And so she'd walked away, his words stabbing her ears as they struck home.
"You think you can just waltz in here and play like you're good enough to have my love? You'll never have it, Sabrina," he had sneered, the disgust spewing from him like acid that cut into her heart. Every step was hard as she moved through the grand house now that had become a cage of gilded bars and memories bitter with the poison of anger.
She was lost in this world he created, full of resentment and anger. "Why even bother?" he had shouted at her, his face distorted in rage as she tried to reach out to him. "You're just a reminder of everything I hate about my life!" Yet still, she gave in . Deep down, there was still some love from her side of his body that seemed mutually less, but still true love between two souls. She had still not given up. Still catching for breath, "I'm not giving up on you," she could still stare at tear-stained mascara and tears, and hurt etched upon her face staring back from the mirror. But still, he came rushing into the room, eyes blazing red as if in anger. "What do you want here, Sabrina?" he hurled, his words filled with disdain. "Didn't I make it clear that I didn't need you in my life at all?" She stood there, unbroken by him even though he was angry at her. "I want to know you, Benedict. Why do you always keep me away? Do you understand me? he laughed cruelly, the sound echoing off the walls. You think you can just cozy up to me and make everything all right? You're living in a fantasy. Her heart sank, the weight of his words crushing her. "I love you, Benedict," she pleaded, her voice shaking. "Can't you see that? His face went ice cold and stepped closer. "Love? You do not even know what this word is, do you?" He spat his words at her. His eyes had turned dark with the venomous poison of rage. "This marriage is not a fairy tale; it's prison and you are the warden." That's when she was hit with the accusation. She was left for breathless. "I did not want this! I wanted for us to be happy," she countered, trying to keep all her anger locked inside as she could. "But you keep shutting me out!" He sneered in his disgust. "Happy? With you? That's ridiculous, Sabrina. “You have turned my life into a nightmare. Every single day with you is a reminder of everything I've lost.” His words cut deep into her, like the knife which darts straight in. His words hurt so harshly that she felt as if her chest was about to constrict, and tears welled up to spill over from her eyes. It was as if the weight of his disdain was crushing her spirit. “I never wanted to be a source of pain for you,” she choked out, her voice trembling. He gave a glare so full of venom and was so intense that she didn't know how to even react. She was too small under his glare to say words. "I just wanted to love you," she whispered with the pain that had built deep inside of her heart. Feeling utterly defeated, she took a shaky breath. “Why can’t you see the love I have for you?,I am not your enemy! I didn't make you marry me. I only want to reach you!" He leaned back, a wicked smile crossing his face. "Reach me? Save me? You think I need saving, Sabrina? I don't. I need you to disappear.". "Why hate me so much?" she wailed, her voice gradually filled with the pain that came out of it. "What did I do to deserve this?" He looked at her, a flicker of something in his eyes—regret?—but it vanished quickly. "You're not worth my time. You're a mistake I have to endure. The sooner you accept that, the better for both of us." The weight of his contempt suffocated her spirit. "You're wrong. I'm not a mistake. I'm your wife," she insisted, her voice breaking. "I deserve more than this." He laughed, a bitter sound that filled the space between them. "You think you deserve something? Just because you wore a pretty dress and said 'I do'? You're delusional." He said, with every word he thrust the wedge into her heart, but she would not give in and tried to be strong. "I am here for you, Benedict. I wish to help you, but you will not let me!" "Help? Do you think you can help me? You are a bloody joke," he spat in her face, venom from his lips. "You could not even help yourself if you tried. She wept, but she rubbed them away quickly. She did not want to look weak. "You don't know me at all and I can prove to you that I can make you love me and I mean it!" she said. "I am more than your wife. I have feelings too!" He came closer to her. His face was inches from hers. His breath was hot. "Feelings? Please. You are just an obstacle, and I don't need obstacles. I need freedom.". Sabrina recoiled at his intensity, the reality of their situation crashing around her. "Obstacle?Then why don't you just leave?" she challenged, trying to steady her voice. "If I'm such a burden, then why don’t you just walk away? Why are you still here?" Her voice trembled, each word thick with desperation. He looked at her, and his gaze turned icy, like the chill of winter cutting through the warmth of a summer day. "Maybe I will. I'll find someone who actually deserves my time, unlike you.". The finality in his words was a gut punch to her. "You think you can just walk away and leave me behind? You think that will fix everything?" "Fix? There's nothing to fix here. It's broken beyond repair," he said with ice in his voice as he turned to walk away from her. "This marriage was a mistake from the start.". Sabrina's heart was broken, his disgust that broke her spirit. "Then maybe you should just do us both a favor and end this nightmare," she whispered, her voice not more than a breath. As he walked away from her, leaving her alone in the oppressive silence, she understood that it was time to steel herself against the pain of losing a man whom she loved. She silently promised him that she would not give up on Benedict, even if her heart seemed like it would break into a hundred pieces. She would fight for him, for them, to face his demons alone.The sun