LISAHillary chats away excitedly, filling Maria who just flew back from Paris in on what happened at the fundraising event."She was so beautiful with the children, they looked at her like she was some fairytale creature they couldn't believe was in front of them, speaking to them."Then suddenly,there's silence, so I turn my head and find them both staring at me as if expecting me to say something."What?" I ask."I just asked if you're okay, Mona. You seem a bit distracted.""I'm okay," I swallow.I've been thinking way too much about what happend the night of the fundraising event. The way Lore spoke about me,the look in his eyes and the way he took care of me after.I thought he was going to want more after the kisses we shared,but as usual, he stopped and took me to bed.ONE MONTH LATERLore has become a very good friend of mine, we are more free around each other and like to have dinner out at his restaurant,which now happens to be my favourite restaurant.I had been sneaking o
LOREI've felt the pain of losing someone before, a loved one. But the pain I felt when Mona confirmed she doesn't love me is something I've never felt before. It's a different type of pain, a pain I'm not sure I'll be able to recover from anytime soon.It was a day ago when I gave her the opportunity to leave me and now I expect the worst, if after all this time, after everything that has happened between us,she still doesn't have any feelings for me, then she'll take the divorce route.I tip back the glass of whiskey and hiss when the liquid burns my throat.I keep playing rewind on that night's events and each time,the cut deepens.This is what Gloria wanted, she said I would regret turning her down, well I don't, but the result is more than what she aimed for. Why did Mona leave the restaurant as though she was mad about seeing another woman touching me? That's what I thought at first, that's what everyone else thought,Until she said it wasn't the reason. Turns out she did it
LISAI look at Lore, who is fast asleep.I turn on my side and press my hands together, laying my head on them as I watch him sleep.He's so handsome, it's such a shame I can't have him for myself,he belongs to Mona, not me.Thinking about what I said last night, I warn myself never to drink again because of how loose my tongue becomes. With all this guilt I'm carrying,I've found myself letting out small bits of truth lately.He didn't pick up on it last night, maybe he thought I was talking about a past experience instead of the trickery we are webbing him in.My drinking was triggered because I saw a picture online of Silas with a woman at a restaurant, kissing. The headline being, "HANDSOME BACHELOR OFF THE MARKET?" after a few sips, everything came crushing down. The lies, the mixed feelings, when did my life become such a mess?I didn't realise I looked away from Lore because when my eyes lift,I find his grey ones watching me. We hold eye contact for long seconds until I finally
LISAThe glass slips from my hand and wine spills on the table then down on my dress.I push back the chair and hold the material away from my skin."Oh my God," Hillary stands and gets a wipe, helping me out."Oh crap! Are you okay?" Sandra stands too but Maria remains seated in place."I'm okay, it's fine Hillary, I can do it." I grab another wipe start cleaning my dress."Is everything alright?" Flynn, the man Hillary likes asks.Lore comes to my side."Just spilt wine by mistake," I say."Well,we should call it a night anyway," Maria stands.My eyes meet hers and in that exact moment, I know that she knows who I'm cheating on Lore with.I'm ushered into the car and my eyes burn with tears.He's been playing me all this time, he's been lying to me and sleeping with that woman.* *The Bidding* *When I see the ambassador and his wife walk into the room, my hand squeezes my purse so tightly. Tonight is the bidding of the items that were donated at the fundraising event for the orpha
LISAWhen the event comes to an end we say bye to our friends and my parents.I'm ushered into the car and my eyes burn with tears.He's been playing me all this time, he's been lying to me and sleeping with that woman.Lore gets in and starts to drive back home. When we get to the house, he excuses himself and goes to talk on the phone.I stand and head to the wine board,then I take out a bottle and open it,i drink the first glass in one go and then pour myself another one.Lore walks in and pauses when he spots me drinking on the sofa. After a few silent beats, he settles down next to me."Hey," she says softly and places two fingers under my chin, turning my head to him.I look at him through blurry eyes."What's wrong?"My lips tremble and I don't know what to say."You can tell me," he lets go of me.I sniffle then take another sip."Hey, slow downh" he takes the glass from my hand then places it down."How about I tell you a story, a story about two girls." He keeps staring at
LOREI thought we were okay, I thought things were finally coming together but I was wrong. I woke up to any empty space beside me, i searched the house only to find Mona gone, she had left breakfast prepared for me and a note saying she would be back home soon. My idea was spending the entire day together and making up for lost time,so I decided not to go to the office.But when she came back, she was an entirely different person, she didn't look at me the way she did the night before. I was confused and until now, I still am.She won't look at me for long, she won't even let me get near her. It's like we are back to square one, back to the days before we became friendly in our marriage.It's late at night when she walks into the room and pauses when she sees me standing at the window."Hey.""Hey," I watch her moving around the room. "I'll just go to the bathroom." I look at her hands and she's holding her pajamas, then she walks to the bathroom and closes the door.When she comes
