Darcy“Be ready before I get back”“Why are we going out just to eat?” Since the previous incident, I was really sure that something was off. I needed to figure out what it was.“Public appearances, Tessa. We need to keep up with that and make it look real”, he explained in the most convincing voice I've ever heard. “Okay... so where is this place again?” “It's a fancy restaurant I went to a few weeks ago, you'll like it”, he smirked slightly.I nodded.When it was time, I took out a navy blue dress I had never worn even though Rhys had already gotten me a dress, I wanted to feel comfortable in what I owned instead of the other way around.It had long sleeves and hugged my body perfectly, I then paired it with nude color heels, which were perfect for walking. I put some earrings in and left my hair down, it always suited my style. Then, I headed out of the door.Rhys stared at me when I walked towards him and I thought something was wrong. He nodded at me and opened the car door for m
RhysShe was a strange woman and I noticed how often she would avert her gaze and how careful she was being. It felt as though the woman in front of me had two personalities fighting to be the one who spoke first because every once in a while they would fight for dominance over each other.I still could not tell how she managed to convince me, maybe it was because I wanted to win Vincent so bad, I wanted to prove to him like one of those numerous times that he was no match for me.I watched the blush spread against her cheeks and how she struggled to hide it with her hair. She looked beautiful, like a porcelain doll, delicate and pale but there was something about her that gave her an unsettling aura. I wondered why she seemed so familiar to me. When she finally looked up, there was a sudden urge to tug the hair that covered each side of her face behind her cheeks and I felt disgusted at myself when my hands clenched into tight fists and the desire to do just that burned inside of me.
Darcy As I hurried into the restroom, my grip on my phone was even tighter as my heart raced.Truly I was not delusional, someone was stalking me and it had to be whoever was wearing that hoodie.The unknown number had texted me a picture of where I was seated at the restaurant that day, but not a name. A text followed, “I see you”.The message freaked me out, for who knew when they would show up? If they were here at this place right now, I didn’t have much time left in front of me, I didn't know what would happen next.As I made it to the restroom, I splashed water against my face, taking deep breaths to steady my nerves before running my hands through my hair. I was grateful that I had not worn any makeup.Somewhere from the corner, I heard a sound that sounded like a slight clutter, and I froze as a chill traveled down my spine. I looked around trying to trace the noise’s origin. As I turned my head toward another direction, however, I heard the same faint noise again, so I slowly
RhysThere was no sign of any form figure wearing a hoodie on the CCTV footage, not even a single glimpse. It was like whoever the person was, he hadn't been there in the first place. Which is pretty much impossible with what I had just witnessed.“What incompetence is this?”I muttered under my breath as the video continued to run. “We are sorry sir” the manager replied, sounding more like he wanted to be doing something else than apologizing to me for whatever it was. “Sorry? Your incompetence got my wife harassed. What if I had not stepped in when I did? How would that have looked? If you are truly sorry, show it!” I yelled at him. “This has got to stop!”I said, shaking my head in annoyance as the video ended. “Find me a CCTV footage that has that figure in or you'll know why you shouldn't mess with a Madigan!” At the mention of my surname, the manager froze. “And one that's clear and has good coverage of the entire event. Otherwise, consider your position gone” I told him before
DarcyHe was lying, he didn't hear me say anything! Nothing.Where did he get that from? It made me so angry that he had said those words, even if the truth, my truth was still with me, I still thought he had a little clue of what was going on.We didn't speak to each other after that day and I tried not to make him aware that I was always near him whenever we saw each other. If he was in his room we now shared, I’d be in the living room.As it was, all of our interactions were limited to small conversations or the occasional greeting when we met outside.I was tired of being in the living room and I just needed the comfort of a bed. I thought he was in his study room so I barged into the room without thinking or knocking.And there he was, skin glistening wet, a towel was wrapped around his waist but a little bit lower than what you should usually see. I don't know why. His back was turned to me and I should have gone back, but I stared at him like a hormonal teenage girl.When he tu
DarcyIf you thought Rhys Madigan was an intimidating man then you had to meet his grandfather, Jude Madigan.I felt bare sitting in front of the men and his blue eyes that were similar to those of his grandson.He had asked to speak with me alone after we arrived at his place so Rhys left me. It made me wonder if I had done something wrong or maybe he just needed a minute to collect himself. Either way it wouldn’t take long for him to get back.Jude Madigan sat across from me patiently as he took a sip from his cup of tea. He didn’t say anything even though I wasn’t expecting any response since we hadn’t spoken much to each other. I busied myself with looking around his home. Each design was specifically crafted to scream “Old money” everything reeked of wealth and class. Secretly I wondered how much money the old man had. It seemed like a lot snice Rhys and Vincent were bent on killing themselves for it.“You look tensed, sip your tea” The older man ordered. He looked different from
DarcyI stared at Rhys after he joined us as I wondered how difficult it must have been for him. I couldn't imagine a child walking in on his mother’s dead body.I wanted to press on, ask Jude Madigan more questions but he was a smart old man, he would know that facts were not adding up and he would dig further.“You invited Vincent?” Rhys asked, stepping inside and putting. an end to our conversation.“He is your brother. The high time both of you stop this madness, the better for us all” Jyde Madigan replied calmly.In no time, Vincent and Cory walked in and they seemed surprised to see Rhys and I already seated there.“Is this a mini family dinner?” Cory mumbled under her breath but I was sure we all heard her.“You can call it whatever you like Cory, I am happy to see you too” Jude Madigan said but I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. It made me realize how similar he and Rhys were.When we all sat down, Jude Madigan observed everyone under his gaze as if weighing their souls.
