Chapter 003

My eyes slowly snapped open and took in the blinding light rays radiating into the unfamiliar room.

I wheezed as the smell of antiseptics swung past my broken nose.

“Do you think that act you put on will make me change my mind concerning the divorce?” That was Caleb’s scornful voice.

I cranked my head to the opposite side of the direction of his voice.

“You better sign the papers, you have until tomorrow,” he grumbled annoyingly.

I heard his feet grudgingly shuffle towards the door.

I’m sure that the man beside me is not Caleb, he can never be this irritating.

Why the hell is he doing this to me?

Tears threatened to start a new course but I breathed it in as my mind swung over to Sherry.

Perhaps, if he finds out that Sherry is still alive, he will drop the childish behavior.

“I saw Sherry,” that was the only reply I gave him.

The shuffle stopped and a dead silence fell over the room and lasted for killing minutes.

“What did you say?” he finally breathed out, dismissing the silence.

“I saw Sherry, she was almost killed. I tried to save her…and…and…and…” I stammered.

I heard a low mocking laugh.

“You’re probably going insane, wait a minute, are trying to justify your actions of killing her?”

His mocking voice stabbed me.

I turned sharply and glared at him.

“What do you mean? Sherry is alive!” I screamed out my lungs.

“Sherry is dead, you killed her!” He shot back at me.

My head dropped into my pillow in defeat.

The persistent tears finally found its way out of my distant eyes.

“Why are you doing this, Caleb, shouldn’t we be supporting each other at this moment?” I whispered.

He shook his head, thrusting his hands into his pocket.

“This marriage has never worked, perhaps Sherry’s death paved a way to deliver us from this shackles called marriage.”

He swerved around and bolted out of the room.

I sighed and slowly closed my eyes, blinking back tears.

“You wanted to commit suicide, you must be crazy,” the most annoying voice that I have eluded all my life sneered.

I opened my eyes again and looked at my mom.

She glanced at my pale face and cackled mockingly.

“I never said I needed you,” I whispered.

“Do you need to? I wonder how many more people you’re going to kill, you witch!” she spat and swung her dark wavy hair off her face.

“Are you still interested in committing suicide?” she mocked.

I sighed.

Why does everyone hate me this much? My family has never shown me true love, I have always lived my life as a lonely unloved girl. I thought my life and story would change once I got married to Caleb.

It did change, Caleb tried his best to love me, but right now, he has shown the real Caleb hiding behind that smile he always sends my way whenever Sherry cracks a childish joke.

“Where is Sherry?” I muttered.

“What?” she swung her head sharply in my direction, her eyes wide as saucers.

“What did you say?” she repeated.

“Sherry, where is she? She is still alive, isn’t she?”

She gazed at me in bemusement, slowly her large lips widened into a smug smile, and broke into a wild sarcastic laugh.

“You need to go for a mental checkup. You need to be admitted into a psychiatric hospital,” she blurted out, laughing loudly.

I couldn’t stop the tears from spewing out. I couldn’t stop my heart from shattering bit by bit.

“Mom, why?” my voice cracked and I choked on my bitter words.

“Mom? Don’t ever call me that.” She ranted.

Her smile dropped and she tilted her head, wrapping her fingers around her chin in a thinking posture.

Her head snapped in my direction and she grinned.

“You want to see Sherry?” her mood changed to a serious one. I nodded and slowly sat up on the bed.

The only thing I need is my daughter, she is the only one who can love me like I am.

“Go to the cemetery,” she burst out, laughing.

My heart broke into splinters as tears threatened to blurt out my vision.

She picked up her expensive designer handbag and gave me a sneer before trotting to the door.

“If you decide to go to the cemetery, give me a call. I’ll send a driver to pick you up, that will show you how nice I am to my distressed daughter,” she winked, flouncing off.

I breathed in countlessly, inhaling and exhaling loudly to stop my heart from shrinking to death.

Why, Lord? Why did you bring me into this cruel world to remain unfortunate and unloved? Did I commit the greatest sin? Why take away the only treasure that loved me?

I kept on inhaling and exhaling, questions running around my jumbled-up head.

But I knew one thing for sure, I would survive this, and Sherry would always be by my side.

