The past week has been the worst of Edna's life. She has cried her soul out of her body and she even thought of killing herself. Now she is sitting in front of the mirror after a bath and looks at herself in the mirror. She looks strange, nothing like herself. She used to be miserable, it's totally normal, but it's so different this time around. Her eyes are so red from crying that that's how they have been for so long now. She is running a temperature and her head seems to want to split into two with an ax. She grabs her face cream and squirts some of it on her hand and rubs it into smoothness. She starts to slowly apply it over her face in circular motion. She is staring into her reflection and waiting for the gray gloominess to go away magically with the aid of the cream if it doesn't happen. All she gets is this extra oiliness on her face that outlines all the sadness on her face, her dark spots from sleepless nights, and the impact of Keith's blows. She clenches her teeth
It sounds like something from a bad dream, but when Edna wakes up with her head being held in her hands she realizes that it's not a dream, someone is banging on the door of the room as if wanting to uproot. Her insecurity can't make her go off to bed with the door unlocked, not after everything that she has been through. " Edna! " Keith roars. " Open the fucking door if you don't want to die. "Of course, it's Keith. It was past midnight and she didn't think that he was interested in coming back home today. She unlocks the door and he grabs her by the throat and pushes her back till she falls on the bed. He saddles her and grabs her hair too. Apart from muffled grunts of pain, she doesn't react. " You think you are Crazy, don't you?" He slams her. " You think that you have grown so much that you can tell my father what you would do and what you want? We own you. "Mister Jackson probably told him that she has refused to go back to work and that she has refused to do the intervie
Edna only starts to cry when she gets back into the car and slams the door shut. Her shoulders shake and her hands tighten around the wheel till they turn white. Her face wrinkles up as the sobs leave her mouth heavily, she doesn't know why she is crying so much. She isn't even supposed to be having sex with the guy because she is supposed to be married to his brother but here she is crying her heart out. She holds her hand over her mouth and wipes the tears, but they just keep coming back. She hates her life, she hates that she is jealous that Malik had sex with that perfect Lawyer and that she feels so bad right now. She grabs her phone and dials Malik's number before she can even stop herself. The phone rings, but as usual, he doesn't pick up. She keeps calling him nonstop for almost fifteen minutes without even stopping and he still doesn't pick up. He is very determined to cut her off from his life, isn't he? She drops her phone and pushes her hair back as she thinks. Sh
Malik waits for some time before he picks up the phone and calls Allison. He is not happy with what she did and he is going to tell her that. She picks up immediately like she has been sitting, anticipating his call. " Hello, client. " There is something sly about her voice. It almost causes him to abort his intentions of scolding her. "Hi, Allison, how are ya?" He asks. " I'm good, I'm fine. How are you?" She in turn asks. " I don't know. " He sighs. " Edna just left and she told me what you did. "He hears Allison heave over the phone, but he calmly waits to hear why she did what she did. " She is such a crybaby. " She laments. " Why did you tell her we had sex?" He asks. " Why not?" Allison laughs. " She shouldn't have a problem with that, should she?"" What were you aiming for when you told her that? What reaction did you want to get from her?""I just wanted to know if you guys are having fucking or something. " She casually answers. " From the look of things, maybe. "M
Edna has been acting nonchalant towards her life and marriage since she has been unable to divorce Keith, but right now it's different. She feels ashamed that Anna and her family are going to find out that she is not the perfectly happy married woman they thought she was. She is afraid that they will notice dirt on the perfectness of her life and she won't seem to be so perfect to them again. It's because she makes up her mind to attend the dinner. It's barely an hour since Anna left and she just got an invitation text from Mister Jackson and she is going to attend it. Mister Jackson is going to be pleased, he is going to be so happy because she will be saving his face alongside hers. It would make a lot of sense if she goes there with Keith, but she knows that Keith might not like that. Keith is a very strange kind of person because sometimes he acts like she is irritating to him and the next he acts like he actually likes her. She doesn't know if they are at the side of the b
Edna feels as if she has been drenched with ice-cold water, from her head down to her toes. She is mortified by what she has just had and it hits her so hard that she doesn't even get the chance to hide her emotions. She has been staring at them with her eyes wide open, almost drowned in her tears. Keith snickers, he knows what's going on with her and he wants to further humiliate her. " Wait, you guys are getting married?" Edna asks as soon as she finds her voice. " Yes. " Anna answers, a bit lost that she seems to just be hearing about it now. " Are you just getting to know me, honey?" Mrs. Lucy asks. "No. " Edna lies. " I'm just so happy for my friend. "She pulls Anna so quickly that she yelps. Edna shuts her quivering eyelids and rests her face again on the side of Anna's neck. She sniffs so often that she pulls away not to soil Anna with her tears. She tried so hard not to cry but the tears just have a mind of their own and they don't stop coming. "Oh, your friend is s
