Chapter 21

The next two weeks in the month of May were just like the other days, same old stuff. The only thing that changed was my relationship with Carlotta. It wasn't rosy, no, not at all. In fact, it took a turn for the worst.

She was always looking for a way to get in a fight with me. Everything I did annoyed or irritated her for some reason. She broke, burned or threw away anything I touched.

I avoided her like a plague, what did I do to make her hate me so much?

As the month of May drew to an end, I became worried. Luke hadn't called or texted lately and he was two weeks due to visit.

In my room, I kept looking out my small widow, watching every car that passed, looking up whenever I heard a car door slam. In the lounge, I kept looking out the door, expecting him to walk in any second, he didn't.

I was always distracted. If not for Arabella, I would have walked into the street and gotten myself killed by a passing car. She also stopped me from chopping off my fingers when I was slicing vegetables.

"Ophelia!" She snapped her fingers in front of me.

"What?" I'd zoned out again.

"Sit." She pulled me away from the worktop and made me sit on a dining chair.

She touched my forehead. "You're going to make yourself sick with worry."

"I can't help it, Arabella. I feel something is wrong."

"He's going to come, don't worry."

The next days, which coincidentally were the last days in the month of May, Arabella kept my mind occupied by making me cook, wash her clothes and mine, clean both our rooms, while asking me random questions in the process:

"What's my dress size?"

"Size 8."

"What time did I wake up this morning?"

I rolled my eyes. "8:18am, the earliest as far as I know."

"What is George Bush's first name?"

I quirked an eyebrow. Seriously? "George?"

She laughed. "Tricky, right?"

Scratch that, they were randomly stupid questions but they stopped my mind from wandering.

After doing all the chores Arabella assigned me to do for today, she suggested we go grocery shopping since we were running out of supplies.

"I managed to squeeze some money out of that old hag Desmonda for groceries. If we don't stock up, there's going to be war and hunger strife in this house."

We decided to walk and enjoy the scenery because the shopping mall was close to the house.

When we got to the shopping mall, we didn't go straight to the food section. No, Arabella pulled me towards a spa.

"Are you crazy? Relaxing with Desmonda's money, won't she notice?"

She shrugged. "It's the payment we get for going grocery shopping for everybody. Now, stop fussing and come inside, Lady Tina is the best I know, she'll work magic with your hair." She pulled me inside.

Two hours later, I exited the beauty parlour feeling refreshed. Not only did I feel good inside, I sparkled outside too. Wonderful skin glow, new nails matching Arabella's, we also had the same hair do, though she concentrated more on renewing her fading purple dye.

We hit the food section. Arabella getting different cereals, snacks and beverages, while I went for fruits, meat, vegetables and spices.

In the end, we had two overflowing carts. When we checked out, the bags were too many for us to carry, the worse part of it was, we had no car to transport the items back to the house. At this rate, it'd take us two trips to get everything to the house and it was getting dark fast.

Outside, Arabella worked her charm on two idle teens sitting in the corner. How she did it, I do not know but whatever she said to them made them blush and they agreed to help us.

They dropped the bags at the front door. Arabella opened her purse and gave them some money and a kiss on each cheek. They smiled like buffoons, blushed red and ran off.

"Was that necessary, Arabella?" I asked.

A few girls came out to help with the bags.

She was wiping her mouth furiously on her hanky. "No...I just noticed one had acne!"

I laughed as I picked the remaining bags and walked inside the house. Not a very wise decision.

As I walked into the kitchen with my bags, I noticed some girls trying to engage a young man in a conversation. They surrounded him in a circle, barely giving him space to breathe.

I dropped the bags on the worktop and proceeded to bring out the items.

Blond hair.

I stopped what I was doing instantly. It couldn't be.

I was probably daydreaming again but I knew that shade of blond anywhere. That natural shade of blond, distinct from all others, it couldn't be gotten using dye. I would recognise it any day, anytime. Could I be wrong?"

I turned around, slowly, to see Luke looking at me questionably. It must have surprised him that I had walked past him without acknowledging him. Hell, I was surprised myself.

"Luke!" I closed the distance between us and threw myself on him, wrapping my arms around him.

He didn't hesitate this time, he hugged me back, not minding the others in the room. I looked up instinctively, and saw Carlotta eyeing me with contempt. I cocked my head sideways and gave her a sly smile. My look said it all. 'Who is in his arms now, bitch?'

I disentangled myself to see a medium sized cake and a bottle of non-alcoholic wine on the table.

"I know I'm a bit late but we can still celebrate, right?"

I gave him a look.

"Okay I'm late, very late. Can we go upstairs?" He said, probably realising every eye and ear was trained on us.

