Chapter 10

Maybelline.

8:30pm …

“Welcome Ma’am, “

“Dinner is ready,” Elena said to me as I walked into the house, I flashed her a small smile and nodded in reply.

“You can set the table, I’ll be down soon” I said to her, she nodded immediately and walked away, I gently took my gaze off her and began to walk upstairs. Honestly, even if my baby bump hadn’t really grown, I missed the feeling of having a tiny human growing inside me. My heart broke at the thought of my child, I was extremely excited when I found out I was pregnant, but then life happened and it is what it is. But one thing I won’t take lightly, is getting back at the people who ruined my life to this point.

****

“What do you mean the viewership ratings are going down?!” I heard Grayson say over the phone, he wasn’t yelling, but his voice was stiff and obviously very upset.

“Katrina, the update I’m asking about is the streaming platform we are about to launch, apparently we have more issues on ground,” I paused by the staircase, unwilling to interrupt his call, I stood by the staircase, his back facing me. He was facing the window, his shoulder seemed to tense as his grip on the phone tightened as he spoke.

“What do you mean I’m yelling at you, this is business Katrina! I’m dead serious!” he snapped. This is actually the first time, I’m seeing him speak so angrily.

“Tomorrow, I will speak to the anchors and interning anchors, I need them to put in their best in every live show and interview. We cannot be declining in views at this point,”

“Also, I’ll contact Cole and Becky as soon as possible, it’s time to set the web series in motion,”

“In the new week, we should focus on that,” he said and with that he ended the call. Just before he turned around, I cleared my throat and continued walking towards the dining table.

“Everything okay?!” I asked as we both walked into the dinning table and I pulled out a chair for myself.

“Yeah, I guess” he murmured in reply as he also pulled out a chair and took his seat. I reached for the glassware on the table, opened it and dished out food for myself. He did the same and we began eating quietly.

“By the way, where were you earlier?!” He asked, I held my steak down with my fork and gently cut a small piece with the knife. I raised my shoulder in a small shrug as I raised the steak up to my mouth.

“Just around the area,” I replied, he nodded thoughtfully and continued with his food.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your conversation, but I might have. So if there’s anything you need me to help you with, I have a lot of time to spare “ I muttered, immediately regretting why I mentioned any of it to begin with.

“Just do your job well, I think that’s good enough for me,” he replied.

Shortly after, Elena walked out of the kitchen and walked towards us. At first I didn’t pay too much attention to her, but her tarrying was starting to get suspicious, I slowly looked up at her and raised my brows at her.

“Is everything fine?! What’s the problem?!” I asked, she sighed again and I could see her pick on her fingers. Grayson immediately dropped his cutleries on his plate and looked up at her.

“Elena, we should have gone past this right?! If there’s something you want to say, just go ahead and say it,” he said to her, she exhaled deeply and took another step forward.

“I want to resign,”

“What?!”

“What?!” Grayson and I chroused immediately.

“Why?! What’s going on?! Is the work too much for you?! Is your salary not enough?! Do you want an increment?!” Grayson asked, not even giving her the chance to answer the previous one before asking another.

“No, it’s not that,” she replied with quivering lips.

“My mother, she’s very sick. I came to this country to work just to take care of her. I haven’t gone back home in three years. My father’s family is making life very difficult for her because of my absence. Now she’s deteriorating, if anything happens to her while I’m not there, I’ll blame myself for it,”

“I don’t want to live a life of regret. I just want to go back home and be with my family, I want to take care of my mother myself,” she said, a thin line of tears streaking down her face. Grayson took his lips in and nodded slowly at her words.

“That’s okay, I’ll have money wired into your account. Let's make sure she gets the best medical attention. I pray your mom recovers hale and heartily,” he said to her, she nodded slowly and fell to her knees sobbing quietly.

