Chapter 7

Maybelline.

I exhaled as we all walked back into our office, I pulled out my chair in my own cubicle and dropped heavily on it, my leg ached badly, I reached downwards and took off my heels. I didn’t even have the chance to sit for a while or eat immediately I stepped into the office. My stomach mumbled in hunger but considering the pain in my leg and how tired I was to actually stand up and go all the way to a nearby restaurant to get food? I’d rather sit in my chair and rest.

“Delivery for Miss Maybelline Russet,” A loud voice called out at the entrance, everybody turned to look at the entrance, a dispatch rider was standing there,

“Aren’t you Maybelline Tanner?!” Betsy, my colleague sitting next to me said, I spluttered in an attempt to speak, I gently pushed my chair backwards and got up to my feet.

“Russet is my maiden name,” I muttered shyly as I walked up to him and took the order from him. I muttered thank you to him and carefully walked back to my seat. Took my seat and pulled my chair further into the table, this is weird, I didn’t order food. I gently tore the paper bag open, I dipped my hands inside and brought out what was inside, it contained three plates of different meals. My eyes widened in shock wondering who it is that would have sent me food.

“Woah, that’s a lot of food,” Betsy said as stretched out to look at me from her table. I chuckled nervously, still brainstorming to see who could have possibly brought me food. I looked into the paper bag and there was a note in it, I dipped my hands into it, took it out and read the note.

-I asked Elena to make you breakfast for a reason. Don’t skip breakfast next time - the note read, I exhaled deeply rolling my eyes to the back of my head as soon as I read it. I should have known, who else in my life cared enough to send me food. I slowly turned to look at Betsy,

“It’s really a lot of food, do you care for some, I can’t finish it alone,” I said to her,

“Ofcourse, thank you,” she replied. I looked up and glanced at everyone in the office.

“Please everyone, grab a spoon, there’s enough food to go round,” I announced and thankfully, they were nice enough to not ignore me. Once again Grayson came through for me?! How in the world does he usually know the right time to do things?

“Thank you for the food May,”

“Thank you for the food May,” Everyone thanked me as we finished eating and disposed of the plate. Except for one person though, Loretta. She didn’t even bother joining us to begin with, she kept pretty much to herself. She didn’t bother me much though. I flashed them a wide smile and waved dismissively.

“It’s nothing guys, thanks for accepting it,” I said, just then the door swung open and Grayson walked in, thick silence descended on the room immediately he walked in. This presence alone commanding respect, he still walked into the office and stopped directly beside my table.

His eyes swept through the room quietly, everyone looked away as he made eye contact with them, his eyes finally found their way to me, obligatorily, I reluctantly looked away from him, I felt his eyes size me up and finally land on my legs.

“Shit,” I muttered, I had taken off my shoes earlier and I didn’t put them back on making me barefooted right now. How embarrassing can this get, I slowly placed my left leg over the right and pushed it backwards away from his sight. He cleared his throat slightly and slowly looked back up at everyone.

“This is an official welcome to the company, I didn’t have the time to speak to you guys at your orientation earlier which is why I’m here,”

“I’m sure Katrina must have told you all about your job description, I hope you all make it to the other side!” He said.

“Maybelline Russet!” He called, my heart raced as he called my name all of a sudden, I flinched from shock as I gently got up to my feet.

“Sir?!” I answered, my voice came out hoarse and definitely awkward, I cleared my throat and answered again,

“Isn’t your last name Russet?!” He asked, I nodded slowly looking everywhere but his eyes.

“Use your words,” he said firmly, my eyes finally made way to his face, obviously he was staring at me,

“Yes sir, my last name is Russet,” I replied.

“Then what’s with the Tanner confusion?! Rectify that with the HR as soon as possible!” He said and I nodded with a small bow.

“Yes sir, I will”

“Also, get ready you’ll be handling Tyler Graham’s interviews” he said gently tucking his hands into his pockets. My colleagues broke out in gasps immediately when he mentioned Tyler Graham. Tyler Graham was a football player and he was the nation's sweetheart, he was the highest paid footballer, had a lot of fans and was quite popular among ladies.

“The rest of you would be allocated appropriate jobs also as soon as possible” he concluded and with that he walked out.

“Girl, you are so lucky!” Betsy said to me as soon as he said that, the other staff murmured about it, talking about how they wished they were in my shoes, I shook my head slowly at the silly wish. Wish you were me?! I wish I wasn’t me! I gently toned them off as I reached for my phone, picked it up and scrolled towards the message I received last night. I really couldn’t get the text out of my head.

If I was curious?! Curious about what?! Even the message made me more curious. What could the person probably want to tell me about?! I looked down at the address, it didn’t seem like the address of a house, it was just a road.

How bad can it get?! Who would want to hurt me on a public road? I dropped my phone on the table and buried my head in my palm. I’ll just go. How bad can it get! Once I get out of work, I’ll go there before heading home.

****

4:00pm.

“We’re here,” the driver said, pulling over. I looked around, nothing but trees and an empty stretch of road.

“Are you sure this is the place?” I asked, propping forward.

