It only felt like minutes later when Carol heard an insistent knock at her door that permeated her sleep. Groaning, she turned, stretched while still laying in her queen sized bed and then sat up and looked around in a disoriented manner. It was dark outside from what she could see, so that meant that she had slept for hours. The knock at the door became more insistent as the seconds rolled by and then she heard her mother yell out her name and rap out a series of further knocks.
“I’m coming.” Carol yelled out in reply and hurried to get off the bed and open the door before her mother broke it down with her insistent knocking and the way she was banging on it.
“What is it mum?” Carol asked, rubbing at her eyes as she stood there in her pink shorts and white singlet.
Her mother gaped at her for a few seconds and then screeched. “Why are you dressed like that?”
“Dressed like what?”
“The way you’re dressed! The guests are already here and you’re sleeping? Are you not going to be a part of the dinner? I hope Victoria has already dressed up. Damn! All this is my fault. I should have come up earlier to make sure that you guys were getting ready, but I was so preoccupied with making preparations for dinner.” Belinda said and pushed into the room, turning on the light as she went.
“Oh, right. I totally forgot and overslept. The dinner at seven. I’ll just wash up quickly and be right down bu…” Carol was saying and then paused when she saw her mother looking around the room in shock, her face ashen.
“What is it, mum? Are you alright?”
“Whe…where is your sister?”
“Victoria? How on earth should I know? She is probably in her room, or something.”
“No. no, she’s not anywhere in this house. I’ve checked literally everywhere, but did not bother to check your room because your light was off. If she’s not here, then that means she’s nowhere in this house.” Belinda wailed, checking behind the curtains in Carol’s room as though her missing daughter would magically appear out of there.
“Well, maybe she’s downstairs.” Carol told her mother, not getting what the fuss was all about.
“Oh God! I can’t believe this is happening to me. I can’t believe Victoria would do this to me.” Belinda said, looking like she was about to cry. She also looked scared, but that was ridiculous. Carol had never seen her mother scared of anyone or anything ever since she could remember.
“She’ll be here. I don’t see what you’re worrying so much about. Maybe she just went out to get something. Meanwhile, I’ll go take a shower and dress up, and then go look for her.”
“What do you know about anything?” Her mother hissed at her and stormed out the door, no doubt to continue her search for her missing daughter.
Carol shrugged and went to take her shower, taking her sweet time as she did so. She was not particularly interested in meeting anybody, not to talk of her sister’s unknown groom and his uncle and whoever else was at the dinner table, but it would not speak well of her if she refused to go. She came out to meet her mother sitting on her bed and bouncing her foot in agitation.
“She’s still not back yet?” Carol asked, wondering if there was more to this than met the eye. With the way her sister was self centered and did not care about hurting anyone’s feelings, she would not be surprised if she had ran away or something like that.
“No, she’s not.” Belinda said sounding so small and afraid that Carol felt a little sorry for her even though this whole mess was her fault, although she did not get why she should be afraid.
“Well, I don’t see what the big deal is. She obviously doesn’t want to get married to this guy, whoever he is. I don’t get why you are making such a big deal out of it. Just tell the guy the wedding has been called off because Victoria doesn’t want to get married to him. It’ll hurt, that is if he is in love with her, which I highly doubt, but at least they will not make the mistake of getting married to each other without love.”
“Just listen to yourself. You expect me to go and tell someone that his bride to be is no longer interested in marrying him. Do you know the sort of shame that this will bring to both families? I have invited almost all my friends and even some of my enemies, mind you. After all, my daughter is supposed to be getting married to a billionaire, but what does the ungrateful twit do? Runs off, that’s what. Who doesn’t want to get married to a billionaire for chrissakes?”
“Sensible people who know that marriage is not just about money.”
“That’s bullshit. I married your father for his money, and he was not even worth up to ten million at the time. Love came later and now, we’ve been together for over twenty seven years, still going strong.” Belinda said without a single shame.
“That it worked for you doesn’t mean that it would work for her.”
“Oh, please. Just say the word and I’ll look for a billionaire for you too. You sound so jealous.”
“Have you tried calling her?”
“Of course, I have. What do you take me for? I’m not a moron. I’ve called her several times, but she’s not picking her calls.” Belinda scoffed and checked the wristwatch on her hand. “Oh, dear. I’ve kept them waiting for over thirty minutes and that is so rude. I’ll just go and make excuses then. Come, let’s go.”