DarcyStrong arms pulled me away from the cold and the darkness, back to the warm-up safety of their embrace. I didn’t fight them because as much as I wanted to I wasn’t in a state to do so right now. It was more than the lack of energy that made me give up fighting it, it was the fear of being hurt by whoever it was, or worse, by myself, that made me stop fighting. That and the fact that my whole body felt numb and useless. I didn’t want to move, I wanted to stay in this perfect moment where nothing could hurt me and everything was calm. I couldn’t tell if I was still dreaming, I had to be dreaming but I couldn’t help but wonder why the woods had suddenly become my room, or why I felt warm inside, I know nightmares didn’t make anyone feel that way, I couldn’t tell if I was losing my mind. My eyes fluttered open slowly, just enough to look at who was holding me, but my gaze remained unfocused until I finally realized what I saw. My eyes widened and I gasped quietly when my vision cl
Rhys“Almighty Rhys Madigan, pleading for mercy? Who would have thought?” Cory said, mocking me and chuckling.“Come on Rhys, we both know who is the stronger of us” Vincent added.“You guys don't even deserve mercy. You're nothing but bad news” he sneered.“Listen...” I warned them “I am willing to surrender, you can't hurt me or she, you know that” I motioned to Tessa.Vincent started laughing. “Oh please,” he scoffed “like anyone would ever trust her over you”“Let Tessa go, you want me right? Let her live please” A smile crept up in Cory’s expression “You really wanna save this whore?” she asked rhetorically. “That's very charming considering that you didn't find it difficult to kill three people without remorse” “What do you mean?” She snorted “don't play dumb with me boy. You killed my parents and my little sister, remember you got into an accident and you fled, left the scene, left us to die! My parents died because of you, my little sister died because of you!” she screamed
Rhys “What are you doing?” I asked Blair.“Calling for backup, do you think a single gun would save you from your brother? If you did, then you don't know the kind of brother you have. He's dangerous” “I don't need your help. I'm in control, and you're the problem.”Blair laughed.“You're a fool Rhys… they are watching you! better make use of this chance and let me do what I know how to do.I swallowed her insults like bitter lemon drops. “Where is she?”“At an abandoned warehouse out of town”, Blair said as if we'd been discussing the weather.Speaking of the weather, it had begun to rain. A light mist that made it impossible to see anything beyond thirty feet or so, but enough to make me feel uneasy.It also meant that I couldn't see anything outside of the car. And I had to pull over into the parking lot before stepping out. It was a miracle Blair followed and the rain took longer than I expected.I watched as Blair dozed off beside me and a silly idea came into my mind.I gently
DarcyI was tired of fighting, my body was extremely weak, my throat dry from dehydration and the constant ringing in my ears made me almost blind. I felt completely lost and I couldn’t understand why. What did these people want from me? Was this happening to me? Why were these people staring at me? Where did they come from? How had they taken me here? “I am thirsty” I cried out for the hundredth time. “Please” I begged again. “Just give me something to drink, anything at all. Please”. My voice cracked, and I was surprised I didn’t feel any pain anymore. The silence only amplified the sound in my head. It was deafening. So quiet, so peaceful now. The ringing was gone.“That's your punishment for pulling that stupid stunt” One of them hissed. They looked angry. Yes, I had tried to escape again but I didn't even make it past the day.I got punched hard across the face, my head snapped to the left and back to the right, the ringing grew louder but not quite as painful as before, and I
Rhys When I drove down to Vincent’s house, I didn't know what to expect but I made sure I kept my gun closed.Someone whom I assumed was the nanny opened the door and she was holding a baby.For the first time in a long time, I paid attention to their son. He was a spitting image of Tessa... I mean Darcy. He had her eyes. Her beautiful, greyish blue, wide, soulful eyes. He looked just like her. And that terrified me for some reason.It also made sense why she had been fooling me the whole time. I would have probably done the same thing if I was her or done even worse.The nanny looked at me as if she was skeptical of my being there or something equally dumb and stupid because she didn't let me inside. “Tell Vincent I am here”, I demanded. “He's not here” she said. She wasn't rude by any means, she just seemed completely unimpressed with my presence at all.I wanted to tell her to fuck off, but my mouth wasn't cooperating. What a fucking mess.“Who is at the door?” I heard Vincent as
