"What the hell are you doing?" I exclaimed while wiping the water off my face.
"It's morning, lazy bones. Time to get up and seize the day," Leo responded, his eyes scanning my body. I hurriedly adjusted my clothes, just in case he had any funny ideas in mind.
"Whose clothes are these?" he pointed at my outfit.
"I found them on the shelf," I answered.
"Fine, get out of bed. We have things to do today," he reiterated, walking out this time.
I reached for my phone, which had been turned off since the previous day. I transferred the pictures from the day before onto my phone and sent a few to my parents and Raya.
Not long after, my phone buzzed with Raya's call.
"Sarah, you scared me to death! I thought something had happened to you," Raya'svoice filled with worry and concern.
"What are those pictures you sent? And who is that man?" Raya inquired.
I proceeded to explain everything that had occurred the previous day and how the pictures came about. In turn, Raya shared her side of the story.
"Anthonio woke up shortly after you left and went ballistic, searching everywhere for you. Luckily, he had no idea I was the one who knocked him out. Your parents, on the other hand, accused me of being in on your escape, even though I denied it. Right now, they despise me for not stopping you. It's a complete disaster!" Raya recounted.
I absorbed every detail Raya shared, grateful for her help. But I still had no idea what my next move should be after leaving Leo's house. Returning to my parents was out of the question, as they would surely disown me.
"What are you going to do now, Sarah? I'm so worried," Raya expressed, as if reading my thoughts.
"I don't know yet, but I'll figure something out," I responded.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of Leo's car leaving the house. I wondered where he was headed. Ending the call with Raya, I searched for somethingto occupy my time and avoid being accused of laziness by Leo.
As I prepared to leave the room, my eyes landed on a small, beautiful box sitting on the table. Curiosity got the best of me, and I couldn't resist opening it. Inside, I discovered old pictures of children. I could easily recognize Leo in all of them, but then I stumbled upon something that caught my attention.
One particular photo depicted Leo and a young boy. Despite being a child's photo, the resemblance between the boy and my boyfriend, Julian, was uncanny. I had been desperately trying to reach Julian, but all my calls went unanswered ever since he went abroad six months ago. The past three weeks had been especially agonizing without any contact.
I stared at the photo for what felt like an eternity, my mind racing to make sense of it all. Eventually, I carefully placed the pictures back into the box, returning it to its original spot on the table. Just as I was about to leave the room, I heard Leo's car pull back into the compound. I quickly made my way to the bathroom to take a shower, ensuring I was fully dressed before exiting.
To my surprise, upon opening the door, I realized I had forgotten to put on any clothes.
"Oh, shit!" I exclaimed, instinctively covering myself with a towel.
Leo's eyes widened as he walked in on the unexpected scene.
"Why are you here?" I demanded, holding the towel tightly to my body.
"This is my house, I don't need your permission to go wherever I want," he retorted, removing his hands from his face.
"Why the hell were you walking around naked?"
"You should be apologizing for invading my privacy!" I glared at him, annoyance bubbling up inside me. I wanted to scream at him to get out, but then I remembered that I was no longer under my father's roof.
"Dress up and come downstairs for breakfast," he ordered before promptly shutting the door.
******************
"Who is that witch that has enchanted you? Bring her out right now!" a fierce voice echoed through the house.
A woman had arrived and was shouting from outside the gate, her voice carrying all the way to the living room. I had just finished clearing the breakfast dishes and was in the kitchen when I heard the commotion. Stepping out, I revealed myself to the unfamiliar woman.
"What are you doing here?" her hostile expression made it clear I was in trouble.
She approached me, scrutinizing me from head to toe like I was a piece of trash.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded once again.
I didn't know who this woman was, but something told me she might be Leo's mother. I silently prayed that Leo would appear and save me from this predicament.
"I'm talking to you!" She grabbed my hands and shook me forcefully.
