The next came promising as usual. I left my bed early and joined Helen in the kitchen. Since it was Saturday, she said it was a clean-up day for them. As the head maid, she divided chores for other maids and workers, and I just sat back and watched her display her expertise. When she was done, all of them dispersed leaving me with her alone in the large kitchen.“Good morning ma'am,” She greeted, smiling and yawning at the same time.“Helen, you already greeted me this morning, and I responded,” I said, smiling in return.“Well, it's not a crime to greet twice. I mean, I and other maids literally greet Mr. Adrian all round the clock anytime we come by him, so I'm kind of used to it.” She explained heartily.“Poor thing,” I whispered. “They must have been through hell in Adrian's hand.”“Ma'am, did you say something?” She asked.“No I didn't,” I replied hesitantly. “How's today going to be like?” I chipped in trying to change the topic.“Hectic.” She breathed. “It's clean-up day so thi
I landed on Adrian, my hand on his chest. I let out a sharp gasp and pressed my hands on his left breast to gain balance. I couldn't help but comment to my subconscious mind on how soft his chest was; though they were muscular, it still felt so cozy. We were staring into each other's eyes as his warm breath showered on my face. Some strand of my hair fell on his face across his nose and it tried shoving it out. Then, all of a sudden he pushed me off and sneezed violently.“You have added clumsiness to the list of your flaws. Why exactly do you have to fall on me? He snapped, trying to recover from the sneeze, but his nasal cavity wasn't done yet because he sneezed two more times.I took a few steps back to keep a reasonable distance between us because I feared Adrian's temper. “It was a mistake,” I muttered looking down. “You pulled me too hard and I lost my balance.”“Why do you always have to apologize?” He asked, turning around with his hands on his waist. “First, you came home lat
CHAPTER 51He stood still, his expression unreadable and numb. He looked broken and sober about my tears but he didn't want to show it. How would he have his steeze reduced because of me? He braced his ego a lot and valued his pride like a treasure. I knew everything about it.I wrapped my palm around my shoulder as if to extract the pain from it but it only intensified. Hot tears flowed freely down my cheeks. I gritted my teeth and shut my eyes tightly, trying to breathe through it all. He started walking towards me and fell on his knees beside where I sat on the cold floor. He helped me to my feet and led me to the bed.“That wasn't intentional. I just forgot that you're female, soft, small, and fragile.” He muttered, his voice laced with remorse, but he tried to hide it. I could hear it loud and clear but I stayed put.He touched my shoulder, and I shrugged, frowning. He tried again but I maintained a stiff face. I wanted him to know that I was hurt; I felt abused and misused.“Com
“Just let me go,” I cried, my voice cracking.He wanted to reply but his phone beeped.“Pass me my phone,” he said pointing at his phone behind me. I stared at the phone and back at him, then gulped hard. I picked up the phone and held onto it.“Pass it already,” he snapped with furrowed brows.“No, I won't. You will give me the duvet first before getting it.” I replied feigning seriousness. I don't know what I was doing but I continued anyway.“Don't be silly.”He sighed and stretched his right hand to get the phone from me. Immediately I shoved my hands under my dress and hid the phone there.“What do you think you're doing,” he asked, his brows furrowed slightly.“Adrian, just give me the duvet to cover myself up and leave, then I'll hand over your phone to you. It is that simple.” I explained my voice gently but steadily.“Huh, where exactly did you put my phone?” He asked, his eyes narrowed down to my abdomen area.I tucked my hair behind my ear and sniffed. “Where I put the phon
I sat up instantly my heart pounding against my chest. Did Adrian come after me? I was silent maybe I could get a clue of who was at the door, but it was futile. I braced my chest and tried to allow the words to form in my throat. My vocal cords were against me; I inhaled and exhaled multiple times. Then I spoke.“Who's at the door?” I muttered my voice shaky. “Adrian, are you the one?”There was no quick reply and that somehow made me want to believe that it was Adrian because he was the only one in the house that fancied snubbing people.“Ma'am, it's me, Helen”, she replied, finally making me heave a sigh of relief.“Helen,” I called as if not convinced enough.“Yes, ma'am, it's me,” she replied, her voice speaking uncertainly.I furrowed my brows slightly studying the door as if it were see-through.“Are you there with anyone?” I asked in shutters.She hesitated before replying making me doubt her more. “No ma'am, I'm here alone.”I shut my eyes tightly and gritted my teeth; I was
I slept off a few minutes later and didn't even know when or how Helen left. When I woke up, I found myself carefully lying on the bed with my duvet well covered. My shoulder was well massaged and tied with a piece of clothing, and as if that wasn't enough, I wasn't dressed in the gown I went to sleep in. I sat up instantly blinking nervously, “what is going on?” I murmured.And then, to make matters worse, I felt weak, and I had pains all over my body. What could be the problem? I went to bed overwhelmed and hurt, hoping to wake up lighter and relieved, and then this?Soon, it was as if someone whispered into my ears, and instantly, I opened the dress I was wearing and found out that even my underwear had been changed. I let out a loud scream. I was sure about everything. I usually wore matching colored underwear but I saw myself in a different color of bra and panties. “Why on earth did my underwear get changed?” I murmured.When I took a glance at the wall clock I found out that it
