He extended his hand, before everyone important to us, to join him. I searched for Kade. Understanding what I’m asking, Kade appeared beside me, to walk me through the aisle.
When I reached Raphael, he joined our hands together and turned us to the pastor. We both looked into each other’s eyes ignoring the pastor, until the time he asked Raphael, ‘do you Raphael Jacob Sinclair take Erica Anderson as your wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health, keeping yourself solely unto her for as long as you both shall live?’
Raphael said ‘I do’ while looking into my eyes.
Then the pastor turned towards me and asked ‘Do you Erica Anderson, take Raphael Jacob Sinclair, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and health, to love, honor and obey, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself solely unto him fo
Sorry.Sorry to all those heroines who thought they were smart and helping only to get caught by the villains. Sorry for scolding you guys. I never thought I would be among them but here I am, where exactly I don't know but in a similar situation. Now I understand the pain and suffering you went through that might be projected as stupidity.I'm currently tied to my chair. My left side of the face is throbbing horribly from the hitting I took and there is something seriously wrong with my left eye which is closed shut. My body is covered in bruises. I don't know how much time has passed since my last beating. My stomach grumbles reminding me that the last thing I ate is Long gone. There is nothing in this room except the chair I’m tied to. I can hear water dripping somewhere, making its own rythm.Drip...tap.Drip...tap.Drip...tap.It's been 5 days since I’m captured. They thought they could break me, but I still have some fight
I woke up groggily looking at my alarm, 'shit'!!It's 9. How come I didn't wake up to my alarm? Normally it's so loud that the whole building can hear it and then I remembered last night.I still can't believe whether it's true or a figment of my imagination. I quickly checked my call register and there it is, the truth. The phone number of my Sister with whom I haven't spoken in 6 years. I didn't believe my ears at first when I heard her voice last night. She sounded excited, happy. I forgot how her laughter sounds. If I can remember she never was happy when she was staying with us, mom, me and her. There was always a cloud of sadness clinging to her. So, it was quite a shock when I heard her with a complete personality change. She said she wanted to clear the air between us, I'm not sure what that meant for us. It's little bit too late for me.She left us when I was 15, still a minor to do anything, still in the clutches of an evil witch aka our mom. I don't wan
‘What do you mean?''Don't play coy with me, Sophie, you know what I mean'She sighs as if I'm troubling her, well tough luck because, with the things as they were, I'm behaving like a saint if you ask me.' what do you want me to say?''How about the truth? Or is it so much to ask for?''Don't be a B. Chill, will you? You know the situation at home when I left. I thought it would be less of a burden if I left.''How you mean? Less burden? Less burden to whom? By not being there for me when I need you.''I'm sorry I was not thinking''Obviously''Could you tone down the sarcasm for a minute? I'm trying here''Ok''I was 20. I could have left when I was 18. But I stayed for you. So that you won't end up like her. I tried my level best. I was juggling between two different jobs to help pay the bills. I was exhausted daily. It's no excuse I know but then I learned about the mortgage on our home.'
'Marriage?', I asked, shocked she was so involved with someone to contemplate it. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but she was always careful, dainty. I never thought in that direction about her. Why would I? She left me.'Well, sort of. I think so', she blushed.'Huh? I don't get it. Either you are getting married or you are not', I questioned the fact.'He hasn't proposed yet', she mumbled.'Then how can you be sure he is going to', I asked astonished. Trust my Sister to plan the names of her children even before the marriage proposal.'I'm 100% sure he is going to propose and soon', she exaggerated stubbornly.'Whatever you say', I mumbled while eating my sandwich.I tried to think of something to divert our current discussion. I don't want to be the one to lift the veil from her eyes.'How did you know my number?', I asked, recalling the call yesterday.'Jack hired a PI', she replied.'PI? As in Dete
'Why did you shift?', she asked, trying to change the subject.'I hit bob. He got mad and threatened us with his friends. This time even mom was scared because she knows his friends are much shadier. So, we ran that night itself''But what about the mortgage? Our home?', she asked.'Didn't you get that from your PI?''No. Like I said I don't dig your closet full of skeletons''Haha funny'I thought about that night and what followed. Our home was the only thing we owned. It was built by our grandparents from our Mother's side. We never met them. They died when Mom was pregnant with Sophie. We never knew our Father. Mom said he left us when I was a 3 months old baby. We believed her, there is nothing to contradict it. After Bob threatened us, we left the home. We stayed in the next city not far from our old one. We don't have money to go far. We thought it was better to hide near while he was left searching for other states.We must st
