Amelia finished applying her light makeup, and she looked at her face in her large mirror. Her blue ball gown covered the baby shoes she wore, and was sweeping the floor.
The gown slightly exposed the upper part of her breasts and her back was bare and exposed. She had straightened her hair, and they weren’t as wavy as they were initially.She faintly applied her black eyeliner which made her almond-shaped eyes look more elegant. Her alluring blue eyes glittered under the bright lights that hung on the top edges of her mirror.Her Cupid bow lips were masked with a colorless lip gloss that helped showcase how pink her lips were.She let out a sad sigh and lowered her head. She picked up the portrait of her parents that was on the table in front of her and stared at their faces.She ran her finger on the picture and said, “I wish you two were here with me today. I made you proud again. I am one of the best graduating students in my faculty and department.” She smiled and felt tears gather in her eyes again.“Uncle Freddie is so proud of me. He threw me a surprise graduation party. I know I should be happy, but…” She stopped talking and covered her mouth with her palm and started weeping again.She threw her head backwards and exhaled softly through her mouth. “I should go now. Uncle Freddie and the others are waiting for me. We will talk well before I sleep.”She placed the portrait on the table carefully and looked into the mirror again. She picked up her handkerchief from the bed and carefully mopped the tears off her face.After mopping her face, she forced on a big smile and lifted her dress with her hands. She walked out of her room and headed down the stairs.As she climbed down the stairs, the people began to clap for her. She felt so shy, so she lowered her head as her cheeks reddened.Freddie quickly approached her before she got off the stairs and gave her his hand.She looked at his face and with a bright smile, she gave her his hand too. He held her as she climbed down the stairs, and he began to introduce her to the visitors.“I still don’t understand why your father likes her so much. I mean, anytime I see her, she irritates me.” Marie, Ava’s friend muttered as they watched her walk with Freddie.“She irritates me too, and you know the most annoying thing? My father told us to be here to celebrate with her! Gosh! I’m so pissed!” Ava groaned in disgust.“Don’t worry, Ava. I am here to help you ruin her fun,” Marie uttered, and they both chuckled wickedly.“Hi, Mr. Matt, this is my daughter, Amelia, I was talking about. Always making me proud! She is one of the best graduating students in her set. The news is everywhere. Isn’t that great?!” Freddie boasted to an average-age looking man.“Very pleased to meet you, Miss Amelia. My friend won’t stop singing your praises.” Matt stretched his hand to Amelia, and she shook his hand.“Pleased to meet you too, Mr. Matt,” She responded shyly, and they all chuckled.One of their servers was passing by, and Freddie stopped him and picked up a fork from the tray. He lifted his glass cup and hit the fork on it, making a clink sound.“I hope everyone is enjoying the party! I would love Amelia, my daughter, to say something to all of us!” He announced, and Amelia’s eyes widened in surprise. She wasn’t expecting it.“Come on girl. Say something to the people,” He whispered in her ear, and she bounced her head slowly. She let out an exhale and made a quick turn to look at everyone.She saw her cousins at the corner with some other guest, their eyes that peered at her said many awful things.“I bet she feels so proud of herself. Why would your uncle throw her a party, but he didn’t when you graduated?” Marie asked.“Shut up, Marie, and let us listen to the rubbish she has to say,” Hudson broke in, while Ava couldn’t stop glaring at Amelia.‘Who the f**k does she think she is? I promise you, b**ch, I’ll ruin this stupid party of yours!’ Ava’s thoughts made her smirk evilly.“Good evening everyone. I don’t have much to say because I wasn’t expecting uncle to bring me out this way,” she said, and they all giggled.“I just want to say thank you to everyone that is here, especially my Uncle. He has been the best person in my life. He has been a father and friend. I love you so much, Uncle.”She looked at Freddie, and he placed his hand on his chest and pouted playfully.“I love you too, daughter.” He responded and embraced her. “Continue feasting, please! The night is still early.” Freddie lifted his cup and sipped from his wine.“Hey… won’t you have some wine too? Trust me, it tastes very nice,” Freddie said to her, and she shook her head.“I prefer juice, Uncle.”“Juice? C’mon, Amelia, you are twenty not twelve. Try new things, okay?” He said, and she giggled, bouncing her head.“Freddie Cooper!” They heard the vibrant voice of a man that looked the same age as Freddie. “Charles Parker!” Freddie responded in excitement.He opened his arms, and they hugged each other. “I thought you wouldn’t make it.” Freddie said, and Charles shook his head.