AMELIA
Breathe, Amelia.
I reminded myself, my feet rooted to the spot as my sister's familiar eyes met mine. The deadly glare, the venom with no hint of shame or guilt that I had just found her kissing the man who called himself my husband. Though it seemed to me like I had only just seen her two days ago, when she reminded me I was the daughter of a dead whore, looking at her now invited a strange feeling. Like I had not seen her in a long time. Still, that anger and hatred at the immediate sight of her grew even more now that I saw her in Roman's arms. My head began to throb incessantly. “Um…” I was unsure of what to say, unsure of what I had just walked into. Roman visibly tensed up at the sight of me, taking an immediate step back and holding Bertha at arm's length. He cleared his throat, his expression cloudy as he looked at me. “Is this…” My throat felt dry, “Why you were so eager to divorce me? Because you’re…with my sister?” I hated how my voice shook when I asked the question. I do not know this man, why does it hurt to see him with her? Why does it have to be her? “Amelia!” Bertha gasped, hands reaching up to cover her lips as her eyes began to glimmer with tears. Great. “Yes,” Roman replied, jaw tight as he held Bertha's hand in front of me. The corners of my lips twitched. They didn’t feel any remorse, shame, or guilt. “If that’s the case,” I let out a low, humorless chuckle, “I will gladly give you your freedom, Roman,” “What?” Roman blinked, and a look of surprise passed his features. “I said I will divorce you,” I smiled but it didn’t reach my eyes, “I’d much rather deal with only my amnesia and not the torture of staying married to a man fucking my dear sister,” I said, tone dripping with sarcasm. Bertha gasped and Roman's expression darkened even further. Why? I thought the knowledge that I would give him the divorce he so desperately craves would make him elated. “You really did lose your memories,” Bertha said in awe, “You were right,” she turned to Roman, “She is a completely different person!” Bertha cried. Big, fat droplets of tears streamed down her face as she looked at me with pity. Roman held her in his arms again, consoling her. “Oh…my poor sister,” she sobbed, burrowing her face into his chest. There was a crack in his cold mask, one of concern as he patted her back and reassured her. Barf. “Uh…right,” I tried to look anywhere else but unfortunately, I couldn’t pry my eyes away. “Don’t cry, the doctor said she will be fine, she doesn’t deserve your tears either,” Roman added the last sentence in a much darker tone, wiping her tears like a filial boyfriend. In front of me. “Don’t say that,” Bertha sniffled, “I love my sister, no matter what she has done, even though she’s the reason we’ve been apart for so long,” “Aw,” I snorted, “I love you too sis,” I said, unable to hide the irritation in my tone. Did they forget I was standing right there? They both spared me a glance before Bertha turned back to Roman. “I would like to catch up with her, we have a lot to talk about,” she said solemnly, wiping the rest of her tears. A feeling of dread stirred. I didn’t want to be alone with her! Roman nodded with an understanding, soft gaze. He kissed her again and walked away, stopping when he was just a step away from me. “I’ll be leaving first,” He said, “Find your way back,” He muttered coldly, “And do not say anything to upset her,” I bit back on the remark that lodged in my throat. This felt so familiar. Like my childhood. Why do I always have to be the one watching what I say to Bertha? Why am I always the person at the receiving end of such words? Squaring my shoulders, I forced an unbothered smile and shrugged. It seemed to irritate him as he then took large strides away, leaving me alone with Bertha. As much as I hate to admit it, she has become more beautiful. And I…well, I was still me, even worse. They say I’m different, it makes me wonder what the twenty-five-year-old Amelia was like. “So…” Bertha sneered, every hint of sadness cleared from her expression. “So,” I retorted with a narrowed gaze, eager yet dreading what she had to say. “I hear you lost all memories of the past five years, which means you’re still that twenty-year-old who thought she could be something other than dirt under my shoes,” The corners of my lips twitched. She speaks like I became docile. Maybe I did, but I am not that person. “And I see after five years you’re still jealous of everything I have and want it for yourself, my first boyfriend, my position at the university, and now, my husband,” I turned, taking slow and calculated steps towards her. My head throbbed so badly that I felt dizzy, so I leaned on the railing but didn’t let my weakness show. “After all these years, it’s nice to see you still carry my shadow everywhere you go,” “You fucking bitch!” Bertha snarled, “I didn’t miss that mouth of yours, and mind you, Roman has always been mine!” She said, her eyes wide with anger and hatred. “He fell in love with me! And was supposed to marry me! Until your dead whore of a mother decided to haunt me even from her grave!” she