“To be your partner rather than your captive,” Kelvin couldn’t find any amusement in those words.
Even after he left that room, it still echoed in his head.
From her voice, he could make out the coldness, the decisiveness, and the zeal of revenge etched in every syllable…it was clear and raw.
Sonia wanted more than just a partner, she wanted a trusted ally.
And she wanted to pay them back in their coins.
Kelvin shook his head with helplessness at how fast she was to conclude she had been held as a captive.
Having her treated in his own home was just a measure and a decision he had taken on an impromptu.
He never held her captive and he was never intending to.
He drew in a deep breath, his gaze drifting to the time on his laptop.
“Time to change the IV,” he muttered under breath.
Kelvin’s heart did a quick flip at the thought of visiting her room.
He had promised her to think about it and give her an answer the next time he came over.
This time Kelvin was sure she would demand an answer.
And Kelvin wasn’t quite sure he had any at the moment.
He lifted himself up from the seat, shut down his laptop, and grabbed his phone and made his way out of the study.
Moments later, Kelvin was standing at the door of Sonia’s ward.
He tapped softly on the door and pushed it open to enter.
Knowing the current Sonia, Kelvin was clear on one thing he shouldn’t expect a response, besides she never responds since she woke up.
Stepping into the room, Kelvin’s gaze drifted towards the bed and their gazes locked.
Unexpectedly, she was wide awake, her hands carefully folded over her stomach while avoiding the catheter on each hand.
“How are you doing today?” Kelvin asked softly as he shut the door behind him.
Sonia only shrugged but offered no comment.
She certainly didn’t have to answer, not when he would find out during the check up.
Kelvin didn’t feel any offense at her silence, besides he only asked out of formality.
As usual, he went over to the sanitizing area, had his hands washed and sanitized, then he slid on his scrub.
Carefully, he arranged her medication on the trolley and with steady steps, he pushed it towards her bed.
With every movement, Sonia had her gaze locked on him like a hawk.
He stopped beside her bed and placed the back of his hand on her forehead.
“Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?”
“None that I know,” she clipped.
He nodded and as usual, he went through the routine of checking her vitals and recording his observation calmly.
“Any improvement?” Sonia asked, her voice calm and crisp.
“Yeah…a bit,” he answered curtly as he took his seat beside her bed.
“Have you decided?” Sonia asked without any preamble.
“Being your partner?”
“…”
He shrugged.
“Depends on what it is you want to do,” he replied curtly.
Sonia stared at him for a moment.
“What do you think a woman who woke up to her husband and best friend smooching beside her hospital bed should do?”
Kelvin’s brow furrowed in shock.
“What?”
Sonia nodded in affirmation at the shock on his face.
“Yeah, that’s the gist,” she smirked.
Nothing had prepared him for such a revelation.
He stared into her face, searching for any sign that would prove she was joking but there wasn’t any.
Kelvin shook his head a few times in denial.
“That’s impossible. Alex might be everything you think of him, but he would definitely not do that to you.”
Sonia stared at him.
“You think so?” She asked, her gaze flickering with unfiltered hatred.
Kelvin couldn’t bring himself to nod in affirmation.
He was aware that Alex had cheated outside his marriage, but to be in such a compromising position with another lady beside her hospital bed… that was definitely impossible.
Sonia wished the same, but reality had slapped her hard across the face.
“You still don’t believe me….” Sonia asked, her lips curled up coldly.
Kelvin shook his head.
But rather than trust blindly, he decided to let her speak out.
“When?”
“Just before I had the episode back there,” Sonia answered.
For the past few days, she had given time to thinking much about it and how good her marriage with her husband might have been.
She had also wondered if she had noticed such moments in those four years of marriage like they said…but her memory seemed to have begun and ended with the moment of betrayal.
It was as though all the time she lived in a coma had everything in her memory erased.
Yet, the memory of the hospital incident was clearer than the daylight.
She remembered every single whisper, every touch, every kiss, and every disgust and complaint laced in Cyndi’s voice.
It was ironic how she, the wife, was yet to have a child, yet her friend was already bearing her husband’s child.
And the truth was they were only waiting for her death.
And if she had no child after four years, what had gone wrong?
Was it intentional?
A trusted ally and partner.
So, no matter how unbelievable it is, one thing she understood clearly was this undeniable truth..
Her best friend had been her husband’s mistress for four long years, they had a child together, and they had both dreamt of her dying.
This time she is ready to fulfill every one of their heart’s desires, their wishes, and every earnest prayer they make.
Staring at the stunned Kelvin, Sonia’s lips curled up with a cold smile.
Sonia shrugged.
“Are you surprised?”
“Sort of,” he answered.
“Then, you don’t have to be…I will prove that to you.”
“Are you sure?” Kelvin’s eyes narrowed slightly despite the unbelief etched in every syllable.
“Very.” Her voice dropped, steady and unwavering with a certainty he couldn’t doubt.
“Just give me some time.”
Kelvin didn’t respond immediately.
He stared at her, really stared as he studied her carefully.
But this time, it wasn’t her pulse, her breathing, or her recovery that he was assessing.
It was her.
He was trying to understand the woman before him.
And for the first time since she woke up… he realized he couldn’t.
Reluctantly, Kelvin admitted it to himself, something had changed in her and she wasn’t the weak lady he had wanted to protect.
Or maybe nothing had changed at all.
Maybe this was who she had always been.
But he had simply never seen it.
Because when he tried to compare…Sonia Walker.
The quiet, gentle woman he had known for years… the devoted wife, the trusting friend with the woman sitting right in front of him now…
Kelvin shook his head lightly.
They didn’t align.
They didn’t match.
They didn’t even resemble each other.
To put simply, it was as though one had been erased…And the other had taken her place.
.
Any opinion about him?
And what do you think Sonia would do?