“You know I would! Great job you have done here.” He looked around the living room and Freddie gave a slight bow.“I’m happy you like it. We have things to discuss. But before we get to it, Charles. Amelia, my daughter. Amelia. Charles, my very good friend.” He introduced them and stepped aside so they could greet themselves.“How are you doing, Amelia?” “I’m good, Mr. Charles. Welcome.” She lowered her head, and Charles chuckled, looking at Freddie.“She is one with a pleasant manner of approach,” He complimented, and Freddie twitched his eyebrows at Amelia.“Thank you, Charles. Shall we?” Freddie asked, and Charles nodded. They both walked away from Amelia and headed to a private room to talk business.The smile on Amelia’s face slowly faded away when Freddie left. She heaved a sigh and looked around her, everyone was busy with one thing or the other.She looked at her cousins and saw they were busy having a chat with some friends at the other end of the living room.They all turned to look at her at the same time, and she felt shivers run down her spine.‘They are definitely planning something evil.’ She thought and hurriedly turned to walk away.As she walked, her stomach began to grumble. She remembered she was yet to have lunch. She looked at her right-hand side and saw where the dishes were displayed.She hurried to the table and picked an apple from the basket of fruits. She hungrily took a bite and began to munch. In a few minutes, she was done eating the apple. She picked up a slice of bread and also munched on it.A server was passing by, and she raised her hand to stop him. “I’ll have one,” She said to him, and he moved the tray to her.She picked up a glass of red wine, and raised her index finger, telling him not to leave yet.She took a sip of the wine and when she saw it was tasty, she gulped all of it at once. She placed the glass on the tray carefully and picked up another one.“This should do. Thank you.” She nodded and smiled and the server walked away.She closed her eyes and gulped all the wine at once again. She dropped the glass on the table and a satisfied grin crawled up her face.She looked up and saw Ava and Hudson approaching her very fast.‘Oh no. Not again.’She hastily lifted her dress and turned to leave. She headed for the corridor that led to the rooms on the ground floor. She looked back to make sure she wasn’t being followed by her cousins.Still walking very fast, before she could look at where she was going, she collided with someone.Her eyes widened and moved back hastily, as she moved back, she stepped on the hem of her dress and tripped. She quickly grabbed the suit of the gorgeous young man in front of her for support.Instead of receiving support from this man, he fell after her. She fell to the ground and hit her head on the Italian floor. Before the young man could regain his stability, he fell on her and their faces collided.His lips pressed against hers very firmly, and their eyes popped open.Amelia gazed endlessly into the onyx black deep eyes of the gorgeous man that pressed his lips against hers. His sandalwood cologne invaded her nostrils, and she didn’t want to loosen her grip on his expensive-looking suit. She pictured the beginning of a love story like she had always seen in movies, where the lady collides with a man and they fall in love afterwards. She was too shocked and captivated by his great charms to know what to do. “What the f**k!” James Parker, the man who Amelia had mistakenly kissed, hurriedly pulled himself away from her and fell to the floor on his butts. Amelia instantly snapped out of her fantasies and went on her knees. She felt a throbbing pain behind her head, and she gradually touched the back of her head. “I’m so sorry, Mister. I…” She stopped talking when somebody pushed her from behind, making her lose her stability again. She quickly gained her stability and looked up. She saw Ava shoot her a deadly look, and she knelt in front of Jame
Amelia’s bulgy eyelids parted and closed slowly as she let out a soft yawn. It was morning and the rays of the sun found its way into her room through her large window. She had been awake for minutes but didn’t open her eyes, neither did she get out of bed. She felt too weak to do anything, and she wished she could lay in bed the whole day. But that was never going to happen. She had things to do. She recalled Freddie promised to give her a gift after the party yesterday, but she couldn’t remind him about it. Not after what went down at the party. She opened her eyes again, this time, not closing it. She laid on her left side and her eyes were directly on her parents frame that sat on the table in front of her. She stared at their smiley faces for a long time, and let out a sigh. She gripped the mattress firmly and dragged herself up. She sat up and yanked the bedspread off her body. She stared at her injured yet straight leg and saw blood stained the bandage already. She shook