I rushed to the office knowing I'm going to get a talk down. As I pressed the number on the elevator I thought of my Sister. There is so much said today, I don't even know where to start. My emotions are jumbled right now. One thing I noticed is the difference between our looks which was subtle at best when we were younger has become prominent. She is willowy with auburn hair, amazing tan and at 5.5', she could be called petite to my Amazon stature. I'm not fat, just curvy, you could say like Kylie Jenner and my skin gets red when I attempt tanning, emphasis on attempt here. We have the same eyes and similar jaw structure, other than that we are as opposite as we could get. It's natural as we have different fathers. The elevator made a ding sound making me come out of my reverie.I peeked my head out to catch if the dragon was there. It seems luck has finally turned my side today as the coast is clear. I hurried to my station and busied myself looking as if I had something im
My eyes landed on a man turned towards the view of New York. Glass walls cover the entire side of the room. He is talking on mobile unaware of me. I'm too far away to distinguish what he is saying. I took this time to watch the room. My entire flat can fit in this one room, it's that big. Two sets of couches are aligned on both sides of me. On my left side, there is a coffee table littered with documents. I can see his desk which looks so pristine, I'm afraid to think about what happens when some coffee is spilled.As I took notice of the room, Mr. Sinclair turned around and caught sight of me. My breath hitches, standing in front of me is the most handsome man I ever saw. Not that I haven't seen many. In New York, you can find every other block a handsome guy. I couldn't pull my eyes away from him, there is something more to him than just being handsome. Maybe it's his position, he knows how powerful he is and wielded that power into his persona.He is 6.3' or 6.4' in
'On what grounds, Mr. Sinclair?', I asked tentatively, all attitude gone.'I said I could, not would Ms. Anderson. Though I can say, we are cutting our most incompetent employees'Indirectly implying that I'm incompetent. I bristled at this suggestion.'You couldn't do that. I never gave any reason to. I'm competent. I always stay late. I complete the work given to me.''Exactly that Ms. Anderson, the work given to you, which is not much''It's not my fault I wasn't given much', I answered.'But it would be mine if I don't rectify this situation', he stated firmly.'What are you trying to say, Mr. Sinclair?''I'm not trying but stating the fact that you are on my payroll with nothing much to do. And I don't like that, at all.''Are you going to fire me?', I questioned directly, tired of the footsie we are playing here.'No Ms. Anderson''Then what?', I stared at him expectantly to no avail. One thing I foun
He extended his hand, before everyone important to us, to join him. I searched for Kade. Understanding what I’m asking, Kade appeared beside me, to walk me through the aisle.When I reached Raphael, he joined our hands together and turned us to the pastor. We both looked into each other’s eyes ignoring the pastor, until the time he asked Raphael, ‘do you Raphael Jacob Sinclair take Erica Anderson as your wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health, keeping yourself solely unto her for as long as you both shall live?’Raphael said ‘I do’ while looking into my eyes.Then the pastor turned towards me and asked ‘Do you Erica Anderson, take Raphael Jacob Sinclair, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and health, to love, honor and obey, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself solely unto him fo
Two days have passed since I cut our ties.Despite telling him no, I was suffering from a lassitude, a vagueness, that prevented me from doing anything more energetic and profitable than wandering the streets of New York listlessly. A strenuous exercise may help, but my body was not obeying my commands. What I need is, I decided fretfully, something to take my mind off Raphael Sinclair.Remind me why are we doing this again? Asked my inner diva.Self-respect, I gritted out.It must be nice sleeping with that self-respect, my inner self said sarcasm dripping from her voice.Decide which side you are before sprouting your nonsense.Can I say, peace? My inner b queried.There was nothing dramatically changing in my life once I said no. No light pointed out whether I have done the right thing or not. No mini-Raphael’s asking, ‘Why did you leave daddy, mommy?’ In the dreams. All the same, I felt lonely. Sometimes I questi
‘That’s the point. You never considered how I may feel! Normally, when a girlfriend says she is pregnant, her boyfriend asks-how does she feel? Is she happy? Does she want this baby?... you know the basic things. But do not place surveillance on her as if she is a fugitive. Who does that? You always canter to what I may want without consulting me, yet never wait and think what I may need, Raphael?’‘You are being unreasonable Erica. I explained to you the circumstances and the delicacy the situation warranted’‘No! You had your turn, now you listen to me. This relationship’, I swallowed the lump that formed on what I was about to say, ‘this...whatever we are having is not how a relationship works. There must be a give and take. There must be dates, talking...not soulful silences, sharing each other’s feelings, emotions, fear’s, hobbies, musical tastes, not to forget the past(like have any more surprise family
