Eyes focused on the end of the pole, Sandra's fingers gripped the long poles horizontally placed beside her. It was her second week in physiotherapy, and her thirtieth day since that incident. It was equally the sixteenth day since she had set eyes on Anthony. He had ensured she had everything, but his presence. Ensuring she never saw him seemed to be his top priority. She groaned as she realized she still had a therapy appointment scheduled for two pm. She really did not want all her activities carried out within the four walls of this building. It was already bad enough that her medical appointments were carried out here. She needed breeze. Fresh air. Not the one that flowed within her compound. She had forgotten what the outside world felt like. She needed a feel of it. The noise,the people,the antagonizing smell of fast food forcing it's way into your nose. "Ma'am" Her physiotherapist called out to her. She raised her head up. The woman dressed in a blue shirt smiled w
"His remains?" Anthony asked, dropping his wine glass on the table. "Yes, sir." "Come with me," he ordered, walking out of the room. The four agents trailed behind him quietly.They watched as he bent the door's handle, pushing it open. "Take a seat," he offered, resting his body on the back of his chair. They all obviously sat quietly, waiting for him to initiate the meeting. Anthony cracked his ten fingers as he thought of the appropriate words to say. From what these men had said, Mateo was obviously dead. That was good. But the deed wasn't done by him. That was not so good. "Do you have proof that the remains are his?" He questioned, uncorking another bottle. Throughout the entire day, he kept feeling he needed a glass of drink. Why, he couldn't understand. Something was definitely up, and it was beneath his nose. He watched as the lead agent tapped on his iPad thrice. "Here," he said, pushing the phone towards Anthony. An
Conversation with someone who wasn't Anthony, and someone who had no deal with Anthony was refreshing. She took a sip of the cold orange juice that had been laid before her. Her eyes drifted to the wall clock behind him. They had been talking for over thirty minutes. She smiled as he chuckled at his own joke. Had they been there for that long? She looked around to find her entire escort watching her. It was then it dawned on her. They worked for Anthony, not her. They would, of course, report back to him, and he would end Stefan. "Are you alright?" Stefan asked, noticing how her forehead squeezed in worry. "I need to leave." She quickly replied, rubbing her sweaty palms together. "That's not a problem. Let me walk you out." He offered, rising to his feet. She felt herself shrink in size. He wasn't aware of her condition. "I think I'm good." "Come on, don't be shy" he prompted with a broad smile. "Hard pass. I'm
"Do I pay you to talk about yourself?" Anthony's icy tone rang through the receiver. Anna remained silent through the ordeal. The sounds of her breathing filled his room. "Now, listen,if I get such stupid reports from her session again, I'll personally toss Christopher back into that cell." He threatened. "You seem to have forgotten your work." Was everyone in his line of work stupid? How hard could it be to tame one woman? Just one. His phone lighted up, seizing his attention. It was yet another boring shit buzzing his phone up. He tossed his phone aside. He walked to the side door of his room. Thank goodness the glass was see through. Sandra was sitting on the porch of their room, looking out to nothing. There was paint in her hands, and there was a white board stationed beside her, but her focus remained on the sky. He slid the door open. The evening breeze smashed his face in a welcome. Sandra's head had been hung up
As she stared at her husband, Sandra wondered how on Earth she ended with a psychopath such as him? Never in the months they had been together, had she seen Anthony smile, but murder made him happy? Yes, she was actually excited that the perpetrators were getting their punishments, and justice was served, but why was he so excited? Was he overjoyed because he was dishing out justice, or was he happy because he held the gun? "Are you ready?" Anthony asked, picking up an AED. She recognized the device. It was what doctors in movies used to revive patients whose heart had stopped working. From the movie, she could tell that these men were literally in for the shock of their god-damned lives. She watched as Anthony's smile faded into a frown. "Do you want this?" He asked, dropping the machine on the table. "Of course, I do." He had literally no idea how much she had waited for this day. The day she would get her revenge.
