“Get the first aid kit!” he shouted at the chief maid, who had just returned from the hospital that morning. He had been with Christian when they heard her scream. The maid hurried to her drawer, but there was nothing there.
“Go to my room!” Christian yelled angrily at the old man, who immediately ran out of the room to fetch it. He turned back to Clarisse. “Breathe, Ari, you’ll be fine,” he said, but as he blew air on her, it wasn’t helping. The pain was excruciating and relentless.
He trembled as he wished he could take her pain away instantly, patting and rubbing her shoulder while continuing to blow air on it, but she kept crying out in pain.
“I’m so sorry,” he heard her voice apologize, and in the next instant, his hand was on her neck, tightening around her throat. In a flash, Christian transformed before their eyes. She no longer saw the Christian she knew. Instead, she saw a man consumed by darkness, with eyes full of murderous intent. The glare and fury in his eyes made her tremble in fear.
She struggled, slapping his hand in desperation. Tears began to run down her cheeks as she saw death staring her in the face. She couldn’t even utter a word of mercy, but her eyes and hands were pleading for it as he continued to strangle her.
Clarisse saw this, and her eyes widened in horror and fear.
“Stop!” she cried, but her words fell on deaf ears. “Please, stop!” she shouted, but it was indistinguishable to him.
Hot tears fell from Sandra’s eyes as she felt her life slipping away, her vision growing blurry. Her eyes began to close slowly.
At that moment, the chief maid ran in. The first aid kit slipped from his hands as he witnessed the scene, a memory from years ago flashing before his eyes. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor.
“Don’t, please!” he whispered as he kneeled.
“Stop, Christian!” Clarisse screamed. In an instant, his hand released Sandra’s neck, and she immediately fell to the floor, unconscious.
His breath trembled as he turned back to Clarisse, looking at her as she panted. She was in pain, but at the same time, in shock. She had just seen the real side of him.
Twenty minutes later, Clarisse pulled her hand out of the cool water.
“Do you feel better?” he asked worriedly, and she nodded.
“Thank goodness,” he said, taking her back to the room, which was now tidied up. The tiles had been mopped, and the broken glass had been cleaned up, including the mess from Sandra. There was no longer anyone in the room when they came out of the bathroom. Gently, like a baby, he sat her down and gave her pain reliever medicine, which she took. After she was done, he took the cup of water from her and noticed she was avoiding his gaze.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, thank you,” she replied.
“And I’m sorry for startling you earlier,” he said, squatting before her. Now their eyes met.
After what had happened earlier, she thought she’d never be able to look him in the eyes again. But as he squatted before her, their eyes locked, and she couldn’t look away. Apart from his eyes being captivating, they held so many emotions that drew her in. What she had seen before was a man who was worried about her. Even though she didn’t want to believe he cared about her, she couldn’t completely disregard the thought of him being concerned for her. After staring into each other’s eyes for a few seconds, she suddenly found those eyes familiar-so familiar that she furrowed her brow. They weren’t just familiar; they carried familiar emotions as well. She was certain she had seen those eyes somewhere before. The same pair of eyes that held so many feelings and emotions, especially the one she was staring at in that moment-loneliness.
She wanted to reach out and touch his cheeks but struggled to control her hands. He then stood up, pulling her back to reality.
“Come in,” he said, and the chief maid walked in.
Has he been outside all this time? Clarisse was surprised.
He took the package with him and handed it over to her. “Here.”
“What’s this?” she asked, reluctantly taking it from him.
“The old man will explain how to use it. He’ll also pass on other information to you. I should leave you to rest now,” he said before walking away, not giving her a chance to say anything else.
She quickly turned to Clinton.
“What’s this?”
“You can unpack it, ma’am, to see,” he said with a smile. She impatiently ripped the package apart, revealing an item that took her breath away.
Before her was the most expensive phone-the Falcon Supernova iPhone 6 pink diamond. Her jaw dropped as she stared at it, unable to touch it. She had no idea how expensive it was, but just the mere sight of it made her realize that this phone could buy her if she were to be sold.
“I… I can’t take this,” she quickly extended it back to Clinton, who shook his head and gave her a side-eye.
“After earlier, I don’t think you should say no to him,” he reminded her, and it dawned on her that, if anything, she shouldn’t try to make him angry.
Even though it made her uncomfortable, she knew she had no choice.
“Let me show you how to use it, ma’am,” he said again, with that smile that annoyed her.
Slowly, Sandra flickered her eyes open to a familiar room. She groaned as she managed to sit up, realizing she was back in the maid’s quarters. Her heart jumped when she saw Blue-she looked pale and thin.
“Hi, Sandra,” Blue greeted as soon as their eyes met.
“Blue,” Sandra called, quickly faking a smile. “Heard what happened? Are you okay?”
“Hm,” Blue nodded. “I am, even though I nearly died.” She looked at Sandra intently.
“What happened? I was so shocked and worried,” Sandra asked.
“Are you?” Blue sounded clueless as she glanced at her bruised neck, which she ignored. “I drank the tea you prepared for our boss.”
“The… the tea?”
“Yes, the tea, Sandra.”
“Woah! Sorry, you must’ve drank it on an empty stomach.”
“You think so?” Blue scoffed.
“Of course, I…” Sandra chuckled awkwardly, trying not to meet her eyes.
“The doctor said the tea was poisoned, Sandra.”
“Hey, that’s not possible.”
“Stop, Sandra, stop pretending,” Blue said, getting irritated by her pretense.
“Stop what?”
“Don’t you think you owe me an explanation? The boss’s tea was poisoned, I drank the tea meant for her,” she said, her heart breaking. She couldn’t believe she was having such a conversation with her close friend, more like the only friend she had.
Sandra bowed her head, unable to look at her. She knew she had been caught.
“Why? Why did you do it? You tried to kill someone, Sandra,” Blue said, her voice filled with disbelief.
“So?” Sandra glared up nonchalantly.
“Yes, so? I liked him first. I’ve liked him for a long time, and you know it.”
“Don’t tell me… it’s because of the master?” Blue asked, looking for some sort of explanation. When she looked away, she got her answer.
“Are you crazy?” Blue yelled. “What are you thinking? What the heck were you thinking?”
“What?”
“How could you even think you’d ever have a chance with him, let alone do something that devious all because of a man?”
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Sandra yelled back.
“You did, Sandra. You almost took a life.”
“But I didn’t.”
Blue’s shoulders slumped. “Who are you?”
“I’m not like you, Blue. I don’t have siblings or a family like you. I’m an orphan. No one knows whether I’m dead or alive, and I’ve got to hustle for myself.”
“That doesn’t justify anything. I’m not better than you.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.