Chapter 002

Sarah’s face furrowed. “Rebecca?!” She said in a raised voice, her expression matched the shock in her tone, wondering if it was the same person on her mind.

Charles joggled his head. “Yes, it’s her. The same Rebecca you know,” he confirmed with cruelty, ignoring how painful it would be for. He had been keeping it for a long time because he didn’t want to hurt her, but now, he couldn’t hold himself back anymore since he already had his mission and set his goal that marriage was the present hindrance.

He dug his left hand in the pocket, pointing the left at Sarah’s face. “You, Sarah, are the reason I gave up on Rebecca then, but I won’t repeat the same mistake. Never. I’ll do anything to divorce you and marry her.”

Sarah snickered. Her mind was simmering in anger, but before saying anything, she paced to Charles’s front. “How could you do this to me, Charles?” She asked, her palm connecting with his cheek with a loud crack.

Charles held his hurt cheek in his hand and rubbed it for a few seconds until he felt a little relief. He looked at her in the face, his face turned red with rage. “What are you doing?!”

“Slapped you, of course,” she gave a simple response, smiling discreetly. “You ungrateful, shameless, greedy bitch.”

Sarah scoffed weakly and ground her teeth. “You’re shameless!” She screamed and her hand followed her heart’s command to slap him again. “You must have lost your mind, Charles.”

“What-” Charles wanted to talk, but Sarah cut him off.

“Shut it!” She yelled. She raised her hand, attempting to vent her anger with another slap, but a voice intervened.

“What are you doing?!”

The voice was familiar, causing Sarah to take her hand down, and speedily glance backward. Seeing Rebecca standing at the entrance, Sarah chuckled. “You even dare to follow him home?”

Rebecca walked closer in a slow stride. “Yes, I do,” she responded boldly. “I commanded him to reveal the truth today, so I followed him just in case you overreact. And you do. What can I do but intervene? He’s mine already and soon, he’ll officially be mine forever. Should I stand back and watch you harm him?”

Charles rushed to Rebecca’s side. “Why are you here?” He asked.

“To protect you, of course,” Rebecca answered in simplicity. “If I didn’t show up. Maybe you’ll be rubbing your cheek to relieve yourself of the pain of another slap.”

Charles placed his hand on Rebecca’s shoulder, staring into her eyes. “Don’t bother yourself, dear. I got this,” he assured. He glanced at Sarah’s face, saying, “Whether or not she wants it, I’m getting this divorce.”

Sarah snickered. “Who wouldn’t want freedom? Why will I reject a divorce from a fruitless marriage that’s draining me?”

She crossed her hands over her chest, a slight recoil of her head hinting at her hidden pain. “Why beg a man who thought his salvation was with his ex-girlfriend?” She spoke calmly, avoiding letting her pain and anger reflect in her tone while stoning Charles with her words. “A greedy man with a shameless lady. What a perfect pair,”

She turned her face to Rebecca, her brow furrowed in brief confusion. “Wait Rebecca,” she uttered and paused for a second. “Didn’t you abandon him then because he wasn’t enough for you? If I may ask, has anything changed? What’s special about him now, that of all men in the universe, you come back to him?”

Rebecca blinked her eyes, shocked. Sarah’s question caught her off guard, and she went silent for a second, unable to respond.

Sarah beamed. “What?” She uttered. She turned to Charles and directed a question to him. “If she can’t provide an answer, at least you should have an explanation for yours. What reason do you have for accepting back the lady who once broke your heart?”

“Hun!” A shocked tone fled Charles’s mouth. He didn’t see the question coming, and since he had no response, he closed his mouth and stared downward.

“I didn’t abandon him. My mom sent me away and denied me all the access to reach him. It’s not my fault. It was never mine.” Rebecca spoke in a rapid-fire sequence, her words tumbling out in a defensive rush. She looked at Charles’s face, raising a question. “I love you. You know that, right?”

Charles nodded. “Yes,” he responded, looking at Rebecca’s face with assurance. He took his eyes off her and turned to Sarah. “Hey, woman. Stop all these useless questions. I know what you’re trying to do. You want to manipulate us, isn’t it?”

“Look into my eyes. Your words won’t work on me again. It once did, but never again. Remember how you lied to me that Rebecca dumped me because of my financial struggle?” Charles accused. “You manipulated me to marry you.”

“I’ll let your accusation slide. Defending myself is useless.” Sarah let out. She didn’t manipulate Charles. Charles asked her out months after Rebecca disappeared. At first, she rejected his proposal but later accepted it after Sandra’s persuasion. Especially since she also just walked out of calamities- her father died, her ex-boyfriend abandoned her, and his mother also gave her a hard time.

Rebecca clapped her hands as she joggled her head, impressed and excited. “Good,” she uttered. “It’s good you’re accepting this easily. I like how you quickly reason that there are various means to survive and marriage shouldn’t be one.”