Life was horrible for her. Shit even. At first, she had thought it was Anthony's fault, but later on, she realized it was life dishing her hot soups of karma for all the days she had bullied her mates in highschool. Right from the day Sandra found out she was pregnant, Anthony had left her. Well, she wouldn't blame him. She was carrying the child of another man. Not just another man. The one who had tried to give Anthony nightmares. A sigh escaped her lips as she pushed the door open. Well, her life had grown so boring, she had resumed physiotherapy. For the entire month that Anthony had left her alone, she had worked day and night to get her feet back on track. She would need it to survive once she had been chased away. Even she knew that her stay was only because Anthony had pity on her. The floor clinked as she slowly walked to the bed with her walking stick in hand. She hated that she had to rely on that dumb shit, but she was out of options. She fou
Blood. Blood was the last thing she saw before everywhere went blank. She lifted her palm to her forehead. She felt a throbbing pain there. Not a new feeling. A deep sigh escaped the pit of her stomach. Her eyes looked up at the ceiling in tiredness. What the heck happened to her? "How are you feeling?" A male voice asked. She stiffened, not wanting to look. Was she going crazy? Had she run mad? She hoped she wasn't missing him so bad that she had imagined him talking to her. That would be a sure sign of madness. Slowly, her neck turned to her left, and her heart raced as she saw the stature casually sitting on the armchair. He waved slightly at her. She smiled in resilience. She wasn't crazy. Anthony was here in blood and flesh. "Hey," she called out to him, stretching her arm for him to hold. He ignored it. Sandra's attention divided as Tanya stepped in with crackers in her hand. "Hey, boo" Tanya greeted as she
The silence that engulfed the room was new to her. Yes, she had grown used to silence in her days with Tony, but today was the first time she felt it so deep within her soul. Even her mind had grown silent. She didn't know what to think, or say. Her eyes drifted to Anthony who seemed to be thinking furiously. His brows were knitted, and his head faced the floor. He wasn't frowning, but he had that serious aura over him. "What is the reason for the miscarriage?" "Uhmm... Doctor Cole will relate that to you,later on." Stefan replied. Sandra's attention drifted back to Stefan. He was a ray of sunshine. His cheeks were a bit large, and cute. His eyes glowed whenever he spoke, and a smile effortlessly left his lips whenever needed. He seemed to be a well to do intern. He looked well kept. "I don't need to know the details. I just need to know if the child loss is her fault or not." "pardon?" Stefan asked. A dark cloud came over him. He was obviously
The ride home was extremely quiet. Ryan had come back for her three hours after he had left, and they were finally getting to head home by 3:39. Who knew she would still have to meet other family members even after their casino stuff? She huffed her anger out her nose. "Is all well?" "No." She grunted. The silence took its course. She folded her arms across her chest. "What's wrong?" He asked, placing his hand over hers. She flinched a bit, before regaining herself. How could she explain that she wanted to be alone? Her head was running at three hundred and thirty metres per second. She needed to soothe and calm herself. She was angry, frustrated, sad and mad at herself. Why was it so hard for her to find a peaceful ground? What would it take for her to live a normal life? She was finally getting her life back on track. She had forgotten Anthony and his nuisance. She had her best friend and this amazing guy with her. And all of a sudden, every
"Baby, are you okay?" Ryan asked, placing an arm on her shoulder. She clamped her fingers together, trying to force a smile. "Yes, I am." She replied, turning to him. Her lips spread. "Coleman" Anthony called out, digging into his meal. Sandra looked at her table to find out that a plate was before her. When did that happen? "Mavens." Ryan greeted. "Do you have any intention of introducing me to her?" He asked. Ryan smiled. "baby,meet one of my many brothers. Anthony Mavens" Sandra's frown grew deeper. He was pretending not to know her. Ignoring all they had shared. The same way he had dumped her before. "It's a pleasure meeting you." Anthony said to her with a grin. He stretched out his hand. She stabbed the meal before her. "Same" she replied with a wide smile. She searched his eyes. He really seemed not to recognize her. She stared deeper into his eyes and no flick of recognition passed by. Reluctantly,she sighed. She turned
The long awaited weekend had finally arrived, and Sandra was sitting peacefully like the passenger princess that she was. Earlier that day, she had completed the low cut dress she intended on wearing to the dinner. Adjustments had been easy to make. The makeup artist she had booked arrived ten minutes earlier than expected, and luckily, they had gotten everything done at least five minutes before Ryan arrived. He had arrived in a black tux with his hair gelled backwards. It gave his face a more defined shape. His tattoos all covered up made him seem so innocent. His doe eyes took the form of a bunny's. She could see fear, panic and excitement behind the walls of his beautiful eyes. How important was the dinner to him? She smiled lightly as she recalled his reaction to her present look. He hadn't gasped or gushed, but his eyes had held her body longer than she expected. "Why are you smiling?" Ryan asked. She turned to him, quietly placing her palm on his thigh. She felt