Carol followed her mother downstairs to the dining room where the guests were seated patiently and waiting for them. Carol averted her gaze and walked stiffly to an empty chair where she sat awkwardly and mumbled greetings to the table at large. It was only when she was alone with her immediate family that her mouth ran like a tap. She heard her mother and father whispering inaudibly and risked raising her gaze to quickly peek around the table. There were about ten people or less present and they were all looking at her parents who were arguing fiercely under their voices.
She spotted the groom immediately and had to stifle a gasp. The man was looking straight at her in an appraising manner that Carol found somewhat unnerving, but not exactly unpleasant. From what Carol could see of him, she could tell that Victoria was right about him. He was very good looking in a brooding kind of way, and he also looked well-built. He was sitting in a relaxed manner in a chair whose back was smaller than his wide shoulders and was surveying her with a cool, lazy interest.
Carol, who hated being stared at with a passion, felt the blush come straight from inside her and stain her cheeks before spreading to most of her face and hated herself with a passion. Why she always had to blush was beyond her. She did not know of any other twenty eight year old who blushed as fiercely as she did. To worsen matters, she could see what could only be amusement in the guy’s eyes and quickly averted her gaze. So he was amused by her? To hell with him. He was the one who was getting married to a stranger whom he had not met before all because his uncle wanted him to do so, so he was the real clown here. She heard her mother clear her throat after some more seconds of arguing with her father and she gratefully looked toward her, ignoring her sister’s fiancée.
The sun was shining brightly this morning, and Carol was in lively spirits. It was her vow renewal day. She and Sebastian had opted to just renew their vows, and this time, make them with more meaning. Her joy knew no bounds, and her face radiated with it, as Mrs. James noted with pleasure. “You look very happy, my dear.” Mrs. James stated, cradling a three-month-old baby James in her arms, her face taking on the radiant look that many-a-grandmother had when they had the pleasure of holding their grandkids. “I can say the same about you, aunty. You’re really glowing.” Carol complimented in turn, taking care not to ruin the work of the lady who was doing her makeup. “I know, right? Baby James here has brought such sparkle into our lives. I’m more than thankful that I live close to you guys. I will be able to see as much of this handsome little face as I want.” Mrs. James said, looking down at the baby she carried in her arms. He stared back at her and babbled some meaningless baby wo
The weeks after Sebastian came to plead with Carol to come back into his life were the sweetest ones of Carol’s life. She had thought that Sebastian was attentive and sweet to her before, but now, she knew that that was an understatement. He treated her like a fragile egg that could break at any time, and Carol was happily soaking up all the attention and affection. She still hadn’t gotten used to the way he just seemed to throw money around, but was more than grateful and touched, when he bought two flashy cars and a huge mansion not too far from them for her father, whom she could tell was very lonely.“I know that you’ll love to be close to your grandchild once he’s born." Sebastian had said as though it was nothing, waving away Donald’s thanks when the latter had broken down in tears, telling him that he did not deserve it. Now, Carol could easily hang out with her father anytime she wanted, and she was so happy about it.Sebastian didn’t work as hard as he did before any longer,
“Carol.” It was just one word, but that one word was enough to break the stupor she had been in as soon as she saw him.“Sebastian.” She said in turn, standing up to go bring another chair for him to sit down, but in essence, she was trying to buy herself some time to get her breathing under control. He looked so good and smelled so nice that it was all she could do not to throw herself straight into his arms and breathe in his essence as though her very life depended on it. She saw Sebastian’s eyes widen at the small bump under her loose gown, and her hand went to hold it selfconsciously.“It’s growing.” She told him needlessly and then slammed her mouth shut. She sort of felt nervous being in Sebastian’s presence and wished that she had worn a more flattering dress than the one that she had on now, but there was nothing she could do about it now. Sebastian collected the chair from her and brought it over to place it i
