CHAPTER THREE

His lips curled into a huge smile as Hardin walked up to the two ladies, he was dressed in a pair of blue suits

 and his hair was pulled back in a neat undercut.

He looked different from how she knew him five years ago, he looked more professional and more dashing. He didn’t look like the devil from five years ago, the devil that made her life a nightmare, the devil that snatched her life away from her. How could he look so different when he was the most evil person she has ever come across?

Rebecca gulped down on her silver when he lowered himself beside his wife and the smile on his face refused to go away, he looked so happy even after the horrible things he did five years ago.

“I didn’t think you were going to come, you told me you were busy” melisa announced while flashing him a bright smile, “you and your pranks”

“My meeting finished early” he responded before turning to the lady beside him, “your mum called me, she said to keep you company. You have a lot on your mind, huh?”

Rebecca was speechless for a while, how close was she to this couple? Why did both of them have her mother’s number?

“Becca always does this” Melisa chipped in, “you always recoil into your shell when things don’t go your way, why do you always do that?”

“What do you mean?” Becca asked, “recoil into my shell?”

“Your mum said you have been acting weird since this morning” Hardin disclosed, “what exactly is the problem?”

“How close are we that you are  asking me this question?” Becca retorted again and she saw how their foreheads creased into a frown.

“That is the same question she asked me” Melisa added, “I think something is wrong with her”

“What…..” the words hung in her throat when her mobile began to ring and Becca couldn’t be more glad, she didn’t even want to be in their midst right now. The image of what they both  did five years ago was still vivid in her head. The way they tortured and abused her was something she would never be able to forget in her entire life.

“Hello” she said while pressing the phone against her ears.

“Hello ma’am, you need to come to the office now. There is an emergency” her assistant said from the other end of the line”

“Okay” from the tone of her voice, one could say she was a bit confused but Becca tried to mask it with a bit of caution, she didn’t want to give these two couples the chance to notice anything strange with her.

“I will be there in a jiffy, okay?”

“Yes ma’am”

After talking she ended the call and turned her attention back on the two of them who were acting all lovey dovey towards each other, it disgusted her and Becca almost puked.

“I think i should get going now” she announced, “i have to be at the office now”

“But we haven’t even discussed why I called you out,” Melisa pouted.

“Why don’t you stop over at the house for dinner?” Becca suggested, “I will make preparations”

“Let it be like a group dinner?” Melisa was visibly elated.

“Yes” after talking Becca stood up, “I will get going now”

It took a lot of courage for her not to retch out her organ. Being in their midst made her whole body stand on edge. She was still trying to understand what exactly was happening but it was better to do it away from them than with them.

After faking a smile at them, she hastily walked out of the cafe while Hardin turned to his wife. He had a worried look on his face and his wife could see it well, she knew exactly what was wrong with him.

“You think she is hiding something from us?” She asked him.

“I can’t actually place it, I think we need to be there for her more than ever now. Becca has a lot on her mind and she is not willing to share”

“Well, we will get to talk to her later in the evening”

After talking, Melissa picked up her clutch bag and stood up, “i have to pick Ethan from his school, I will see you back at home”

“I actually have a meeting with Mrs Hernandez, I will drive straight to Becca’s after the meeting”

His wife’s forehead creased into a slight frown, she had a 

“what do you mean” look.

“Why? I thought you said you don’t have any connection with her anymore”

“She introduced another business idea to me today and I think it will be massive. She is going to invest massively in it”

Melissa rolled her eyes, “that old witch is not to be trusted, Hardin. Just keep me updated about it”

After she was done talking, she pressed a kiss on his forehead and quickly made her way out of the cafe. The reason why she had called Becca out was already defeated, she will try again at dinner.

****

The moment Becca ventured into her car, the tears she had been struggling so hard to contain came bursting out of her.

How could they even act like they didn’t commit a sin years ago? How could they look her in the face and make a mockery of her? How could they even be friends with her? The thought of it made her insides churn, how could they be so evil and yet loom like the best people on earth?

“Where to, ma’am?” The chauffeur asked her and she jolted out of her reverie, her eyes were stinging with tears. It felt like her whole life came to a halt even before she could get the chance to understand what exactly was happening. How could she be in Rebecca’s body and still be friends with her enemies from her past life? Was the universe trying to make a mockery of her? Was this some kind of joke or what?

“Where to, ma’am?” The chauffeur asked again and this is when she noticed she must have zoned out again and not answered him.