spat, her face red and her clenched fists shaking by her side. Why was she so riled up? This was literally a normal exchange between my sister and me. My mother haunted her? “Don’t call my mother names,” I said through gritted teeth, trying hard to rein in my anger. “I don’t care what the process was of how I ended up married to a man you like…but I want no part in it!” Bertha scoffed, “You begged like a servant, pleading for me to let him marry you…despite that you still couldn’t keep him!” Begging? Bertha? “Ha!” I shook my head, “That doesn’t sound like something I would ever do in this lifetime,” God, my head hurt so fucking much! Talking to her made me feel worse, the immense hatred I felt towards her made me feel worse. “That’s what you think, Amelia, but you crawled and begged like the shore your mother was!” I wanted to hit her, but my body had lost all strength and my legs trembled. “And now, Roman will be mine, he will never love or want you! You will forever be beneath me!” She said, looking down at me with a condescending gaze. The bitch! “You're so insecure about everything,” I drawled, “Maybe that’s why you’re still a fucking bitch, grow up, Bertha!” I scoffed. That seemed to rile her up even more. She was in front of me in the next second, grabbing my shoulders in a vice grip. I felt her nails dig in, breaking the skin. “You’re so pathetic that even the man you’ve loved for five years will always choose me over you…” She muttered in a low voice, “You have nothing for me to be jealous of, you’re the most useless, most unlucky person I have ever met…of not why else would you see my luck as jealousy?” She sneered, and a snide smile stretched her lips as her grip tightened. “You don’t even deserve to live, you’re a waste of space!” Then I lost all strength in my legs and I felt my body falling backward…no, she pushed me, I was too weak to fight back or hold on. I fell over the railing. A scream lodged in my throat as I heard the whistling of the air surrounding me, I gasped in shock and terror. This was it for me. To die at the hands of the bitch who made my life a living hell. To die like a dog. It felt like a lifetime looking up at the railing and the satisfied face of Bertha, but it was only a few seconds, and soon, I felt the bone-crushing impact. It all went dark.Daily chapters from today! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you've enjoyed the book so far?
ROMANI made my way down the stairs with confusing emotions. Amelia just agreed to divorce me. The same Amelia who spent the past three years of our marriage trying to dissuade the topic as much as she could. The same Amelia who had threatened me that she would take her own life if I left her. The last time she walked into Bertha and I kissing, she cried for days, she ended up hospitalized, not that I ever bothered to check her, I never cared. Today she looked on like it was a joke. She seemed irritated, not hurt. My fingers unconsciously reached up to my chest, unable to fathom why my heart felt so tight, why the reality of her acceptance didn’t sink in. Probably because I spent too long thinking she’d never free me, now she has. Once we get back home, she’ll really sign the papers. “Roman!” my father called out, laughing heartily as he held a hand out for me. His aged eyes crinkled at the sides with false fatherly affection as he urged me closer, pulling me out fro
AMELIAI spent the first fifteen years of my life, as a naïve, only child with a strict father and a mother who loved me fervently. She was an only child, an orphan, so once she died all I had left was my father…and then Bertha and Monica came into the picture or rather, they’ve been in the picture longer than I’d lived. Bertha was born a year before I was. When my mother was still married to him. After my mother died, Hector Grayson's strictness morphed into hatred…he never gave a reason, he just switched overnight after her death. Since then, I’ve lived with my family like one without a family. I’ve vied for his love and attention, for his trust, his pride and all I’ve ever gotten was beatings. And the constant reminder that I am below Bertha. Why did I stay? Why did I live that way? My eyes snapped open and I was instantly aware of my surroundings. The smell of disinfectant and bleached floors flooded my senses, rousing me from what seemed to be the deepest sleep I’
AMELIAOur walk back to the car was rather awkward for me. After signing my discharge papers and footing the necessary bills, Roman never let go of my hand, despite the shocked looks on everyone’s faces. We bade them goodbye and then he let go once we were in at the parking lot and out of sight. I opened the front door and sat right next to the driver seat, surprisingly he didn’t call a driver but instead brought out the key and started the vehicle. He was so quiet that it unnerved me and I began to wonder what I could say to start a conversation. His expression was dark, most of the emotions in his eyes were indecipherable and I felt too sick to even try and understand the man. But still. The memory of the warmth of his strong, callused fingers still lingered. And I found my gaze drifting in his direction a few times. “I…” I cleared my throat, looking away and watched the passing city lights, “I am sorry about kissing you,” I apologized, my cheeks heated up from say