James got to his office, opened the door and strutted in. Amelia followed behind him before the door closed. She looked around his office and was lost in its beauty. His office smelled like new books. Its wall and tiles were white and sparkling clean, the white PVC blind folds that hung on his window were without blemish, and the chairs, desk and couch were seated at the right spot. Two leather office chairs were in front of his polished wooden desk, and behind his desk was an executive chair for him. He headed to his desk and sat on its edge. His right leg hung in the air, while his left leg was on the floor. The right leg of his trousers pulled up as he sat, revealing his thick black socks and a tiny part of his hairy yet clean leg.“Now, tell me. What are you here for?” He placed his arms on his right leg and stared at her. “Ermm, I am here to apologize for what happened at the party last night.” She bowed her head as she spoke. “And what happened at the party last night?” He
Ava didn’t bother knocking on James’ office door before opening the door and walking in. James lifted his head from his computer to look at who had disrespectfully barged into his office. When he saw it was Ava, he heaved a sigh. ‘Only she can do such a silly thing.’ “Hi, James.” She smiled softly and approached his desk. “What do you want, Ava? I told you I don’t like disturbance at the office.” He shifted his gaze back to his computer and kept working.“I’m sorry, okay? You have been ignoring me, so I decided to pay you a visit.” She walked past the chairs and headed to where he sat. She touched his face with her right hand, and he looked at her. “Stop it, Ava.” He moved her hand away from his face.“Why? Don’t you love me anymore?” She asked, and he scoffed. “Love you? When have I ever said I love you, Ava?” He looked at her unbelievably. “What? But, we…” “We had one night of pleasure and that is all, Ava. No feelings attached. I made that clear before we kicked off, didn’t I?”
After Freddie left Amelia’s room, she stood up and began to pace in the middle of her room. “Can I work in his office? I don’t think so. He hates me, and he is scary. This isn’t a good idea. I don’t think I can work well in his company. What if I ruin something, and I have to apologize again! Oh God, this isn’t good. Why is my life like this!” Amelia sat on her bed again and lowered her head in sadness and thoughts. The sudden sound she heard at her door jolted her out of her mind, and she saw Hudson walk in. He stood at her door and stared at her with a straight face. “My room is still dirty,” He said, and Amelia sprang to her feet. “I was preparing to come. I. Am. Coming,” She stammered, and Hudson moved closer to her. She gulped hard and stared at him as he approached her. “You were preparing to come and you were sitting?” He asked, and she slowly bounced her head. She bowed and played with her fingers nervously. “Why are you still waiting? You don’t know the way to my room,
“Dad? I thought you went out,” Hudson uttered and got off Amelia quickly. “What the hell do you think you are doing?” Freddie fumed to where Hudson stood and threw a slap to his face. “Are you out of your mind? She is your sister!” Freddie yelled in anger, and Hudson divulged a frown. “She isn't my sister!” he yelled. Freddie clenched his fist and looked at Amelia, who covered her body with his duvet. “Go to your room, Amelia,” Freddie ordered her, and she bobbed. She wrapped her body with the duvet and wept as she ran to the door. “Hey… my duvet!” Hudson yelled, and Freddie raised his hand in the air to slap him again. “Dad, that is enough. You and I know that she isn’t my sister. We are not related. Why do you keep lying to her?” “Shut up, Hudson! Shut that filthy mouth of yours! Amelia is always going to be family, okay? Whether you like it or not. And trust me, Hudson, you are going to pay for this!” Freddie poked his chest and boiled out of his room. “Oh God, what the hel
“Thank you so much for helping me arrange yesterday, Elena. I would have had to do all of the work alone if you weren’t around. My uncle had an emergency meeting,” Amelia said to Elena as she stood in front of her door. Amelia was dressed in a white ironed shirt and black office pants. She carried a black tote bag which hung on her shoulders. In her bag were her credentials. She was fully prepared to apply for a job at James’ company. “It’s nothing, Amelia. You are my new neighbor and it’s only nice of me to help you out,” Elena responded, and Amelia bounced her head happily. “So… where are you headed? You are off to work?” She asked, and Amelia heaved a sigh. “Not really, Elena. I’m just going to apply for a job. I hope I’m accepted into the company.” Elena smiled and nodded. “You seem smart. You will be accepted. I wish you good luck.” Amelia nodded and smiled widely. “Thank you. And you? You aren’t going to work?” She asked, and Elena shook her head. “I’m yet to secure a job.
