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A sense of unease
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Jessica did not say anything, which wasn’t surprising, considering that they said that she could not talk yet. She merely stared at Carol as her eyes focused on her as though she did not know what to make of her. Carol looked back at her, feeling stupid for even coming here in the first place. This woman did not know her, and for some reason, Carol felt uncomfortable with the way Jessica was staring at her. Jessica was staring at her as though she knew her, or had met her before, and did not like her one bit, but that was quite absurd.
“Um, we came to see how you’re doing. You don’t know me, but I’m married to Sebastian. We brought you some things.” Carol tried again, indicating the gifts and flowers that she had stowed in one corner of the room. Jessica did not show interest in the gifts but continued to stare at Carol with that penetrating gaze that was very unsettling. Carol did not miss how Jess
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Charlotte’s whole body was tense as she saw that Jessica recognized who she was. She could literally feel the panic and helplessness that the other girl felt, and could see as her eyes widened in absolute terror. Charlotte herself was terrified, and at her wit's end. If only she could complete this last task without a hitch, then her mission would be accomplished and none would be the wiser. She could already envisage the look of shock on Sebastian’s face when she came in all her full glory to claim what was rightfully hers. Realizing that she was beginning to zone off again, she shook herself to find that Carol was looking at her expectantly and with a sort of pleading look on her face. Since Charlotte did not know if Carol had said anything to her or not, she took her gaze back to Jessica who was now staring hard at Carol, trying to give her a sort of signal with her eyes. The medications they gave her must be making her boneless because Charlotte was sure that if she was the one, s
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Carol sprang up immediately, moving over to Jessica’s bedside. The latter’s eyes were glazed over and she barely seemed conscious of what was going on in the room.“Jessica. Are you alright? What do you need help with? Do you want some water or anything else?”Jessica did not answer, and neither could she. She tried her best to open her mouth and speak, but she was feeling too weak and boneless, much more weak and boneless than she had been feeling when the two women first entered the room. The drugs that Charlotte had injected her with were fast taking effect and she was barely there, but she knew that she did not want to die. At least now, she had Carol’s attention. Hopefully, Carol would be able to realize that something was wrong with her and would get her help before it was too late.“Is it me, or do you think that something is wrong with her?” Carol asked Charlotte.“She looks fine to me. Probably just a little dizzy.”“I don’t know … maybe I should get a nurse
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It felt as though her mouth was packed full of cotton and her eyelids were held down with heavy bags of cement. Carol tried her best to fight this feeling, struggling to open her heavy eyes for the better part of twenty minutes. She could hear voices, and one of them warmed her heart so much. It was Sebastian’s voice. Her father too was there, as she could hear his voice. They were talking worriedly, discussing her. “I’m right here…” Carol wanted to say, but her mouth refused to open. Why were they discussing her when she was right there in the room with them? She was only asleep and if they wanted to talk about her, all they needed to do was to wake her up. “I really don’t know how to break all this to my aunty. I’m still trying to come to terms with the fact that my uncle is dead, and I was not talking to him before his death.” She heard Sebastian say. Carol gasped, or maybe she jerked, but whatever she did was noticeable because she could hear the quick pattering of feet and then
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“Wait. I don’t get it. Do you mean to say that Charlotte was the one who kidnapped Jessica and I’ve been fraternizing with her all this while? Why on earth would she do something like that?” Carol asked, shuddering, as she thought of how close she had been to such a psycho.“Yes, she was,” Sebastian said, proceeding to tell her everything that he knew about it and how Charlotte had mentioned something about Mr. James being her biological father. By the time he finished, Carol’s mouth was literally agape.“Did your aunt or anyone else know about any of this?” She asked him.“We’ve not told her any of this yet, although according to what my uncle said, she knew about Charlotte and her brother. Apparently, they're twins. We’ve not even told her about my uncle’s death. We’re still waiting for her to come back from her journey first. I don’t think it is wise to divulge such news over the phone. I mean, she has been preparing for this moment for a long time now, but still, prepar
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There was silence for some time. The only sound that could be heard in the room was that of Jessica sniffling in Sebastian’s arms. Carol retreated to sit on one of the chairs in the room. She was weary and tired of it all, and although she knew she shouldn’t, the truth was that she blamed herself for everything to an extent, even though everyone, including Sebastian’s aunt, told her not to do that. Carol felt so sad for the poor woman, who had aged and slimmed down considerably in the two weeks since her husband died. There was no way to fully prepare for a loved death, especially when that person wasn’t an aged person. Mr. James was just in his early sixties, for crying out loud, and his life had been cut short by a maniac, who ironically was his own child.Finally, Jessica raised her head from Sebastian’s chest and began to speak, although she carefully avoided Carol’s gaze, looking only at Sebastian, who was listening to her keenly.“On the night that I was kidnapped, I was trying t