‘Before I speak any further, why don’t you go change while I order something for you?’ He pointed towards his wardrobe that has his second set of clothes.‘Are you going to charge this one too?’ I joked, reminiscing his demand to pay for the clothes he bought.‘Consider this my investment’, he countered.Once I changed into his shirt and ate a sandwich that no doubt one of his possums provided, I asked relaxing on the couch, ‘so, what do you want to talk about?’‘Do you love me?’‘Just go to the jugular, why don’t you? You don’t have the right to ask that question. I’m not here to listen to this’, I tried to get up.‘Sit down Erica. Trust me, I will explain later. Just answer my question’I snorted at him demanding my trust. ‘Why?’‘Because I want to know how you feel about me before I say anything&rsquo
It didn’t help to improve my mood either when I stepped outside the subway to encounter the rain. The way my life is going I really ought to have known better than to think the weather would cooperate. A wry glance at the dense cloud-packed sky confirmed that the rain wasn't likely to let up. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. I had no alternative but to get soaked in the rain as I walked. By the time I reached my former office, I’m drenched wet to the bone, my cream shirt and black skirt, no doubt liberally splattered with dirty rainwater spots. I don’t know what I’m going to accomplish once I meet Raphael, however, in my current mindset I would probably stab him with his pen that’s always neatly placed on his desk.Once I entered his floor, my eyes landed on none other than the woman who was cast alongside Raphael in the picture. She was lounging casually on the couch outside his office, doing her touch-up. Why, oh why? Can this day get any
All I’m saying is he is human... treat him as such. Don’t condemn him without listening to his side, Raphael’s new friend aka my inner b advised me.That’s not true. We talked about what happened, I mulled.No, you dissected, and he listened patiently, my inner b was on a roll.Yet, not once did he object, I countered.At this, my inner diva started counting his virtues while pacing the imaginary floor. ‘Did you give him the chance? You were the one to build an impossible castle of dreams on an insecure foundation. You were the one to abandon a relationship that has leavening magic which lacked in this generation. You may reason yourself with whatever you think is right, but just think... he was the guy who held you when you cried. He was the guy who listened to your blabbering and didn’t blanch at your imagination. He was the guy who rescued you when you are in danger, not once but twice. He was the guy who wanted to a
‘I... but doctor, how is that possible?’‘Are you asking me the basics Ms. Anderson?’, he asked playfully.‘What? Of course not. What I mean is... doctor it’s... it’s actually only been a month since I entered a relationship. You see what I’m getting at?’, I asked hopefully with my cheeks blushing red, hinting at a probable malfunction in the scanning report.‘My dear, if I can be blunt, all it takes is only one time done at the right moment. And you are six weeks pregnant from what I can see in the reports’‘But... how? Six weeks?’Please ask again, I want to have a nice laugh, my inner d said sarcastically.‘Well, many new would-be mothers’ get confused the first time. The counting starts from your last period, not from the date the sperm enters your body’.‘Oh...ok’, I mentally cringed, visualizing the scientific side.
‘No!!’, my scream was joined by another male one. Rose looked surprised at the blood coming from her. The bullet was lodged near her heart. I could feel her life force slipping. What a waste! A Life is driven by greed and envy. Though I didn’t agree with her choices, I didn’t want this for her. I wanted justice, yes, but this feels... cheated.I looked at the guy who was the cause of this mess and was shocked to see his facial characteristics. He is by no doubt Raphael’s half-brother. His jawline... his nose...his hair... They look like Raphael, only younger. How could Diana sleep with him, knowing he resembles Raphael? That was one twisted mind I wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole.He knelt beside Rose, gingerly holding his hand, ‘Oh Rose, I’m sorry’, silent tears can be seen leaking from his eyes.‘I knew... you were always ...a poor...shot’, Rose joked with her last breath.Even though
‘Stop your riddles and say clearly Rose’, I spat the words.‘Erica...Erica...Erica, you always had a problem with power. First, Raphael when he made you a workhorse, now, me for not spilling my guts faster. It’s ok though, as this will be your last conversation... I will tell you. You know, as a friend’, she said sarcastically before continuing to reply to my questions, ‘so, where was I? Oh, yes, children. Me and my brother. Where does Sophie fit into this?’, she tapped her finger on the Chin and said, ‘right in the middle of it. We are... the three musketeers’‘I won’t believe you’, I said, not wanting to see the image she is projecting.‘Whatever! Believe it or not. Just because you closed your eyes doesn’t mean it’s dark outside. However, I agree she was not part of the plan in the beginning. It all started four years ago. My mother’s bedtime story on her deathbed,