LOGIN~ Isabella ~
…. “Who would have thought that a saint Mary like you would get pregnant before marriage?" Emily snickered as she made her way into my room, if I could call it that. It could as well be called a storage unit, locked in the fartherest part of the mansion. “And would you like to tell me how that got to do with you?” I wasn’t stupid enough to believe that all that happened was purely coincidental and Emily had nothing to do with it. “Smart, as expected.” She began pacing in front of me. “Turns out, the number of hours you spent studying your godforsaken course didn’t go to waste.” “Don’t you dare… I’m a graduate!” I say, hoping to turn her expression grim, and it did. But she wasted no time in coming up with a comeback. “A graduate who wouldn’t be attending her own graduation ceremony.” Her words hit home, as she hoped they would. Call it my trickiest luck, but the marriage was fixed on my graduation day. Not like I could attend it if it were fixed before or after anyway. Junie had tried talking me into letting her attend my wedding. So we could both miss the graduation ceremony. But I wouldn’t bend. Partly because she deserved to wear her graduation gown and walk down the aisle to receive the degree she’d labored long and hard for. But also because I didn’t want her within Mom’s line of sight. Though I was sure Beatrice wouldn’t go back on her word. But I couldn’t be too careful. “At least I am getting married into a powerful family, and you are not!” “Oh… you think you are?” She smirked. “It’s high time you snapped out of your fantasy and embraced the reality that Emmerson Winters will never love nor accept you as his wife!" “And yes, you really don’t have to worry about me…" She flaunted her diamond-ringed finger in front of me. “Zach proposed, and not only will I be becoming Mrs. Rogers in three months, but I will also be the only heir to Mom’s empire.” “And you? You will have nothing to show but a love-less marriage of convenience.” She snickered, leaving me alone to my misery. …. I’ve imagined my wedding day in so many ways, but none of them involved me having to wear a pink wedding dress and walk down the aisle alone. And most importantly… have to say “I do.” To what? A stranger? I had found it weird when I was asked to go first and almost feared I'd be dumped right at the altar. But that didn’t happen, as Emmerson’s silent mutter of ‘I do' saved the day. The priest, who probably knew this was arranged, saved us the embarrassment of mentioning the bride should be kissed. He simply declared us man and wife, and Emmerson walked out right after. Not like I had been expecting him to stay and pretend any of this was planned anyway. …. The master bedroom felt like a royal king’s room, and I couldn’t help but marvel at its decor as I was led in. Surprisingly, the maids that had been assigned to me by Rebecca Winters, his grandma, had been quite nice. Though Rebecca was obviously not nice and made sure to remind me of the sole reason why I was here. Which, well… was to provide an heir for the family. What I found interesting was how unspecific they were about the gender of the heir. Or maybe they weren’t really as archaic as I was deeming them to be. I sat on the bed, with my veil covering my face, whilst I waited for the said groom. To me, it all felt unnecessary since I was already carrying a child… but the maids insisted that some traditions had to be followed and I was no exception. Had I been expecting Emmerson to be gentle with me when he came in? No. But what I hadn’t expected was how rough and harsh he’d be. And by the time he finally left me alone… I couldn’t hold back the tears I’d been holding ever since my life turned upside down. I always thought I had my life all figured out before now. Graduate uni, get married to Zach, apply for a master’s, then a PhD before we start planning to be parents. It wasn’t just a plan I had in my head, but rather something that had been premeditated and frequently visited by Zach and me. But well… as it turns out, it was all in my head. …. I’d just finished a retching session when my hair was suddenly yanked from behind, and before I could react… my face was being struck twice in succession. My skin stung and I suddenly felt more nauseous than it previously did. But before I could give in to the tiredness that followed, Sally’s harsh voice followed. Who would have thought that the very first encounter I would have with her would be in the bathroom where she’d abused me, a pregnant woman? “You slut! How dare you come into our lives and try to ruin it?” She grabbed my now fragile body and shook me violently. I saw stars as I tried to keep myself from falling. Though it’s been barely a month since I found out I was pregnant… The pregnancy had not only taken a toll on my mental health but mostly on my physical health. My energy levels were dangerously low and ninety-nine percent out of the time. I felt like a complete mess. “I didn’t–” Even though I knew my words wouldn’t matter at this point. I still tried to defend myself. Though I was cut off before I could continue even further. “Listen well, and listen good, Slut. I plan to make your already hellish life full of darkness and pain.” I winced as her long nails dug into my skin. This should be illegal in every way. But who was to decide that anyways? “If you know what’s good for you… you’ll pack your bags and disappear from my sight before I can even catch you.” That was impossible. There was no way I could escape Gabriel’s tight security, and she knew that. “Just the thought that Emmerson had laid a finger on you… makes me want to disfigure your face.” And she did; at least she tried when she pushed me to the floor with such force… that I felt like I’d have a concussion, but I ended up with more than that when I passed out. But just before then… I felt a sticky liquid gush out of my body and for a moment there… I prayed that I’d miscarry. That way, my pain would cease.~ Emmerson ~I sat at the reception with my laptop on my lap as I tried to catch up on some work. Though I had to lift my head up occasionally to respond to the greetings of some of the medical students around.By now some of them had probably guessed why I was here, and thanks to the confidentiality agreement I had signed with the hospital… I could rest well, knowing my presence here wouldn’t be disclosed to the media."Mr. Winters… Is Miss Isabella around?” Nurse Ash’s voice interrupted me.“She stepped out. Why?” “Lily calls for her… that’s why.”“Oh… don’t worry, I will handle it.” I say, already standing up with my laptop and making my way into my daughters room.There I met the usually vibrant Lily, crouched in a fetal position on her bed, which was beside her sister’s. Unlike before, Emilia had her arm around her… in a comforting way.“What’s going on, Girlllsss?!” I asked, gently… closing the distance between us. “Lily says… Mom isn’t replying to her texts.” Oh… I at first