I nodded.

He picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, then he picked the cake in one hand and the wine in the other.

"Ophelia, wait!"

I turned around to see Arabella holding a tray with two plates, cutleries and wine glasses.

"Thank you." I accepted it graciously. If not for her, we would probably eat with our hands and drink out of the bottle again. I led the way upstairs, Luke walking behind me.

"You're welcome! Don't forget to wear the lingerie!" She screamed after us.

I stopped instantly, causing Luke to bump into me.

"Easy, princess." If he wasn't agile, we would have crashed and trust me, it wouldn't be pretty at all.

I blushed.

Even in the room, my face still remained bright red.

"What's wrong with you?" Luke asked, studying my face with a puzzled look on his.

"Nothing." I rushed to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face, regularising my body temperature.

When I got back to the room, I saw Luke on the bed, eating a slice of cake.

"Isn't cutting the cake supposed to be the celebrant's job?"

He shrugged. "She was indisposed so I did it for her. The wine still here, if she's interested in opening it."

Luke. I chuckled, shaking my head from side to side in disbelief.

"I'm going to take a shower." I said, after picking a red nightie from my tiny wardrobe.

"Sure." He replied, he was multitasking, eating and working on his tablet.

I finished quickly and joined Luke on the bed, I put a slice of cake on my plate, while he filled my cup with wine. I took a bite and my taste buds went crazy with the burst of vanilla flavour, was that a hint of blueberry?

"Who baked this, the chef?"

He huffed. "I ordered it online and I collected it on my way here."

We were silent for a while.

"So, how's everything at home? Dad?" The question didn't quite come out the way I wanted it to.

He put down his tablet and turned to face me. "Baddo is still looking for you, Ophelia..." He understood what I was trying to ask. "...We are doing our best to keep tabs on him, though everything is quiet now, I just know he's planning something big. Your father is okay, but he's till worried about you."

I bit my lip. "Luke, if I surface, if I go back now, do you think he'll hand me over to Baddo?"

He looked away and that was a sufficient answer to my question, he would, without hesitation.

I dropped my plate. I'd lost my appetite.

"Ophelia...." He pulled me closer. "...princess, don't think about it."

"What do you think I should do? Should I go back, or should I stay here a little longer?" I stared into his tired baby blue eyes. It were times like this I needed his advice.

"I don't know... A month ago, I would have said yes, you should go back, it seemed the easiest way to end the feud but now that I've been thinking about it, I don't want you to go back, not now at least, not until we know why that slime ball is hell bent on getting you married to his son. Its a dangerous game if you look at it from any side. Everyday, we risk getting caught. I'm not an exception either, I'm under tight surveillance back at the mansion, one wrong move and I'll be hanging from a gallow. We've gone too far to back out now, too, too far." He rubbed reassuring circles on my back.

Even with his advice, the decision was still hanging on my neck.

Go: save Luke's neck, then live a life of misery forever.

Stay: Risk his life, get caught and still live a life of misery forever.

If there was a light in the darkness, I couldn't see it.

No one spoke for a long time. The silence was disturbing.

"I love what you did with your hair." He ran his hands through my hair attempting to lighten the mood.

It didn't work.

"That reminds me, I got you something."

He stretched and brought his backpack, unzipped it and pulled out a shiny rectangular pack, he gave it to me.

I took it, examined the pack and looked at him to see if his eyes could give away the content of the pack.

"Open it." There was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

That look only intensified my curiosity. I shook the box, it was a little bit heavy but nothing hit the walls of the pack, betraying it's contents.

I tore the gift wrap, all the while looking at Luke, he gave nothing away. It was a metal box with the inscription, 'To Someone Who Has A Special Place In My Heart.'

I carefully opened the box. What I saw inside made me want to cry, I put a hand over my mouth.

It was beautiful.

Sitting on a velvet pillow was a bangle, not just any bangle but one that was cast in gold and decorated with precious stones. It was about seven centimeters in length, with a small latch at the side. The edges were decorated with Pearls. The next circle was decorated with Emerald stones shaped like large tear drops. The next circle (circle within the Emerald design.) Was made of tiny Sapphire stones, then at the very center was a large circle shaped Ruby.

It was beautiful, expensive. It must have cost millions.

In my state of shock, I didn't make a move to pick it up, afraid I might drop it and end up destroying it.

Luke picked it up and opened the tiny latch at the side. Inside, I didn't fail to notice the words engraved on the Gold, 'L and O' forever. 'L and O standing for the initials of our names. I was touched. He took my hand in his, put the bangle on and snapped it shut, putting the latch in place.

''Happy Birthday, princess."

