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The Bargain
The Bargain
Penulis: Lily Darcy

A Broken Promise

Penulis: Lily Darcy
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2024-06-13 15:35:03

"Is it over?" Racheal Rana asked.

"Yes." Maxwell responded.

And she ran into his arms happily. She hugged him tight, the moment felt surreal. 

There had been rumors that the war that had raged the country for five years was coming to an end. 

Even Maxwell, a palace guard high up in the presidential palace had told her as much, but it had been almost too much to hope for.

"It feels surreal. Now we can leave and really live" she said softly withdrawing from the embrace. 

"That is what I came to talk to you about." Maxwell said. 

"Really?" Racheal said, half jumping excitedly. "Would we leave today?" She asked in nervous excitement. 

Maxwell led the way to one of the sofas in her luxuriously furnished room and sat down. She hurriedly followed and took a seat beside him. 

She returned her gaze to his face expectantly. And for the first time, she had a feeling that something was terribly wrong. 

"Maxwell" Racheal said with a little dread. He was avoiding her eyes, and he was sweating despite the cool air conditioning in her room. 

"There is no good way to say this. I am calling this quits." He said.

"You are quitting your position." She said expectantly, because that had been the plan. He quits his position and they elope together to another country to start a family. 

But the question sounded foolish even to her own ears. Maxwell would not look so uncomfortable if he was sticking to the plan.

"No. I am calling our relationship quits." He said, turning to finally face her. "We cannot go on with the plan."

Racheal felt herself caving in "You promised." She said, the feeling of being betrayed twisting her guts. 

"You promised. This was what I had looked forward to for years, this is the only reason I went on living." She added. "You cannot change your mind."

"It's impossible. You will find some other man. You will find happiness." He said standing up.

"You swore you loved me, you promised to continue loving me." She said, feeling the heat of her unshared tears beginning to burn the back of her throat now. 

"How can you love me and want to abandon me in this situation? Why give me a will to live and then take it away?" She asked angrily. 

Then she paused, and her eyes widened. "Did someone find out about us, are you being threatened?" She asked moving close to him.

"No." He said forcefully, stepping back. He looked offended at her words.

"Then what is it? Why this sudden decision. I saw you two days ago and all was fine." She said in frustration. 

"Was it?" He asked with a bitter smile. 

"Maxwell, why are you acting this way? Please tell me." She said, and lost control over her tears. They flowed freely, but she felt no shame, this was still Maxwell. 

This was Maxwell who knew her darkest thoughts and the depth of her embarrassing reality. 

She finally came to the realisation. 

"You do not want to be involved in all these anymore right? The presidential family drama is too much for you, and why send yourself to exile over the unwanted daughter of all his children." She said.

From the way he continued watching her silently she realised she was not far from the truth. 

He was no longer defensive. 

She sat back heavily on the couch. She never knew this day would come. Not even for one minute, in her moments of doubt did she think of this possibility. 

She feared their getting caught, she feared an accident killing them on their way, or their being condemned to a life of poverty, and even those were not so terrifying because Maxwell would be with her. 

Never did she think he would back out.

"You will find happiness again Racheal." He said, sounding a little sad. 

Not sweet Racheal. My sweet Racheal was what he had always called her. He turned to leave.

"Don't go." She said, "Please!" She cried. He did not even break his stride. 

She hurriedly got up and crumbled to the floor, clutching his foot. 

She could already feel the darkness swallowing her, a shiver went through her body at the thought of her fate if she let him walk out that door. 

She clung to his foot desperately. 

"Please don't go. I beg you. Please". She cried as he struggled to pull his leg away. "Take pity on me, you know the life you are condemning me to." She pleaded. 

He leaned down and forcefully pushed her away, finally setting himself free. He hurried out the door like the devil himself was chasing him. 

Racheal remained at that spot and sobbed. Heart wrenching sobs that shook her whole body. 

She cried and cried, she cried for her late mother, she cried for the life she could have had, she cried for Maxwell and the life by his side she just lost. 

Twice, her personal maids came in and tried to pull her up but she fought them off her. 

She finally stood up as the sun began to set outside. She could still hear all the noise from the crowd outside. 

Her maid came in with a cup of tea and turned on the television. 

