Marianne walked into Lucy’s house /her new home and was welcomed with a wonderful lavender fragrance coming from the air fresheners that were installed on the walls and all over the furniture, there were all sorts of beautiful colors and that was just the hall way.
On the left was the white and grey themed kitchen, and on the right was the living room with a massive door way enabling whoever was in the kitchen to chat across the hall.
The sofas were C shaped and light purple in color with grey and silver cushions. The eighty five inch flat screen smart TV was mounted above a TV stand fully decorated with crystals, sculptures and other assorted things. Rose was so excited she nearly leaped from her chair and Marianne was still blown away by the fact that they would be living there from there on.
Marianne still didn’t feel comfortable knowing she would not be of help around the house, with a house that big, Lucy obviously had maids that did everything. Maybe she coul
George finished with the delivery guys and saw them off, as he was returning to discuss with Lucy his phone rang. It was his company's secretary Jane all the way from China, he ignored the call and said to himself that he would call after talking to Lucy because what he had to say could not wait. Jane called again and that was what alarmed George, she would never call again if it was not important.So George picked the call, "Yes Jane, is there a problem?" he asked.Lucy heard him ask Jane what was wrong and all of a sudden George stopped and turned pale, it was as if he had seen a ghost,"George is everything okay?" Lucy walked over to him and asked with so much concern."Okay I'm taking the next flight out, everything will be fine", George assured his secretary and cut the line."I have to go, there's been a slight set back at the shipping company and if I don't get there as soon as possible my company is history" he told Lucy a
Marianne stared blankly into the tiny cup that Lucy had handed over to her. It felt like she had been standing in that position for so long, and in that split second of time, she unintentionally forced herself to reminisce on everything she had been through till that point."It doesn’t make any sense, I can’t be….do I even want to be?", while tears rolled down her cheek as she thought about everything that happened from the news about the pregnancy to after the accident.The possibility of raising a new born baby in her current situation would only make things worse. How would she even begin to convince herself one more time that she is capable to stand on her own? How would she be able to raise the baby without its father? Without having to think about his cruelty, will she ever heal from the pain he put her through?A shadow from underneath the bathroom door sways fast enough to destruct Marianne from her thoughts; Lucy must have been pacing around waiting for he
Lucy realized she was thinking in a different direction and looked at Marianne who was waiting for her to get what she really meant.“Oh, you meant by the opposite sex didn’t you?" Lucy raised an eyebrow as she corrected herself."All I can say is never trust a man that is born on his birthday,” she smiled and turned to the stove to check on her baked potatoes.That aroma reminded Marianne of the time that she wanted to surprise Greg with a special dinner on a Saturday evening, dressed in a sulky night dress with the scent of a fresh morning glory flower. How she loved to treat him, with the hopes that he would one day truly love her and return the favor. Another tear formed within her eye before finally rolling down her cheek. She wiped her eye fast enough before Lucy turned around again to see her.“Are you okay?” Lucy asked, she tilted her head on one side.“Yeah, uhm….I was just wondering, should
Lucy walked into the house quietly just so she wouldn’t alarm Marianne. She had been through so much already.“I’m not saying I pity her”, a voice inside Lucy just kept telling her and reminding her that Marianne deserved better. She didn’t deserve to be dictated by a mere man who sought nothing but the satisfaction of his own greed. Marianne took that situation better than Lucy would. She just wondered what miracle waited to happen from the Great God that will put a smile on her face, one that would carry ten thousand moons without the help of a pampas man.Marianne was sleeping on the sofa with Rose wrapped in her arms when Lucy stepped into the living room. She could already see by the constant curves that Marianne’s eyebrows were taking that she was having a nightmare. Slowly creeping up to her, she stood to block the light from the chandelier that was shining on her face with the hope that she sensed Lucy and awakened. Her
Lucy returned to the kitchen to finish up with a small dinner while Marianne set the table in advance.“It’s just the three of us now, when will your brother return?” that question from Marianne gave Lucy’s body a different reaction,“does she really need him here or is she just asking out of curiosity?” Lucy thought to herself.“Well. I could only say that he will be here soon. Why do you ask?” Lucy asked almost sounding a little suspicious like she was hiding something. It became more obvious because she giggled right after she gave that statement.“No reason, it would just be nice to have a fourth person at the table of four, or maybe the little guy growing inside of me is enough to make up for a number four”, Marianne smiled as she wiped the forks and placed them on the side of the table, realizing that she had a little person inside of her at that moment made her rub her tummy.Lucy w
