I grunted in pain as I glowered at my stain-free underwear. The painful hits continued in my lower abdomen and private area. Taking in deep breaths, I waddled out of the toilet stall and turned on the tap to wash my hands. As I let the water pour on my hands, I studied the woman staring back at me. Sweat drew across her forehead, her bangs clunged to her head. Her lips were pale and eyes, droopy.
I turned off the tap and shook out my hands. Licking my dry lips, I tucked my hands under the hand dryer. The air blew hot on my palms as I winced at the burning pain in my abdomen.
“Are you okay?” Paxton asked as I made to leave his office.
Slowly, I nodded and gave a small smile. “Do you need anything else?”
“Leave two hours free out of my schedule. I have to be somewhere.” He rose to his feet and grabbed his keys.
“But you have to me
Great, I thought to myself as I stepped into my home with my things. I lost two jobs in just a month. What am I going to do now?Dropping my car keys on the center table with the boxes, I made for the fridge and poured myself a glass of water. Entering my room, I pulled off my top and turned to the mirror to get a good look at my stomach. The bandage held on firm around my waist.“I should change it before the day ends,” I said aloud.Dragging my feet, I climbed back into bed and shook the crackers pack on the bedside table. As expected, it was empty. Pouting, I flung it across the room.Should I order some Chinese food?One look at account balance told me yes and no. I really need to put a stop to my shopping spree. What is more important is my next search for a paying job. I am sure I could find a job that involved me staying at home all day.
It was not quite hard to draw the attention of the people around.Great, I thought to myself and shot a desperate look to my friend. She looked as bewildered as Mr. Kingston.“Well, Brianne?”The two adults turned their heated gazes to me.“Paxton and I-”“Mother?”“Dad?”The two men involved arrived, each to his parent’s side and both regarding me with a cold, dark gaze. I kept mine steady and neutral.“Brie!” Victoria said with a hysterical laugh, “It’s time for us to get going. Remember the thing we have to do tonight?”Grateful to my friend, I bobbed my head and grabbed her arm. “Come on. Let’s go.”We began to make our way to the exit when we heard
“What do you mean my father?” “You said you wanted to ask that one question.” “Hardin,” I held his arm and asked, “What did he do?” “He harmed my Dad and threatened to kill him if I did not send you away.” I massaged my temple unable to process this new information clearly. “For how long? He is not the type of person to do this sort of thing suddenly.” “Five,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Why didn't you tell me?!” “I thought I could ward him off and his attacks on the company. Remember that time the crab shipping was delayed and the rice farm infestation?” “It was him?” “I thought I could fight for us. I did not know he would go for my Dad. Your father sent a picture of my dad bleeding and his right broken. Scared, I just followed with whatever your father wanted. My Dad walks with a cane now.” “I am so sorry.” “I wish I had told you sooner.” “Does your dad know my father did this?” He shook his head, “He thinks it was a robbery.” “I swear to God, I will k
Eyeing the extravagantly designed China vase, I asked, “How precious is that vase to your mother?”“Very precious. It was given to her by my father on her birthday,” He replied, not taking his eyes off his phone. His voice was thick with emotions though none showed on his face.“Oh.”I could not possibly destroy that but how was I going to end this fake relationship in a mind-blowing manner?“There you two are. You look so good together,” Mrs Paxton's voice rang loud and clear as she approached us. She read me closer to her and kissed both my cheeks.“You set up a lovely party, Mrs Paxton.” That was actually true. A slow ballad played as people wined and chatted around us. Everyone was dressed in green as instructed by Mrs Paxton to her invited guests and in respect to her new hobby, Urban Ecology.&nb
“And you must be the mistress,” I said cheekily.“Am I?” She grinned.Is what I imagined we might say but instead, I stayed quiet.Edward kept his arm around me saying, ‘Excuse us.”“Edward.”Abigail had held on to Edward’s arm in an endearing manner. With a disgusted glare, he jerked his arm away and pulled me along with him.We had not reached the exit when I pulled away asking, “Was that what you did not want me to know?”“For someone who leaves a disaster in her wake, you’ve been awfully dormant,” he said.“What would you have me do? Scream at the top of my lungs?!” Noticing the drawing stares from the few guests around, I lowered my voice and said, “I do not want to be involved in this anymore. Keep your money and just tell them we broke up. I am leaving.” Heaving an exhausted sigh, I whirled around and marched
The clicks of knives and forks against silver plates were the only thing that could be heard. In the lit dining room, all with the Delmont name sat quietly and ate in a demure manner. I chewed slowly on the cut of meat I had placed in my mouth. The silent tension hung in the air and it was quite obvious I was not the only one who felt it. My elder siblings, Adam and Evelyn, darted looks at me, mother and father. Whether it was sympathy, curiosity, fear, or indifference, I could not tell. Living under my father’s roof does that to you.A loud clatter caused everyone to pause. All eyes focused on my father who sat at the head of the table, wiping his mouth with a clean white handkerchief. “Finally,’ he began, “We are back together as one.”I set the cutleries by the half-eaten dish and prepared for an outburst from him.“I will be stepping down soon.”At this, all four of us stared at my father with wide eyes. Slowl
Seated in a large room with lots of natural light spilling in, I crossed my legs and moved my purse up my laps. Adam and Evelyn were seated quietly side by side, wearing matching bored looks. My father leaned against his white-painted wooden desk, his ankle crossed over the other watching each of us with a keen eye.“I have a task for all three of you.” After a short dramatic pause, he said, “Start your own perfume line. You have a month’s deadline. Whichever has the most sales by the end of the month sits on that chair.”“A month?” Adam muttered.“Yes. Do you have any problem with that?”If Adam found a problem with it, it meant the task is really hard.“You’re dismissed.” He went his table and sank into his seat.I eyed his chair with distaste. What’s the big deal? It’s just a tall black leathered chair with intricate hand drawn designs and a golden armrest
The morning of the presentation came sooner than expected. Two weeks had passed working vigorously with an assigned team on Project Delmont Jasmine Rouge. I bit on my nails as my team gathered around me, prepared to present and at the same time unprepared. My lines were ready and sewn into my brain but anxiety of possible failure filled me. “In the end, you still ignored my advice.” Evelyn sashayed into my bustling office, giving my teammates a nod of acknowledgement. Halting in her steps in front of me, she sized me up. I tucked a hand into the pocket of my blue plaid pants and gripped the presentation papers on the other. “I have to pretend I’m in it to win,” I answered with a shrug. “You have gotten better at lying.” “You keep telling to drop out, what about you? Why are you presenting? Should you not report being sick and unable to present or something?” She pursed her lips and shook her head with a disappointed frown. “See you on stage.” When she turned and walked out of th