Racheal stared at the cup for a long time, remembering her teenage days. When her step-mother would have her confined to her room like she did now, but would strictly order that no food be brought up to her. And Racheal would starve and starve. 

And now that she was older, although she was rarely starved, she still faced these confinements.

Whenever her step-mother was angry about something, anything at all she would send out palace guards to go seize her anywhere in the city she was. 

They would bring her back to the palace and lock her up in her room while her father pretended to be blind and deaf to the situation. 

He did nothing too when his wife blacklisted her from getting a job anywhere in the country. 

Light flashes from the TV interrupted her thoughts. She slowly turned to see her father firmly shaking the president of the country they had been at war with. 

She read the banner on the screen and went cold. 

The both presidents promised to join their son and daughter in marriage to further unite both countries, and assure the countrymen that the war was truly over.

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  • The Bargain    Epilogue

    “Mind Skylar’s head.” Steffan said, watching her get out of the car. Racheal cradled six month-old Skylar’s head in her arms and got out of the car. Steffan turned and walked ahead towards the courthouse. She knew he did not like this, neither did her mother, but she wanted to lead a new life from now on.She would only allow any dispute to be settled by the court no matter how long it took, instead of the torture, killing and all they had done up to the point that she had Sterling.“Maman," Sterling said, peeking his head around his father’s shoulders.“Yes, baby.”“Maman.” He said again, and she smiled at him. Steffan adjusted him in his arms as they walked into the building.It was an informal courtroom, and the biggest case in Xen. This case was what had disgraced Roslyn and made her lose the elections. Journalists waited outside for the final hearing.She and Steffan sat side by side after the judge took her seat, and the accused began to be escorted in by the cops. Roslyl

  • The Bargain    I can live with that

    Racheal followed Steffan into his house quietly. His housekeeper greeted her warmly. She nodded at the woman. She was surprised to see Chef Bennett come out.“Dinner in five minutes, sir.” Then he paused. “Mrs Sherrod.” He bowed.“Make a place for two,” Steffan said. Those were the first words he had said, since she told him she missed him.“Sure, Sir.” Chef Bennett responded.“You kept him?” Racheal asked, as Steffan led the way upstairs. “You liked him.” He said simply.She said nothing more. He surprisingly led the way to his bedroom on the second floor. It was a dark masculine room, wide, dark and intimidating.She stood in the middle, unsure of how to act, or what to do next.He dropped his bag on the bed, and glanced at her.“I am sorry I hurt you.” She said. He paused, midway into sitting on the bed, then started to take his tie off.“That’s rare. Women never apologize.”She made a face at him. But continued anyway. “I was conflicted. I wanted to be with you, but I was

  • The Bargain    Pregnancy test result

    Racheal sat on the toilet bowl, staring at the pregnancy test kit. It clearly read positive. In denial, she took others. They read the same thing.She hurried back to her room and pulled on a dress. It would be stupid to make the same mistake twice. She sat nervously in the backseat as her chauffeur took her to the hospital.She waited nervously as her blood got drawn, and patiently waited for the doctor.She could not smile back as the doctor said.“Congratulations Mrs Sherrod. Would you like to see your baby?”She climbed the table, and stared at the ceiling as the doctor smeared a cold gel on her flat belly.“You are about seven weeks pregnant.” The doctor said excitedly. “Look at your baby.” She held her breath and turned.She could hear the heartbeat of the fetus as the doctor pointed out where the baby was in the sac. It was so tiny, she burst into tears.The doctor helped her up and soothed her, telling her it was OK to cry, that days like these were an emotional day for

  • The Bargain    Please let me go

    The president is dead did not cover the horror of how Spencer Sherrod had died. He stared at his father’s coffin the next morning as the priest talked on and on. He had wanted to kill this man. He had wanted to kill him with his own hand, so why was he reacting this way to the man’s death?His mind kept going back to how Spencer had looked in the video he had seen. He was headed for a meeting, surrounded by his guards, edgy and nervous, and alone.The old woman had come from the crowd, begging an audience. He had hesitated, but asked them to let her through. The woman had hugged him, even as his guards had yelled that it was against protocol.One had even reached out to pull her away. Then flames. He shook his head as he remembered the explosion sound. They had quickly found out the woman was the journalist’s aged mother. The journalist Spencer had killed at Racheal’s office.He felt someone squeeze his arm. He looked down at the little woman. She was the only good thing in

