A Trap

Giselle POV

Did Julian meet up with her yesterday to drink? Loads of questions kept flooding my mind.

To calm down my thoughts about Gwen’s return, I got myself a drink of water from the fridge and returned back to my duties.

A couple of hours later, the ladies left, leaving behind biscuit wrappers, used cups and plates—unbothered about who was going to take care of that mess.

They all left ,one after the other, leaving Mrs. Walker who moved towards me with an indifferent mood as I tidied up the place.

"Don't even think I would forget what you did today?” she barked as she moved towards me. 

“What did I do?”, I questioned ,not knowing where I went wrong today.

“Oh you mean you don't remember what you did, you golddigger!”, she responded with a sharp pain on my face. No one had dared to lay a hand on me but here I was being disciplined by Mrs. Walker. This wasn't the first time she had slapped me with any little mistake I made. 

“I will remind you if you don’t”, she continued but I was still in shock. “That vase you broke today was gifted by a friend in China and you destroyed it in a day,”Mrs. Walker’s barks echoed through the room. “I will definitely make you pay it back one way or the other”, she smirked.

She then tossed over a brown envelope on the center table and began ,“How about you pay me back by delivering this to a friend for me since you can’t pay me back with cash?”

Still dumbfounded by what just happened, I nodded swiftly , accepting my fate and facing the consequences. I didn’t want to have any further issues with Mrs. Walker. I have known Mrs. Walker years before marrying Julian and her cruelty is something I don’t want to experience.

“Good girl”, She said ,patting me on my shaking right arm. “Meet him at Silver Spoon Restaurant. Be there at exactly 4pm. I don't want you to keep him waiting. I will send you his name and what you need to do.”

One of her bodyguards signaled her that her car was ready. She turned to leave and stopped abruptly, turning back to me.

“and you heard it right. Gwen is back”, she teased. “If I were you I would start packing my bags before I'm thrown out”, she continued, her lips curling into a smirk. “Ciao for now”, with the final statement, she moved toward the waiting white Mercedes Benz G-class.

I watched as she slid into her car and zoomed away. Unable to contain the pain in my chest, I broke down into tears and cried my heart out.

Mrs. Walker has never been happy with me, no matter how hard I tried to please her but I know she can be worse and the last thing I want is to arrive there. 

I quickly took a shower and made my way towards Silver Spoon. Silver Spoon is quite a popular restaurant in Stirling City. I had to take a cab since I had no access to the cars in The Avenue and I had to be there on time. 

About five minutes later, I was at the place but there was no one in sight. After waiting for a whole one hour, a dirty blonde guy in a simple casual outfit entered the restaurant, confused as if he was looking for somebody. He finally made eye contact with me and started moving toward my direction. I immediately knew he was the one I’ve been waiting for. 

“Mr. Gibson?”, I asked as he closed the distance between us.

“Hello, Miss Giselle”, He said, pulling me into a warm embrace as I stood up to welcome him. I was immediately offended. 

First of all, this jerk is late and why is he hugging me? 

I quickly pulled back wanting to slap the hell out of him but I withheld my emotions considering who sent me and the last thing I wanted to do was to create a scene which would tarnish the Walker family. 

“That wasn’t necessary”, I said calmly, unleashing a bit of my frustration and taking back my seat.

“Oh, I apologize if it was inappropriate. That’s how I greet most of my clients and I’m sorry for being late as well,” he replied casually.

“Then I think we should keep the rest of our conversation formal. I was sent to deliver this to you,” I snapped back, grabbing the brown envelope from my bag and tossing it over to him. 

“You won’t even grab a drink”, He replied, probably sensing my agitation. 

Ignoring what he just said completely , I concluded , “Well , I think my work here is done. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Gibson”. With that said, I grabbed my bag holding on to it tightly as I walked out of the restaurant, quickly catching a cab.

I don’t know what the intentions of that man was but thanks goodness I was able to escape his trap.

