Morgana Foster “Did you miss me?” the unmistakable voice of Alessandra goes through the shed, invading my ears A new flood of emotions fills my soul as soon as I see your profile appearing from the corner of my eye, until you are totally in front of me. How could I be fooled by that silly story about her becoming a nurse to take care of her mother? “What happened?” Alessandra disdains. “Did the cat get his tongue?” “I think she’s a little surprised that you’re my daughter.” declare Winnie. Alessandra walks to Winnie’s side and leans against the counter. I had never noticed it before, but there is a short resemblance between the two. I feel completely different now. Silly for never having noticed anything strange to them. I dry swallow as I watch them both. I can’t believe that’s true. A part of me wants to deny that I could be so blind to it. “What are we going to do with it?” Alessandra says. “I don’t know.” Winnie replies. “We could kill her and send the body to the Burkes.”
Morgana FOSTER “You are idiotic indeed, Mr Burke!” Alessandra says, pressing the barrel of the gun against my head. I swallow dry, feeling the pressure and the weight of the metal pipe in my head. My eyes automatically widen, as if the entire world walls up, when I hear the gun being cocked. “Let’s negotiate.” Ryan says calmly, looking at the men who are with him, who step back a little. — “What do you want?” “We’ve already said.” This time it’s Winnie who answers. “16 million dollars in my account. Until noon… And who knows, I release this one.” She says, pulling my head that tumbles back. The taste of iron fills my mouth. Maybe that’s the end of me. A fight for money. “Even if I wanted to, that’s an exorbitant amount.” He replies. “See? Mrs Burke,” Alessandra says with a laugh. “He doesn’t think you’re worth it.” “In the end, all Burkes are the same.” Winnie said, turning to face me. “Maybe he’ll take us seriously if we shoot her. What do you think?” My breathing is still ir
MORGANA FOSTER Four months later, Rookgaard, California, United States. 2018 The Burke grandparents' house. “The trial will be in a week.” Sorya says. “Do you want to go?” The dining table, which was once wrapped in a sea of laughter and tinkling of bowls and cutlery, was immersed in complete silence. I look around to make sure I’m not silent alone. I swallow the bitter pain of the hours of terror I suffered at the hands of both women. “I don’t feel like seeing them again.” I murmur, feeling a mold forming in my throat. — just the thought of sharing the same space, they fill me with anger. “And you do not have to go if you do not want to!” said Elena, placing her hand on mine, giving me a warm smile. Your cheeks are pink, and your belly is huge. Soon the baby will be born. I give her a pale smile and murmur a short “Thank You”. At first, I never thought I’d be feeling comfortable next to my "rival', but now that she’s marrying James, her presence is no longer a threat to me. We’
Morgana FosterI ran down the hallway with my heart pounding and breath failing. If she found me, I was done. I crouched under the table, covering my body with the curtain, trying not to make a sound."Gotcha!" The little blonde head ran towards me, stumbling in my direction. Clear blue eyes, as bright as Ryan's, stared at me with a toothless and radiant smile."Oh, Alanis," I responded, patting the little one's head. "You found me, huh?"Alanis laughed, a childlike and joyful laughter that filled the air. She pointed to the makeshift hiding spot under the table."I found you, Auntie, but you're terrible at this!" she exclaimed, eyes still filled with amusement.I rolled my eyes affectionately, knowing my attempt at hiding was futile. "You're too clever, Alanis. Can't escape you, it seems."The little one stood up and sat beside me, playing with her fingers while looking at me. "You're sad, Morgana. Why?"I smiled, trying to mask my emotions in front of her innocence. "Not sad, sweethe
January 2014MORGANA FOSTERA girl walked out of the room, and there was no smile on her face. This meant there was still a small chance of salvation for me and my father. That I could leave here married and "happy."What a bad joke!With two jobs and accumulated college tuition, plus my father undergoing chemotherapy, I was exhausted. Not only were the college expenses piling up, but the hospital bill was also growing larger, and my father's health had significantly worsened in recent months. That's why, and only why, I decided to show up for this interview for a sham marriage.Yes, this is at least stupid. Who still needs something like this in the 21st century?He could be a man too shy to find a wife. He could be a very busy executive who didn’t want to bother with finding a real wife. Or simply an ugly man. A million things crossed my mind while I waited for my name to be called and prayed that the other girl hadn't done so much better than I would now.The mere idea of a sham mar
THREE YEARS LATERMORGANA FOSTERThat morning, everything seemed quiet when I arrived at the mansion. After two years, I returned, feeling a shiver run through my body as I stared at the massive door.I took a deep breath a few times before pushing the handle, wondering if this was really a good decision. I inherited this house from Grandpa Burke when I married his grandson in that crazy contract, but I didn’t want to stay here. Since I was living at college and kept minimal contact with my paper husband, I never felt the urge to live within these white walls.I wore my ring only at family gatherings and parties where I had to accompany him to maintain the appearance of a happy and stable couple.I never considered the possibility of living with him, and he never sought me out for that either. We even tried to make the fake marriage seem real in the first year so that his family would leave him alone, which was when I stayed in the downtown apartment for the first few months. It didn’t
RYAN BURKEIt was late afternoon, and there were few clouds in the sky. I left the office shortly before 4:00 PM. Morgana would be arriving at "our house" sometime between today and tomorrow; she had been avoiding me for a few months. I hadn't reached out to her during that time, not because I liked her, but because I needed to maintain the farce she and my grandfather had put me in.I never wanted this damn marriage, but I felt some empathy for her situation when she explained her father's health condition.I had been deceived from the beginning of all this. So, we came to a consensus; I wouldn't interfere with her life, and she wouldn't interfere with mine. We would remain in this marriage agreement while her father needed medical treatment, and I would maintain my relationship with Elena. The marriage with Morgana had always been nominal. Honestly, I never paid much attention to her; my affections always belonged to the blonde with blue eyes who dominated me.Since her father passed
MORGANA FOSTERA thin pain agonized in my chest. Hearing the word 'divorce' come out of his mouth hurt much more than reading the file did. I felt my eyes water and I looked down, blinking a few times to get rid of the tears before they fell right there.Why had I fallen in love with him if he didn't treat me with any affection?There was no love or affection. Just a theater of smiles during visits and important meetings. I wouldn't look sad about it, I had promised myself that he wouldn't see me crying because of him. Not after all the nights he'd slept away with “sweet Elena”.With a roll of my eyes, I cleared my throat and answered: “I know everything will be alright.” I sighed and looked away, I needed to be strong. “Tomorrow I'll sign it. Excuse me, I have to pack my things.”So I got up from the sofa with a bitter, disdainful smile. Marching towards the kitchen Ryan raised an intrigued eyebrow and I could feel his gaze following me the whole way.I know he didn't expect this reac