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Sebastian booked a hotel room on their way from the hospital and drove down there with the car that Carol had brought as fast as he could. The sexual tension between the two of them kept mounting until it felt as though the car would explode with the force of it. He could hardly keep his hands off her body as they got on the elevator, and of a truth, she could not keep her hands off his body either. Luckily enough, they were the only ones on the elevator and even on the hotel’s corridor. By the time they got to their room, they were kissing passionately and within seconds, had divested themselves of their clothes, whereupon they fell unto the bed in unison and made love until they were both spent, after which they lay in each other’s arms, trying to catch their breaths. Carol’s mind was preoccupied with thoughts of how on earth she was supposed to leave all of this, but not coming up with a reasonab
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There was silence in the car for a minute or two as Carol contemplated what Sebastian had just said, not liking it one bit.“You want Jessica to come live with us?” She asked him incredulously, at last, her tone rigid.“That’s not what I said. She’s the one who asked me, so I said I was going to have to inform you first … which is why I’m asking you now.”“Have you seen how that woman glares at me each time I walk into a room she’s in? She stares at me like she wants to kill me. How do you expect us to live in the same house?”“I told you before that she’s a nice person once you get to know her. She’s just cranky because she’s been confined to a hospital bed all this while.”“Is that so? How come she’s never cranky with you then? Why is she only always cranky with me? Look, I know when someone, especially a woman, doesn’t like me, and I’ll bet my bottom dollar that Jessica doesn’t, not even in the slightest."“Carol, please. She has nowhere else to go. The house is
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At this, Carol rubbed her forehead wearily, resisting the urge to push Jessica outside the room and slam the door shut in her face. “Can we just not do this right now? I’m not feeling too good.” She said instead. “I don’t give a flying fuck about how you feel. I just want you out of my room. I can’t be staying in a smaller room, as though I’m a damn guest in a house that is mine while you are staying in my big comfortable room and in my bed, so if you don’t want any problems, just pack your things and leave now.” “You know what? Fine. I’ll leave the room for you. Can you just stop yelling? I’ve got a massive headache.” Carol conceded, not mentioning that her boobs were really sore too and she kept having this urge to throw up, not that it was any of Jessica’s business, neither would Jessica care.
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The sun was shining brightly this morning, and Carol was in lively spirits. It was her vow renewal day. She and Sebastian had opted to just renew their vows, and this time, make them with more meaning. Her joy knew no bounds, and her face radiated with it, as Mrs. James noted with pleasure. “You look very happy, my dear.” Mrs. James stated, cradling a three-month-old baby James in her arms, her face taking on the radiant look that many-a-grandmother had when they had the pleasure of holding their grandkids. “I can say the same about you, aunty. You’re really glowing.” Carol complimented in turn, taking care not to ruin the work of the lady who was doing her makeup. “I know, right? Baby James here has brought such sparkle into our lives. I’m more than thankful that I live close to you guys. I will be able to see as much of this handsome little face as I want.” Mrs. James said, looking down at the baby she carried in her arms. He stared back at her and babbled some meaningless baby wo
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The weeks after Sebastian came to plead with Carol to come back into his life were the sweetest ones of Carol’s life. She had thought that Sebastian was attentive and sweet to her before, but now, she knew that that was an understatement. He treated her like a fragile egg that could break at any time, and Carol was happily soaking up all the attention and affection. She still hadn’t gotten used to the way he just seemed to throw money around, but was more than grateful and touched, when he bought two flashy cars and a huge mansion not too far from them for her father, whom she could tell was very lonely.“I know that you’ll love to be close to your grandchild once he’s born." Sebastian had said as though it was nothing, waving away Donald’s thanks when the latter had broken down in tears, telling him that he did not deserve it. Now, Carol could easily hang out with her father anytime she wanted, and she was so happy about it.Sebastian didn’t work as hard as he did before any longer,
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“Carol.” It was just one word, but that one word was enough to break the stupor she had been in as soon as she saw him.“Sebastian.” She said in turn, standing up to go bring another chair for him to sit down, but in essence, she was trying to buy herself some time to get her breathing under control. He looked so good and smelled so nice that it was all she could do not to throw herself straight into his arms and breathe in his essence as though her very life depended on it. She saw Sebastian’s eyes widen at the small bump under her loose gown, and her hand went to hold it selfconsciously.“It’s growing.” She told him needlessly and then slammed her mouth shut. She sort of felt nervous being in Sebastian’s presence and wished that she had worn a more flattering dress than the one that she had on now, but there was nothing she could do about it now. Sebastian collected the chair from her and brought it over to place it i