The door slammed in her face as soon as Tanya left the room. Sandra, feeling choked by the repercussions of her actions retreated slowly into the vacant chair her friend had just occupied. Her heart seemed to have sank to her stomach. She clenched it tightly, hoping to hold herself in place. She hadn't really meant what she said. She hadn't. Tanya wasn't a monster. She wasn't a saint either, but she was far from a monster. She sighed. In a way,she was right. Tanya was hurting these men and their families. Innocent people who had done nothing to deserve the sour plate of injustice she had dished for them. But was the truth worth her friendship? She collapsed further into the chair. Tanya was the only person she could ever run to whenever she was in trouble. Tan was her backbone. Her hope. Her candle in the midst of the darkness. Her doorbell rang, capturing her attention. Her nerves grew alert as she quickly rose to her feet. She quietly tiptoed to the door, avoiding any s
She looked around the room, searching the environment. The woman sitting on the other side of the table seemed to have her lips moving but Sandra's head was spinning too fast for her to grasp what was being said. Her lips quivered and she quickly covered them up with both her hands. She was sure her eyes would be reddened. The tears were already at the brim of breaking off. "I'm so sorry, my dear," A voice said, as she felt a palm resting on her shoulder. She looked to find out it belonged to the woman at the other edge of the table. "Get your hands off me." She growled, glaring at her. The woman, with fear in her eyes, quickly retreated as she tightened the grip on her baby. "I was only trying to help" She defended. A snarl escaped Sandra's insides. She couldn't understand why she was mad at the woman. Heck, she should be grateful that the woman just saved her from such a blatant liar like him. Her shoulders fell even harder as she tried to process her t
"Hi," Sandra greeted, wrapping her arms around him. He enveloped her and she took a whiff of his cologne. Gosh, he smelt nice! "I love your cologne," she complimented, pulling away from him. "thank you. How are you?" He asked, holding her left hand. She felt her cheeks flush a bit. "I'm okay. A bit flushed and stressed." "Why?" He asked, scanning her face. She smiled as she noticed his eyes trailing her out look. "I just finished my workout and the heat did not make it all too bearable. " "I understand that," he replied, pushing off the strand of hair that covered her face. She flinched back, pushing the hair to its original position. His brow creased in confusion. "You look good." He complemented. She forced out a smile, knowing he was feeling rejected by her actions. "The cargo and top go together. Blue is a really nice color," he continued. It was the first time in months where she wasn't wearing a crop top, sweater
Applying the face wipe on her chin, Sandra giggled at Tanya's remark over the phone. "Trust me, it's how they all behave on the first date. They're all sweet and charming until three months later. Boo, believe me. You will sit your god-damned ass down and wonder if that was the same man you met that night."she emphasized with a hiss. She scrunched her nose at her friend's remark. Ryan was obviously a nice guy,and she felt it was too early for Tanya to start having superstitions and thoughts of him not living up to standard. Her lips lifted up in a snarl. It was either ways too early to give him much credit. "I'll try to be careful," "You'd better. Just play along, and if you eventually get tired, hand him over to me. He has what I need. Paper. " Tanya said with a tight laughter so funny that Sandra had to shake her head. "It's not always about money," she replied, picking up her phone. "It is always and will forever be about money. Forever."
"What do you mean?" Tanya questioned over the phone,causing Sandra to groan. She tugged down the edge of her tight, black dress as she stared at the mirror. "Girl, I need you to talk to me." Her voice boomed through the phone's speaker. Sandra took a quick glance at her phone. "What do you want me to tell you?" "I need" she stressed cautiously " you to tell me who the fuck you're going out on a date with! I need details." "why?" She asked, smacking her lips together. "why? Are you seriously asking me why?"She scoffed,"You can't just drop a bombshell on me, and run off. " "what do you mean?" Tanya's groan filled the room. "you're a twenty two year old virgin who has refused any and every offer from literally any man that crossed your path since Anthony. All of a sudden, I get a call at two am-" "it's seven pm over here," Sandra cut in. "whatever" she waved off the remark. "I get a call from you, and all you say is 'I'm goi
The cart screeched loudly as she pushed it through the mart. Her hand molded into a fist, before she rubbed at her darkened eyes repeatedly. Sleep had recently become only a wish for her. Who knew being a boss could be so traumatizing? She bent her arm, checking the timepiece. Just ten am. Another cup of coffee wouldn't be so bad. She picked up a toilet roll from the shelf. It had been a while - two years - since the day her previous life ended. The life that had scarred her. Well, two years was definitely enough to break down, cry, build back and get the itching tattoo that irked her. Her attention diverted to the arguing couple who were spitting words at each other. The two angels beside them held teary eyes in silence. "You piece of shit!" The woman slammed her husband with a slap to his face. She watched in horror as he spat out words which were too obscene for even her. God, those children would definitely need therapy. She rolled her cart off