JESSICAI’m seated alone at a table in the corner of a lush garden in which my former fiance, Sebastian, is having a ceremony to celebrate the renewal of his wedding vows with his beautiful wife, Carol. I wish I can just leave, but if I do that, it would look like I’m jealous or that I bear ill will toward the happy couple. It isn’t either of those things that make me want to leave though. It’s just that being here, in this garden, with so many people around, reminds me of that fateful night, three years ago, when I was kidnapped and then held captive and tortured for so many months. It was from this very garden that it had all started, and the atmosphere in it right now is the same as it had been that night … festive and unsuspicious, except that it is daytime this time around.Still, I hate the feeling that the whole thing is giving me. Thoughts of Charlotte, the sadistic bitch who had wreaked havoc on my life, come into my mind unbidden. I still have nightmares … nightmares in which
The nightmare is the same as always. In it, I’m in a dark room, unable to move, talk, or do anything, even breathe. The breathing tubes attached to my body do the job of breathing for me. All I can do is lay there immobile in terror as a mentally deranged Charlotte advances on me with a poison-filled syringe. As always, I wake up screaming before she plunges the needle into me in the dream.The room I’m in is dark, but I know where I am. I’m in a bed in a room at Sebastian’s house. I hadn’t wanted to be alone after the ceremony earlier in the day, and his wife, Carol had understood. In fact, she was the one who had urged me to at least, stay over for the night. Thankfully, my screaming did not wake anyone in the house, but I know that sleep won’t come again, at least, not for a while, so I get out of bed and pad silently out of the room.The house feels very familiar to me, which is not a surprise, because once upon a time, I had been a joint owner of this house and had lived with Seb
I wake up early later that morning and go jogging in a bid to clear my head. Unsurprisingly, the remainder of my night had been horrible, and now, there were dark circles beneath my eyes, but the crisp morning air helped to revive me a bit. Soon, I was in a better mood than I had been in the previous night.However, my good mood soon disappeared when I heard the sound of running footsteps behind me. I whirl around, already in a defensive mood, not that I would have been able to do anything if a predator was coming up to me. My ordeal in the hands of Charlotte had left me skinny to the point of emaciation, and I hadn’t gained much in terms of weight since then. In summary, I am as light as a feather, so to speak. My mood plunges more when I realize that it is Charles who is running behind me.“What the hell is your problem? Has your family not tortured me enough? First, it was your father, then your sister, and now, you? What did I ever do to all of you?” I snap at him without so much
“Hello, Jessica,” Charles says quietly, staring at me with his green eyes, his expression unreadable. I have never seen that shade of startling green eyes before. I wonder if he is wearing contacts but quickly decide that it is none of my business.“I’m beginning to think that you and your sister have quite a lot in common. You’re both crazy stalkers.” I say to him, noting that his expression does not change in the slightest.“Actually, Charlotte and I are nothing alike, but I can see why you would think that. I’m not following you though. I have every right to be here, you see, as the company that organized this crew belongs to Sebastian and me. I own the majority of the shares, in fact. However, I can’t say the same about you, Jessica. What are you doing here?” He asks in the same gentle tone that I’m fast coming to hate. He is clearly one of those people who rarely ever get angry, no matter how far you pushed them.“I was invited by this guy called Maxwell.”“That’s good. You’ll lo
At first, I don’t see anything suspicious in the dark water, not even ripples, which is not surprising because it is raining, and because there are waves. I chalk up what I thought I had heard to the fact that I’m tired as hell and obviously imagining things. Or maybe I’m going crazy too. Crazy seems to be in my family’s DNA.I’m about to turn away and go back to my cabin to finally get some shuteye when I hear it! The gurgle of water as a pale face emerges from it and a loud gasp as whoever was in the water sucked in huge gulps of air, before being submerged again. Pale, skinny arms flail above the water as the person struggled to remain afloat, but it is very clear that whoever it is cannot swim.The wind has picked up now, and even though I know it is most likely a futile effort, and that no one was likely to hear me over the screaming of the wind, I yell at the top of my voice for help. The face appears again, and to my horror, I realize that it is Jessica who is in the water. I c
I glance down at the unconscious woman in my arms, not knowing what on earth to do. I’m just thankful that I was smart and aware enough to take the life vests for both of us before jumping into the water after Jessica, otherwise, I don’t know what would have become of us both.I make sure to have a firm grip on her with one hand so that she would not drift away from me, while I fumble in my pocket for my phone with the other. It is drenched in water, but it is still working. I try to connect to the wifi of the ship, but I don’t hold out much hope because even while on board, the connectivity is really poor, not to talk of when the ship is so far away. As expected, there is no signal, so I give up trying.“Someone will soon notice that we’re not on the ship, and they will eventually realize that we must have fallen overboard.” I think to myself, beginning to swim in the direction that the ship had gone, and dragging Jessica, who was blissfully unconscious with me. It is a good thing th
JESSICAI’ve been awake for a very long time, but I pretend not to be awake. For one thing, I’m beyond pissed at this impossible situation in which I find myself. For another, I don’t want to have to talk to Charles. He had saved my life, but then, it was because of him I found myself in this situation in the first place. Hopefully, help will come soon, and immediately it does, I’ll go home as soon as the opportunity presents itself and forget all about this unfortunate adventure.Finally, I’m tired of pretending to be unconscious, so I decide to give up the act. Still, it takes a while for Charles to notice that my eyes are open. When he notices, I see the surprise on his face and can tell that I startled him, something that amuses me to no end, but I carefully keep the amusement from my face.He opens his mouth to say something, shifting a little as he does so. I spy a tree branch or something of the sort bobbing close to him in the waves and yell out a warning for him to watch out,
“Well, you don’t deny it then? So, how are you going to accomplish it? Are you going to drown me in the sea? Or perhaps, you’re going to strangle me with those large hands of yours. You’re a doctor if I remember correctly, aren’t you? Do you have the same drug-filled needles your sister was going to use to finish me off in your pockets right now? Is that what you’re going to use to do the job? Who knows, it's very possible that you were the one who told her the combination of drugs to kill me slowly and in an unnoticeable manner. Well, you don't have to worry about how you’re going to do it because nature will help you do the job sooner rather than later. We’ll die out here, no thanks to you!” Jessica spits, full of righteous indignation, and looking for all the world like a spoilt brat. I immediately chide myself for thinking such a thing and try to allay her fears, because I know she is lashing out at me to keep her fear at bay.“I have no desire to do any of those things or harm yo