LISATelling Lore I can't love him back wasn't the hardest part, the hardest part was seeing the emotions in his eyes, the hurt, the pain,the misery, the heartbreak and his hope shattering right in front of my eyes. I put that pain there, I wish I never did but it's for the best. If I hurt him this much, how much pain will I cause if he learns that I'm not the woman he thinks i am?That my family lied to him? That I, lied to him. He's fallen in love with me, with Lisa but thinks I'm Mona.I step out of the car and walk to the backyard, I stand near the pool, wrapping my hands around myself. I stand for about ten minutes, there's movement behind me but I don't turn around."Hey," I greet, even without looking behind, I know it's him."Hey."I turn around to face him, he moves closer to me and places his hand on my cheek, our eyes lock and then he smiles."I thought you wouldn't come.""I wasn't going to, but then I thought about it,we really need this talk." I place my hand on his wris
LISAI asked Lore if Asah could come stay over for a few days and he said it was fine, he didn't even look at me when he said those words to me and neither did he ask if i signed the papers. For the first time ever, I need to be with someone during the times I feel lost, Asah is the only person I know close to home and her light company might do me some good.My parents were delighted to learn that I asked for her, they think I'm now becoming the honourable responsible lady who they've always wanted me to be and that I'm finally accepting and embracing the life I was born in.They have no idea that I'm actually stepping down from it,which is why when they said if i want Asah to stay, that's okay with them. I just laughed it off and said thanks but I'll have to discuss with Lore first.I'm actually starting to think they've also started to believe this lie of me being Mona, and burying the real me, Lisa. When I think about that, my heart always aches.It's been four days, four days sinc
LORE Pain, Betrayal. Those are the two feelings that hit me the most as I look at the woman who means the world to me in another man's arms. "What the-" Mona's body turns rigid at the sound of my voice. She uses force to push him away and they break apart. Silas doesn't look the least bothered, if anything, he seems even glad that I found them. My wife on the other hand, has fear engraved deep inside her blue eyes. "Lore," she pants. "It's not what you think." I bark out a bitter laugh that has her flinching. I point between the two of them. "Yeah, it sure isn't," I say sarcastically. "My wife was up against the wall eating faces with another man and it's not what I think." She shakes her head with tears running down her cheeks, my eyes go to her lips and her red lipstick is smeared, my lips twisted in disgust. "I didn't kiss him back, I was trying to push him away, I swear." My eyes find Silas, he meets me head in with his, accomplishment shining in them. Before I can sto
LORE I trust my wife, the fact that she was acting weird didn't make me doubt her one bit, it just made me worried. The trembling of her body, the thrashing in the middle of the night and mostly, fear in her eyes. I want to believe it's more because of what said about her sister being abused, but there's something more to it, something that makes me feel as though it has to do with me. I came to that conclusion after her asking me if I would forgive her lying to me, while we were married. Could it be because of Silas? Will she confirm cheating on me? I sigh and slam the laptop shut, I stand and walk to the tall glass window and place my hands inside my trousers pockets.Suspecting she was cheating and confirming she was are two different things, especially if the words come straight from her own mouth. There's an event we have to attend tomorrow evening, the governor himself invited us, the one running the event is my mother in law. Another fundraising, this time it's specifical
LISA Finally, there's news about Mona, street cameras showed a blue and red bike with a tiger dented on the side, the exact description of the type of bike Asah saw Mona get on the day she ran away from her own wedding. Turns out, they're a very notorious motorcycle club. They're also suspects in female prostitution, robbery and drugs distribution, the police have never found any solid evidence on them, that's why they are still roaming around freely. This information makes me more worried and nervous, what if he's forced her into prostitution. The thought alone has bile rising up my throat. Damnit, Mona. The fact that we know these people's information is enough for uncle to do a private investigation himself, we need to keep outside people away from this as much as possible. Aunt Mandy is a government detective, her involvement will make things easy because of her resources, so her and uncle are doing everything they can without pulling in the government. My phone pings, I ope