Amelia carefully carried James’ cup of tea in her hand. The hot tea was in a coffee disposable cup. “Now, I think I obeyed and disobeyed him at the same time. Tea in a coffee cup is coffee.” She smiled at her cooked-up principle and walked out of the elevator. She proceeded to James’ office and when she got to his door, she could hear him talking. She moved her ear closer to the door and tried eavesdropping. Soon, she began to hear another person’s voice. This time it was that of a lady. She could barely hear what they were discussing. She shrugged her shoulders and knocked on the door. She exhaled softly and waited for him to give her the permission to go in. After waiting a few minutes, and she didn’t hear him ask her to come in, she knocked on the door again. “Why does she keep knocking?” Amelia heard feminine voice, and she furrowed her brows. ‘He asked me to make him a cup of coffee, and I am here to give it to him.’ She thought. “If you want to stand there, I’d prefer y
~After Five Years~“Amelia!” Elena called as she pulled up the dazzling white wedding gown she wore. “I’m coming! Can’t you stop making it so obvious that you’re nervous?! It’s your wedding day, not a horror show night.” Amelia rushed out of the room to the living room where Elena and a few friend that were the bridal trains were waiting for her. “I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. I had to make sure I got my makeup right since I insisted on doing it myself. I have been practicing for over three years for this day. To do my makeup myself!” She said proudly. “And you didn’t disappoint me! You look absolutely stunning, sister.” “Thank you! You look so beautiful too! I bet you’ll look even more beautiful when you walk down the aisle with our father today.” She answered with great excitement. “Do you think he’ll make it? Do you think the judge would grant him a temporary release just to attend a wedding?” “Don’t worry about it too much, Elena. We already talked, okay? They have bee
~One Year Later~ “Bababa!” Alice called out to James, who was busy eating Amelia out in the kitchen. “James… James… Alice has been calling on you for minutes. Won’t you go and see her?” Amelia’s voice was barely heard by James. He raised his head from between Amelia’s legs and looked at her face. His lips curved out a smirk slowly and he stood up. He kissed her lips so she could taste herself in his mouth. “Can’t you just take her to school already? She doesn’t let me get freaky the way I want.” He whispered a few inches away from her lips. Amelia chuckled and pulled him closer with her legs. “I already told you that I’m working on that. I don’t want her to go to school in Alabama. Let’s go somewhere far from here.” “To where exactly? You’ve been saying this for months and I keep asking you where we should go. Are you yet to figure it out?”“I told you to let me know when you can leave the business here and relocate. Have you found someone competent to look over things here?”
Instead of heading straight to the house, Penelope went down to the station to see Hopper and Freddie. She couldn’t keep the news of Clara still being alive to herself. She got to the station and waited till it was time for the conjugal visit. When it was time, she asked to see Hopper first. She was taken to a private room so that they could talk. She was happy she didn’t have to stay behind the desk to talk to him this time around. She was going to finally touch him after a long time. After a few minutes, Hopper arrived. Immediately he stepped into the room, a smile lit up his face. He opened his arms and embraced her. She was also fully ready to embrace him. “How are you, I missed you so much.” Hopper said as he broke the hug. “I missed you so much too, Hopper.” She responded and that both sat. Penelope heaved a sigh and gulped hard as she sat. Hopper furrowed his brows and looked at her closely. He could sense something wasn’t right with her. “Penelope. What is it this tim
“Oh please, do you think you can scare me with those words? What can you do to me, hun? All you can do is throw me into jail like you did to my husband, then I finally get to be with him. I’m not scared of you, James.” “That’s enough, Mom! I never knew she could be insensitive about this matter. You are clearly at fault and you’re still acting so strong. You’ll lose everything you’ve always wanted and the ones you had always had.” Elena uttered. Penelope clutched her jaws and looked away from Elena. Deep down, she never wanted it to play out so badly, but now it had to be like that, she wasn’t ever going to act weak in front of them. “I have always known that you miss your husband so much. But I never thought you’d go to the extent of going to jail just to be with him. Well, congratulations, your wish would be wholly granted.” James added. “No.” Amelia uttered after a long time of silence, and everyone looked at her. “Amelia…” “She won’t be going to jail. I won’t press charges a