"Let go of her!" Leo's voice boomed, answering my prayers. He stormed down the stairs and pulled me away from the woman's grip, positioning me safely behind him.
"So, this is the thing you left Clara for, huh?" the woman sneered, her words slicing through me like a blade.
"I'd rather be with this 'thing' than with Clara," Leo emphasized the word, defending me against the woman's accusations.
SLAP!
She slapped my husband, well, my fake husband.
"Do you know how much effort I put into planning that wedding? But you ruined it all because of a whore!" she spat venomously.
Anger consumed me in an instant. I stepped forward, no longer hiding behind Leo.
"I may not be your ideal woman, but I will not let you disrespect me!" I declared defiantly, ready to defend myself.
She lunged towards me, her hand raised as if she was going to strike me as she did to Leo. But I swiftly grabbed her hand, holding it firmly in mid-air.
"That's enough! Both of you!" Leo's voice boomed, commanding authority.
I released the woman's hand, allowing it to drop back to her side.
"Mum, please leave," Leo spoke calmly this time.
"And you're telling me to leave because of this woman? You're taking her side now?" The woman's voice trembled, but I could sense the fake act she was putting on.
"This is not just any woman, Mum. She's my wife!"
LEO I never meant a word of what I said, but I had to convince my mom that I was truly married to Sarah. She stormed out of the house, disappointed in me. But I couldn't let Sarah go. We needed to keep up the charade or my mom would never give me a moment's peace. "I have to go, we're not married anyway. I have a job to get back to. Thanks for everything," Sarah said, breaking my heart. "You can stay with me at my place if you don't have anywhere else to go. Unless you want to go back to your old man," I begged, desperately trying to convince her to stay. "Thank you, but I can't," she objected, her voice filled with uncertainty. "What would you tell your parents when they found out it was all a lie? You can go to work from my place, I don't mind," I pressed, trying to sway her. She fell into silence, and it seemed like I was getting through to her. "Fine," she finally acquiesced. ***** We left for my house at noon. Sarah was unusually quiet during the journey, only speaking up
SARAHSleeping all through the journey, I found myself in front of another mansion. I sleepily opened my eyes and rubbed them with the back of my palms. I sat up and examined the environment."Oh my goodness!!" I exclaimed in awe, admiring the place.Leo was not seated on the driver's seat and I also could not find him anywhere around. Moments later, I could see him standing at the door of the entrance to the house, and it seemed like he was on a phone call. Suddenly, a young lady in her late 30s stepped out and hugged him. I instantly got annoyed, but I didn't know why."Don't be silly young lady, he's not your boyfriend, neither is he your husband" I cautioned myself and slapped my face.He began to approach me and I rested my head on the seat, pretending to be asleep. "Sleeping beauty" he called, gently knocking on the windscreen.I sharply opened my eyes as I thought my ears were not functioning properly"What did you say?" I asked, wanting to be sure of wha
SARAH.Standing in the living room, which was as quiet as a graveyard, I could neither see my mum nor my dad. I sat on the sofa, determined to give them a piece of my mind. About 10 minutes later, I heard my dad's car drive into the compound. I peeped through the window and saw him walking upstairs into the living room. I went back to the sofa and stood in front of it, and crossed my hands on my bosom. My dad walked in, holding a briefcase in his right hand. He dropped it on the sofa and removed his sunglasses, in a bid to have a proper view of who stood in front of him."My Child!" He stretched his hands as he drew close to me.I moved away, not letting him touch me. I was very furious."I'm not here to be peaceful with you, because you planned to sell me off to an old fool. I'm more mad at you right now than I am at mum". "I'm sorry Sarah, we can make amends"."That's not why I'm here. I'm more concerned about why your wife would lay her hands on Raya. What di
SARAH"Lilian please, I'm sorry…" He called her, but she did not stop moving He ran in front of her, blocking the entrance to her room."Sorry for what Leo, You didn't do anything," Lilian replied."I did everything Lilly, and I'm regretting it." His voice was full of remorse."Leo please, out of my way!" She yelled, but it didn't make him move."Lilly please, I'm sorry." He pleaded again."You shouldn't be apologizing for that slot, and she doesn't deserve you."Leo nodded, accepting whatever she said. "Come here," Lilian said, grabbing his hand.I was already seated in the dining room, and I watched them from there. They both joined me in the dining and Leo sat next to me "What was that all about?." Lilian asked.This question made it look as if it turned Leo deaf as he just turned his face away and stared at the open window instead. "I'm talking to you Leo, what was Clara talking about?." Lilian asked him again. "Sh…she claims to be pregnant with my child.