LISA Today, I'm on full mommy duty. I smile at Adrian who's smiling back at me in the baby chair. I walk to him with a bowl of cereal. "Who's a good boy?" I smile when he lifts his hands towards the bowl. I sit in front of him and feed him, my phone rings immediately I finish feeding Adrian. An unknown number flashes on the screen, I frown and put my phone on silent. I don't pick up calls from unknown numbers, I never used to back then and that habit has heightened ever since i got married to Lore. The screen blares again with the same number, I don't answer it again, a text follows. Unknown number: Lislis, it's me. Lislis? My heart beats like I just ran a marathon. I'm about to call the number again when an incoming call comes. I quickly hit answer without wasting a single moment. "Hello? Mona?" I get to my feet. I hear panting, not a good type of painting, the 'i'm in pain', type of painting. "Mona, speak to me, please!" I say in a panic. She whimpers an
LORE I was busy trying to finish up something when my phone rang with Hillary's name flashing on the screen, she was speaking fast until i asked her to breathe and slow down. Apparently, there was a mad driver who almost hit her and Mona. My heart almost tore out of my chest at the mention of my wife being in danger, then she said there seemed something off about the whole situation and my brain went on high alert. "That's the thing Lore," Hillary speaks with her voice surrounded by shock and fear. "I don't think it was by accident, that car was really aiming for Mona." I run my hand over my face as I walk to the glass window in my office with my shoulders tense, I feel like someone is weighing me down by putting bricks on them. "Are you sure?" "A hundred percent, Lore." "How's Mona?" Hillary says she isn't hurt but that doesn't tune down the worry I feel right now. "She's just shaky but don't worry about her too much, I'm taking her home. I didn't tell her my suspic
LISA I stand with my hands crossed over my chest, biting my bottom lip while rolling my teeth into it's cushion. "Lisa." His familiar voice calls out my name. I turn around and his eyes search my face. When he's sure of whatever he wanted to see, he smiles and storms my way, wrapping me in a tight embrace. He sucks in a deep breath,sniffs my hair and sighs. This hug used to mean so much to me during my first days and early weeks of marriage, but now...now it just feels so wrong. I gently push away from him. "Hey," i give him a small smile while putting a distance between us without being too obvious. "Hey, I was so worried about you, you just went mute all of the sudden." "I'm okay, I'm sorry I just shut down on you. A lot was going on." "I see." He takes a step closer and places his hand on my cheek in a very intimate way then says, "I missed you so much Lisa." I tense and step away, his hand drops from my face and he frowns. "What's wrong?" I lick my lips ou
LORE * *Two Weeks Later* * I move away from Mona and throw my legs off the bed. I place my elbows on my knees and look at her over my shoulder. "Are you sure it's okay?" asking for probably the thousandth time. She rolls her eyes and sighs, leaning up on her elbows, she pushes her hair off her face. "Babe, I already told you the doctor said it's perfectly fine, it's been six weeks. I'm ready for this." Mona and I haven't had sex since she gave birth, after a month, i would get her off with my fingers, but apparently it wasn't enough because the more the sex was held off, the more hornier she got. She might have thought she was ready for sex but she wasn't, i doubt if she is right now, i don't want to risk it, hurting her for pleasure is not something I'm going to bet on. When I
LISA I wake up to an empty bed early in the morning. The bedside clock reads 7:06 pm. I groan into the pillow and then stretch. My phone blares with a message, I unlock the screen and see a message from mama. Mama dearest: Goodmorning sweetie, I hope you and Lore are doing okay, your dad and i are find. Say hi to my grandson and give him a kiss. Love, mom and dad. I smile, my mother is a woman of little words, she's more of a phone call person than texting. I reply and hit send. Me: We're okay, I love you too. I turn around and my hand meets something on the bed, I sit up and lift the envelope. There are words typed on the outside. TO THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE TO ME IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. I open it with a quick beating of my heart, I feel like my heart and my whole world stops all together. This is the famous High Restaurant he owns in the middle of London. The restaurant which became my favourite eating place. There's been a change of name for the restaurant from
LISA The room falls silent and I feel like I can hear the sound of my own heart beating inside my chest. "Mona...I would never do that to you, I can't believe you'd even ask me that. I hadn't spoken to Laura ever since Lore engaged you, she was mad at me for the whole thing, she cut me off and just appeared months ago." I meet her eyes, I believe her, so I turn to the witch herself. "How did you find out?" Lore asks. "Fine, you want to know? I overhead Hillary when she was relating all the stupid details to her little friend over there, I must say, she cursed you a lot Mona." That makes sense, but I also know what she's trying to do, turn me against Maria. I understand how they all felt, I hurt Lore and I deserved everything that was said by everyone in the heat of anger. "I know my friends Laura, you won't turn me against them, I know I messed up, I accepted that and the conseq