A few days later, the couple that came to see me in the orphanage returned and I was taken back along with them. I didn’t have any belongings and I left the orphanage with pretty much all that I had on. While in the back seat of their car, I looked through the back window at the orphanage as the car was driving away. Somehow, I had a feeling that I would never ever return to this place. Generally, I was over the moon happy, I was able to leave without any regrets except for one: I didn’t get to say good bye to the older guy that saved me from the fire. Goodbye big brother…we probably won’t ever see each other again…When I thought that a single drop of tear rolled down my cheek and I secretly wiped it away so that the couple wouldn’t see me crying. Honestly, after that day I was too busy adapting and living my new life that the thought of that big brother never crossed my mind again for a very long while. He became part of the old life that I had to leave behind. The ride to my new
“Having a nice figure and a beautiful face sure is nice. I wished my eyes were as pretty as yours and my lashes as long…” one of my friends said before she sighed. “That’s right and your waist is so slim all the time no matter how much you eat. How do you manage to control your weight?” another girl asked curiously as they both stared at me from across the tea table. Having afternoon tea with the girls was part of how we spent our school time in the afternoon. It was to ensure that we knew how to properly socialize and practice our manners at the same time. By this time, I was so used to receiving these compliments on my looks that it no longer surprised me or made me feel happy about it. Despite how people tend to compliment me on my looks, I never once felt proud of these traits that I was born with. I didn’t put any effort in making sure that my eyes were round and wide or for my lashes to be long. I was simply born like this and coincidentally how I looked happened to match wit
“If you want a perfect husband, you have to start by being a perfect bride! Listen to me!” my mother started shouting. I knew that the reason why I was hanging on to this scar didn’t make any sense at all, but I just couldn’t bring myself to erase it. “I have a headache. I’m going to sleep now; I have a test tomorrow…” I mumbled before turning away. “You can’t avoid this forever! Elena!” my mother shouted after me. I ran up the stairs as quickly as I could and headed for the sanctuary of my own bedroom. Closing the door behind me and locking it firmly so that I could hide away from my mother. Her shouting seemed far away now. Running away was the option that I always chose so that I wouldn’t have to fight with her directly. She’ll get busy with other things, and she’ll forget about this scar on my back. After entering the bathroom, I started stripping in front of the mirror. Turning my back towards the mirror and glancing over my shoulder, I could see the thin patch of scar on my
“He is a nice person,” I replied flatly. They were all nice. They were nice to me just like I had to be nice to them. Superficially nice. Just like I never showed my true self to them, I suspected that none of them ever showed their true self to me. I wasn’t sure how my parents expected me to consider marriage to any of these men when we both didn’t know anything about the other. Of course, I kept all these thoughts locked away in my own mind without ever voicing them. Getting married right away after graduating from high school wasn’t what I wanted. Although the other girls in my class viewed it as the highest form of achievement to get engaged right after graduation, I had other plans for myself. I had been thinking about this for a while now and after almost a year of thinking, I have finally found a way to convince my parents to send me to university. Unlike the popular majors that other girls were aiming for such as the arts or design, I wanted to study business. It was still
***Back to the Present***“Listen, I’m tired. Can we discuss this again tomorrow or another day?” I whined. “Sure…” my mother replied. “Everything should turn out just as we expected anyways so there’s not much to discuss…” father said with confidence. “I’m going to my room…” I said softly as I slowly got up from my seat.My bedroom was on the second floor. It was the same room that I had since the first day that I moved into the house all those years ago. I used that room up until the day that I married George and moved out of the house. Of course, during university I moved out for a bit to live closer to the university but that was about it. “Sleep well daughter dear! When you wake up, you’ll be a billionaire!” my mother called cheerfully after me. I rolled my eyes, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to see my reaction with my back turned towards them. Without bothering to turn around, I continued on my way to my bedroom. Their sounds of joyous laughter haunted me all the way u
The text message was simple. He asked me to meet him at a certain hotel suite to entertain a client that he was meeting. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Most of the time if George had a meeting or dinner with a client and the client’s wife or girl came along, it was almost mandatory for me to be there to entertain them both. There wasn’t a lot of time left until the meeting, so I went to work on dressing up immediately. I picked out a glamourous red dress with a slightly sexy vibe that came straight off this season’s fashion runway and paired it with matching red high heel shoes. Red dresses go well with rubies, diamonds, and red lipstick. By the time that I was done, my driver was already waiting for me to take me to the hotel where George was waiting. The hotel was one of the most luxurious in the city and the only one connected to a casino and mall. All owned by the same company, the luxury hotel, casino and mall were the top destination for entertainment for people in the co
“Why do you look so shocked? I’ve been looking forward to our reunion for all this time,” Brandon said before flashing me an enchanting smile. “What are you going on about?” I snapped as I glared at him. “Why don’t we sit down and talk first before…” he said before trailing off as his hands gestured to the large burgundy leather sofa set located in the middle of the living room. Why am I talking to him? I should just turn and leave. I could see the king-sized bed through the ajar door to the bedroom connected to this living room. However, just like all those times before, my body couldn’t move when I felt his stone-grey eyes looking directly at me. Brandon’s hand snaked out and quickly grabbed my wrist before he dragged me behind him, leading me to the sofa. He pushed me softly onto one of the seats before he took his seat opposite from me. The sight of him sitting crossed legged with the fingers of his hands laced together reminded me of the past that we share. “It’s been a whil
“What do you have in mind?” George asked, clearly interested. “One card. Whoever has the highest card wins. Simple, right?” Brandon said with a playful smile. “How much do you want to bet?” George asked. “I have too much money already so it’s a little boring,” Brandon said as he laughed softly. “What do you want?” George asked, sensing that Brandon already had something in mind. “Let’s see. What about a night with your beautiful wife?” Brandon suggested as he rested his chin on his hands and smiled innocently. George didn’t quite understand Brandon’s obsession with Elena, but he was more than ready to use that to his advantage. Since they had gotten in touch to discuss Brandon’s interest to invest in some of his funds, George had realized that Brandon had asked or spoken about his wife quite frequently. He knew that his wife was very attractive, so it probably wasn’t unusual if Brandon had developed a liking to her. Although he had no idea if Brandon had ever met Elena in person