Edna woke up the next day feeling sore everywhere. Her mouth hurts the most and so does between her legs. Keith did what he does best last night and she sighs sadly as she tries not to recall the events of last night. She feels something rising up her throat and without warning, she grabs the sheets and throws them to the ground, and dashes to the bathroom. She is almost tripped by the long sheets, but that doesn't stop her from getting to the toilet in time. She falls over it with her back bent and she begins to throat up. The sound of her puking is terrible, she clutches her belly and continues vomiting, hoping not to die. Finally, when she is done, she washes her mouth and slides to the ground. She is sweating, her sweat irritates her, its smell repels her and she takes her shirt off her. She gets up to her feet and she walks into her closet, she is going to grab a shirt and take a quick bath, maybe when she is done she is going to be able to go back to sleep. When she gets
Anna turns to a statue as Edna looks on. She wasn't meaning to say what she said, but it's out already. " Wh..at?" Anna breathes. "I'm sorry, I just had to tell you. " Edna gets up to her feet and walks away to the kitchen. "Hey. " Anna calls after her, but she doesn't stop. " You can't just say something like that and walk away. "Edna doesn't listen to her. She grabs a cup and starts to make herself a cup of coffee. An angry Anna enters into the kitchen with her hands folded over her breasts and a crease between her eyebrows. " Malik cheated on me?" Anna questions. " He slept with this lawyer a few months ago. " Edna says. " I just have to tell you because you are my friend and I can't bear to see you get hurt. "" It doesn't matter, I am hurt. " Anna yells and Edna is taken aback. " Don't yell at me, I am trying to help you here. " Edna shouts back at her. She watches as Anna's chest heaves up and down and she can't help but wonder just want a monster she has turned into.
EpilogueMalik is tired, he has hardly slept for more than two hours in the past three days. The reason is that he is putting together the last of his affairs. After all, he is moving to Italy. He has done a lot in the past days which includes making peace with his father's enemies, Tide and Devan gold. It wasn't easy making peace with them, but he did. He paid for their damages and informed them that Jacksons' company is now under new management. He also proposed business deals to them and from what he saw, he will run the company more successfully. He is also discussing a change of name for the company, he wants it to bear his mother's name because she deserves it. He can't forget his brother too. Even though his brother has been the biggest asshole, he was still his brother and for that, he has made a huge donation to a rehabilitation program, Edna did the same. As for his father, he is still mourning the "loss" of his business, but he is not going to suffer. He still has a
Malik has never felt more nervous in his life. He was bold when he told Edna that he wanted to talk with her parents. He was bold when she told him that they are ready to meet with him. He was bold when he drove to the restaurant one fine evening from his hotel room, but the moment he saw her intimidating father, he lost all his courage and his heart fell to the pit of his stomach like a deflated balloon. Her mother didn't see him, she is reading through the menu and talks to her husband, who has locked eyes with Malik. He still feels the impact of the man's punch from the night before. He smooths his hair back, adjusts his jacket, and walks into the restaurant. It's not full, that's because this isn't New York. "Hello. " He says to both of them but he doesn't take his seat. Edna's mother frowns and drops the menu back on the table. Her father only nods at him, that's it. He feels pain so heavy in the back of his throat, but he composes himself. He can't believe that they hav
Both Edna and Malik knew that this was coming after all Malik was just spitting all the unknown facts at him. Edna feels a rumbling in her stomach and she feels like it's just her baby getting scared too. Malik drops the papers in his hand and for the first time, he smiles. He smiles at his father's misery and he even laughs at it. "Well, Dad, you have always thought we were fucking, turns out we were. " He grins like he is fucking proud of himself. "What?!" "I'm responsible, Dad. " Malik breaks it down. " At least it's still your grandchild. "Mister Jackson jumps up to his feet as if his chair just caught flames and he points a finger at Edna. The flames in his eyes are so hot that she is scared she is going to get scaled. "You!!" He screams. " I have always known that you are a good-for-nothing piece of shit, I should have killed you when I had the chance. "Even with all his angry bursts, he doesn't go close to Edna and Malik just leaves him alone to go rant. " I took you