  • The Bargain    Stay away from my daughter

    “We should start moving. I don’t want Limuel’s men to find us here," he said as he stocked the fire. She dropped a plate of Ramen in front of him. He smiled up at her, and she smiled back.He did not mind if he lost all his wealth, and became doomed to this kind of life, as long as he had her. She was all he wanted now, all he had ever wanted really from the day he met her.“It will be a few hours still before we can start moving.” She responded. He nodded and picked up his meal. She walked closer and sat beside him. He turned to her, caressed her cheek, and kissed her lightly. She returned his kiss, enthusiastically, the way he remembered, the way he liked.He loved how much she loved his touch. They were soon grappling at each other, their meal forgotten. He squeezed her warm soft body as she moaned his name and dug into his back. He savored the warmness of her, the fullness of her curve, the lusty way she matched his thrusts, squeezing tight around him.He did not want to

  • The Bargain    Do you still love me?

    Racheal sat shocked, staring at Steffan’s face, just barely able to see it in the near darkness. But she could see clearly enough the honesty in there. His blue eyes were clear and honest, open and pleading.“You should have said that when I wanted to hear it.” She said, shaking her head, starting to move away. But he held her.“I should have. I was a fool not to have.”“I even told you once that I loved you. You said nothing.”“I am sorry.”“Stop apologising. It won’t fix anything," she said, trying to pull away. She did not have to hear this, she did not want to hear this. It would make leaving him that much more difficult. It was easier walking away from a man who hurt her, and had never admitted to loving her even once. But now…“Racheal.” He said, taking her face between his hands. “I love you. I have always loved you. My heart stops at the thought of losing you. The day Isaac told me you were dying, the day you sent that divorce document, my heart completely stopped beatin

  • The Bargain    He ruined my life

    “I thought you changed. Apparently, you did not," Steffan said finally, looking away. “You are still as stubborn and careless as ever.”His words stung her.“Careless? You sound like I got some warning that a certain Limuel was after me and ignored it.”“I tried to warn you. I sent a dozen messages, tried to make an appointment,” he blew up.She shrank back. Well. There was no way she would have known. She had his number blocked, so there was no way she could have seen his messages. She still did not know how he had gotten her new contact number by the way. She could not think of any of her staff who could have given him her personal number.She knew he was in contact with Isaac, but could Isaac have given him the number?“After all that has happened to you, I don’t know how you can still put yourself in danger like this.”“One could say I was in danger, hiding with you in a storm like this. At least Maman would think so.” She said quietly, lowering herself to the floor. That got

  • The Bargain    Locked in

    “What are you doing?” Racheal asked as she watched Steffan walk towards one of the many couches in the room. He said nothing.He placed a bright flashlight she suspected he must have found wherever he found the axe on the floor, lighting the whole room up. He raised the axe, and began to hack at the couch.She stared at him in shock, at first not understanding what he was doing. Then she turned back, and shut the heavy bolt on the door. He had to make fire somehow, or they would freeze to death before the storm was over. Between the both of them, they could probably buy a million couches for this family.She walked further into the living room, past him, checking the whole place out. The only place that was open to them was the hallway, the open kitchen in the living room, and a tiny bathroom at the end of the hallway. All the other rooms were firmly locked. She was not very eager to ruin their locks like she did the front door.She walked towards the kitchen, and turned on th

  • The Bargain    Can you run?

    “What? Why?” Racheal screamed in confusion as she watched Limuel’s guards pull a limp Steffan up.Then they began to pull him to pull him away, his tall frame causing his foot to drag behind him.“I had a suspicion he might come here.” Limuel said, pulling out a big cigar.“What did we do to you?” She asked, looking from Limuel to Steffan, who was being dragged away.“I have no problems with the Sherrods. Just you.”“What?” She asked just as she saw Limuel’s toddler run out of the house. The guards tried to stop the child who was not warmly dressed for the weather. The toddler screamed. He just wanted his father.Lukas Limuel turned at the commotion. “Let him through," he said, standing up. The child broke through the barrier of guards, and ran into his father’s arms.“I don’t have the time to explain anything. I hear your mother has suddenly returned from the dead. I believe she will pay a decent price in exchange for you as compensation for what your family did to us.” Lukas sa

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