_____NINE MONTHS LATER____
Jordan had managed to forget all about me. So, I was left all alone with no family to care about or think about my welfare. It was disheartening, but there was nothing I could do. Meanwhile, in the midst of my predicaments, I heard a rumour while I was still in jail, and it was about my stepsister and Jordan getting married.It broke me to hear such news, and it gave me even more complications in my situation. I fell into labour right away and was rushed to the station's hospital.My pregnancy was a secret to my husband. And my prison warden was like an angel sent from above to me. She managed to make sure I was always doing fine, and I had begged her to help keep my pregnancy away from Jordan and my step family.Hearing the cry of the life I had just delivered, gave me a new source of hope again. I made up my mind that if not for anything, all I needed to be strong for was my baby, or babies rather, as I heard the doctor announce that I had another baby waiting to be delivered.I held on to Emily's hands tightly as I groaned in pain. It was unbearable, and with the thoughts of Jordan getting married to Aurelia, it felt even more painful, but it gave me a kind of strength I never knew I had inside.Panting hard with beads of sweat all over my body, I heard another cry from my second baby. A sigh of relief exited my lips while Emily patted my hands gently, giving whispers of congratulations. It was confirmed that I had just delivered a set of twin babies, a boy and a girl.I watched with my eyes closed halfway as my babies were held by the doctor and a nurse. Giving a faint smile of satisfaction, I allowed my eyes close slowly while giving in to unconsciousness._______________________________''We have to take your babies to your husband,''Emily - my prison warden, announced to me as soon as I regained consciousness. She was holding my baby girl in her hands with the twin brother sleeping peacefully next to me.Struggling to sit up on my bed, I shook my head vigorously in disapproval.''No, you can't,'' I cried out, kicking vehemently against the decision, ''The last thing I want is for Jordan to have the custody of my kids,'Emily sighed out and clicked her tongue. She stared at me in pity, and asked,''Do you still hold that grudge against him?''''Yes,'' I muttered weakly in reply to her questions. There was no way I was going to let go of his betrayal so easily. And to think that Aurelia had a hand in everything that happened.''Ivy,'' Emily called quietly, trying to hold my hand in hers, ''You know you're still serving your jail term. And the law is definitely not going to allow you spend much time with your kids. Do you really want to keep them away from their father?''I swallowed hard at her question. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to spend the time I needed with my babies made me heartbroken and loathe Jordan even more. I hated the fact that he was depriving me of everything I wanted the most. And I hated that he was still out there, free and unbothered about everything. While I was in here, fighting for my life and freedom.''I want you to keep them,'' I announced to her suddenly, grabbing her hands tightly as she stared at me in bewilderment. ''I want you to have custody of my babies. It's better than allowing them stay with Jordan and my step sister,''''I… I can't do that, Ivy,'' Emily muttered slowly, turning her face away from mine, as she drew slowly, the little blanket covering my baby in her arms ''Jordan needs to be informed. I can't take custody of these kids when their father is still healthy and alive,''''He's not going to care for them,'' I cried out in frustration, feeling my heart beating faster than normal, ''How will I ever have my revenge on him, when he takes custody of my kids? I need them far away from him as possible,'' I wished she knew how I was feeling, and how desperate I was more than I sounded. There was no way I was going to let Jordan know about our babies. The only thing that rang in my head while I stared at my newborn babies was revenge, and I was going to stop at nothing to get it.