~ Isabella ~I never thought there could be anything so beautiful and breathtaking until I watched my daughters turn the hospital room into a musical concert.They had their arms each around an instrument as they played and sang beautifully.While Lily played the cello, as most of the kids at the foster home were taught to… Emilia, on the other hand, had her little fingers bouncing along the multiple keys of the piano.They sat side by side, their sides touching as their mouths and fingers moved in synchrony.It was indeed a sight to behold.I felt movement behind me and turned to face Emmerson… who surprisingly had tears in his eyes.Just like me, he was probably not expecting this… Though I believe he had a hand in making the instruments available.But then… it was a different thing to provide instruments and incentives for an event, but it was another thing to watch the event unfold in a breathtaking kind of way. “They are so beautiful.” He whispered, and I turned back to stare at
~ Emmerson ~The last thing I expected was for us to be stuck in an elevator while our daughters were being operated on. Never also would I have thought that Isabella would start hyperventilating the second the light went off. Was she claustrophobic? Though I didn’t get the chance to think much as she began wailing and I had to hold her.We both froze when our bodies came in contact… which was interesting, given we’d slept together so many years ago and even have twin daughters to show for it.But it was different…The intimacy had happened involuntarily.But this was voluntarily.The freezing lasted Only about a few seconds before I began whispering to her… hoping to calm her down, but she kept on shaking.With a sigh, I took a seat on the floor and pulled her into my lap, her head resting on my chest… which was now beating rather wildly.“Let me out,” she whimpered, and I could tell instantly that she was having flashbacks. Could it be from her childhood or when? Had she been mal
~ Emmerson ~I have always been used to the fast-paced kind of life… the one where I have to constantly be on my toes, ticking off boxes and being super productive.But the last two months had been slow, very slow. Though I must admit, it had been bearable with Isabella and Lily around here….Speaking of Isabella, though she’d withdrawn the lawsuit as I hoped she would… she’d definitely made it clear to me that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with me, and that has been obvious in her attempts to avoid me altogether.Her actions shouldn’t affect or freak me out… but they do, in a way that I couldn’t deny any longer. Tomorrow is the operation… and as a result… Isabella had constantly been within sight, yet… stoic and untouchable.Well… who could blame her?!I’d done something super incriminating and should be punished for it… even though I had done it, when I knew not how much my actions affected her. I was blind and now, I was paying the consequence for that blindness.….~ Isab
~ Isabella ~“Thank you for bringing her.” His soft masculine voice broke the silence that has befallen us. “Yeah…” I said simply, now staring at the night sky… in wonder. I couldn’t shake the scene of Lily bonding with her twin out of my head. It reminded me so much of Emily and what could have been if we’d just been like normal twins. Would life have been different if we were?And there was Carl Rogers, whose thoughts had suddenly filled my mind… What would it be like to be his daughter?No… not the daughter of a rich man… but someone whom I felt so safe in his arms with, like I had with my dad?What would it be like really?But I soon got snapped out of my thoughts by his next words. “Will you still be pursuing the law suit?”“What do you think?” I turned to face him… And I had to admit, he looked so much different from when we were married. Not just in appearance, but he didn’t give off the aloof and arrogant aura as he’d done then.“A mother would do anything for her child.” He
~ Emmerson ~It felt like I was transfixed into a trance… when I set my eyes on Isabella and… Lily?!The girl who was a complete carbon copy of Emilia.My daughter…My daughters…As I watched her bounce excitedly on the hallway of the middle floor… my heart leaped.Was this really my daughter?Was this how beautiful my life would have turned out if only I had learned to snap out of my obsession way earlier?They were coming closer now; I could hear and feel it…Lily’s constant babbles… which reminded me so much of Emilia, though the latter had become a little quieter… which wasn’t so unexpected.Cancer sucks.And the medication she was being given did nothing more than cause her to feel weaker and weaker. They help with the pain though…But then, at what expense?At the expense of me watching my active daughter become inactive and grey?But maybe things would improve now that her twin was here.Twin…The word still felt very weird on my lips.My identical twins…“Will he like me, Mom
~ Isabella ~“I never loved you and never will!”“You are such a slut!”“I hate you and your child! Go die!” The words continued, until I felt my body been shaken, rather violently.“Bell! Wake up!” Junie’s voice rushed into my subconscious, and I finally opened my eyes. It all felt hazy and unclea
~ Emmerson ~“You slut, how dare you act like you own this house when you clearly don’t?” Sally’s voice echoed in my head, followed by Isabella’s scream as she rolled down the stairs in agony, and by the time she got to the floor… her body was covered in blood.I stood there frightened, unable to d
~ Isabella ~“Aren’t you planning to go to work today?” I looked up from my iPad at the sound of my best friend’s voice. She was standing in front of me in her signature black and white outfit, which gleamed with her skin tone.Barrister Junie. It still felt surreal to call her that, but that was,
~ Emmerson. ~Seven years later,“Supermodel Salma Hayen and bodybuilder Patrick Augustus were caught kissing at a movie theater while streaming the movie Wuthering Heights.” The headlines on my daily entertainment newspaper glowed in front of me.I wasn’t the least bit surprised by this… My source