came through the Thompson Group building's sleek glass windows in the morning, casting a warm light over the shined-up conference table where Saben and Jenny sat with their colleagues. The conference room was buzzing as the meeting was in full swing, echoing with the quick-spoken details. The deal they were negotiating was big—a high-stakes, high-reward opportunity—and everybody was invested in making sure things ran smoothly.Saben, as ever, was the model of concentration. His piercing, calculating eyes ran over the papers on the table before him as he nodded periodically throughout the meeting, providing concise but incisive input. Jenny, beside him, was a mirror image of his intensity, her fingers flying over her laptop as she noted, crunched numbers, and provided strategic suggestions where needed. The air was filled with the clacking of keyboards, the soft muttering of discussion, and the shuffling of documents.The minutes crept by like hours. Jenny's attention was laser
But how could he not? Jenny had turned into a complication that he never anticipated. She had awakened feelings that he wasn't convinced he was prepared for, and Clarisse's unexpected revelation made everything more complicated. It was as if his past was on the verge of drowning the present.But just as he was able to process more of his own thoughts, his phone rang on the table, cutting across his whirling mind. He looked down and saw Jenny's name lit up on the screen.Perhaps now is the time to speak with her, he considered, the struggle building within him. Jenny had been cold towards him recently, but this was something he couldn't brush off. They needed to speak. He needed to know what was happening in her mind, where they both were.Reaching out without thinking, he picked up the phone."Jenny?" His tone now was softer, nearly hesitant, not knowing what she'd respond with."Hey, Saben," she said, voice steady but cool. "I was just curious if we could sit down and talk. About las
But even so, in spite of the draw he felt towards her, in spite of their history together, he knew in his heart that things were different now. Something had changed in him someone had changed him.He considered Jenny, her inner strength, the way she had kept herself together in spite of the trials that had befallen her. He recalled their talks, the times she had talked to him about things, even when it seemed to him she was still trying to get a handle on what she was feeling. Jenny was unfamiliar ground. Jenny unsettled him in a way Clarisse never had. With Jenny, there were no quick answers, no tidy bundles. And that was scary, but it was exhilarating.He gazed at Clarisse, his heart hurting as he viewed the vulnerability she was sharing with him, the honesty she had exposed. But he could not deny that he did not feel what Jenny made him feel. And that alone was enough to make him waver.Saben breathed slowly, raking a hand through his hair as he looked at her, careful with his wor
Saben leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on her. There was something in her tone, something deliberate about the way she spoke. “You came here just to check on me?”Clarisse smiled, a faint one playing at the edges of her mouth, but her eyes sharpened, as if she was weighing each word. "Yes, and no. I just wanted to check on things. On you. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, Saben.""Thinking about what?" Saben queried, his brow wrinkling. He was beginning to sense the change in the atmosphere between them, the way her words weighed more, carried something more than simple talk.Clarisse hesitated, placing her glass down carefully, then meeting his gaze. There was something unsaid there, something that made his heart race, a thread of unspoken tension that he couldn't escape."I've been thinking about us," she whispered softly, the words suspended between them. "I've been thinking about what we had… and what I let slip away."Saben's heart skipped a beat. He had not expec
Clarisse Campbell's sudden appearance had thrown Jenny off guard. Her mind was racing with a thousand different thoughts as she made her way out of Saben's office. What had just occurred? She was here to do business, not to find herself entangled in an unspoken knot of emotions and history she hadn't requested. And yet, there she was, making her way out of the Thompson Group building with more questions than answers.Jenny recognized Clarisse's appearance was not random. Saben and Clarisse had a history—one which, judging from what she'd heard, had not ended well. She'd caught snippets of conversations, and Eliana had spoken of Clarisse occasionally, usually tinged with somewhat begrudging indifference. But today, viewing Clarisse entering Saben's office as if she had every right to be there—it was unnerving.What was she to Saben now? And why had she returned to his life at this particular point in time?Strolling through the city streets, Jenny's thoughts zigzagged. She had question
Morning sunlight poured through the glass panes of Jenny's apartment, illuminating long shafts of light on her compact but neat living room. She went through the motions of morning routine coffee making, hair tied into a plain ponytail her thoughts well away from the peaceful stillness of her morning.Last night's happenings still churned inside her mind like a tornado. The evening at the Thompson mansion had left her torn Saben's presence, the confusion, the silence. She had assured herself she would forget it, but now, standing in front of her closet, that dreaded unsettledness arose again.What was all this about? What exactly did Saben want from me?After a few minutes of gazing blankly at her outfit, Jenny rummaged for a plain blouse and slacks, realizing the day tomorrow would prove to be as complicated as the previous one. She was still Jenny White, the diligent representative of Zina Bank nothing had been altered. She was not going to get caught up in some contrived romance wi