______________________________________I was allowed only a week with my babies, and afterwards I was taken back to my cell. The tears that flowed from my eyes as I bade my little treasures goodbye was overwhelming, and I couldn't hold back my emotions.Emily had finally agreed to take them in. We both gave the twin their names - Kyle and Khloe. And I, being fully happy and indebted to her, promised to pay her back as soon as I was done serving my jail term.It wasn't easy to keep the pregnancy and news of my delivery away from everyone. Neither was it easy to keep their mouths shut from announcing it to Jordan. It actually took a lot more than threats, and more money for them to agree.One could imagine the pain that cut through my heart when I realized I wasn't going to see the outside world till after ten years. I was going to spend ten years in jail for a crime I knew nothing about.Two weeks after I delivered my babies, Jordan paid me a visit in prison. At first, I felt the urge to tell him about our kids, but then I realized he didn't come to meet me alone, he was with my stepsister - Aurelia.''Ivy,''Aurelia's shrill, tiny voice called slowly as I approached the both of them where they were waiting for me. She had her blonde hair packed up in a bun, and her stomach looked slightly big. Moving closer to observe her, I noticed it wasn't just big, but her bump was visible. Aurelia was pregnant!The sad look in my eyes was visible. I saw Jordan wearing another ring on his finger and recognized it wasn't the one we used in exchanging our wedding vows. Curiousity taking the best of me, my eyes darted to my stepsister's, she had the same ring on!So their wedding rumours were true? Gathering my strength and trying all I could to remain calm, I sat quietly on my chair, turning my face away from them. Had they come to mock me? Taunt me? Show their wedding and newfound love in my face? Was that why they were here?''We came to inform you about our wedding,'' Aurelia said to me calmly, sounding low, yet with confidence, ''Jordan and I got married two weeks ago,''I swallowed hard at her words. Of course I knew the day they got married, that was the same day I had my babies. It was such an annoying coincidence.''We just thought the need to inform you,'' Aurelia continued, without Jordan saying a word to assist her speech, ''We hope you'll take it with good faith and be happy for us,''I snickered. Be happy for them? Was she being serious? How could I be happy when they both stabbed me in the back this much? There was no way I could even pretend to be happy for them.''Are you guys done talking?'' I asked, turning to face them squarely while suddenly regretting why I had agreed to meet them, ''Are you backstabbers done talking?''''Ivy, you can't–''''Don't you even dare speak to me,''I cut in, warning and pointing at Jordan as he tried to talk to me. ''You have no right whatsoever to utter anything to me,''''Baby, I've got this,''I heard Aurelia say quietly as she squeezed Jordan's hands tightly to refrain him from speaking further. My blood was beginning to boil, and the only thing I started thinking of was how I was going to make them pay for everything they were doing to me right now.''I know you're mad at us, Ivy,'' she continued speaking, looking me directly in the eyes, ''But you can't change what have happened. Jordan and I loved each other right from the beginning but we just had to play along with what father wanted,''How dare she drag my father into this? After they had him murdered in cold blood, I was being dragged into their mess. They both had everything planned from the onset and was finding innocent people to put the blame on.''You have no right to call him father,'' I grunted through gritted teeth, hitting the table hard with my tightened fists. But it turned out Aurelia wasn't scared or moved by my actions at all. Rather, she leaned closer to me and replied,''I loved him like he was my biological father,'' she uttered defiantly, staring down at me, ''You were the one who went against your own family just to be with a man. You ignored your own father even on his sickbed until you decided to end his life with your hands,''I wanted everything she said to be a lie. I wished all she had just said wasn't the plain, sad and bitter truth, but it was. All she said was the truth except the last part - i didn't kill my father.''I didn't kill my father,'' I drew the words slowly, emphasizing on every word that came out of my mouth, ''Don't ever try to put that blame on me again,''''Well, it doesn't matter now, Sis,'' she uttered, smiling in satisfaction as she tilted her head backwards to rest on Jordan's shoulders, ''Sadly, the law has found you guilty as charged. That means you'll be spending some years here. How many years was it again, Baby?''She threw the question at Jordan, who had his full gaze to me. Turning to reply her, he said,''Ten years,''''Yeah, ten years. Thanks for reminding me,'' a broad grin broke at the corners of her lips as she kissed him on the cheeks, before returning her attention to me, ''Too bad, you're going to be spending ten years in this awful place, while I'm back in your mansion, as the new Mrs. Williams. Life happens and switches fast, right Ivy?''I couldn't hold