“Address matches,” he replied, tapping the meter. With a sigh, I paid him and stepped out. The taxi sped away, leaving me standing by the road side in a very scary silence. I checked my phone again, eyeing the number that had texted me. As early as now I had begun to regret my decision, maybe I should have ignored the message and shouldn’t have come.

Ten minutes passed. No sign of anyone. My patience began to wear out.

I’ll just call.

I dialed the number and pressed the phone to my ear, but before it could even ring—

A cloth draped over my mouth and nose, strong hands pinning me in place. My instincts kicked in, and I struggled, but the pungent smell of chemicals flooded my senses. I grabbed the clothes trying to make sure that I didn't not sniffle a large amount of the pungent chemical but he was clearly stronger than me. My vision blurred, I couldn’t resist for too long, I was just an helpless pregnant young girl.

Suddenly I heard a loud bang, I shut my eyes tightly hoping to feel the pain but I didn’t, instead I felt the guy behind me slowly lose his grip around me and the cloth fell to the floor.

My heart rose and fell rapidly in my chest as I gasped for breath, with my hands and legs shaking uncontrollably, I slowly turned around to see Grayson standing behind me, his legs slightly apart and a big log of wood in his hands.

•

•

•

After inputting the door’s passcode, Grayson grabbed the door knob and pushed it in. The ride home was very silent, I felt stupid , shameless and angry for risking the life of my baby and responding to a random and baseless text without checking first.

“Don’t do that again, you could have died!” Grayson muttered firmly as soon as the door beeped lock behind us, I wanted to reply but the sound coming from the TV interrupted me.

“Oh My God, Ma’am, sir you’re back, I’m so sorry I was the one watching a soap opera on TV!” Elena said as she dashed out of the kitchen, tried to pick up the remote and turn on the TV.

“Don’t! Leave it! You can go!” I said stopping her mid action, she looked up between Grayson and I, surprised, and with a small bow she turned around and darted away toward the kitchen, I slowly turned toward the TV.

“Congratulations are in order for the Tanners as their first and only son becomes the Chairperson of Tanner’s corporation!”

“As they say Behind every successful Man is a woman, Fred Tanner has taken this opportunity to finally reveal his beautiful wife whom he had been married to for three beautiful years, he also talked about how she helped him over the years to get to this position”

“Our Anchor, Esther, live at the inauguration ceremony over to you!” He said and the channel immediately switched to Fred’s inauguration ceremony, my hands balled into a fist as I saw Nora all glammed up standing with her arms linked around Fred’s.

I released a deep breath through my mouth as I tried to steady my breath and not scream out loud, I could feel my fingers crack as I watched Fred give Nora credit for every single thing I did.

That was my place, that was my sacrifice, all this was my doing! So this is why he asked me to keep our marriage a secret, this was why he asked me to not have a social media account, this was why he didn’t go with me to important occasions and even when he did he was never found beside me.

This was all a plot, a plot between him and Nora, to have me do all the work and then have Nora take credit for it!

Suddenly I felt so wronged, I felt used, I felt very cheated, through my side eyes I saw Grayson bend towards the remote, pick it and turn off the TV.

“You should go upstairs now, I already called for the doctor,” I abruptly turned to him.

“I don’t need …. ahhhh!” A sharp sting in my abdomen cut my words short, I felt warm liquid slosh down my thigh, I didn’t have to look down at it, I knew it was blood, my eyes went wide immediately and my heart rate accelerated, I looked up at Grayson tears spilling out of my eyes, he immediately rushed to my side and I fell into his arms dizzy and almost unconscious.

***

The sound of voices stirred me awake. My head pounded, and my body felt heavy. My vision blurred as I tried to focus, but the words coming from the other side of the door hit me like knives, each one slicing deeper than the last.

"I’m sorry," the doctor said quietly, his voice filled with regret.

"I warned you to let her avoid strenuous activities. I did everything I could, but it couldn't be avoided," the doctor continued.

"I’m sorry—she lost the baby."

Those words shattered me. My breath hitched, and I stared up at the ceiling, hoping—praying—I had imagined it. But I hadn’t. I had the worst luck ever. I could feel the emptiness where life once grew inside me.

Tears slipped down my cheeks, hot and unforgiving, as reality sank in. My baby—my baby—was gone. I bit down hard on my lip, the metallic taste of blood spreading across my tongue, but it did nothing to stop the agony ripping through my soul. A strangled sob escaped me, and I clamped my hands over my mouth to muffle the sound.

I could take every other disappointment, every betrayal. I could endure the hatred of those who wished me harm. But not this. Not the loss of my child. How could I not blame myself? What if I’d been more careful? I shouldn’t have considered that text at all. My baby was the only person I had left that was mine and now she’s gone, once again all alone in this cold world, the bed beneath me was soaked in tears, I could not move and I could not stop myself from crying either.

The door creaked open. Grayson slipped inside,

“May,” he whispered, his voice soft,

“I’m so sorry, this is not your fault,” he whispered softly, I slowly turned to him, I sniffled deeply, my heart hardening with a firm resolve, I was done crying, I was done blaming my luck, I was done being weak.

“You’re right, it was never my fault to begin with,” I grunted, I raised my hands to my face and wiped my tears with the back of my palm.

“Grayson, Let’s do revenge!”