Chapter 4) Moving out?/ Drugged her.

I arrived in my bedroom and locked the door.

With heavy steps, I walked to the drawer and took my mother's picture, before I went and sat on the floor next to my bed.

With my knees close to my chest, I wrapped my arms around them, also hugging my mom's picture.

“It's finally over”. I said, as I remembered the long nightmare.

Everyone stared at me with pure disgust in the building.

It seemed I had stolen the show in the most negative way.

A laughable dress. Worn out shoes. A cheap necklace.

Those were enough to earn me the title.

Garbage.

And as usual, Claire did nothing to help me. What was I even thinking?

Why would she help me when she was the one who hated me the most?

“This is not fair”.

The tears I had been trying to hold back streamed down my face, and I clenched my chest. There was this suffocating sensation in my chest, and it made me feel like I was going to pass out from the pain.

“Mom, everything changed when you left me alone in this world”. I whimpered.

“Life has long been a nightmare for me ever since your death. They took everything you had worked so hard for. Your company. Your house. And, there is nothing I can do about it”.

“I- I am so weak. I am sorry, Mom”. Tears blurred my eyes. “I am so sorry”.

“But why did you have to leave me behind? You should have taken me with you. That would have been better”. I wiped my nose and sniffed.

I soon rose to my feet and went to stand in front of the wall mirror.

As I stared at my reflection in the mirror, it looked like something straight from a horror movie. Compared to Claire, who was like a fairy tale fictional character, I was a mess. My long silver hair looked like something that came out of a trashcan.

My eyebrows were bushy and needed trimming, and my dark blue eyes looked like life had been completely drained out of them, combined with the dark circles underneath them, which made me look pathetic.

At this point, I did not blame anyone for insulting me.

After all, they were not wrong.

I am washed-up trash.

…

{PS: Two days before the wedding}

Today was just like any other day.

Except it was not the same for me, as I had decided to move out of the house.

It was a tough decision, but I had to leave everything behind.

“This is it, Georgina. A little more and you will be free from them”. I said, as I held the handle of my luggage tightly.

I stared at my window and saw that it was the best time for me to leave, since it was night. I had to wait until now because I did not want to leave in the morning and have them see me.

Staring around my room one last time, I smiled bitterly, before I made my way out of my bedroom.

Except it wasn't going to be mine again.

On my way, I was glad that I didn't see anyone in the corridor. But, who would have thought that I was going to get shocked upon arriving in the living room?

I gasped, and the hair on my arms stood up.

My father, my stepmom, and Claire. They were in the living room and had seen me.

This was 11pm in the night. I thought they were asleep.

But- but what were they doing here?

“What's with the luggage?”. Claire asked me, and I was too overwhelmed to speak.

“I- I-”. I tried to say something but could not, because of the dark look in my father's eyes.

“Were you trying to move out?”. He asked me. His voice, dark, making my legs feel weak.

“What?! You were planning on moving out?!”. Claire exclaimed, and I felt like I had dug my own grave.

My father rose up, and that instant, I let go of my luggage and fell to my knees with a loud thud.

“I am- I am sorry, father! I am so sorry. I did not mean to”. I pleaded with both hands clasped together while my entire body shook in terror, as I fixed my gaze on the floor.

The closer his footsteps got, the more terrified I got, until he squatted in front of me.

“Look at me”. His voice commanded, but I dared not, because I was too afraid to look at him.

“It's okay, Georgina sweetie. Look at me. You don't have to be afraid of your father”. He said to me, and this time, the tone of his voice changed to something I had not heard in a really long time.

I looked at him, not because I wanted to, but because I was afraid he was going to hurt me if I didn't.

“You want to leave?”. He asked me and did it again. His voice was calm.

That scared me compared to when he was harsh with me.

I nodded at him hesitantly.

“Okay. It's alright. You are old enough to make your own decision”. He said to me with a smile on his face, and as I saw his hand reach out to my face, I instinctively protected myself.

“You don't have to be scared of me. I am not going to hurt you”. He said to me, making me take down my hands, before he removed the strands of hair that covered my face. Suddenly, the look on his face changed to something pitiful.

“Seeing you like this, you must think that I am a bad father to you”.

I remained quiet and stiff.

He sighed, as if in defeat. “I know I have been hard for you, Georgina, but I did all of that for your own good”. He said, before he rose to his feet and helped me to my feet.

‘What is going on?’. I was scared, and could feel Claire's glare fixed on me.

“Come on. Let's go, Georgina. You want to move out, right? Don't worry, I will personally help you to do that”. He declared, before he grabbed my luggage. “What are you waiting for?”. He asked me after taking a few steps away from me.

“Don't just stand there and follow me right now”. He ordered me, and I followed him out of the house.

He was behaving so weirdly, and I was actually so scared for my life, especially after my stepmom and Claire did not say anything.

When we arrived outside the house, he went straight ahead to put my luggage in his car's boot and close it in.

Then he turned to me, making me hold my breath.

“Get in the car”. He said to me.

“Fa- father, please”. I pleaded with him.

“Don't make me repeat myself”. He said to me, smiling, before he opened the door to the back seat of his car.

A drop of tear escaped my eye as I dragged my feet toward the car and sat in the back seat.

My heart raced, as if it wanted to leap out of my chest, and I covered my mouth using both hands as I tried not to make a single sound.

It took him a while before he got in the car and sat in the driver's seat.

“Take. Wasn't this your favorite drink when you were a kid? Your mom bought it for you a lot of times”. He turned to the back seat and gave me a bottle of orange juice.

I removed a hand from my mouth and collected the juice from him out of fear.

Even when he forced me to drink it, I did not protest and drank it, because if I didn't, he was going to hurt me, and there was no one close by who could save me from his hands.

“Good. That's my good girl”. He smiled and nodded at me, before he turned to his front and drove off.

My entire body trembled, and I could feel my face become purple.

He didn't even ask me where I wanted to go.

So, where- where was he taking me to?

….

Author Tina Nwuba: “Welcome, my awesome readers, to another of my books. I hope that, just like my other books, you are going to enjoy this book and engage in the story it has to offer you.

Don't forget to vote with plenty of gems and share my book with your friends.

<⁠(⁠￣⁠︶⁠￣⁠)⁠>.

Don't forget to leave lots of comments also, as I appreciate reading your opinions. Lastly, add to your libraries. Thanks”.