It was a warm, sunny, and bright day, but it was also a slow one. Carol sat in the tiny bookshop in which she had gotten a job the very day she got here, waiting for customers to come in and fighting sleep. She was the only one in the shop, as the owner had dashed off to prepare for her birthday party, leaving Carol all alone in the shop.“Don’t worry. You’ll be able to handle it. Price tags are on every book, so you don’t need to worry about not knowing the prices. If you need anything, my number is pasted on the wall over there, so you can call me. Bye now.” The middle-aged woman had said, sailing out the door before Carol could even say anything else, so here she was, bored beyond measure and counting the seconds as the time ticked slowly by. She had managed to sell two books, but it seemed that the shop did not get any customers, because, for the remainder of the time, she just sat there alone, staring into space … and missing Sebastian,
Sebastian fought the urge to retch as he observed his surroundings and the woman in front of him. If this was where Carol was staying, then he would drag her home with him today, even if he had to drag her kicking and screaming. He would not have her stay with this woman who did not like her and was clearly very irresponsible.“Hello, Belinda. Sorry to disturb you, but we’re looking for Carol. Is she here?” Mrs. James asked.“How the fuck am I supposed to know where she is, huh? Anyway, what is it to you? Is the contract not supposed to be over? Why are you still looking for her?” Belinda asked suspiciously, and he could see that she was also high on drugs.“Well, um, we had a little altercation, and I haven’t seen her since then, so I was wondering if she was here. Do you perchance, have her number? Her dad is also not answering his calls.”“Look, I don’t have any business
It was raining cats and dogs once again, exactly as it had been raining on that fateful day when Carol had left him till now. Sebastian was sitting in his aunt’s house, sipping a mug of hot coffee and ignoring everything that she was currently saying. He looked like a shadow of himself, which was not a surprise, considering the fact that most times, all he did was drink and have to deal with a nagging Jessica, who was still in his house, even though he had taken her name off the deed to the house. Because of her, he was hardly ever in his house again, but preferred to stay here at his aunt’s for a better part of the time he was not working himself to death … literally. “Are you even listening to anything I’m saying, Sebastian?” Mrs. James asked, shaking him a little to get his attention.“No, aunt. I can’t say that I am. I’m sorry, but I think I zoned out a little there. What were you saying?” He asked finally. Mrs. James shook her head, reminding him of when he was still a recalcitra
“Wh…what does he mean by this?” Donald asked at last, after scanning the text message. “Your guess is as good as mine,” Carol replied, rubbing at her face, hardly able to believe the level to which Sebastian was willing to stoop to be cruel to her. If he thought that she was going to just lay low, act like a sheep and allow him to ride all over her, then he had another thing coming. She just couldn’t get the image of that text out of her head. Good morning, Donald. How are you doing? So, have you heard from your daughter yet? I just wanted to let you know that she’s with something of mine. Something invaluable. I don’t know if she told you about it or not, but she’s pregnant with my child and according to the contract that she signed, if such a thing were to happen, then I’ll have full custody of the child. Tell her to come out of wherever
“I don’t think that what you are doing makes any sense at all, Carol,” Donald said worriedly, looking at his daughter, who averted her gaze and tried in vain to stop the tears welling up in her expressive blue eyes.“Why do you say that, dad?” Carol asked him, wiping away her tears.“Well, maybe because you’re pregnant and you choose to slave away at doing a regular job instead of taking proper care of yourself.”“A lot of pregnant women work at regular jobs, dad.”“I know that, but not a lot of them have huge lumps of money lying in their bank accounts untouched while they look malnourished. Why are you punishing yourself this way, my dear? I mean, it’s only been one month since you left Sebastian. In that one month, you’ve become almost as thin as that girl Jessica., whom we do not like at all.”At this, Carol burst out laughing despite herself. Her father was acting like a
It was with a growing sense of urgency that Sebastian drove away from the hospital, Jessica's insults and curses trailing after him until he could no longer hear them. It was a sad thing indeed that she was now the way she was, but there was nothing that he could do about it. He had offered to help her, but she kept turning down his help at every turn, so there was nothing he could do for her anymore. He could not do the very thing that she wanted, which was to be with her, as he did not love her anymore. He stopped by a flower shop on his way back to the house to get some flowers for Carol, knowing that women loved things like that. Hopefully, she would forgive him, and even if she did not, he would keep trying until she did. He still did not know how she managed to wind up pregnant, if she was taking her pills like she had claimed, but he knew that sometimes, those things were not foolproof, especially if the lady who was taking them fell sick during the period. He remembered that C