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It was a warm, sunny, and bright day, but it was also a slow one. Carol sat in the tiny bookshop in which she had gotten a job the very day she got here, waiting for customers to come in and fighting sleep. She was the only one in the shop, as the owner had dashed off to prepare for her birthday party, leaving Carol all alone in the shop.“Don’t worry. You’ll be able to handle it. Price tags are on every book, so you don’t need to worry about not knowing the prices. If you need anything, my number is pasted on the wall over there, so you can call me. Bye now.” The middle-aged woman had said, sailing out the door before Carol could even say anything else, so here she was, bored beyond measure and counting the seconds as the time ticked slowly by. She had managed to sell two books, but it seemed that the shop did not get any customers, because, for the remainder of the time, she just sat there alone, staring into space … and missing Sebastian,
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Sebastian fought the urge to retch as he observed his surroundings and the woman in front of him. If this was where Carol was staying, then he would drag her home with him today, even if he had to drag her kicking and screaming. He would not have her stay with this woman who did not like her and was clearly very irresponsible.“Hello, Belinda. Sorry to disturb you, but we’re looking for Carol. Is she here?” Mrs. James asked.“How the fuck am I supposed to know where she is, huh? Anyway, what is it to you? Is the contract not supposed to be over? Why are you still looking for her?” Belinda asked suspiciously, and he could see that she was also high on drugs.“Well, um, we had a little altercation, and I haven’t seen her since then, so I was wondering if she was here. Do you perchance, have her number? Her dad is also not answering his calls.”“Look, I don’t have any business
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It was raining cats and dogs once again, exactly as it had been raining on that fateful day when Carol had left him till now. Sebastian was sitting in his aunt’s house, sipping a mug of hot coffee and ignoring everything that she was currently saying. He looked like a shadow of himself, which was not a surprise, considering the fact that most times, all he did was drink and have to deal with a nagging Jessica, who was still in his house, even though he had taken her name off the deed to the house. Because of her, he was hardly ever in his house again, but preferred to stay here at his aunt’s for a better part of the time he was not working himself to death … literally. “Are you even listening to anything I’m saying, Sebastian?” Mrs. James asked, shaking him a little to get his attention.“No, aunt. I can’t say that I am. I’m sorry, but I think I zoned out a little there. What were you saying?” He asked finally. Mrs. James shook her head, reminding him of when he was still a recalcitra
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“Wh…what does he mean by this?” Donald asked at last, after scanning the text message. “Your guess is as good as mine,” Carol replied, rubbing at her face, hardly able to believe the level to which Sebastian was willing to stoop to be cruel to her. If he thought that she was going to just lay low, act like a sheep and allow him to ride all over her, then he had another thing coming. She just couldn’t get the image of that text out of her head. Good morning, Donald. How are you doing? So, have you heard from your daughter yet? I just wanted to let you know that she’s with something of mine. Something invaluable. I don’t know if she told you about it or not, but she’s pregnant with my child and according to the contract that she signed, if such a thing were to happen, then I’ll have full custody of the child. Tell her to come out of wherever
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“I don’t think that what you are doing makes any sense at all, Carol,” Donald said worriedly, looking at his daughter, who averted her gaze and tried in vain to stop the tears welling up in her expressive blue eyes.“Why do you say that, dad?” Carol asked him, wiping away her tears.“Well, maybe because you’re pregnant and you choose to slave away at doing a regular job instead of taking proper care of yourself.”“A lot of pregnant women work at regular jobs, dad.”“I know that, but not a lot of them have huge lumps of money lying in their bank accounts untouched while they look malnourished. Why are you punishing yourself this way, my dear? I mean, it’s only been one month since you left Sebastian. In that one month, you’ve become almost as thin as that girl Jessica., whom we do not like at all.”At this, Carol burst out laughing despite herself. Her father was acting like a
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It was with a growing sense of urgency that Sebastian drove away from the hospital, Jessica's insults and curses trailing after him until he could no longer hear them. It was a sad thing indeed that she was now the way she was, but there was nothing that he could do about it. He had offered to help her, but she kept turning down his help at every turn, so there was nothing he could do for her anymore. He could not do the very thing that she wanted, which was to be with her, as he did not love her anymore. He stopped by a flower shop on his way back to the house to get some flowers for Carol, knowing that women loved things like that. Hopefully, she would forgive him, and even if she did not, he would keep trying until she did. He still did not know how she managed to wind up pregnant, if she was taking her pills like she had claimed, but he knew that sometimes, those things were not foolproof, especially if the lady who was taking them fell sick during the period. He remembered that C