AMELIAPoisoned? I wasn’t sure how long I stood by the phone, even after the call had ended. Jessica had told me to be cautious, those were her parting words that only served to make me feel worse. The phone was still in my grasp, though the call had ended and I could feel my hands trembling. Poisoned? Does that mean…I have someone who hates me so much they want me dead? Who would do something so cruel? And…will it happen again? “Mrs. Wellington?” I heard Trenton call out from behind me, startling ne back to the present. To say I was shaken would be an understatement. I knew I wasn’t loved by anyone…but this…someone intentionally caused my amnesia or rather, they wanted to kill me. “Trenton…” I looked up at his aged face with watery eyes, “How did I end up here?” How did he end up here with me? His tired expression softened and he held my shoulder, “You need rest, it has been an eventful day,” he said. The words weighed heavily on my tongue, I contemplated
AMELIAI stared long and hard at the divorce papers, even after they brought up my breakfast. It might’ve been an excuse on my end to leave the food untouched. Though Roman had reassured me that it would be tasted and that nothing would happen, all that was just because he wanted my signature. How sure am I that he isn’t the one who poisoned me. That idea scared me more than an unknown person doing it. “No, Amelia…soon you’ll be far away, none of this will matter!” I muttered to myself. I will leave everything behind as soon as I have my feet planted properly. I will live the life I choose for myself. With a resigned sigh, I picked up the papers and made my way down stairs. I wasn’t aware of how much time had passed until I looked out the window and saw the moon was almost up. I reached the living room with the papers in hand but there was no sign of Roman. Does he have a study somewhere? Just then, Trenton and a maid walked out of the kitchen, Trenton gave her or
ROMANI couldn’t understand why my moon soured the longer I watched them speak to each other. They’d completely forgotten about my existence, engrossed in a conversation I couldn’t keep up with. Amelia kept smiling at every he said and Pierce, the bastard kept talking. “We should definitely exchange numbers,” She said in a light hearted voice, a tone she’s never used with me. “I would love for us to meet up and talk more about your gallery” Amelia added with a grin. Her entire face lit up and I couldn’t look away. Her green orbs looked brighter and I wasn’t aware of the little dimple under her eye when she smiled this wide. All because of him. Vincent Pierce has been my neighbor since I’ve been a resident here, he also owns a gallery and restaurant in the heart of the city. The man and I have only spoken once to each other but to think he knew Amelia. “Thank you for coming,” I said coldly, cutting short their unending conversation. His eyes narrowed, his lips parted l
ROMANAfter the call I felt better, Amelia was easily out of my thoughts and I could fully focus on my work. Until I got a rather cryptic call from Colson, telling me to come home. The lawyer was home. His tone unsettled me and I was in my car in no time, racing home with a feeling of dread spreading through my chest. It wasn’t until I was seated next to a nervous looking Amelia that I realized why Colson sounded the way he did. My lawyer, Mr. Benson, was seated opposite me with a grim expression. He has known me since my military days, I do not blame him for constantly being afraid of me despite all the changes I’ve undergone in the past five years. A complete opposite of the man I used to be. “Unfortunately, I could not process the divorce…Mr. Wellington,” Breathe, Roman. “And why is that?” my voice was strangely calm, a far cry from the emotions brewing beneath. “The marriage contract you both signed is a bit more complex than normal you see, there is a hidden
AMELIASix months. I sank deeper into the mattress as I watched Roman's departing figure. My heart pouring so fast that I could hear it in my ears, my limbs trembled, it felt like I’d just escaped death or something similar. When I saw that heated look in his eyes, the determination to get in bed with me, my panic overshadowed everything else I could’ve felt in that moment. I couldn’t— So I chose the easiest way out. I let out a heavy sigh, running my fingers down my face. That was close. Too close. But what is this disappointment I feel? “You’re so stupid Amelia!” I cursed at myself, “He's a stranger! A stranger!” I reminded myself repeatedly. Burying my face in my pillow and proceeded to scream all of my pent up emotions into the poor cotton. Late that night, I still tossed and turned. Painfully aware that Roman was in the next room, sleeping. Is this what it’s going to be like for the next six months? He and I being under the same roof her feeling like we're