SCARLET
“I want to be like you and dad when I grow up,” I say to my mother as she tucks me to sleep.
She sighs and then sits on my bed with a smile.
“Oh, sweetheart,” she cups my cheeks.
“You know your father and I will always want nothing but happiness for you.”
I nod.
“I want to be happy like you two,” I say, excitedly.
“Sofia said we should get married by twenty six.”
Mother’s eyes widen.
“Sofia said that?”
I nod.
“She said she heard her mother tell her aunt that a woman should marry at twenty six. When I’m twenty six, I’ll have my wedding, right?”
Mother laughs.
“There’s no specific age, sweetheart. The most important thing is you find someone who loves you unconditionally.”
“Someone like dad?”
A smile spreads across her face.
“Yes. Like dad.”
“But Sofia and I made a promise to each other. Can’t I just get married at twenty six? We said our weddings should be one month apart.”
“You can’t predict the future, sweetheart.”
She stares at the window and her expression falls.
She stands up.
“I have to go sweetheart. My time is up.”
I squint at her.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“Home,” she shrugs.
I shuffle out of the sheets and hold her hand.
“But you are home. Don’t go, mum,” tears flow down my cheeks.
“Don’t leave me again.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.
I have to.
“You always do this,” I snap.
Just then her hands start to vanish.
“Mum!” I call out in tears.
“Mum!”
And then she disappears in a puff.
“Mum!” I open my eyes and a sharp light hits me, making me squint.
It takes a while before my mind connects with reality.
It was a dream.
The same dream always.
The dream that begins with a sweet moment and ends with a nightmare.
“Not again,” I groan.
“In deed,” a female voice makes my heart skip a beat, as I almost jump out of my skin.
I was so caught up in my own world that I didn’t notice the woman seated on my bed.
“Jesus Christ,” I place a hand on my chest as I let out a loud breath.
“Who are you? And what are you doing…”
I don’t get to complete my statement as my mind suddenly catches up.
“Wait.” I look around.
I’m not familiar with anything.
Red curtains, black couch, white coffee table, huge screen, everything is neat and classy, but nothing is to my taste.
This is not my room.
Alas, this is not my bed.
Where the hell am I?
I stare back at the woman and my head suddenly throbs.
I massage them for a few seconds trying to search for answers in my mind.
I gasp when I remember….
Shit.
It’s my wedding day.
It’s my fucking wedding day.
What the hell am I doing here?
I’m about to shuffle out of bed quickly when memories from last night start flooding, crashing my heart in the process.
There isn’t going to be a wedding.
The realization breaks my heart into a million pieces.
It was all a lie.
Nothing was real.
It hurts all over again, just like it did last night.
Last night…
How did I get here?
The last thing I remember is being in the cemetery, talking to my mother.
And then someone interrupted me.
The stranger.
I asked him to kidnap me.
Did he…
“My God, you are so beautiful,” the woman’s voice snaps me back to reality.
I had momentarily forgotten about her, when she almost gave me a heart attack.
I got into the stranger’s car.
He must be the one who brought me here, right?
But who is this woman?
I scan her.
She’s in a black dress with a white collar.
Her brown hair is tied into a perfect ponytail.
Her brown eyes are screaming excitement.
She looks to be in her mid-fifties.
While I scan her, I find her doing the same.
“Devan really brought us an angel,” she comments, rendering me confused.
“Devan?” I ask.
Who is that?
She smiles.
“And he really knows how to keep a secret. How long have you two been dating?”
“Uhhm…”
What?
“Don’t answer that,” she dismisses.
“You know what? It doesn’t matter. What matters is that all this pressure about a wife will soon be over, and my boy can go back to his normal routine.”
I blink in confusion.
I don’t understand a single word coming off the woman’s mouth.
Yet she seems so excited to see me.
“Devan is a very smart man. All this time he let the old geezers think he didn’t have a plan?” She proceeds, and when she realizes I’m staring at her blankly she stops and sighs.
