Josephine stared at her small bag with her eyes dull. There were lots of things going on through her mind and they were things like; what could he possibly be doing right now? What happened after she left the party? Did it end or...did it continue? Did everyone pretend not to care or they didn’t really care? What would happen to her wedding? And then she blamed herself. She blamed herself for walking out of the house, for not querying Brian. Why did he do what he did? Was there a fault he saw in her or was she not attracted to him enough? Were all the years they have both spent together a lie? Did he never love her?
But then, she should have known Maya better. She is a traitor and she should have known that she was always attracted to Brian for some reasons she didn’t know but had decided to ignore it since she was confident that she would get married to Brian. But that confidence broke when she saw them in bed together.
She opened her bag and brought out her phone. She stared at the blank screen for seconds before powering it on. When the booting was completed, it went to her home screen and just then, messages started coming in, just as she had expected.
Her hand shook slightly as she swiped down to check the notifications. No messages from Brian or Maya. She felt her chest tightened and wanted to cry, but she held it in and took her lower lips in. She scrolled back and saw a message from Matilda and she tapped on it.
It read, “Jose, where are you? We looked for you but we couldn’t find you. By we, I mean Gabriel and I. We just want to make sure you are safe. I know you are probably mad at me but I never wanted this for you from the start. We might not be really close to each other but you are still my friend and I feel bad that this happened to you. Actually, I am happy that this happened. If it didn’t, you would never know that Brian has been cheating on you with Maya. I didn’t tell you about it but I tried. I sent signs and I thought you would understand what I’ve been trying to pass to you but you didn’t. I am not sending this to you because I want to be on your good side. I just want you to know that I was never a part of it. Neither did Gabriel. Where are you Jose? We need to talk. If you are reading this message, please respond.”
After reading the message Matilda sent, somewhere in her heart, she was glad that at least someone cares about her. But another part of her doubt if she could trust her words. She read the message again and she saw that there was no harm in it. She was just worried about her. She brought her finger forward and typed on the keyboard, “I’m fine.”
She let out a deep sigh through her nose and was about turning her phone off when she saw Matilda’s message pop up. She tapped on it and read in her mind,
“Thank goodness. Can you come over to my place? Or just tell me where you are, I’ll come pick you up right now.”
Josephine used the corner of her eyes to look at Lucas and she saw that he was not looking at her.
“I can’t,” she typed and sent it.
“I think it is best you come. There is something you must know.”
Josephine shook her head lightly and sent, “I don’t want to see anyone, not anytime soon. Whatever you want to say to me, just tell me here.”
She saw Matilda typing and then she waited some seconds before she saw that she had stopped typing. She was about to press the back button when she saw her message.
“Brian is getting married to Maya in your place.”
Josephine let out a soft gasp almost immediately and a pained expression appeared on her face. A tear escaped her eyes and she shut her eyes. Her heart ache and she clutched her hand tightly. When she opened them, it fell on her hand and she noticed that she was still wearing the ring Brian had given to her. Feeling hurt and angered, she removed the ring from her finger, but before she could attempt to throw it out the little opening of the window, Lucas caught her hand and snatched it from her.
She looked at him and her expression suddenly changed to that of a frown, sending him a glare.
Lucas chuckled lightly, his lips curving up a bit and he stared at the diamond ring, as if admiring it. He had been watching Josephine and had pretended like he was not looking at her when she had looked at him through the corner of her eye.
“That belongs to me,” Josephine said with a frown on her face, feeling annoyed at his action.
“That was before you were about to throw it out the window,” came Lucas response and Josephine clenched her teeth inwardly.
“You know,” he continued, “I am rather surprised as to why you would want to throw something so valuable away and not to talk of the fact that it is made from my company. You could have pawn it and repay me back.”
Josephine eyes rose a bit and she almost gasped. How could she have forgotten that Brian had gotten the ring from the devil’s company? And now that she realized it, she came to know that the ring was expensive. Lucas was right, she thought and agreed with his word for the first time. She could have pawn it and look for an apartment to rent before deciding what to do with her life. And as for repaying Lucas, she could just buy a fake replica of the rug and disappear from his sight after that. She bit her inner cheek and cursed herself inwardly for being oblivious.
Seeing him dip her engagement ring inside his pocket, she tried to look for ways to retrieve it back and she started by lying through her teeth.
“I wasn’t trying to throw it away. Why would I throw away something so beautiful and expensive?” she said and saw his amused expression before she continued, “I wanted to see it glow under the sun but the windows were all up and you thought I was going to throw it away when you saw me raise my hand up.”
Lucas grinned, revealing his fangs and he relaxed his body in such a way where he was now facing Josephine.
“I don’t think it is something you should value,” he said to her.
He is right, Josephine thought. It is not something she should value anymore, but she needed the money.
“How much does it cost?” she asked him, wanting to know the price that Brian had bought it.
“Why?” Lucas asked.
“I’m just curious,” Josephine replied and waited for him to talk.
“It’s about fifty eight thousand dollars.”
“What!” Josephine half-screamed as her eyes went wide immediately. “Fif-fifty eight thousand dollars?” she repeated and Lucas nodded.