It was even more beautiful on my wrist, the jewels danced in the light of the room.

I threw my arms around him. "Oh Luke, what would I ever do without you?"

This was not a rhetorical question, I actually wanted an answer but he seemed lost for words, so he did the only thing he could do best, hold me in his arms.

We stayed that way for a long time. I started drifting off to sleep in his arms. He released me and helped me lay on the bed, gently pulling the blanket over me.

"I'm going to take a shower." He whispered, stroking my hair.

I gave a small nod, letting him know I had heard him. He left the bed and walked into the bathroom closing the door behind him.

After a few minutes, he crawled into bed smelling like me. He had used my body wash, probably all my cosmetic products in the bathroom.

"I like your body wash, it turns my skin to silk, I think I'm going to change all my products to yours." He teased, running a knuckle across my cheek.

A small smile tugged at my lips, I placed a hand over his to keep it in place.

I finally fell asleep.

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May 31st, 2016.

I rolled over to the other side of the bed and found it empty. I cracked an eyelid open, the sun wasn't up yet. I checked the time on my bedside clock 1:05 am. Where was Luke?

I raised my body, using an elbow.

I saw him on the floor working on his laptop. Working meant he couldn't sleep.

I kicked the covers off. I spent an entire month on my own and I nearly went crazy with worry. Now, he was here, this was the only time we had to bond, I wasn't going to let some stupid computer take it away from me.

I walked up to him and crossed my arms across my chest.

He chuckled as he put the laptop down and opened his arms, I didn't hesitate to move into them. He laughed into my hair as he pampered me back to sleep.

I may have actually spoken my thoughts out loud.

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When I woke up, the sun was in my face and I found myself back on the bed, blanket over me and I knew he was gone. Just to prove myself wrong, I turned on my side to look around the room, I couldn't find his backpack anywhere. He was definitely gone.

Would it kill him to say goodbye before he left? I sighed into my pillow.

Someone knocked on my door. "Ophelia? Ophelia, are you awake sweetie?"

Arabella, and God knew I did not have the patience for her this morning. She was going to ask for details I couldn't give.

"Go away." I mumbled into my pillow.

She opened my door.

I picked a pillow and flung it in the direction of the door without looking. I knew it would find it's mark, I just wanted to dissuade her from asking me any questions.

"Ouch!" She yelled, when the pillow hit her. "Wow, someone is grouchy this morning. I don't see any lingerie pieces on the floor."

Oh God.

She yanked the blanket off me. "You didn't wear the ling...Oh My God!"

"What?" I jumped in alarm.

"Oh My God!" She squealed further "..this!" She picked my left arm and examined it.

The bracelet.

"Jesus Christ! Ophelia, its beautiful!"

"Thank you." It really was beautiful.

"And expensive, and you say the locket I gave you is expensive, it isn't worth a cent when compared to this..." She lifted my arm up "...you've struck gold with this one." She said, referring to Luke.

I buried my face in my pillow, trying to hide the blush creeping up my face.

"No wonder you didn't have time to change into the lingerie. He simply adores you, did you see how he held you in his arms, marvelous." She clapped her hands together. "You've brought this one down to his knees, I told you you had a nice body." She teased, wiggling her brows up and down.

"Arabella, stop."

"Okay, okay, I'll stop. What's this one called?" She asked pointing to the large red circle in the center.

"That's a Ruby."

"Whoa! And this one?" She asked, pointing to the tiny blue ones.

"Sapphire."

"What about this one?" She was pointing to the green tear drop jewel now.

"Emeralds." I yawned, getting bored now. She's going to ask about the white ones.

"What's your honey pot made out of?"

"Pearls.." I answered, absentmindedly. Wait! What?! "No! No! That's not what I wanted to say!"

She doubled over in laughter. "Pearls indeed, it is made out of pearls to make a man spend millions to get you this. Please tell me where I can get these Pearl made stuff, I need a transplant." She continued laughing.

"Its not funny." My face was extremely red now.

"It is. Anyway I think I've worked out why Desmonda hasn't bothered you yet, why no one has knocked on your door."

"Why?"

"Okay...I bumped into your man this morning..."

"He's not my man."

"Whatever sweetie, I bumped into hotstuff this morning. He was heading to Desmonda's office. I shouldn't have but I eavesdropped anyway, turns out hotstuff is literally paying Desmonda off to keep men away from you."

"What?" I asked in disbelief.

"You're lucky babe, you're exclusive. He wants you all to himself.

All this while I thought I was lucky, not knowing Luke was behind it. What would I do without you Luke?

"Hey, can I eat this?" She picked the cake on the floor.

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

And that's how we ended up eating cake for breakfast.

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