“Hey, don't be afraid. I just called to tell you that I still love you, and I miss you a lot”, the voice sounded so familiar that it set her heart racing,"could this be one of my exes coming back to haunt me, God no", she thought to herself.Reminiscing about her past love life last night wasn’t her actually saying that she wanted to go down that road again, Jesus. She had patients to look after.“Who is this? This some kind of a joke?” she stammered through her sentence and that made the ‘mysterious guy’ laugh out loud at the sound of her trembling voice, he knew that she was curious and not happy about it so he just came clean.“Chill out sis, it’s just me, your favorite brother”, He laughed even harder after saying this and she could only roll her eyes as she took a deep breath to resuscitate herself from the horrible thoughts she just had.“Not anymore dummy. I’m going to
“I haven’t seen him in years so he just writes to me”, Lucy’s words seemed to ring hard in Marianne's head. She bent her head down and a memory hit her in a way she couldn't hide.Suddenly, her mother was calling her with excitement in her voice,“Your father wrote to you again! I found a letter in the mailbox”, she walked down the stairs from her room and found a place to sit at the dining room table,waiting for mother to lay the letters down so she could identify which one belonged to father. It was something they enjoyed doing just to brighten up the mood, but not that time, her dad hadn’t written to them for the past six months, she had never met him before, but she wondered what it would have been like to have a dad close by, to be able to hear his voice.She was such a dreamer and the fact that her dreams still hadn’t come true made her angry that day.Marianne watched as her mother lay the letters down while she counted them one by one.
Marianne folded her arms as she waited for Raphael to give his response. A lot of conclusions were already running through her mind,"he is such a bloody stalker, now he is using my babyg girlto get to me, why can't he just be a man and admit to the fact that he…"Raphael chuckled and ran his hand through his hair,"relax, I bare no ill will, I promise", he said,"I was having some coffee and reading the morning newspaper at the cafeteria right out of this store. I had seen the both of you walk in here and I thought it rude to not make my appearanceto a new friend"."Friend? What friend?" Mariannestared into his brown eyes as he moved in closer to her."If you don't mind, I couldstick around and help you out", he offered.There was a silence between them and it was becomingawkward,"OKAY! That would be lovely because we were actually looking for a thirdparty member to help us wit
“So, Raphael, what’s it going to be?” George leaned forward, his expression a mixture of concern and frustration. “Are you going to get the help you need, or should I go ahead and file a restraining order? You know it’s protocol, bud.” Raphael’s eyes were hollow, remnants of the torment he had endured since losing his wife and daughter. The mention of a restraining order hit him like a punch to the gut. “I’ll do whatever it takes,” he replied, his voice cracking slightly. “I’ll go to rehab. I’ll do anything to make things right with Marianne and Rose.” He had dreaded the idea of rehabilitation, the thought of facing his demons, ever since that fateful day when he lost everything. Yet, he knew that without taking this step, he could lose even more. Marianne and Rose were worth the struggle. Within hours, two able-bodied men, colleagues of George’s, escorted Raphael home. They helped him gather what he needed, while the weight of his past loomed heavy in the air. As they drove to the
Raphael felt a surge of guilt flood his heart as he looked at Marianne. He had put her through days of pain and confusion, all while believing he was doing the right thing. In one part of his mind, he was sure that Rose would be better off, away from the storm of her parents' toxic relationship. He thought he was sparing his daughter from the same chaos that had plagued their family. Yet, in another part of him, he felt a deep, aching sorrow for Marianne. He could feel her silent anguish, the emptiness left by the absence of her only child. The thought of her missing Rose gnawed at him, and the weight of his decision pressed heavily on his chest, almost making it hard for him to breathe. He couldn't even look her in the eyes, let alone find the strength to say a word. As he stood there, unsure and tormented, Marianne’s gentle voice broke the silence. "Someone’s here to see you," she said, her tone soft yet tinged with an emotion he couldn’t quite identify. She stepped aside, and ther
Marianne stood frozen, her breath caught in her chest as she took in the sight she had dreamed of for what felt like an eternity—her daughter, Rose, safe and alive. The last few days had been a waking nightmare, each day a torturous blend of hope and despair as she searched, refusing to let go of the belief that she would find her daughter again. Now, here Rose was, only a few steps away, hand-in-hand with Raphael, the man she had once thought she could trust.Marianne’s mind spun, emotions tangling in a whirlwind that left her wordless. Fear, love, relief—all warring within her as she tried to process the moment. She couldn’t bring herself to care that Raphael was standing there; all that mattered was Rose. Even as the cavalry she had enlisted to help bring Rose back closed in around them, Marianne’s eyes never left her daughter’s. The men quickly moved to apprehend Raphael, who, to her relief, offered no resistance. His only crime had been taking a minor from her mother, a crime tha
