Flora woke up the next morning to the sound of knocking on her chamber door.“Yes?!” She asked“Are you decent?”“A moment please.”Flora jumped off the bed and went to the bathroom to wash her face. She knew the voice owner: That was the voice of Mr. Wolfgang! Flora changed her clothes and did her hair then she stood up in the middle of the chamber, head high, straight posture, and severe facial expression:“Please, come in.”Wolfgang came into the room and smirked looking at Flora: She tried to appear solemn and severe but the excitement in her eyes failed her:“How was your night, young lady?”“Cozy, thank you. How have you been, sir?”“You can call me Father. Or don’t. That silly son of mine shall marry you first.”Flora got as red as a cherry and she looked down shyly. He knew she was emotionally entangled with his adopted son! “Calm down Flora. Don’t mess it up this time.” She whispered to herself.“Mr. Wolfgang.” She said to him, “I want to talk with you.”“Here I am.”“First,
- I am sorry, Mrs. Black, but it seems you have six months left to live.That's what the doctor told her and what she was thinking about while brushing her silky black hair. The idea of death was strange, gloomy, and frightening. Yet, for some reason, she felt pity too. Pity for herself.To begin with, she had no reason to be scared of death since she had never been alive! She was only seven when her mother died from a broken heart, some weeks after her father married his mistress. The stepmother made the life of little Flora a living hell.Although Flora tried fruitlessly to get the attention of her father, Her half-sister Bianca was the only child he loved. It was times he forgot her existence. And he was even persuaded by his second wife to sell his older daughter to Jack Black, the Boss of the largest Mafia group in the city. Flora was only twenty one. She thought this may be her opportunity to live as a decent human being, but she was wrong.So here she is! Two days after knowing
Flora prepared her back bag. She just put her passport, her Mother's jewels, and some clothes. Then, Flora sneaked out of the house under the darkness of night. She managed to pass the bodyguards. Then, she walked through the enormous gardens surrounding the mansion.It was not that hard, given her petite shape and fit body. Yet, she felt ominous. Something was amiss. Like, why did she only encounter four guards?Her heart was never wrong, and she knew it. So she felt no surprise seeing Jack standing in her way with a bunch of guards.“Look at this little, pitiful pet trying to run away from her cage ! How cute !” He laughed.Clearly, in the next few minutes, she was chained in the dungeon. She always knew there was such a place in the mansion, given the cries she sometimes heard on cold nights. But she never imagined it was that dark and murky. Her chocolate-brown eyes needed a couple of minutes to get used to the darkness, so she would start to see her surroundings. She got chained
There was no difference between morning and night anymore. Nor was she able to distinguish reality from nightmares. Every time, there was only pain. Every moment, there was only dark desperation and misery. Her stomach didn't become any better. She collapsed more than once. Yet, Jack didn't care. The more she was in pain, the more his pleasure grew. Regularly, two old maids and a pretty blond nurse would visit her to take care of her old injuries and prepare her for the new ones. No matter how much she would beg them or the guards, no one was ready to help her. Helping her was a suicide. They knew it well: Jack would drink the blood of that fool who may dare approach his beloved doll. And maybe they were discreetly grateful for sacrificing the young lady to the boss, for his attitude became much softer since he put her in that torture cage. After seven days of hell, Flora ceased responding to her mad husband's violence: Her body reacted slightly. Her eyes teared. Her heart beat har
Jack was about to visit his doll when he felt something unfamiliar in the air. It felt as if an outsider was wandering in his house. Feeling uncomfortable, he rushed to Flora's chamber to find her vomiting black, thick blood. "Flora!" He cried, refusing to believe. She looked pale as a corpse. And then, she fainted like a dead flower. It was clear that she was dying. Jack held her shouting her name in vain. So he carried her in his strong arms and hurried to his RangeRover. In minutes, Flora was in the ER getting diagnosed. After minutes a doctor came out of the ER asking for the patient's family. Jack jumped from his seat:- I am her husband! Doctor, what the hell is wrong with her?!The Doctor tried his best to conceal his disdain for that wife-bitter:- Did you know about your wife's health condition, sir?- What health condition?- Her stomach cancer.- Yes, I did. The doctor said she won't be able to live more than six months.- Sorry?! Well, can I ask you then why a terminally il
“What a beautiful windy day,” said flora after finishing cleaning the shop. She felt refreshed and happy. Jasmine flowers were blooming flagrantly. The fragrance relaxed Flora’s nerves and boosted her oxytocin.She rearranged the flowers in the front of the shop. Rearranging is not an obvious effort, but its results influence the clients a lot. That's what Flora learned, working in this small flower shop for some weeks. Her health was getting much better, her soul too. Flora sat by the window and smiled peacefully. After some minutes she heard the door’s bell: The owner of the shop came in:“I have some goodies here!” Said Mielle while lifting the sweets box. - You didn’t have to tire yourself, dear! replied Flora!- No, I don’t have to. I rather want to! You have been doing great job since you started working here. I must be thankful! I have never seen the shop that clean in my life!The two girls laughed then Flora explained:- I used to take care of the garden and veranda when I
“What is that, for God’s sake?!” Mielle asked, one day, pointing to an envelope Flora was holding: - Well! A client just came to drop it here. - Which client? - The young man who visited days ago and bought a bouquet for the girl he wanted to dump. - Oh dear! Mielle took the envelope and opened it immediately. There were two letters: One to the "Black-haired florist”, that was Flora. The second to the “Dark-honey lady”, who was Mielle, given her brown skin. There were also two train tickets. It was the most luxurious train in the world: the Orient Express! - I can’t believe my eyes, murmured Mielle, shocked. Two Orient Express tickets, for a journey from Paris to Istanbul, worth more than thirty thousand dollars! - He said this is his way of thanking us. I think that bouquet saved his life! - That man must be a billionaire to drop those precious tickets like that to strangers, just as a tip! - He must be... - What's wrong, sweety? You look perplexed. Do you think he may be o
Claude Knightly.Flora knows for sure who Claude was. She heard her father and even Jack talking about him many times. Claude is the wealthiest man in the city. He's a young billionaire, who came from a respectable family. But he built his riches by himself, from scratch.He's a legend.And that legend risked his life and position to save her.She met him once when they were children. She did him a favor. But it wasn't the thing that may drive a man who had too much to lose into such danger.What a strange man!Flora drank her tea. Then feeling her head relaxed, she moved to the lounge area. She sat on a fluffy sofa and closed her eyes to chill. The pianist was still playing the Moonlight Sonata.While relaxing, Flora felt someone sitting near her. She opened her eyes thinking that Claude is back. Instead, she found an elegant lady who was reading a book.Not just a book. It was A Murder On The Orient Express. Flora was astonished. She adores this book!-You have such an elegant taste