“I'm sorry for whatever you're going through ma'am,” She whispered, her voice breaking. A tear ran down her left cheek and soon the other side did the same.“Helen, why are you crying?” I whispered.She shook her head and ran upstairs sobbing profusely with each step she took.It was plain. I didn't need a soothsayer to tell me what happened, it was clear, clear enough for any sensible person to understand. The earlier I accepted my reality the better for me. It was a bitter truth, indeed a difficult pill to swallow.Adrian had had his way with me.Why did Helen say what she said if it didn't happen? Why would she cry and feel sorry for me if Adrian didn't do it? She knows about it and couldn't even pretend about it till the end. My memory cast back to the evening in the garden, she told me about her rape story and how she lost her virginity. I couldn't relate to it by then because our challenges were different, but now I think we are on the same page. I should be more sorry for mysel
Accusingly, my hands were pointing at his chest, and in a surge of my emotions, the words just blurred out. "Well, it's your behavior that brings out the boldness in me," I replied in an authoritative tone with resolve, my eyes on fire with indignation.But Adrian sat there, as tranquil and composed as a body could get. Far from looking startled, a smile escaped his lips-a soft, gentle curling of his lips-and seemed to belittle my anger."I'm talking to you, and you're smiling right?" I exclaimed, voice incredulous at the behaviors while oozing disdain with every word."What's so funny, huh?" I demanded, my eyes narrowed to slits, my face hot with anger.Adrian's smile never wavered; his eyes were on mine with an unnerving intensity."I don't know you to be this kind of lousy person," he said in a low, even voice, the words subtly rebuking."And I think you need a sleep," he said, his eyes steady on mine, his face the picture of calm and collected.The anger rose within me at his word
The swirling emotions danced across Zan's face at that moment, where Adrian knew very well the reason why. His deep-set eyes seemed to pierce through, revealing an ancient sorrow balanced with a raging urge for justice. The very tone of his voice impassioned as it turned into words, dripping with bitterness that encapsulated that suffering Adrian's family visited upon him."I think I need some compensation for the damage you have done," he said with total entitlement. "You must compensate me, Adrian." Adrian's eyes dropped, his shoulders slumping under burden after being guilty. He knew he could not undo whatever had happened, but he thought he ought to make some kind of reparation.In his desperation, he asked her, "What is it you want so that I can atone?” He would do anything to make this up and start healing the pain he had caused. The tension rose as Zan narrowed his eyes with a glare."Fifty percent of the profit in your company will be okay," answered Zan, firm and resolute. "F
ANDRIAN FLASHBACKThread by thread, it began to untwist. "'I came back from work that day and received a message that my office would be on fire,'" Adrian spoke with a quaver in his voice that bore the weight of memories.Tightly gripped around the mobile phone, Zan's knuckles turned white with tension. "Your father, Hilbert, threatened me," Adrian went on, fearful with the sound of it: "He held my mom captive for months," he broke into tears.Zan's mind reeled, the implications racing through his thoughts. "I called him that night, and he said he would release my mom," Adrian shouted back, desperate. "I gave your wicked father one hundred thousand dollars for my mother to come back," he spat out, filled with anger and hurt.The silence that ensued was tedious and burdensome on his chest. Pain and desperation streamed from the other end of the line, and Zan could sense them, but he himself was paralyzed in an emotional freeze of shock and horror."But guess what your dad did," Adrian'
I was there, the blood rushing through my veins; it was in a nightmare where Adrian's voice echoed with desperation and denial: "How...please, I didn't kill your mom and your dad." His words spilled in a stream of incoherence; they were desperate attempts to convince me of his innocence. "Perhaps some other person could use my name for that."But I hardly forgave him; I was angry and grief-laden, like a ten-ton cauldron left to boil without supervision. "Shut your mouth up, Adrian!" My voice spat through clenched molars. "You know what I'm talking about. Shut up your mouth, my friend. You know what I'm talking about." The weight of my malediction stared him in the face.Adrian spoke into the receiver; his voice shook and descended to lower planes, quickly shot into the protective skies. Even as he braced himself to defend his innocence, he uttered: "You wouldn't want any company to overrule you, would you?" My words dripped with venom. "Just shut me up, Zan." The time when silence rei