Edna feels like she has just melted into her chair, all numb from her head to the heels of her toes. "What?!" Her voice is so small that it doesn't sound like hers at all. Malik doesn't give her any answer, he is having a staring contest with his father. The tension is tight in the air, they won't say a word to each other. Malik looks calmer but his father looks like he is a bomb that is going to go off any time soon. Edna swallows down an imaginary lump in her throat but she still doesn't feel better, it's suffocating. " Malik. " She turns to him. " I don't understand what you are saying. "He turns to her and gives her hand a little squeeze. " Don't worry, it's all going to be cleared in a few minutes. "She nods and keeps calm, she believes him. He turns to his father and that glare returns back to its place. He leans back against his chair, but not his father. " We are listening, Dad. " He shrugs. " Why did you do it? Why did you kill your favorite son?"" Malik, boy. " Hi
True to Malik's word, a call comes in from the front desk that someone is waiting for her at the reception. It's a good thing that she has put on her clothes and gotten prepared for the person who would be picking her up. She locks up her room and walks to the elevator. As the elevator lowers to the ground, she wonders what Malik is up to. She gets out of the elevator and walks into the reception. There are a lot of people there, but when she sees Rollins, she knows that it's him. Maybe because he is putting on such a fine suit or because she has seen him a few times with Malik, he is one of the few people that work directly for Malik and not his father. He smiles and walks up to her and bows to her respectfully. " Good morning. " He greets. " Good morning." She answers with a very bright smile. " This way, ma'am. " He leads her out of the hotel and towards the parking lot. She sights the white SUV even before they get close to it. He walks ahead of her and opens the door for
Edna's face turns white as Anna's confession is not something that she saw coming. Anna too never wanted the marriage? She didn't want to get married to Malik? That's wild. Anna laughs when she sees how surprised Edna is and she walks to the edge of the bed and sits on it. She crosses her legs over each other and pulls a pillow close to her. She glances at Edna and she understands that she wants to sit beside her. She does too and now they are so close that they can feel each other's body heat. " But did you really believe that those tears were real?" Anna laughs. "Yeah, I have been so worried about you. " Edna says. " I have always wanted to call you but if I left you would still be mad at all of us. ""Nah. " She waves off. " It's kind of a huge relief for me too, so it's all good. "Edna is so confused right now. "But you were so excited about getting married. " Edna can't let this go so easily. "No, I pretended to be so happy because I wanted to make my parents happy. " S
It looks like a war front in here as everyone is yelling words around and pointing fingers at each other. Malik steps down from the altar and walks down the aisle. He pushes the door open and walks out, no one stops him. Ramona rushes after him after she gets over the shock, but Edna can't. She is too frozen to move. Edna is calmly holding onto herself. She feels like everyone is going to notice how fast her heart is beating against her chest and they are going to know that she had something to do with this. He said he loves her, he told someone that he loves her. She feels terrible that Anna isn't going to get married again, but Malik said he loves her. Anna lets out a scream of agony. And falls to the ground. Edna rushes to her side and holds her up. Her family rushes to her side and her brothers take her in their arms. Her mother is crying with her, wiping her daughter's tears instead of hers. Her father looks mad, the angriest that Edna has ever seen and she watches him loo
The knocks come again and it is just as loud and terrifying as thunder. "Malik, open the fucking door, I need to speak to you. " His father sounds angry. He beats against the door with his fist and Edna fearfully watches the door quiver as if there is an earthquake. Malik is perfectly calm and doesn't move an inch to get to the door. Mister Jackson doesn't go away and each time he knocks, it's louder than the last one. He is somehow convinced that Malik is inside his room and he is not leaving until he speaks to him. Edna is so scared that she is tempted to walk to the door and open it. She will then fall on her knees and explain to Mister Jackson that it's not what he thinks. There is a slight chance that he would listen and that means she is presently just overreacting, but there is a chance that he is going to make a big deal out of this since he already hates her. Since Malik isn't moving or saying a word, maybe it's better if she doesn't say anything too. Malik grabs her
Edna holds tightly to Malik's word. Her family thinks that she is crazy and now she has taken to the idea too, maybe she is really crazy – maybe a little bit. If not, what sane woman would go to attend the marriage ceremony pregnant for the groom and even though she is friends with the bride? She has never admitted it – she had kicked out the thought in her head too, it keeps coming back though – but she wishes that the wedding could be off so that she can have Malik to herself. She is happy for Anna and she would be even happier for her if she is going to be married to someone else, but it has to be Malik, right?She knows that a failed wedding ceremony is going to hurt Anna, but she still wants to give Malik a chance to come through as he said. His plan of coming through doesn't involve him going on with the wedding. She doesn't want to be the bad person in this case, but she can't just help it. Her father kills the engine and turns to her. He takes off his baseball cap and put