SARAH I flipped through the pages of the album and saw more pictures of him."Do you know this man?." I asked Lilian, who was busy looking for something.She stopped what she was doing and joined me on the bed, sitting very close to me. Looking into the album in my hands, she exclaimed:"Ohh.. that's Julian, he's Leo's direct cousin. Is it right to say he's my step-cousin?." She chuckled. My jaw dropped. Right in the album was Julian, my boyfriend whom I hadn't heard from for a while.My mouth was opened to speak, but no words came out. I felt like my mouth was glued. Lilian noticed how odd I looked, and she asked:"Is there a problem?""No.. not at all. I'm fine." I replied, shaking my head in the negative. "He's in Canada right now, but he'll be returning by the end of this month. And I'd love you to meet him, he's nice." I just nodded my head and faked a laugh. Julian never told me he had relatives within. I only got to meet his mother and younger sister w
LEO.Driving through the busy road, I got stuck in traffic. There was a crime scene ahead of me and it seemed like I would have to spend some more minutes on the road before I could get going.I stepped down from my car and walked over to the scene, curious to know what had happened. I was really tired and needed to get home and rest my head.Suddenly, I felt a tight grip on my hand, and I turned around to find a young lady with a blood stain on her head. I was shocked but I tried to hide it."You're Leo right, Leo Limbert?." She asked, wearing a weak smile."Where is your wife? Sorry, I mean Sarah, where is she?."I didn't know if I was to answer her or free myself from her grip."Who's this strange woman?." I said to myself.She must have seen the surprise that took over my face, as she let go of me and spoke rather calmly this time."I'm Raya, and I'm a friend of your wife." She introduced herself.As she spoke, I caught sight of Sarah standing by the roadsid
SARAHI escorted Raya to her place and we were told that the police had not caught the culprit. However, the police promised to keep us updated on the case. I tried to convince Raya to stay at Leo's place for a while but she insisted on staying in her apartment, assuring me that she would be fine. Together, we tidied up the mess in her apartment and I rushed back home when I got a call from Lilian.The house was on fire when I arrived and I got to see some members of Leo's family."Where's your wife?" Was the first thing I heard when I approached the door.I stood by the door for a few minutes, eavesdropping on their conversation."She'll soon be here." I heard Leo reply"I'm not a man of war, and I hate trouble. Look how great a family we are on the outside, but right inside here, we're a total mess." The first voice I heard spoke again, and I assumed it was Leo's father."You brought us into this mess Dad, and you know it." An unfamiliar feminine voice sp
LEOI withdrew myself from her and realized that I had been kissing her. I wondered what had come over me to be kissing a woman that I barely knew. "You should go. I'm fine, but I need to rest."All she did was nod and reluctantly, she stood from the bed and headed to the door. "If you need anything, you can call me." She said after which she exited my room.I threw myself on the bed, counting the invisible stars that rested on the ceiling. I got lost in thoughts, thinking how I got trapped in a big mess at a very young age. My mother's unnecessary fight with my stepmom, Cora's aim to run the company herself, and her belief that I don't deserve anything better than what she has, Lilian's support, regarding the fact that her immediate family hated me so much. She was the only one who understood me.Clara's accusation of me getting her pregnant was what I found difficult to accept, but I could not deny it because I was very sure that we had sex on a rough crazy night