“Here we are, Ms. Chandelier.”
After a few minutes walking through the door of the Peyton Mansion, we finally arrived at the dining hall. On my way here, I can’t stop turning my head around looking at all these magnificent ornaments and decorations in the spaces I’ve walked through. I catch as many things as I can into my sight, I exclaim at every one of them in my heart.
So this is a mansion my parents built for the Peytons huh. They must have put all their minds and time at work to build this wonderful place. I bet they never knew one day the Peyton Group would betray them and take everything away from them.
I shake my head a little to expel the negative thoughts that might bring up hatred from my mind. Today’s dinner is as good as a date nigh
The time is nine o’clock when we finish all the dishes prepared by the talented chefs. I had a great nine indulging these palatable luxurious dishes with Jamie tonight.I hold the glass in my hand and take a sip of the white wine. I feel a little warm after I consume an amount of them, especially my ears. I know I should really stop drinking it, but the sweetness and the balminess just can't keep my lips away from the glass.I tried to avoid it, but I am feeling rather tipsy right now.“Henrietta, are you alright?” Jamie speaks in a deep voice, “Your face is all reddened.”I chuckle, “I’m alright, it’s just I am not good at drinking.”
Figuring out that I shall run away from Marie for now, and at the same time drink some tap water or even wash my face to sober myself up, I gently put Marie down on the floor and stand up from the chair.Seeing me standing up all of a sudden, Jamie strikes me a surprised face.“What’s wrong?” he asked.I put up a bashful smile as I mention, “I think I need to be in the bathroom…”Unexpectedly, Jamie stands up too, “I’ll let the butler show you to the bathroom.”While before he could call for his butler, I wave my hands in the air and edge in.&
Feeling curious about the space Jamie is currently staying in, I start to wander around Jamie’s bedroom.So this is the bedroom of the CEO of Minerva huh? Cozy, clean, comfortable…Except for that I have the scenery of Chicago waking me up every morning, Jamie’s bedroom is not much of a difference from my bedroom.Hah. I have a bedroom similar to Jamie’s, I can be the CEO of Minerva too.Trying to feel the texture of the wall, I place my hand on the wall next to the bathroom door. This behavior must be a habit I got from being in the construction industry for the past few years, I think. Or maybe most of the curious kids do this too.
“You’re back, Henrietta.”After another half an hour since I left the closet, I finally found my way back to the dining hall.“Did you manage to find the bathroom?” with a smile, Jamie asked.I force a smile on my face for him. I am not prepared to sit down in front of him and talk to him like nothing happened. I can’t seem to get rid of what I’ve just seen in his closet.“Yes…” I answered. In fact, if I’ll have to say, I didn’t just manage to find the bathroom, I managed to find your closet too, Jamie.Feeling extremely guilty against my disrespectful behavior, offending his privacy,
Not knowing how many hours have passed, when I feel myself gradually coming back to my senses again, I hear a sharp tinnitus ringing in my ears as the headache attacks me from the temples.Enduring the pain, I frown my brows deeply. When I open up my eyes again, I find myself lying downwards on a soft bed.“Uhm…”A soft groan escapes my lips as I turn myself around and face the ceiling, and that is when I find myself in an unfamiliar place.I rub my eyes with my knuckles as I try to take a glance at my surroundings and find out where I am currently at.Burgundy and gold jacquard wall treatment, stained glass windows, red velvet layered cu
“J-Jamie…!”However, his legs are not top urgent now!Jamie? Why is he here? What is he doing at this place in a robe? Did he bring me here? Where exactly is this place?Before I can come up with a response, Jamie shows his concern, “Did you have a good sleep?” he asked, slightly drawing his brows upwards.I take a minute to look at him and this place. It feels magical, because he blends in just well. He looks like a prince that lives in a Victorian castle.This bedroom, this lavish place, where is this? “Where am I?” I couldn’t help but ask.There,
Morning at the dining hall, I sit by the long dining table on the seat where I sat last night, Jamie sits at his side too.As I am tucking into the delicious Italian style breakfast prepared by the cook, I can see Jamie keeps staring at my face from the corner of my eyes.While before I could bring it up, Jamie suddenly speaks.“How’s it?” he asked, switching his eyes between my face and my breakfast.I nod as I munch, “It’s great.” cornetto, marocchino, what’s not to like?“Good.” Jamie puts up a light smile, “Have more then, especially the salad. They help reduce weight.”&nbs
Thanks to Jamie’s words regarding the new deadline he set for my secret mission, I’ve been feeling unsettled for the rest of the day at work.After a long day serving Jamie in the company, I return to my penthouse right after Jamie leaves.As I just arrive home, I grab my phone and throw my handbag on the carpet. At once, I make a call to Victor.Just by the movement I hear Victor picking up the phone, without giving him a chance to even say hello, I lose control over my emotion and cry out to him, miserably.“Vic! You have to help me! I don’t know what am I going to do!”“Hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong, Henry Baby?&rd
After a few minutes travelling in my red Lexus LS 500, Jamie and I finally arrived at our destination. After Jamie gets out of the car, I pick up a red velvet box from the glove box and put it in my coat. I then catch her up from behind. It is a big house built next to the beach. The house is fully furnished and renovated. It is ready for people to move in and live in it. I am the architect who designed and built the house, however I haven’t decided what to name it yet. Well, anyway… I first bring Jamie through the garden on the beach, I open the door with the key and we enter the house.