“Why would he spend so much money on just an engagement ring? He couldn’t even sponsor the money for the wedding so how come?” Josephine said, wondering why Brian would squander money on a ring when he could not fund the wedding.
She spent a fortune on it and she planned it all. She had to pay with her hard earned money and now, he was going to get married to Maya after everything. That ring was her fortune right now, she thought.
“Are you talking about your fiancé?” Lucas asked and she realized she had said it aloud.
“That is none of your concern. Now give it back,” she said, referring to the ring.
Lucas gave a sly smile and said, “Come get it.”
Josephine_So much has happened in a year when I met Lucas and so much has changed after a year he left. I still remember that night, losing the grasp of his hand and watching him die right in front of my eyes. That memory still haunts me. I keep telling myself he should not have been the one to die, but, I can never change what fate has in store for us. If I could, then I would have wished we never met. It is sad, but maybe it would have hurt less. Maybe we wouldn’t have gone through a pain like this. Maybe our lives would have been better. Maybe no one would have had to die.Matilda just got married to her long boyfriend, Gabriel, and nothing can describe the happiness I have for the both of them. It was a double celebration because she is expecting, very soon. But one would think I have no happiness at all. It was the kind where i was rejoicing inside me but my face holds no emotions at all. I guess I already turned cold myself. Even my smile does not believe I am happy when I indee
"It's my fault," Josephine kept repeating in her mind as Sullivan drove. She blames herself for everything. If only she had listened to him. If only he never ate that food, all these wouldn't have happened to him. And it was her fault. She did that to him, and now, she is not so sure anymore. The evening is already setting in and Sullivan drove into a narrow way which had trees surrounding every path. The ride was rough but no one cares as they just have to keep going. At a point, they got lost, not knowing the right path, but Sullivan was able to get back on track but it’s just that, they were a little too late.The evening before, when Sullivan saw the necklace Josephine held, he suddenly had a memory recollection. He has seen it somewhere before, just exactly the way it is. It was part of Mathian Gray’s collection back when he was still alive. When young Sullivan had questioned him on why he kept those things and pointed to that particular necklace, Mathian had said that he wants
If life were predictable then it would cease to be life and be without flavor. That was a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, Josephine thought as she lay in bed without clothes, under the sheets. It has been a while she has woken up after the long night she had with Lucas, yet, she has not moved or turned her body. It was because she knows that if she does, she won’t see him there and so, she has decided to remain in that position and reflect on her life.It has been a few years now since she made up her mind not to have sex before marriage and at first, she thought it was the reason Brian cheated on her, but no, Brian was never worthy of it in the first place. He never deserved her and that was it. But Lucas was different. What they did was not out of love, but something deeper than that. It was something that cannot be explained no matter how hard she tries to place it. And she did not regret it, nor did she feel like she was becoming like Maya. It was two different things. Maya only did i
Josephine stood there speechless and she stared at him. Of course there were lots of things she wanted to ask him about her mother. Why did he have to hide such a thing from her? Was he scared about what might happen if she finds out? Those were the questions she kept asking herself but for some reason, she did not know why she took pity on him. “Josephine,” he called and said, “I asked why you are not asking me about your mother. Nicholas told me about everything. I kept it from you and you finally found out, but why are you not asking me about it? Why are you not getting angry?” he grabbed her hand as he asked. “You should already know that your mother died because of me so say something and stop looking at me with those innocent eyes,” he yelled. Josephine had to close her eyes to prevent herself from flinching. She has never seen him so angry or speak in such manner. When he released his grip from her hand, she opened her eyes to stare into his eyes which already turned dark and
Josephine stared at the old picture in her hand and trailed her fingers on it. So the boy her mother mentioned about was actually Lucas. Was he the reason she never came back the day she was supposed to? Was that the reason he helped her and took her to his apartment? Did he know all along that she was the daughter? Then, was her mother the person before her?Those were the thought that came to her and she could not help but think about each one of them. She brought out the necklace and the letters that hung on it oscillated in the air.Sullivan saw the reflection of the silver necklace through the front mirror and as it dangled, he suddenly had a memory flash and he gasped almost immediately while stopping the car abruptly.Josephine almost hit her head on the front seat at the sudden halt and she moved her head to the side to check on Sullivan. “Are you alright?” she asked with worry on her face. “I am sorry, I should not have let you drive me back. You must have been tired.”“No, i
Mrs. Lewis stared at Josephine as they stood face to face with each other in the living room. Ever since she held that gathering, she has not seen nor spoken to her and it bothers her a lot. She did not mean to hurt her with the revelation, or maybe she should have told her first than reveal it while everyone was present.“I came to ask you something, mother,” Josephine blinked as she said it.Mrs. Lewis did not know what it was she wanted to ask, but she knows that something must have happened for her to come to her and want to ask about it. “And what is that?” she asked.“Before my mother died,” she said and could feel her eyes burning, “did she mention about a boy to you?” she asked. “She was going to bring him to me.”“No, she did not,” Mrs. Lewis answered honestly and concern etched on her face. “Did something happen?” she asked feeling unsure.A soft sigh escaped her lips and she took in a deep breath. “I got your package on my birthday,” she said and brought out the necklace fr