Upon reaching home,after about half an hour, I received a notification from an unknown number which read—- Happy Anniversary dear. It's so sad but your husband will be celebrating your anniversary with me tonight. I thought it wise to ask for permission. We’ll be meeting at 7pm at Ridge Heights Hotel— My eyes widened at the message.

Due to the impromptu loads of activities and household chores Mrs. Walker showered into our house today, I had missed this important day. Julian was nowhere to be found when I woke up. He probably doesn't care about today from the message I just received.

He was going to have fun while I waited for him all day. Who is this message from? Is this another woman or Gwen? Several thoughts and questions run through my head. Tears welled up in my eyes but no, I wasn't going to sit down here vulnerable and weep. 

I want to find out by myself if Julian is indeed cheating on me because I can't take this pain anymore. With fury boiling within me,I wiped off my tears ,grabbed my bag ,before heading towards Ridge Heights Hotel.

My footsteps quickened as I drew near to the hotel restaurant, my heart throbbing with nervous anticipation. I just wanted to confirm Julian was cheating on me and probably considered packing my bags like Mrs. Walker suggested.

 I was ready to tolerate every pain from Julian and even his mother but not cheating. I wouldn’t let him rubbish and dishonor my three years of being faithful in this matrimony.

“Excuse me, where is the Ridge Heights Hotel ?”, I inquired from a passing stranger, the sense of urgency betraying my tone.

“You are almost there. Just turn right there, ma'am!” she directed, pointing her hand to the next junction.

Following her direction, I got to the hotel and froze with what unfolded before me. There Julian was, standing in front of the hotel. Standing next to him was Gwen, his ex-fiancee. They were involved in a conversation that seemed intense.

To avoid being caught, I retreated behind the nearby wall and continued viewing the scene which was shattering my heart to pieces. 

Julian presented the blue box I chanced upon the night before to Gwen. Gwen’s gestures, showing off her amazement and gladness as she accepted the box from Julian’s hands. She hurriedly opened the box. Her eyes shone with excitement , allowing Julian to adorn it around her neck.

My heart was struck by the truth which unfolded. I felt a sharp pain in my chest, my hand intuitively wobbling towards my chest, my fingers gripping my heart tightly. 

The necklace wasn't mine. 

It was for Gwen. 

Though I wanted to confirm whether Julian was cheating, I guess my sobbing heart was not ready for this. Unseen tears streamed down my face as they witnessed the scene. With a heavy heart and a defeated exhale, I turned away feeling like I have lost to Gwen. 

‘Giselle, were you expecting anything different? You’ve known all along that Julian’s heart was for Gwen and Gwen alone.”

I began suffocating from all the tears I had shed as I broke down, taking a seat on the floor.

My relationship with Julian began when I was nineteen. I was introduced to him through his sister Velma, who was my best friend in college.

Velma and I attended Brillantmont University together. Due to distance and saving of money,I mostly spent my short vacations in their mansion, serving as a company to Velma and stealing glances at Julian whenever I could. Velma was a product of the extramarital affairs of Mr. Walker but she lost her mom in a miserable accident.

A devastating shock arrived when I learned that Julian and Gwen were set to marry. At the same time, I was also in a forced relationship with Aaron, my ex-fiance.

One faithful afternoon as I moved through the hallway of the court, where my pending marriage with Aaron was set to happen this weekend , my phone buzzed with calls, left and right. I knew it was my family members. They've been informed about my termination of the pending wedding with Aaron.

As I descended down the stairs to the ground floor , I couldn't help but eavesdrop on a conversation between a father and his son which was echoing loud enough from a slightly opened door at the side of the staircase.

With the voice sounding familiar, I moved to the slightly open door, peeping through it, I realized it was Mr. Walker. “This is all your fault! Gwen left because of your actions! What will we do now? We have investors and the media house waiting outside! This is embarrassing!”, he harshly chastised Julian who stood there confused .

“You will have to get married today! Get a replacement bride! I can't face my business partners empty-handed! Do something about this now!” his father commanded.

After contemplating with myself a bit, I gathered up courage and opened the door, offering myself as a replacement bride for Julian. I was madly in love with Julian and being a substitute for Gwen seemed like a fair trade to me.