Raphael had spent the entire night in a restless haze, his thoughts consumed by memories of his dead wife and their little girl. He hadn't slept at all, his mind haunted by the life he'd once had—a life that felt a thousand miles away now. The image of his wife, with her gentle smile and the warmth in her eyes, lingered painfully in his mind. And then there was his daughter, a fragile, innocent soul taken far too soon. He could still remember the way she laughed, the way her small hand would curl around his finger when she was afraid. The guilt of losing them weighed heavily on him, an unshakable burden that only seemed to grow with time. His heart ached, a deep, constant throb that reminded him of the life he'd failed to protect.Now, there was Rose—Marianne’s daughter. Marianne, his former lover, had left him after everything fell apart, after tragedy struck and their worlds were shattered. She had taken Rose and moved on, but fate had brought them back together in the most unexpect
The next day had arrived and Marianne was getting more and more impatient. She tried hard to keep that to herself but not all of it would stay hidden. Lucy noticed that she was stuck between losing hope and having the will to still fight for her daughter.Sometimes, her eyes lit up when she saw more armed bodyguards arrive at Lucy's house. The search was becoming more and more real, nothing like what Marianne thought it was going to be. She imagined that the solution she had in mind would have worked better, easily informing the police about the missing girl and then putting it all over the news and in the newspapers, on posters as well.She imagined that anyone would have called the police back and given them leads to Raphael because he would have been the said suspect. Marianne, at some point, even went to George about it, just so she could understand exactly why he decided to call off her plan."Marianne, do you really think that the detectives under the law are du
Chapter ThirtyThe feeling of her heart racing was driving Marianne crazy, her hands trembled so much that if she was asked to hold anything, the object would drop to the floor. She tried to fight back all the terrible things that were running through her mind for the sake of Lucy and George, yet she didn't know if she had to be mad at them too for keeping the news a secret."How could this be? This is a lie! You can't possibly…. " tears ran down from Marianne's eyes and George reached out to try and comfort her,"No! Don't touch me! You knew that this was my father but you never told me, you kept it a secret from me this whole time, and for what!?" She yelled.At that point, Marianne stood up to keep her distance from the man she called a criminal, the man that claimed to be her father."Lucy, why are you so quiet? Tell me that this is a joke, please!""Marianne, I'm just as shocked as you are right now, I had no idea that you were my sister thi
Chapter Twenty NineThe next evening Marianne and Lucy were pacing around the kitchen and living room impatiently waiting for George.“Are you sure he told you that he will be here or was that another lie? What if he has just forgotten about all this?” Marianne kept asking.“You have got to stop with all your negative questions and answers, for real this time”, Lucy answered back.Even though Lucy kept asking Marianne to calm down, she herself, kept opening and closing the curtains to check if George had arrived, she kept checking her phone incase she missed the notification as well.There was always something about the evening that Marianne found confusing, how was it that the most peaceful time of a day would also turn out to be the most risky part as well? Even back when she was a child, she always noticed that most of the arguments between her and her mother usually started in the night time, but since they were both lovers of the
He turned to face Rose and began conversing with her. He asked her how physiotherapy was while he was gone and if she had fun without him.“Mr. Raphael, you’re the only fun man I’ve ever met, and I was very strong when you were not here. But Mummy was there sometimes, so it was fine”, she responded.“I missed you a lot, Rose. Thank you for calling me funny too, I mean, in a good way, that is. To show you how happy I am, why don’t we go out for some ice cream?" Raphael asked,“well, I don’t think mommy would allow it”.“Well, since your mother and I are good friends, there will be no problem, I want to get you any flavor you like for being such a good girl okay. Come on”, he stood up and helped her put her crutches in place, clueless, she accepted and left out the door with him and into the car.***Marianne sat motionless on the sofa, hoping that Raphael could just come back with Rose. Sh
Time had gone by faster than Marianne could blink. Her palms got sweaty every time she thought about the evening dinner date with Raphael, she never thought that she could actually ever be able to go on a date or have any conversation with a man other than Greg.She was joyful and welcoming to patients more than the usual days. She snack out a few conversations with the doctors and nurses when they passed by her and asked a few questions. There was much to look forward to.During her lunch break, she went to check up on Rose and make sure that she was having the meal that Raphael had paid for. Rose had been working so hard with her physiotherapy, so hard that even in her spare time, she isolated herself in her room so that she could fall freely if she wasn't doing well.Eventually, Rose was able to stand properly, not excellently, and not good enough for her to not need the wheelchair anymore. The physiotherapist started by giving her crutches that she could u