“Thank you so much sir, I do not deserve your kindness,” I immediately pushed my chair backwards, got up , knelt in front of her and wrapped my hands around her. If you’ve not heard of other people's struggles, you’d most definitely think you’re the only one suffering. Who would have thought that Elena was fighting her own devils, she always had a smile on her face, like she had not a care in the world. Now seeing her break down in tears makes me wonder how much she had actually had to keep hidden inside.

“Please don’t cry,” I whispered as I patted her shoulder gently. I gently pulled her up to stand.

“I’ll arrange for your flight tickets to go back home,” I added. I still have a tangible amount in my personal savings at least, so that shouldn’t be an issue. Elena had made this place feel honey since the day I got here, this is the least I can do for her. She nodded slowly and wiped her face dry.

“Thank you so much Ma, thank you so much sir, I won’t forget your kindness,” she said, Grayson nodded in reply as I gently returned to sit in my seat.

“She’s a nice girl, she’s been here the whole three years” Grayson said as she walked away and I nodded slowly in reply.o

“I should let Katrina know that we need a new house assistant,” he said. I turned to him immediately.

“You don’t have to, I can do it,” I said to him.

“What?! Ofcourse not I wouldn’t do that to you,”

“Why?! You think I’m still hurting?!” I replied almost immediately.

“That’s not it, but ..”

“I’m no longer pregnant, and these are things I’m used to doing, we can just take in anybody to live with us at this point,”

“You didn’t force it on me, I’m offering. It’s not that deep.” I said, he exhaled resignately and gently pushed his plate further into the table.

“The moment it becomes inconvenient, let me know,” he said, I nodded firmly at his words as he pushed his chair backwards and Elena came up to carry away the plates.

********

I was running, but no matter how fast I went, Nora seemed to be running faster and almost catching up with me. The ground beneath me shifted like sand, pulling me down. I stumbled, my heart hammering in my chest, she finally caught up with me and wrapped her hands around my neck with an evil laughter.

"You're nothing. He never loved you."

Suddenly the voices overlapped. My Ex-husband. My best friend. I couldn’t breathe. I gasped for air but it felt like my lungs were collapsing, my body turning to stone. After a while, I started hearing desperate wails of a baby, the three voices overlapping, messing with my brain, my hands flung to my head and I screamed loudly.

Then, I saw Grayson. He stood in the distance, but no matter how hard I tried to reach him, he seemed further away with every step. His back was turned.

“Grayson!” My voice was weak, trembling. He didn’t turn. He couldn’t hear me.

Just as the darkness was about to consume me, I jolted awake, gasping for air. My hands clutched at the sheets, damp with sweat, and my chest heaved as if I’d run a marathon. The room was dark, eerily quiet, save for the sound of my ragged breathing.

Before I could fully grasp where I was, I felt a weight beside me shift. Strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a firm, familiar embrace.

"May." Grayson's voice was steady, soothing. I buried my face into his chest, his warmth grounding me, calming the wild thrum of my heartbeat. His hand stroked my hair, the gentle rhythm helping to chase away the remnants of the nightmare.

“I couldn’t—” I choked on the words, tears burning behind my eyes. “You were so far away, and I couldn’t reach you.” Grayson tightened his hold on me, his chin resting atop my head.

“It was just a dream," he murmured, brushing a stray tear from my cheek. "They can’t hurt you."

I nodded, though the fear still clawed at my insides. "It felt so real," I whispered.

"Like they were still here, trying to tear me apart completely."

“They can’t,” he said. I wanted to believe him, but the fear that lived inside me—fear that everything could fall apart again—was hard to shake. Tears rolled down my face, I didn’t want to live my life like this. I did not want to live in constant fear and sadness. I wanted to be genuinely free and happy. There and then, I decided that I was actively going to live a happy life.

I closed my eyes, leaning into him, Apparently he seemed like the only one I could trust. Slowly, the storm inside me began to calm, his presence sort of giving ne a sense of peace. With a deep breath, I settled against him, my fingers curling into his shirt.

“Don’t let go,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

“I won’t,” he promised, his arms tightening around me once more. "I’ll never let go."