The time is five in the evening. I am back in the office building, sitting on the couch, waiting for the interview session to start in approximately half to one and hour.I grab my phone out and check my messages again.I had made a few calls to Jamie through various ways, she never answered the phone, and now, there is still no sign of Jamie.Weimar is seven hours ahead of Chicago, which means it is twelve at midnight at where Jamie is.It is already the next day in Weimar, and that makes this the second day I lost the sign of Jamie.Weird… This is weird.Jamie never leaves me hanging for m
April 2023. Two years later. It is spring in Chicago again, a time when the florals come back to life again, well so do the people. The warm breeze brings the voile curtains up, allowing the morning sunlight to shower on my white bed through the French windows. That is when I am woken up by the sound of this hectic city. I stand on my balcony in my robe, yawning and stretching my body at the same time. “Good morning, Chicago.” I take a glance at the scenery of the city from the top of this building, I see people and vehicles all over the streets, everyone is ready for work and vac
June, 2021.It had been almost one month since the accidents happened.I was discharged from the hospital, rested at home for a few days, took some medicine, did some simple rehabilitation practice… I am almost fully recovered.The news reported that Melonie Myers was brought into custody by the local police. The police told me that I no longer need to worry about stepping out of my house.Also, it is Wednesday morning, a regular working day for me.And so, I am now back to work at Minerva, no longer as the CEO’s secretary, but as the CEO and the owner of Minerva; no longer in skirt and lipstick, but in suit and tie.
Air flow, machines, birds chirping, and a woman sobbing… Those are the first things that come into my ear when I gradually return to my consciousness.They sound really vague at first, but turn louder after as I slowly open my eyes too.There, I find myself in a ward bed. My face is covered with an oxygen mask. My arms are surrounded by tubes and wires.And, I see someone burying her head in the bed, holding my hand tightly in hers.“I’ve lost our baby… I can’t lose you too, Henry… Please wake up...” she sobbed.Slowly, I raise my other hand, and lay it on her head. I caress her gently, stroking her hair th
Assuming that it must be Mr. Hurlock behind the door, I unlock the door and open it without peeking through the cateye.I ask as soon as I open the door, “Yes, Mr. Hurlock? Did you forget someth-”However, just when the door is fully opened, the face of the person standing in front of the door is revealed in front of me.It is a lady in black attire, with a bike helmet on her head, her black hair draped over her shoulder, and she holds a knife in her hand.It isn’t Mr. Hurlock, it is...“Hi there, Henry.”“Melonie Myers…”
It is almost midnight when I sit in my living room alone, waiting for Jamie’s butler to show up. It is always a quiet night like this that makes people feel lonely, isn’t it? Tears ooze out of my eyes abruptly, they trickle down my face one after another. No matter how many times I wipe them off, no matter how hard I try to stop myself from crying, my tears just won’t stop. I cover my face with my palms to cover my sound, I sob as quietly as I can, not hoping to wake Jamie up. I try to stop myself by clearing my head, yet every quiet moment like this keeps reminding me of the fact that we’ve just lost our child. Our dear child… If you can hear us,
The accident and our loss hasn’t been too kind on us, especially for Jamie. The impact of losing our child hits her heart and mental condition so badly. She had been crying for days, she didn’t eat much. She fainted a few times. She became so tired and weak, that the doctor kept her in the hospital for another few days.Tonight, Jamie is just sitting on the bed, sometimes leaning on my shoulder, imagining how different our life would be if everything never happened, how our life would be if we hadn’t lost our child.What gender will it be? Will it be a little princess? How heavy will she weigh when she is born? Will she look more like Jamie or me? What name will we name her? How will we celebrate her first birthday? How excited will we be when she says her first word or takes her first step? Will she first say mommy
“Jamie…”Not knowing how much time has passed, I gradually woke up when I heard myself mumbling.I first feel my senses are unblocked, just like when one who sinks in the ocean for a long time gets back up from the water.The next thing I feel... is my body covered in pain, especially my head.“Umm…”Holding the pain back, slowly, I try to open my eyes.It is the moment when I open my eyes again, bright light seeps into my eyes. I squint into the light, my eyes take quite a while to adapt to the light.