~The Next Day~ After sedating Susan to stop her from overthinking about what Amelia told her, she got better and before she knew it, she was discharged. Only Amelia stood with her throughout her stay in the hospital. James couldn’t go home either because he couldn’t let her be all by herself. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to her again. ‘I have lost her once, and that would never respect itself anymore.’ He told himself. Susan was taken to James' house after he got discharged. She was driven home in his car. She asked that Amelia let her call Tonia and explain what was going on so that she wouldn’t get too worried about her. Tonia told her she would find a time to visit her before the end of the week. She also was eager to know more about Susan, since she never caught a glimpse of her past life when she was still with her. Getting to the mansion, before they entered the house at all, the aroma of roasted chicken filled their nostrils. James smiled faintly and looked at
Throughout the impromptu ride to the hospital, Penelope was quiet and in shock. Elena kept asking her why she called that strange woman Clara, but she seemed too stunned to speak. They got to the nearest hospital shortly, and Susan was rushed into the emergency ward. They were all asked to wait outside for the doctor and nurses to do their work. Amelia seemed to be more worried than the others because she feared something bad must have happened to her. “She’ll be fine, Amelia.” James tried to console her. Amelia shook her head and exhaled pretty hard. “I asked her to come with me, and now this happens? What if something bad happens to her? She has a guardian. What should I tell her if she finds out?” She worriedly answered. James didn’t know what to do other than console her till they heard from the doctor what had really happened. He didn't know anything about her yet. “Come here.” He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. He patted her head slowly and planted a kiss
“James?!” She called out, catching everyone unaware. The cops rushed out of their hiding places, and before Fred could realize what was going on, he was surrounded with cops who pointed their guns at him. “Your hands in the air!” They announced, and he raised his hands. James also proceeded out of his hiding spot and ran towards Amelia, who was also running to him happily with Alice in her arms. “Alice!” He called happily and opened his arms wide. Amelia ran into his arms, even though she was quite conscious about Alice that she carried in her arms. The first thing James did was carry Alice from her arms first and then embraced Amelia with his side. Alice took one side, Amelia took the other. “I have missed you so much, James.” Amelia mumbled and tears began to stream down her eyes. James shut his heated-up eyes pretty tight, and let his tears stream down freely. “I missed you so much too, Amelia. I thought I lost you.” He mumbled too. He opened his eyes after a few minutes an
“She will be going home with us, Fred.” Amelia uttered and gave Susan a reassured nod. “What? Are you crazy? I can’t let a stranger go with us to the house. You know why I can’t.” He responded in anger. “Susan, can you please look after Alice for a few minutes? I need to talk to this man.” After giving the Walker to Susan, she walked up to Fred and exhaled softly as she started talking. “You abducted me, didn’t you? Not just me, but my child.” “Why are you saying this?” He answered almost immediately. “And since this happened, after I chose to be with you, have I ever bugged you or tried to run away? We sleep on the same bed, I know where you keep the keys to the door, so if I wanted to run I would have.” She took a pause and waited for him to say something else, but he didn’t. “If you can’t trust me, I see no reason why you want to be with me and my daughter. Can’t you just trust me the way I trust you? I left my daughter in your care, not the first time, but the second, becau
Amelia, Fred and Alice got to the shopping mall shortly after a taxi dropped them off.“Here we are. Where do we start from?” Fred inquired. “We or I? Fred, you don’t have to go around looking for this woman for me. You don’t even know what she looks like. Just stick around with Alice. When I’m done, I’ll come to you. Please keep Alice safe. I trust you and that is why I’m letting you be with her.” Fred smiled widely and nodded. “You know how much I love you and Alice. I would never let anyone hurt you. We’d go around the mall, maybe to the Game Center. But please don’t stay too long. If you see or notice anything weird, call on me. I’ll come running.” Amelia divulged a soft smile and nodded too. She leaned closer to him and planted a soft kiss on his cheeks. “Thank you.” Amelia clutched her jaws slightly and turned to look. She looked around the mall and reminisced on where to start looking first. ‘The restroom.’ She thought and headed to the restroom. She often looked back at