he had been distracted many times during this meeting already. He just had too many things on his mind.

"You were just mentioning about the strategies used by Telesonics, Mr. Wallace," Rebecca reminded him, that sweet voice almost distracting him again.

"Oh… right. Yes, yes, that's what I was just talking about. Um… thank you for, uh, reminding me, Ms. Hunter," Ian stumbled on his words. "No, I mean, Rebecca. Anyway, like I was saying…" Ian continued, face flushing, trying to ignore the murmurs around him. What was going on with him today? No, it was not exactly his problem. It was Rebecca's too. What is she doing? Why does she keep looking at me… in that way?

"Well, like I was saying again, we've got to, uh, work hard to make it to the top of the list this year, and surpass Telesonics, okay?" Ian told the people seated around the table, desperately trying to end the meeting.

There were a few grunts and 'okays' around the table; others just nodded in agreement. Ian sighed in his mind, relieved, as his colleagues packed up and left the room. Just as he proceeded to leave too, Rebecca strode up to him, her face creased with worried lines.

"Mr. Wallace, um… I just wanted to tell you that I've got to rush home straightaway. My mother is ill and I must return home to take care of her. I'll be working from home. Is that okay with you?" She spoke so quickly that for a few seconds Ian just stared at her, trying hard to digest whatever she had said.

Finally, Ian nodded his head, but he seemed somewhat reluctant. "Very well," he replied. "I'll allow you to work from home, provided that you really do." Rebecca nodded her head so vigorously that Ian had a mental image of her head flying off her neck. "I will." She said, then left in a hurry.

TBC...