*****

I walked into the living room of my house and breathed out. The room was devoid of air, it felt so toxic that I wished I had remained in the hospital.

My house has become a nightmare for me.

I sighed for the umpteenth time and silently ascended to my room, making sure not to alert Mrs. Joyce.

But the moment my door slammed shut, she came running to my door, knocking rashly on the door.

“I’m fine, I just want to be left alone,” I shouted from my room.

She didn’t seem convinced by the lie. Of course, everyone was aware that it was a lie. I was not fine, even a blind could sense it.

The knock persisted until I finally relented to her demand to let in.

I turned the doorknob and pulled the door open.

“Mrs. Joyce, I’m perfectly fine,” I said, rubbing my forehead.

“Did you sleepwalk? I’m sorry I left you, I had a lot to do in the kitchen…I…”

“That’s enough, Mrs Joyce. I’m fine, I think I sleepwalked,” I replied and pulled the door wider.

She entered the room, the guilt on her face was gone and a sort of ‘motherly care’ smile sprawled out on her face.

“Would you like to eat anything?” she insisted.

“No, I just want to take a shower,” I replied.

She nodded and led me into the bathroom.

She made me strip out of my dress and led me into the steaming bathtub.

A gasp of relief escaped my parched lips as the hot water grazed my skin, washing away the tears and dirt dotted all over my body and face.

I wished the water could wash away my agony and sorrow, I wished it would wash away this moment and roll back the day I lost Sherry. The day I made the biggest mistake of my life and broke my promise.

If only I had been more responsible, if only I had listened to Sherry’s apology, if only I hadn’t taken Veronica's call, if only I didn’t let the temptation of that cocaine take a tight grip on me, Sherry wouldn’t have died, my lovely blessed home wouldn’t have been in shatters.

I sobbed and cupped my crimson face into my scalded palm.

Warm tender hands wrapped around my shoulder, squeezing it gently.

“Don’t cry my dear, don’t cry,” Mrs. Joyce cooed.

Amid my pains, I didn’t realize that Mrs. Joyce was still standing behind me in the shower room.

I relaxed into her tender arms, I had never felt this sensation of family love before.

And to think I was getting it from a stranger.

“Thank you,” I sniffed “Thank you, Mrs. Joyce.”

After a long shower, I tied a bathrobe around my body and slowly sauntered towards the divan.

“Did Caleb come back?” I asked. I know I shouldn’t be asking about him, but I just can’t help but wish he would always be fine.

“Yes, he did,” Mrs. Joyce replied, searching the wardrobe for my night dress.

“Did he…say anything?”

Mrs. Joyce’s hands stopped working and she looked at me. Pain and horror were displayed in her iris.

“He gave me a parcel to deliver to you.”

I sprang up from the divan. My heart increased its tempo with each step I took towards Mrs. Joyce, I’m certain she could hear the sound of my heartbeat.

What did Caleb come back for?

Is he going to carry out his threat of a divorce? Oh God, don’t let him, don’t let him, Lord. I won’t be able to survive without Caleb, I’ve lost Sherry, must I lose Caleb too?

“Tell me what it is,” I sniffed, tears were already sipping their way into my eyeballs.

Mrs. Joyce sighed and walked over to the bed stand drawer, she pulled it open and rummaged through the contents then pulled out a file.

“Here, he asked me to give you this,” Mrs. Joyce said, stretching the file towards me.

I grabbed it and rashly tore out the envelope.

My heart dropped as I stared at the prints on the paper.

“What’s that, ma’am?” Mrs. Joyce asked, leaning closer to take a peek at the paper.

“A divorce?” I muttered and gasped.

The paper fell out of my hands and I started shaking violently.

My feet felt weak and couldn’t carry my body anymore.

Mrs. Joyce grabbed me before my numb body could hit the ground.

“What did I ever do wrong, what?” I mumbled.

“Calm down, calm down.”

We sprawled out on the floor for a long time before Mrs. Joyce was able to coo me into getting a nap to cool my raging body.

When I woke up, pain shot through my head making me groan loudly.

The door creaked open and Mrs. Joyce stepped in with a tray containing food.

She set the tray on a coffee table and sank into the bed, cupping my hands into hers.

“Have you made a decision?” she asked, her voice calm and soothing.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Get me a pen, Mrs. Joyce.”