CALEB I swallowed hard as all eyes were directed towards my father and I. He seethed in fury and took heavy steps towards me, his eyes burning in rage. I remained fixed on the spot, not bulging despite the horrified screams coming from my aunt. Dad got to where I stood and grabbed me by the collar. “What the hell do you think you are doing here, haven’t I told you never to set your feet in my house again?” His hot breath fanned my face. I remained mute and stared blankly at him. He had every right to be angry at me. “You wanted the company, right? You have it now, you wanted that company in exchange for your own family,” dad spat, tightening his grip around my collar. My throat tightened and the flow of oxygen around my body became distorted. “Oh my God!” my mom’s horrific scream sliced through the air as she sprinted towards us and grabbed my dad’s shoulder, shaking him with every ounce of strength in her. My dad was heavier and stronger than her, so, a
ROSY I sighed and slipped into the SUV parked outside the inauguration center. “You must be very tired,” Evan chuckled from the driver’s seat and I smiled tiredly. Evan stuck to his decision of being my driver. He resigned from his job in Cuba and became my driver, one of the best drivers I have ever employed. “Why don’t you want people to know about our relationship?” I asked. He pulled to a violent stop, taken aback by my sudden question. “Let’s keep it a secret for now, I don’t want your rivals to use it against you,” Evan replied. “Does it matter, what’s anyone’s business with my private life?” I scoffed. “Your life concerns everyone now, you have become a celebrity,” he laughed. I blushed and twirled the ringlets on my hair. “You have a surprise waiting at home,” Evan muttered and I groaned. “I’m sick of surprises, I just want to be left alone,” I winced. “Don’t worry, this will be your last surprise.” He swerved into the driveway and I stepped out of th
ROSYMy eyes were shut as Veronica touched up my face. Did I just say touch-up? I have been sitting in front of the dressing mirror for an hour and yet it doesn’t seem like it is going to end soon. “You are going to look like the princess of the Connor group of companies that you are,” Veronica bragged and popped a bubble gum. I sighed and groaned loudly, “When is this going to end?” “Uhm… ugh… in an hour or two.” I snapped my eyes open and set my head sharply in her direction. Her lips pursed out as she stared at me. “I don’t have time, Veronica,” I rebuffed. She turned up her lips in disgust and gave me an eye roll. “Keep calm, I want to make sure that you will be the most beautiful woman in that conference,” she chimed, dabbing a rogue on my cheeks. “Be fast about this, Veronica.” “I know, I know,” she repeated, waving her hands in the air. “I have three hours…” “You don’t have to say that a million times.” “Veronica, please throw off your bad vibes,
CALEB Our eyes locked and my heart stopped beating. My breath seized and the words of the lady beside me began to swirl around, sounding like a continuous buzzing rhythm. What is she doing here? Why now, why? The collision of our eyes also had a drastic effect on her. Her eyes bored into mine, as we stood like lifeless statues. My mind spun in guilt when those beautiful laughing chestnut eyes changed to rheumy and dead eyes. She shook out of the shock trance and faked a smile towards me. My eyes dimmed in confusion when she took slow strides towards me and stretched out her flawless hand for a handshake. “Hello, Mr. Thompson,” she greeted, showing off her spotless dentistry. I stared down at her hand and averted the abashed stare to her pretentious smiling face. What is going on? Isn’t she supposed to be angry, isn’t she supposed to run away from me? Or perhaps, spit on my face and curse me for betraying her and flinging her away when she needed me the most
ROSY I heard a crash followed by a louder one then a horrific scream. My eyes snapped open and I shot up my head from the tear-drenched pillow. “Caleb? Is that you?” I called out, but my voice only came out as a ghostly whisper. I rubbed my sore throat and cautiously stepped out of the bed that had been my abode for many days. My eyes caught my daughter’s picture and I sobbed, streaks of tears flowing down from my puffy red eyes. I had Sherry two years after my marriage with Caleb. We couldn’t have another baby due to my reckless attitude. Sherry was everything to us, she was our happiness, our joy, and the bedrock of our home. Unlike some kids from wealthy families who turn out to be nasty, Sherry had always been the sweet loving child any parent would wish to have. I and Caleb were the envy of the parents in her middle school. She wasn’t only kindhearted and lovely, she was also the most intelligent in the entire school, and her grades were the best. When she came,
“A divorce… a divorce… a divorce…” I kept stuttering to myself. The glass doors banged together, signifying that he was gone. “A divorce?” I whispered and a bitter teardrop fell off my rheumy eyes. I took in a sharp deep breath to cool my burning lungs and prevent myself from knocking out of a conscious state. Sharp movements from the kitchen startled me. I’m sure it was Mrs. Joyce, she heard every bit of the argument I had with Caleb. I staggered to my feet and slowly gripped the hem of my dress. I shut my eyes and avoided the pictures on the wall, I couldn’t bear to glance at my smiling face on the frame. It felt like poison, a poison I couldn’t elude. I staggered up to the bedroom and collapsed into the bed, tossing and turning in deep grief and pain. How many hours passed after that terrific moment? I couldn’t tell. I hardly glanced at the clock fixed on the cream-colored wall. All I knew was that I fell into a deep sleep that helped to keep me sane for a few hours until a
My eyes slowly snapped open and took in the blinding light rays radiating into the unfamiliar room. I wheezed as the smell of antiseptics swung past my broken nose. “Do you think that act you put on will make me change my mind concerning the divorce?” That was Caleb’s scornful voice. I cranked my head to the opposite side of the direction of his voice. “You better sign the papers, you have until tomorrow,” he grumbled annoyingly. I heard his feet grudgingly shuffle towards the door. I’m sure that the man beside me is not Caleb, he can never be this irritating. Why the hell is he doing this to me? Tears threatened to start a new course but I breathed it in as my mind swung over to Sherry. Perhaps, if he finds out that Sherry is still alive, he will drop the childish behavior. “I saw Sherry,” that was the only reply I gave him. The shuffle stopped and a dead silence fell over the room and lasted for killing minutes. “What did you say?” he finally breathed out, di
She stirred but quickly composed herself and nodded. “Of course.” She walked out of the room in search of a pen. I reached into the drawer and fetched out the papers that Mrs. Joyce had earlier hidden in the drawer from my sight. I flipped through the pages, sniffing. His signature has already been placed, mine was the only one required to officially make us ‘exes’ Gruesomely, my watery eyes scanned the terms of the divorce. I chuckled when I noticed the alimony offered if I accepted the divorce. I had to re-read the papers more than three times before every bit of it sunk in. I was getting a divorce. I was getting a divorce with Caleb. After all my sacrifices and selfishness, I ended up losing him. I sighed and chuckled sadly, the chuckle rose into a horrific laugh that left me choking on my breath. “We are finally getting a divorce, Caleb!” I yelled and laughed, swinging my hair into disarray. The door swung open and Mrs. Joyce scampered into the room, looking mort