Sarah chuckled softly with her nose raised a little and her hand on her chest. “Me?! Survive on a marriage?!” She was amazed that she couldn’t proceed until she chuckled again. “Rebecca, I wasn’t surviving on this marriage. This marriage relies on me. From the beginning until now. I feed and clothed Charles and his family.”

Charles snickered and took a step forward. “Are you bragging right now?”

Sarah elevated her shoulders. “Not at all,” she responded. “I’m just providing the information you seem to exclude when narrating our story to her. You can call it a clarification.”

Charles nodded, blowing a heavy air through his mouth. He rubbed his jaw for a second and pointed at Sarah. “Okay,” he uttered. “Fine. Calculate all you spent. Rebecca will pay you back. Isn’t that what you want?”

“Yes, I will,” Rebecca agreed. “Just name your price.”

“I’m priceless, and my worth can’t be determined by whatever amount you pay. I’m a gem. A rare one at that,” Sarah poured out. “If not for the sake of this marriage, do you think I don’t know my worth? I’ve pride I will never swallow. Okay?”

“Are you rejecting the offer? Accept it now so you won’t regret it.” Charles advised.

“To hell with you, her, and the offer,” Sarah said. She faced Charles, stretching out her hand. “Give me the divorce paper. I’ll sign it.”

“Not ready yet.” Charles responded.

“Okay,” Sarah uttered. She took her hand down and walked to the cabinet to pick up her phone. She turned around to the door and walked past them to the door.

She held the door handle and glanced backward. “Call me tomorrow for the details. Be quick about the process.”

She walked out of the room and immediately as she shut the door behind her, the weight of her unshed tears became too much, and she surrendered to the overwhelming grief that had been building inside her. 

Her eyes, once dry and determined, now overflowed with tears. A year’s relationship and two years of marriage just ended for a reason she never imagined.

Sarah was Rebecca and Charles’s college mates, but she never talked to Charles until after they graduated and started working at the same store. She knew Charles was in a relationship with Rebecca during school days, so she gave him her shoulder to lean on, mourning Rebecca’s disappearance. She helped him in every way and she believed it was the reason he fell in love with her.

“Is this the end of it all?” She raised a question which she provided an answer to in her mind. She took in a slow but deep breath and exhaled softly and wiped her face with her hands.

She wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to face the challenges and pain she was going through had the moment because, in the past years, all she’d done was her best to prevent Charles from having low self-esteem. Since things ended this way, all she could think was to follow her heart.

She wished to go somewhere very far, but she had no family member to stay with. She was an orphan, who lost her mother at a young age, and her father during her final year in college, and her stepmother chased her away because she would be a burden along with her own two other daughters.

She unlocked her phone and dialed the contact of the only person she had, Sandra, her best friend and confidant.

The phone rang for a minute, but Sandra didn’t pick it. “Where did she put her phone?” Sarah whispered. She dialed the number again, and it rang twice before Sandra picked it up.

“Let’s talk tomorrow, please? I’m at Victor’s place.” Sandra said and instantly hung up.

“What’s she-” Sarah ground her teeth. She took the phone away from her ear and instantly dialed the number again, but it was no longer reachable. She redialed the number, but it still wasn’t reachable.

She placed her hand on her forehead and sighed. “What am I supposed to do now?” She wondered. 

She opened her bank app to check her account balance. “This isn’t sufficient.” She whispered. She had withdrawn all her savings for the anniversary’s preparation.

She had a minute’s thought, and since nothing came to her mind other than leaving the area, she turned to the left and headed down the street.

**

“No, you can’t, Sarah…” Sarah told herself every second the thought of going back home passed through her mind. She had been wandering around the streets for over an hour after stopping by Sandra’s place, but she didn’t leave the key behind at the usual place. She checked into a few convenience stores to work overnight, but there was no vacancy.

She entered the fourth street after Sandra’s and saw a swing on the other side. A smile instantly appeared on her face, and she was excited to find somewhere to sit and relax.

She looked left and right before walking to cross the road, but as she got to the road center, she suddenly felt dizzy, and her feet became hard to move from the ground. 

“What’s wrong?”

She felt pain in her head but couldn’t even lift her hand, struggling to take a step forward. Her body froze, disobeying the command of her heart.

“What’s happening to me?!” She screamed in silence, her lips refusing to separate from each other.

Cars’ lights set on her face and their honks rang loud in her head, showing they were getting closer. She put more effort into moving her feet, but she couldn’t. 

Her eyes drooped and her body drifted downward, but before she could reach the ground, someone grabbed her.

“Sarah!” He shouted her name as her body fell into his arms. 

“Harold.” She called in a weak tone.

“Yes, it’s me.” He answered.

She relaxed her head on his shoulder, and her eyes shut down.

He rounded his arms around her body and patted her back. “I’m back now, Sarah. I got you. You’re safe with me.”