For three solid years, I stuck with the hope that Julian would reciprocate the immense love growing in me each passing day. Does he know how much this marriage has cost me?

Though I couldn't give up on my studies completely, I secretly took online classes with Brillantmont University. I kept it as a secret because Mrs. Walker would definitely have caused trouble for me and Julian, it probably wouldn't have mattered to him. He doesn't even ask about my wellbeing, not to talk about my schooling.

I wanted to confront them so badly but my body couldn't pull itself together. Lost in thoughts, I walked along the road unaware of where I was heading to. 

Suddenly my phone rang, reminding me of my existence. It was Velma, my friend. She is currently continuing studies in London while I play wifey duties for Julian in Stirling City.

I quickly wiped my tears, answering with a forced cheerful tone.

“Gisey!”

“Happy wedding anniversary!”, she shouted cheerfully over the phone. 

“Thank you”, I replied, my voice almost giving me away.

My best friend remembered my wedding, yet his brother who was in this union seemed unconcerned about it. Tears suddenly welled up in my eyes. 

“Are you okay, Giselle?”, she asked, obviously finding my earlier voice fishy.

“ Oh no, I'm doing well,dear”, I lied, forcing back the tears.

I don't want to burden Velma at all. I have to overcome this challenge on my own, without her involvement, even if Julian was her brother.

“I miss you so much!”, she continued excitedly, convinced with the lie I just told.

“I miss you too! I really wish you were here Velma,” I replied,truthfully , longing for Velma’s presence. Most of my challenges would be halved if she was here.

“We are having our exams and I’ll be home soon! We’ll see each other again! I need to go and rest! Enjoy the night with Julian! Make him beg okay!, she ended the call with a chuckle.

The tears couldn't compose themselves anymore as it flowed down my cheeks, blurring my vision. Hearing the cheerful voice of Velma and the thought of me giving this cheerful life away for Julian made my tears even worse.

 Just as I wiped my wet cheeks with my trembling hands a white van came to a halt in front of me. Two men alighted, swiftly grabbing me by my arms as they pulled me towards the van. I was terrified.

“Help!!”, I yelled, desperately hoping for an angel to save me.

Struggling to free myself from their grip, another man pressed a wet cloth against my mouth. My strength instantly collapsed.My vision slowly faded away as the van door shut behind us.

When my eyes flung open, I found myself in my matrimonial bed almost naked with the man I met earlier today at the restaurant.

“What!!” I screamed and recoiled, grabbing the cover cloth around me , fear rushing through my veins. I couldn’t grasp what was happening around me. My mind shifted back to my last scene as I screamed out for help before blacking out completely.

The door forcefully swung open , my eyes widened in fear to see Philip walk in on us, still dressed in the elegant black suit from the hotel earlier today. This face immediately turned sour , surely disgusted by what was revealing before him. 

“ What the fvck is going on here?!” He roared, his voice giving up the uproar in his body.

He grabbed the man by his collar and unleashed several punches. I screamed in horror as the man tried to free himself. He turned his gaze towards me, his hands clenched into a fist. I could feel his rage from the other side of the room.

“Julian,Julian, please, you have to believe me! I don’t know what is going on here! The last thing I remember is me getting kidnapped!, I begged desperately.

Mrs. Walker suddenly appeared from nowhere, her presence making matters worse. “ I knew it! I knew this gold digger was up to something! I keep warning you Julian but you won’t listen! This is why I’ve been coming here often, to keep an eye on this whore!

“ p-please listen to me, t-that’s not true”, I interrupted, my trembling body so visible in my voice.

With a grin, Mrs Walker tossed some photos on the bed. 

These were photos of me with the man earlier today at the restaurant . In one of the photos was the hug I despised so much.

“After meeting your lovers in different restaurants, you couldn’t help but bring them to your matrimonial bed! You are such a shameless being! Mrs. Walker snapped sharply 

No, no! I murmured,nonchalantly shaking my head as I battled to accept the accusations which had just been thrown at me.