EMMAIt was yet another day at work, and I hated it. I had spent the last night, preoccupied with thoughts of all my friends had said. They almost spent the night over, pouring out their different opinions. I loved my friends but they didn't seem to understand me. I loved Alex, and he loved me too. All these while, I had been telling myself I was ruining a marriage. The fact was, it never existed. I remembered the conversation I had with Alex that night. —“Did you ever love Isabella?” I asked.I was so scared to bring up the topic, especially as she had been the rockbed of our relationship.I remembered clearly how he looked at me, confused.“That was unexpected,” he replied.I knew he was trying to avoid the conversation, but I pushed harder.“Did you ever love her?” I repeated.“Is it important?”“It’s very important.” I replied. I was so scared that night. His answer would either break, or fix me up.“I never did.” He replied.I felt like a tonne of lo
EMMA.Kristy was the first to call. I picked up as soon as her name popped up.“Hey,” she said to me. I remained quiet. I didn't trust myself to speak. I covered my face with my palm, trying to push down the sobs. “Hey,” she said, again. Her voice was soft, and soothing. I felt the dam break loose. I closed my eyes, trying to contain the tears that were threatening to break open.“I don't know what to do,” I said in a hushed tone.I really didn't.“I understand,” she replied. “It's my fault. I shouldn't have advised you to trigger her.”“No, you were just trying to help.” I corrected her. Placing blame wouldn't help any of us.I listened as Kristy took a deep breath. “At least she hasn't released your identity yet. That means you still have time to fix things up.”“I don't know what to do,” I revealed. I propped an elbow on my desk.She sighed deeply. “From last night, I could tell you really wanted Alex. I know you still do, but we can't always have what we want. Do you get what I'm
ISABELLA.Emma should've known better than to toy with me. After all the mercy I had shown her, she thought it wise to play games with me. I picked up the wine bottle, and poured generously in my glass. That girl had some nerves. An ungrateful fool she was. Who did she think she was playing with? I recalled how she narrowed her eyes, daring me to carry out my threats. The fool thought Alex would be able to save her. I laughed out loud. He wouldn't even be able to save himself once I decided what to do with him. She fucked my husband, took him from me, and felt she had won. No one ever goes against me, and wins. I would teach her that wonderful lesson.I was still in the business of plotting my next move when I heard my phone ring. I looked down to see it was El calling. A smile crept up my face.“Girl!!”she exclaimed as soon as I picked up. The excitement was hard to hide. “Girl!!” She exclaimed even harder. “You know I love you. I love how smart you're handling this.”I chuckled da
EMMA.Alex left the office barely three hours after I had a talk with him. I had watched as he took long strides out of the office. I wanted to ask where he was going to, or what plan he had to solve things, but I couldn't. Just in case the tape got leaked, I needed to keep my profile low. Who knew? Maybe Isabella had more pictures of us in compromising situations. The media would eat that up.I took a deep breath, as I watched him walk in. Unlike his usual guard team, he was surrounded by women. One of the women gently massaged her arm, as they walked behind him. They were muscular, huge, and their faces were stoned in a frown. The one to the left had her hair up in a ponytail, and the other was in a buzz cut. Both parties took long, heavy strides.Alex walked into his office with them. I counted to two hundred, and they walked out. Their faces were still locked, but their movements changed. They walked easily, more feminine. I watched one whisper into the other's ear, pointing towar
EMMA.As expected, all the girls pulled up to my home. Aaliyah had somehow heard about it, and she left her shift at the hospital to attend to me. We had been talking for hours, and I had narrated all I could. I was confused, tired, scared, panicking, offended, and sad. I felt a thousand emotions at once. I wasn't even sure I would be able to handle all I was feeling.Faith gently rubbed my back with her palm. “You'll be fine,” she consoled me.Kristy looked into nothingness. She hadn't said a word in a while, and that was highly unusual. Everything today was unusual.“I have a bad feeling Alex will mess things up,” she finally said. I released a deep breath. Her silence was scarier than her words. “That's not a suitable thing to say at this moment,” Faith scolded.She shrugged, ignoring her opinions. I laid my back on the chair. Aaliyah walked into the room. She had changed from her scrubs. I watched as she rubbed her eyes. I could tell she hadn't gotten a good night's rest in day
EMMA.“I do have a question though,” Aaliyah spoke up, almost as soon as I conceded.Kristy did not hide her disdain. “What’s your question?” Aaliyah dropped the cup in her hands. “What guarantee do we have that this plan will work? I think it's better for us to wait for Alex. Who knows? Your plans might clash with his, and it'll cause a real problem.”“If Alex has a plan, he better step on it. I just know my girl won't sit by, and wait for him to solve things. She has been waiting for ages, and take a look at where we are.” Kristy replied. She turned to me. “I don't advise you to wait for Alex, but the ultimate choice is yours. What do you want to do?”“I think it's better we solve the problem ourselves. We can't keep waiting.” I replied, maintaining eye contact with Aaliyah. I watched her bite back her rebuttals. “If that's what you want, then I'm in support.” She finally agreed.I took a deep breath. “Now that we have that settled, we need to get into the real deal.” Kristy spoke
EMMA.The bouncer's threat must have slapped some sense into me, because I took a step back realizing how far I'd come. The alcohol seemed to be wearing off so easily. I was still drowsy, but I at least felt sane. I took another step back, and almost fell on my heels. The bouncer reached out, stretching a hand of help.“Get your hands off me!” I smacked his hands, as soon as they touched me. I didn't want help from a man who had threatened me.The music was still loud, and buzzing. I covered my ears with my palm, trying to shield myself from the loud noise. My head was banging, and everything looked like it was floating. Luckily, I was able to see Kristy, and Katy. They were still at the counter, having a drink. I watched as Kristy scooted closer to Katy, whispering something in her ear. She turned slightly, to take a view of the man behind her, and then shook her head in disapproval.Was Kristy already in search of another man? I knew she wouldn't deal with the infidelity her fiance
EMMA“I'll be there in a minute,” was the only thing I could manage to reply. I dropped my hand to my sides, unable to move. I should be running, panicking, searching for a way to save my sister, but I couldn't. It felt like the entire universe had paused on me. Why was this happening to me? Why was it all happening at once? Now? Why did it have to be now? Why was I always unlucky? I walked towards the door, feeling the weight of every footstep I took. Maybe I wanted to stay back, in here, hiding myself from the responsibilities, and problems out there. I didn't want to go out. I didn't want to face Zara. I didn't want to face the tape, I didn't even want to know if it was out. I just wanted peace. I couldn't handle anything else. I looked around, and found some maids were approaching me. For a minute, I considered running out, but then they were already heading squarely towards me. Whatever would be the outcome of this, I would face it.“Ma'am, how may we help you?” One of them aske