LOGINAMELIA I descended the staircase, my heels clicking loudly. Conrad followed behind me. He had told me that his father had called for me. I knew something was wrong again. I inhaled and exhaled, trying to remain calm. “There's no need to be tense. You didn't do anything wrong," I mumbled to myself. As I reached the living room, I stopped beside the sofa, glancing around. My parents were still here. They were gathered like there was an important meeting being held. Mr Pierre sat on the sofa, his face devoid of emotion. Conrad stopped beside the bottom stairs, his silent gaze filling the room. “Amelia," he began, his voice firm. “Why weren't you down for the party? Your absence was noted." My mind raced, searching for a reasonable excuse. "I was down for a while, but I decided to go back up and rest,” I lied, avoiding his eyes. "I… I had a terrible headache, Mr Pierre." He exhaled, leaning back on the chair. "Where's the child?” "He's sleeping.” Noah had passed out on the be
CONRAD I told her at six o'clock. And by six, I had meant before six. I had made the order clear. And now, I was twelve minutes past five. She was nowhere to be seen. The guests and our families would start arriving any moment from now. I pulled out my phone from my polished suit trouser’s pocket, my finger hovering around her contact. I called her for the first time. It rang, then stopped. No one answered the phone. I called the second time and this time, I was moved to the automated voicemail. One instruction I gave her, and she couldn't do it properly. Noah was running around the living room, threatening to scatter the arrangements. Then, I saw Colton with him. “Colton!" I called, my voice tight with unease. He swiftly walked to me, his hands folded behind him. “Have you heard from Amelia?" He shook his head, his brows furrowing slightly. "No, Mr Conrad. I haven't seen her since she left for work.” I sighed, cursing under my breath. “Damn it!” Where the hell was she? If
AMELIA Conrad didn't even glance up from his plate, his spoon clinking gently against the glass plate. Had he not heard me? Or was he ignoring me? He stood abruptly, the screeching of his chair echoing in the room, and turned to leave. Every instinct screamed at me to stop him, to demand answers for the incident that happened, for the scream, but I couldn't. My feet somehow remained glued to the floor. He ascended the staircase and disappeared into the hallway without a single word. I stood there, my heart sinking. Why was I so worried about him? Or perhaps, it was because of the scream and I thought my life would be in danger at some point? What exactly was going on? Conrad's father was also nowhere to be seen. He must have returned to his house this morning. Just then, Mr Colton entered the house, his usual cheerful demeanor evident. He paused when he saw me, his gaze flickering towards the staircase where I was looking. “Mrs Amelia, what haven't you gone upstairs?" he aske
AMELIA The first rays of sun pierced through the heavy curtains, casting a warm glow across the room. My eyes had been open for hours as I could barely get any sleep. The shriek replayed in my mind endlessly. Nothing could erase the sound of Conrad’s scream from my mind. Something horrific had happened. I felt it but didn't know what it could be. With Noah still half asleep, I picked him up from the bed, undressed him from his rumpled pajamas and carried him inside the bathroom for a long, warm shower. After I had dressed him up, given him food and sat him down on the bed, I went into the bathroom to shower. I remained in the shower, letting the warm water pour on my head. I wanted to do everything I could to get the incident out of my head, but it was just impossible. Not until I knew what exactly had happened. By the time I came out of the bathroom, Noah had gone back to sleep, his legs spread wide on the bed. I smiled. He really loved his sleep. As I was ready and prepared
AMELIA I quickly relaxed, smoothening the shock away from my face. Mr Pierre caught sight of me standing metres away from the dining table. A wide smile spread across his stern features— a smile that always unnerved me.“Amelia! There you are," Mr Pierre said. “Come and have a seat." He gestured towards the empty chairs for me to sit on any.I managed a weak smile, walking to the empty chair beside Conrad. I don't know why, but I thought I was safe, sitting close to him.Conrad glanced at me, then looked away, his gaze fixed on the lobster rice he was eating. It was like he was deliberately avoiding his father's gaze each time they were together. He never looked in his father's direction.We ate in silence, the clattering of cutleries on a plate audible. Just then, Mr Pierre sipped a glass of water and leaned back on the chair, looking at Conrad.“Conrad," he called. Conrad didn't look up or pause. He continued to eat, like he didn't hear anything. “Give Tristan a share from the comp
AMELIA “Sit down, Amelia," my father said, his voice calm and etched with concern. I couldn't tell if it was a real concern or just one of his father's hypnotism methods.I remained standing, my hand clutching the strap of my bag.“Just some minutes, please," he insisted, gesturing towards a chair beside him in the daycare lobby.Reluctantly, I settled down on the chair, my spine rigid. I squeezed my palms together in my lap, digging my fingernails into the fleshly parts of my hands.“Aiden told us that you came to the house a few days ago. He said he saw you by the door.”I inhaled, nodding stiffly. “I tried calling you afterward and even before then, but you didn't answer any of it. It was Conrad that told me you'd be here , when I called him. Why didn't you come in to greet us?" The question was pointless. What did he want me to say?“I did enter," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “You and mum were laughing and talking when I entered. I didn't want to interrupt.”It was