“Don’t mind me. I’m just so excited to see him bring a woman home. He never does that.”
I think this is the part where I tell her I’m not who she thinks I am.
I’m just a stranger and I need to get out of here as soon as possible because last I checked, I have a crisis to handle and a wedding to cancel.
However, the woman doesn’t let me talk.
“Pardon my manners. It’s just that I never thought this day would come. Devan pushes people away a lot. He hates connections. But you? He even brought you to his room?”
“Uhm, I’m not…”
“I’m Miranda by the way,” she cuts me off.
“And you are? Devan didn’t menrion your name.”
“Scarlet,” I say.
“I really need to go.” Before all this gets crazy.
The woman ignores my last words.
“Scarlet? What a coincidence. Devan loves sprinkles of red in his aesthetics.”
We both looks at the curtains.
“Actually, contrary to popular opinion, I hate red,” I report, making her squint.
“That’s weird, but it’s okay.” She stands up.
I’ll make you breakfast while you freshen up, okay?”
“I…”
“Devan ordered for some clothes to be brought to you and they’re in the walk-in closet. There’s a few clothes to choose from.You just choose one that fits you.”
“Actually, I really need to go…”
“Not so soon. Besides, Devan wouldn’t allow it. Freshen up.” She dismisses me.
Oh my God.
I massage my temples.
This woman has spoken at a speed of a thousand words per minute, not giving me the chance to explain myself.
Devan won’t allow it?
I take it Devan is the stranger from last night.
Or the kidnapper?
I need to have a word with him.
To be honest, I’m starving, if the grumbling in my stomach is any indication.
For now the right thing to do is follow Miranda’s instructions, even though I have so many questions about everything she’s recited to me.
A wife?
Why would she be excited about Devan having a wife?
Or bringing a girl home for that matter.
I have no time dwell on it.
I need to get out of here soon and face my predicament.
The thought makes my heart drop.
The remidner that this was supposed to be my wedding day.
I know that I need answers from Kelvin, but is my heart ready for it?
This is the man I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with.
The man I gave all my heart.
The man I bragged to my mother about, so many times.
The number of times I’ve stood before my mother’s headstone and told her I finally found happiness.
Hell, I even took him to the cemetery and made an introduction to my mother.
I always claimed that I have fufiled the pact we made years ago, and that she’s would be happy and proud of me.
Was all that for nothing?
What if I’m the one overthinking all this?
The thought is almost convincing, but again there’s no logical explanation to what I heard last night.
I don’t know what Kelvin will say, but there’s no coming back from this.
It’s all I’m thinking about while I’m in the shower.
I end up breaking down.
My shoulders shaking.
My chest heavy.
My breaths labored.
My heart shattering.
It takes a while before I get out of the shower.
When I look at myself in the mirror…I’m definitely an emotional mess.
My eyes sting.
This is going to be hard, but I have to pull up my big girl pants.
If Kelvin did this to me, he doesn’t deserve a single thought in my brain.
I need to be strong while I handle this.
I have to.
I wash my face for the second time.
Trying to clear the emotional mess.
I walk into the closet as instructed.
The place looks like a whole clothes store with expensive men’s wear.
It takes a while before I find the clothes Miranda was talking about.
They cover a small section of the closet.
When she said a few clothes to choose from, I didn’t expect this.
There are a dozen dresses, a dozen trousers a dozen tops.
Am I here to stay?
This is crazy.
I end up choosing blue jeans and a black t-shirt.
Once I’m done dressing up, I pull my hair into a messy pony tail.
I take one last look at myself.
It’s time.
But first, I need to have a word with my kidnapper.
Hell I don’t even know where I am.
But now, my mind is clear.
A knock resounds on the door, and before I can respond, the door flies open.
There stands an Adonis.
Yes an Adonis who leaves me lost in his looks.
Is this him?