Rhys“What do you want?” I typed and waited for a reply while I began to drive down to the police station.The car was silent on its way there, but the ride didn't last long since it soon became apparent that my phone was ringing. It was the sound of my cell phone ringing that alerted me to where I was. I stopped the car and reached for it.“We said don't go to the police and you are parked in front of one? You really must think we are unserious right?” The voice said from the other line.I looked in the streets but everyone was going about with their business, there was no sign that I was being followed.How did they know where I was?“What do you want?” I yelled through the line as loud as possible just to make sure my message wasn't lost in the noise from the cars passing by.“You already disobeyed us and now your darling wife would pay for it” He sneered “Do not test our patience” “No, no, no” I heard Tessa scream from the background. I could only imagine her franticness and dang
Darcy“Why? You are supposed to be his friend. Why would you do this to Rhys?” I asked the man in front of me. My hands were shaking from trying to break free and my body was trembling with rage. He stood staring at me.“You see my dear, life is not always black and white. There are people who can love others, and those that do will be remembered for eternity. The difference between you and them is that you choose to stay with the light and I decided to go to darkness. That, or it takes too much effort” His face was twisted in amused expression, as though he was watching a child trying to figure out their math homework. But he was serious about what he said.“Rhys has always had things easy, he was always good at everything, he had the women, they loved him, and he loved them back.” He shook his head sadly ‘The thing is, there is no such thing as perfect men, only ideal ones. And unfortunately, there isn't any such thing as perfection in this world, and there's nothing you can do to c
DarcySomeone pulled the fabric that blinded my eyes open, and I squinted as a bright light invaded my mind and consciousness. My body ached, it felt as though someone had taken a hammer to me. I could barely breathe. It seemed impossible that such an intense pain existed in this world, especially in my own body. My heart felt like it was going to burst with every beat.“Hello there Darcy” Cory’s voice sounded so cheerful yet it was laced with malice, it didn’t help at all to calm me down.Beside her was her husband, and him… the least person I expected and when Cory forcefully pulled the duct tape away from my mouth, I let it hang loose. Could he?“I can tell you are familiar with all of us, aren't you?” It was Vincent. A smug smile stretched his face as he said these words, as if he were about to play a cruel prank. “Well, you could imagine the surprise when my wife told me the person I thought was Tessa had been Darcy all along and it made sense. How every move I tried to make was
Rhys“Hello” I yelled into the receiver, the alcohol in my system had immediately taken a halt as the sound of someone speaking filtered through to my ears. I thought I had heard wrong.“We have your wife” the voice on the other end said, it was almost robotic, as though this had been practiced in front of the mirror so many times that it felt natural. I heard Tessa… I mean Darcy scream again . She sounded so frightened and alone, like she was in pain and terrified of everything happening around her. “Is… Is she okay ?” My words stumbled across my tongue as I struggled to keep them together, “Tess…”“She is unharmed, for now” I heard, again from whoever was speaking to me.Suddenly anger course through my veins, like lightning through dry leaves, burning the insides of my skin with heat.“What do you want?” I asked, my voice low but sharp as a knife. My words were laced with hatred, and rage, like poison as they seeped out from the ends of my lips. It wasn’t often I spoke to people li
Rhys It felt like Tessa took the life of the house along with her when I asked her to leave.The house felt empty, dead and void of warmth. I had gotten used to the way the walls vibrated with her laugh, the light touch of her hand on my arm, or her voice, but she’d never taken it away before, she was always there. And yet, now, she seemed so far away, a ghost who would never really be. It didn’t feel right that she wasn’t still here. My chest constricted in a way I’ve never experienced before and I wondered if maybe she could hear me, even though I knew there was no sound to reach her ears. She’d left me, after all. Just like everyone else has. Except she didn’t just leave, she left with everything that mattered to her me. Everything that mattered was lost forever. When you lose something that matters, it hurts like hell. You’re alone, but at least the other person knows. But this time, it hurt in a different way, because she took that with her, too. The only thing I have left is m