the anger and pain I was feeling anymore. Standing up abruptly from my seat, I moved closer to Aurelia and slapped her hard across the face while panting hard. Emily rushed to me as she was standing at a distance and held me tightly, while pulling me away from them.''You're not allowed to do this, Ivy,''Emily reminded me, while offering words of apologies to Aurelia. I was more than irritated.''How dare you hit my wife?'' Jordan barked at me, holding Aurelia tightly on the waist as they both stood up from their seats. I wasn't expecting her to cry from the hit, but I was even more annoyed to see her laughing out in scorn. That girl was a demon!''Really, Ivy? Is this all you can do to me? A slap? You're much more dumber than I thought,'' she uttered to me mockingly, flipping her hair backwards dramatically.She moved closer to where I was held, and made actions like she was going to whisper in my ears, but instead, she pulled me forcefully by the hair,''The next time you raise your filthy hands to me again, I'm going to make sure it becomes your last day on earth,'' she threatened, sounding scary and stern. I yelped out in pain as Emily tried pulling her away from me, but she couldn't due to Aurelia's strong grip. I only got my stamina back after she pulled away from me roughly.''Let's go, baby. Our work here is done,''She announced to Jordan who had been standing there all along without doing anything. I stared daggers at him while panting hard he obeyed and walked after her. Watching Aurelia walk out with confidence while I remained locked in here broke me so badly. The tears I had been holding started streaming down my cheeks and fell even harder as I heard from Jordan,''Goodbye, Ivy,''My life in prison was a living nightmare. Aside the fact that I had nobody to visit me, I felt even more heartbroken that I couldn't see my babies. Emily brought them to visit me a few times, but after three years of doing so, she suddenly stopped.I got curious and questioned why she no longer brought them to visit me. She waved me off in reply that people around were beginning to get suspicious, and that it would be best if the twins remained hidden till I was done serving my term. It was hard for me to accept the choice given, but there was nothing I could do.Slowly, I found myself adjusting to my fate. I managed to make a few friends in prison, and it felt amazing. One of them was a young, pretty girl named Cindy. She was a year older than me, and somehow we had the same awful fate. Her husband, who was a well known doctor, was caught by her having an affair with her young cousin. Cindy had got mad, and without thinking twice, had a knife in and out of his body repeatedly, making
_____SEVEN YEARS LATER_____''You're free to go now, Mrs. Ivy,''Hearing those words as the place I had lived for ten years was finally opened for me to step outside freely. I walked out of my cell slowly, taking one step at a time. This was my happy moment, and I was taking my time to relish the feeling.Tears of happiness streamed down my cheeks while walking out to the counter. I could finally see my babies, and most importantly, I was finally going to get my revenge on those who betrayed me.Cindy cried in happiness at my release, but was sad at the same time. She had an extra year before she could get released, and I was looking forward to seeing her outside as a friend and sister. Laura couldn't stop shedding tears, and I had to turn my face away with a throbbing heart to prevent my tears fall endlessly with hers. Kissing both of them goodbye, I set out for my journey into the unknown.''Finally,'' I exclaimed while staring at the bright sun hovering in the sky, ''I'm free,''*
I could perceive the sweet aroma of the food he was preparing all the way from my room. And it made my stomach rumble in hunger. Honestly, I couldn't wait to have a bite of the food neither could I even care much about the way it was made.As expected, he came back to the room where he had left me, and announced that dinner was ready. I jumped to my feet in delight, but maintained my composure once I noticed he was watching me closely.The pasta he had prepared tasted just as nice as it looked on the dish. I couldn't help myself from eating like the hungry prisoner I was. Eating with this male stranger who had gone out of his way to prepare dinner for me brought back a lot of awful memories from the past I was forcing to forget. It slowly crept into me that all through the two years of marriage with Jordan, we never had a meal together. And I suddenly felt stabs of hurt and anger in my belly.''Do you like the food?'' he asked me, staring and watching my every move as I ate hurriedly.