“To the office” she responded before leaning back on the headrest, nothing was actually making sense to her. How was she in Becca’s body? Where did five years of her life go? What exactly happened after she took the poison that night? She could not actually pinpoint anything at the moment.

The buzzing of her phone made her open her eyes abruptly and the moment she saw the caller ID, guilt gripped her heart. This woman must be calling thinking it was her daughter not knowing…..

Heaving a sigh, she picked up the phone and pressed it against her ear.

“Hello”

“Hey darling” her mother’s voice filtered into her ears, “where are you?”

Her forehead creased into a slight frown, “I am on the way to the office, why?”

“I hope you didn’t forget the party you are supposed to attend on behalf of your father right? You shouldn’t take time at the office”

Rebecca face palmed her forehead, she has actually forgotten about the party.

“Don’t worry mum, I will make sure to be home soon”

“Okay sweetheart”

After ending the call, Becca closed her eyes and placed her head on the headrest again.

Her mind drifted off to her family and she could still feel the Pangs of pain in her heart. She was not particularly happy or sad about what was happening, everything was too overwhelming for her at the moment.

After a few minutes, the car came to a halt in front of the building and this is when Becca opened her eyes.

The moment she saw the building in front of her, she was mesmerized.

This was the first time she was seeing something like this, when did this family put up this megastructure? This was not here five years ago. What has actually happened all these years?

“Hello ma’am” one of the security guards greeted as he opened the car door for her.

“Thank you” Rebecca mouthed as she alighted from the car, a woman was standing just a few feet away from her and she could already guess it was the assistant secretary.

“Hello ma’am” the lady bowed gently, “we have been waiting for you”

“What happened?” Becca couldn’t help but ask, “why do you look so stressed”

“The investors from Spain came in ma’am. They seem to want to see you and they won’t leave without seeing you, I don….”

Becca heaved a sigh, what was she supposed to do? She didn’t even know what was supposed to be discussed at the meeting? Why the heck was everything happening at such a high level? She hadn’t even had time to understand what was happening yet…

“Can we have a little discussion in my office before we go in for the meeting?”

“Yes ma’am” the lady bowed again and led the way into the office.

Everyone who saw her kept bowing and greeting her but she blatantly ignored them as they both made their way towards the elevator and her office.

The moment they entered the office, she threw her bag on the table in desperation while lowering herself on the sofa. A sigh of relief and sympathy escaped her eyes, she felt like all this was a dream and she hoped she could wake up from it soon.

“Ma’am” her assistant called to her again and Becca opened her eyes, she looked a bit tired and confused,

“Is something bothering you ma’am?”

“How much can I trust you?” Becca inquired and she saw a look of confusion flashed through her face.

“I don’t understand ma’am”

“Becca leaned forward on her chair while crossing one leg over the other, her long wavy hair was gently dancing in sync with the air conditioning system in the room, 

“How much can I trust you?” She asked again.

“You know you can trust me ma’am’ her assistant replied, 

“I have worked for you for so long maam, you needn’t even ask me that question”

“I lost my memory” Becca lied and for a while she could see her assistant look as confused as ever, It seems the words didn’t sink her head at first. After waiting for a few minutes, she saw how fast her face dropped and she looked like she just saw a ghost.

“Ma’am?” Her assistant was visibly shocked.

“I woke up from bed this morning and I can not remember anything, not  even your name” she rolled her hand through her hair, “i just don’t know how to go about this meeting”

“Ma’am” her assistant moved closer to her, “i mean, what are we going to do? I…” her voice trailed off, this was not what she was expecting on a Wednesday morning. 

“You know what?” She began to speak again, “I think I have an idea”

“Pamella?”

“Yes, ma’am”

“We can discuss this later, why don’t you brief me on the meeting for now? We have the party to attend this evening”

“Sure ma’am” her voice was still quivering, “we should do that”

         *******

The moment they both entered into the car, Becca heaved a sigh of relief while Parmella sat tongue tied away from her. She was still trying to understand how her boss lost her senses. At first she thought it was a lie but seeing how Becca turned to her for everything, she immediately understood that Becca would not stoop so low to do something like this.

“Look pamella” becca began to speak again, “I want you to tell me everything you know about me and about this party, I can not let my father down or he will not forgive me”

“Of course ma’am” Pamela sat up, “this should be easy” she sounded so confused.

“Is something wrong?”

“Not at all ma’am” Pam paused for a while, “I am not sure if I should say this”

“Say it”

“Well” Pam shrugged, “people in the office call you a meanie witch” she stopped talking while observing the woman in front of her. She saw how Rebecca’s forehead creased into a slight frown.

