MasukJeanetAfter clearing the table and washing the dishes, I head to my room, and I have no idea how I fell asleep, but I am woken by Linda, who is screaming my name and shaking me."You were screaming." She sits at the edge of the bed, her face marred with concern. "I had a bad dream." I am breathing as if I've been running, and my t-shirt is wet with sweat. "It's probably this room." She pulls me towards her, not caring an inch about my sweat. "You are still traumatized, since this is where it happened.""I know," I sob, soaking her shirt with tears. "Hi, Uncle Damien, she's okay. She just had a bad dream, that's all."I thank my stars that my face is buried in Linda's chest. I don't think I really want to see Damien's hating eyes.Damien says something to Linda in Italian, and she responds in Italian before kissing the top of my head. "Are you happy?" She asks Damien, who responds in Italian again."Jeanet, why didn't you sleep where you slept last night?" I wipe my remaining tea
JeanetThe breakfast table is quiet, and I can see the way that Damien is shifting uncomfortably in his seat that he sort of wishes that he wasn't in this room. It's just the sound of forks and knifes and plates. I also don't even know what to say to make this less awkward. "That is crazy! How could you do this to me?" Linda is crying at the breakfast table."I don't have a choice, Linda.""But it's safer here than it is out there, why would you do something like that?" She looks from me to Damien. "Unless my uncle paid you again. Did he?""I understand you are upset, but you don't have to say such hurtful things.""I'm sorry," she mumbles. "It's okay," I chime in."But tell me, what are you going to do out there by yourself?" Her voice breaks. "I'll figure it out?" I half-ask."Please, stay. Uncle tell her to stay. Tell her we want her here. You do want her here, don't you?"Damien just nods in response. He doesn’t even look in my direction, and his nod is curt, it's almost unreco
DamienThe words slice through me like a knife. She might as well have carved out my heart, because the feeling is probably similar. "Jeanet?" My voice comes out hoarse and desperate. "Damien?" She sounds irritated. "You are breaking up with me?" "We've never been together, Damien." She rolls her eyes. My jaw drops, but I quickly pick it up off the floor. She's right, of course, but the way she's so emotionless as she says this hurts me more than I would like to admit. "Wait," she furrows her eyebrows. "We were never together. Were we?" I try to smile politely, but the only thing that happens is me pressing my lips together. "We were not," I manage to say. She sighs, and the relief that she feels is written on her face. "I appreciate everything you've done for me, Damien. You and I have come a long way, and it's safe to say we have gone from being enemies to..." she trails off. "Enemies to people who tolerate each other. So, at least I don't wish for you to choke on your diamo
JeanetI was led to a dark room in the basement for my disobedience, and I've been sitting in here, I don't know, for how long. In this room, at least I can move around, but it feels more like a prison cell. The boss lady, whoever her name is, reminded me over and over again that I should be grateful to Damien or I would regret trying to run away.I hear footsteps, and I rush to the mattress to sit and look innocent. The light is switched on, hurting my eyes, and both the kidnappers are standing in the doorway."You have no idea how much I'm tempted to put a bullet through your head." The guy looks at me, his face marred with disgust. "I would've done it if everyone weren't so afraid of Damien. You know, it really feels as if everyone practically worships that traitor.""Come on, we need to be patient. We will destroy him one day, and at least we know who we are going to use to do that." She places her hand around my arm, deliberately causing me pain. I wince, but I don't say a word.
Damien"We..." Tumi trails off. "We can't find the footage in five minutes.""Tell me you are joking," I chuckle in disbelief. "Tell me that this is a joke.""I promise you, Damien, that we'll find whoever did this, but we can't speed up the process of retrieving the CCTV.""My niece's... My friend has been kidnapped, and I want to find her, but this is all you can tell me?""I can get my security team to look for her; we will do it for free, and I promise...""No, thanks," I interject. "I'm good, and thanks for nothing. When I'm done with this, I'll find whoever deleted that footage, and God help them."Tumi shifts uncomfortably. "That is a threat, Damien.""I'm glad you see it for what it is." I storm off from the office, and the moment I get in the car, I call my number one suspect. "Where's Jeanet?" I ask as soon as my mother picks up the call. "There's no, 'Hello, mother, how are you? Have you forgotten your manners, or is this girl driving you crazy that much?'" "Mother! Wher
JeanetThe boss lady's rings, and then she speaks in a calm tone and expressionless face. After hanging up, she sighs as she stares at me. "I still don't understand why." She shakes her head. "Are you blackmailing him?" She raises her eyebrows, waiting for me to respond. I point at the tape on my mouth. "You are pretty, I admit that, but you are not captivating."She turns to my kidnappers, who are standing on the side and watching me with curious looks. "Remove her tape, I want to ask her a few questions." The kidnapping lady walks towards me and removes the tape as if she's removing a wax strip. I almost scream in pain, but I manage to keep it together. I refuse to give her the satisfaction that she hurt me. "So..." The boss lady smirks. "Are you blackmailing him?" "I'm not blackmailing him." I hold up my chin defiantly."Oh! Feisty, I see," she chuckles. "I never expected this."I've been tied to this chair for closer to a day, I'm exhausted and thirsty, but I can't sleep or dri
JeanetLinda and I have just returned from Table Mountain. Every time I see it, it always feels like the first time. It's beautiful. We sit on the couch in our hotel room and watch cartoons. Someone knocks, and we exchange a glance. When I open the door, I come face-to-face with Damien. He looks g
Jeanet "The results for my research presentation are out," Linda sighs. "I asked Jeanet to tell me how it went.""Of course," I force myself to smile."So, who's this pretty woman?" Linda beams at her uncle. He still has his arm around her and she seems smitten with him. "This is Rainy," he says.
JeanetMy head hurts, and my body hurts. I am lying in bed, starring at the ceiling, until a foggy image of me giving Damien a lap dance comes to mind. I sit up so fast, it makes me feel lightheaded. “Good morning sunshine," Linda says in a singsong voice. She presses on a remote to open the curt
Damien "Are you sure you didn't say or do anything to hurt her?" Linda eyes me suspiciously, and I throw her a dirty look in return. Jeanet has left and no one knows why. Linda said she left the party in a hurry, and there were tears in her eyes. Her words and accusatory looks makes me feel as if