Adrian remained riveted to his phone, his eyes wandering over the screen in confusion and apprehension. Those words that he had just read burned into his brain with each syllable filled with the accusation of hostility. "You have destroyed my family; you have made me an orphan,' read the text of Zan. Adrian was still grappling with the meaning of those words from Zan; it was becoming a headache for him.'What is all this about, Zan?'” Adrian said, sounding horrible with confusion, almost desperate. "I'm getting confused, please help me understand," he added as his brain went into overdrive with questions. What kind of an imbecile was this man? How could he even utter such words? Adrian could hardly focus on any one thought because new questions kept flooding his mind in a swirling storm leading to greater confusion and frustration.Adrian winced at the coldness of Zan's reply. "Ohh, okay, I will do just that," came Zan in that trademark voice dripping with menace. "I told the Dubai go
The message on the phone caused Adrian to stare in horror with bulging eyes. The pang of hurt and disappointment had begun as the mind raced with questions. He answered immediately, smashing his fingers on the keyboard. "Zan, why?? What's this for?" was his message, his eyes glued to the phone, waiting.But there was none from Zan. The silence felt heavy, and the seconds ticked like hours. With his anxiety building, Adrian's mind wandered all over the place. There was a feeling of dread; his insides were churning.Just as he was about to lose all hope, the message popped. "We are going back to already, sir," was an obscure, foreboding message from Zan. Adrian's eyes sharpened, and his mind was racing with questions. "Why?" was again written furiously, with trembling fingers, full of anticipation.The words of Zan were so incisive and quick, like a punch to the gut. "Did you violate any rules?" asked Adrian, but though he had surprised questions, he was mostly involved in important mat
Nested deep in the shrubbery of the guagua bushes along the winding road, shadows loomed long and dark upon the earth as Adrian continued driving. Putting the car to a halt with the engine sputtering to a stop, Adrian sat in silence, staring at the telephone tracker. Somewhere out there, according to the stats by the GPS, Jenny was to be found, yet her exact whereabouts remained clouded in uncertainty. His frustration red-hot beneath the surface, Adrian felt he might explode with anger at any moment. He ripped off his shirt, the fabric tearing against his back, a white singlet visible underneath. He kicked off his shoes, bare feet trembling with rage and ready for the kill. He was a man on a mission, backed by an awesome determination to get Jenny and save her.Adrian sat there, chest heaving, and gathered every ounce of courage for the battle ahead. The path ahead was fraught with dangers: conditions under the guagua bushes kept many secrets and few ever braved them. Yet he was read
Samuel looked at Julian with a mix of concern and confusion as he observed Fidelia's odd behavior. "Maybe she has taken some hard drugs; that's why she's behaving like that," he said in a low, thoughtful voice. Julian narrowed his eyes somewhat, his expression skeptical but then nodded in agreement.Her eyes glowed and her face twisted with a new terror. "Yes, I am mad," she said rather bitterly. Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "Due to the agony my mother went through. I shouted because she was in a state." Her words were poured forth in a flood, raw and unrefined. "No one was able to comprehend, not knowing her monster husband did it all, just so he could extort money.For a moment, Fidelia's eyes were fixed on Julian, boring into him with fierce intensity. "And you, Julian," she shouted at the top of her voice reverberating through the entire room. "You wanted me to have sex with you, right?" Her words hung in challenge and accusation in the air. In that instant, a longer ripple of
Standing there, dumbfounded, my eyes flew back and forth between those two people before me. What are you doing here, Dad?" I softly asked Samuel, turning my head towards him. Then to the other figure, a man whom I never have seen before, yet for all intensive purposes, he seemed familiar. "And you too, what are you doing here?" I added, narrowing my eyes while trying to place him.And then, like someone thrusting a sudden sunbeam into a cloudy day, it came to me and I recognized him, Julian. The name whispered through my mind, and I shivered. The pair exchanged a glance, Samuel and Julian, then both burst into laughter. A cold wind seemed to sweep the room.They laughed heartily and then, with a peal of laughter, fell silent, looking at each other with watery eyes. They turned towards me, then laughed again as they dug their faces in. That sound pierced through the fog of my confusion and terror and left me feeling naked and vulnerable.My throat mounted a steeplechase over my heart-
The darkness weighed on Adrian. Alone, he stared at the smartphone screen, and slowly the worries came and began overshadowing him. He tried calling Jenny for the final time. But this time it was even worse. "BEEP" the dial tone resonated inside his mind as a sad song, tying a heavy string to the future of uncertainty residing in front of him.He was losing within that desperation clutching his heart. His once sharp and focused mind began to wander off aimlessly and could not concentrate on anything apart from those haunting images of Jenny.The incessant maelstrom of questions swirling in his head formed different shapes, and all were more tortuous than the first. "Man, how am I getting through with this thing right now?" He held the phone in a grip that suggested it was the only rope that could hold him alive.His fingers raced across the screen with both urgency and desperation, and though the seconds trickled by in almost a freeze, every second seemed like an eternity as he stared