“I am mean to people?”

“Extremely mean, ma’am” her assistant responded and waited for a backlash but she didn’t get any. Not when the lady beside her already turned to the other side and from the look on her face, Pam could see she was visibly upset and confused.

“I am sorry if I…”

“You don’t have to apologize” Rebecca cut her short, “you are only doing your job”

Something suddenly dawned on her and she immediately opened her eyes before turning her head back on Pam again, this time she looked more serious.

“Melisa and Hardin”

“Mr Hardin is your brother” she answered and Becca’s eyes almost fell out of her socket.

“What did you say?” She refused to believe that a man as evil as Hardin could be her brother.

“Your cousin actually” Pam responded and it felt her whole world had come to a standstill, how could fate play such a game on her? Why did….

Rebecca heaved a sigh and closed her eyes again, she needed a lot of time to finally make meaning out of what was happening to her at the moment.

“I will send you everything you need to know about the party tonight ma’am” Pam said after a while and Becca nodded without saying a word.

After that, the car came to a halt at the side of the road and she alighted before it zoomed off again.

Becca couldn’t help but start laughing as the car drove away, this has got to be a big joke to her. How could she…..

The moment the car came to halt in front of the house, she immediately alighted and made her way towards the house, her mother was still seated in the living room dealing out some instructions to the butler. The minute she saw her daughter, her lips curled into a smile.

“You are home, early” she beamed, “I was not expecting you early”

“Mum” Rebecca called out while going to seat beside her mum, “I want to ask you something”

“Go ahead my dear”

“My memory has been kind of hazy since morning, I can’t remember a few things and…”

“Are you on drugs again?” The old lady asked with a worried and concerned look on her face.

“Of course not mum, why will I? Hardin, he…”

“Your cousin, I asked him and his wife to accompany you to the party. Since your father is not around, he should…

“That bastard is my cousin” Becca blurted out before she could even hold herself.

The moment the lady beside her heard her cussing out, the worried look on her face intensified.

“What I mean is” her voice trailed off, “look mum, I will go with Pam, don’t make him go with me. He has his wife”

“Did he do something?”

“He didn’t”

“Then why are you so angry at him! He used to be your favorite”

Becca rolled her eyes to the back of her head, “I will go and stare getting ready” with that she stood up and made her way towards the stairs.

After her mother saw her enter the elevator to the third floor, she picked up her phone and dialed a certain number. The person from the other end immediately answered the call.

“Aunty” Hardin’s voice resonated from the other end of the line, “I was just about to call you, did Becca get home safe?”

“Did the two of you have a fight?”

“Fight?, of course not aunty. I am even worried about her. She looked  so grumpy when I met her, something must be disturbing her”

“You know what? Don’t bother about the party, she will go with Pam''

“Aunt” Hardin called out from the other end again, “you are being unnecessarily worried about Rebecca. You don’t have to dot on her so much, the Becca i know might get irritated”

The old lady heaved a sigh, “I can’t help but worry about her Hardin. If your wife and you didn’t save her five years ago from that ghastly accident. How will…” the words hung in her throat, she didn’t even want to think about it, “if you and Melisa didn’t save her that day, under that rain I…”

“Look aunt” Hardin stopped her, “let’s not think about it okay? At least she has recovered well, it will only get better. I will give her a call later”

“Thank you Hardin, bring your wife over for dinner okay?”

After exchanging pleasantries, she ended the call while her mind drifted off to her daughter.

After that ghastly motor accident five years ago, Becca became a shadow of her former self. She was no longer the bubbly woman she once was and everything about her changed. She became more reclined into work and hardly met with people. Hardin and his wife were the only people she was close with but today, everything about her felt different. It was like she was a different person altogether.

******

Back in her room, Becca slumped on the bed and closed her eyes.

Tears came rolling down her eyes as the thought of everything filled her mind, how was all this even possible? Her enemy from her past life was her brother in this, was it even possible?

The more she thought about it, the more anger and resentment she felt towards them.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her door pushed open and her mother sauntered into the room.

Looking at her daughter from the door, the old lady heaved a sigh before making her way to the bed.

“Baby” she gently lowered herself on the bed while placing her hand on her leg, “what exactly is wrong?”

“I am fine, mum” Rebecca replied, “I will just take a rest and prepare for the party later”

“I have finally made a decision, Becca” she paused for a while, she wanted to be sure her daughter was interested in what she was saying, “let’s get you married”

At this moment, the crying Rebecca jumped out of bed in surprise and fear.