I froze at a spot for several minutes, refusing to respond to his question. My heart was beating at a faster pace than usual, and my whole body kept shuddering in fear.''Why are you in here, Valerie?''I heard Tristan's voice ask me for the second time. His voice was more tensed and I could sense a hint of fury in it. I swallowed the lump I felt in my throat while slowly dropping his property I was holding in my hand quietly into it's original place.I struggled to get to my feet, fighting off every possible fear I felt. He was going to scold me and even hurt me, but I knew I deserved it. Coming into a place restricted to strangers like me was crossing beyond boundaries.Tristan walked slowly to my sides, bending over a little bit to pick up the box I had bumped into. I managed to look up at him, and I saw the controlled calmness in his eyes. For some strange reason, he didn't appear mad or angry at all. Or maybe he was trying so hard to suppress his emotions.''I…I just wanted to–''
The next few weeks I spent with Tristan at his place was the most beautiful moments of my life. And for the first time in forever, I finally knew and felt what it looked like to really have someone by your side. Someone who truly cared about you.I had gotten a whole new look to match with my new identity. For the record, I was no longer the timid, naive Ivy Winters. I was now the brave, fearless Valerie who made heads of both genders turn, and made several others shake with fear.I was going to take my time to go after Jordan, Aurelia, and my sly stepmother. And the plans were already mapped out. Emily also needed to be found, so I could get back the custody of my kids. And while I was busy trying to make a huge comeback on the Williams family, Tristan was trying his best to help me fish out Emily from where she was hiding.A reliable source had informed me about Jordan and Aurelia's daughter - Hailey. After her first miscarriage, Hailey was brought into the world after three years o
I spent the next few days shopping and preparing for what I was going to wear. I needed something so oblivious, yet visible enough to catch the attention of everyone especially my preys.The perfect look for me was achieved. And I found the perfect dress that suited my personality and taste. A red long gown that stuck up to my body, showing off my figure. The chest area was lacy, and also adorned with silver. It was just the perfect dress for me to wear to the occasion.It felt like I was more excited than Tristan. And of course, this was my cup of tea. All he had to do was play along with me and help the best way he could.*****Saturday evening came slower than I expected. Maybe it was because I looked forward to it with so much anxiety. I got ready in time and spent the next few hours of my time standing and observing my whole look in front of my dressing mirror.''Valerie King,''I muttered, staring at my reflection on the mirror, and trying to act like the real owner of the n
I held my neck up high, slowly veering round to face her. Her hand was still on my shoulders, awaiting my face reveal.Suddenly, Tristan walked into the picture and pulled Aurelia's hands away from me. I gasped out in shock and stared at him. He had his gaze on me, and appeared to be annoyed.''We have to leave now, babe,''He said to me with gritted teeth, holding my head in a spot I couldn't move from.I heard Aurelia muttered something under her breath as she turned to Tristan. ''I'm so sorry,'' I heard her apologize, ''I didn't mean to disturb your wife. I was asking her if she had seen my daughter, and I felt she looked familiar,''I couldn't utter a word, and still remained speechless. Tristan waves her off and grabbed my hand firmly. Aurelia proceeded to walk towards the hallway where Hailey had ran off to. And while she turned to leave, she tried catching a glimpse of my face, but Tristan pulled me into his hold before I could even move or speak.Disappointed, Aurelia muttere
I spent the next few days hiding in the shadows. After hearing the information that Jordan and Aurelia had killed me, I decided it was better for me to tread with caution.Hiding didn't stop me from mapping out plans. And in fact, Tristan had already gotten useful information about Emily's address.''She's moved to Baltimore.'' he disclosed to me one sunny afternoon, while I was relaxing in his study, ''And from what I heard, she's got nobody living with her.''My heart raced with fear. What could that possibly mean? What happened to my babies i left with her?''It can't be.'' I muttered to myself, nodding my head in disapproval, ''I entrusted Kylie and Khloe to her care. How can she be living alone?''Tristan clicked his tongue while pulling a seat next to me in the study. I was deeply engrossed in my thoughts, and I felt the deep urge to find Emily and rip out her hair.''You have to stay calm, Valerie.'' Tristan reminded me, seeing the sudden anger that was beginning to cloud my fa