Damien's runaway bride

No looking back

Esme woke up to the sound of the bus coming to a stop.

Finally they had reached the city, she got out and put her phone back on and she saw that she had about twenty missed calls, she saw that about twelve were from here mother and the remaining was from her best friend.

She made a mental note to use the hotel’s phone to call her bestie and explain the whole situation to her, she knew that Miki would not tattle-tell on her.

So she ignored it and opened google maps to search for a hotel that was relatively cheap and nearer to the airport and also search for a pawn shop nearby as she had taken a few of her mother’s gold jewelries and also the jewelries her parents got for her over the years.

She saw one with great reviews that pawn jewelries no questions asked and decided to walk there since she was short on cash. She switched on airplane mode as she used it to reach the shop.

It was a corner shop in the middle of the city with a signboard read “Goldie pawn shoppie” in big colorful neon signs. It had this vintage look to it. She walked in and walked straight down to the counter.

“Hi, welcome to Goldie pawn shoppie, how may I help you”, a bright and bubbly middle-aged woman at the counter said.

“Hi, I would like to sell my jewelries”, Esme said, opening her duffle bag to bring out the paper bag she hid all the jewelries in.

“Okay” she said raising a hand magnifier to confirm the authenticity of the jewelries.

They negotiated on the price for about ten minutes before they settled and agreed on ten thousand dollars, all of which was given to her cash.

She walked out of the shop feeling happy that this part of the plan went smoothly.

Then she called a taxi gave the man the hotels address and entered and they zoomed off.

In about fifteen minutes they reached the hotel, she paid the man with cash and came down from the car. She stood in front of the hotel admiring its beauty and sheer size.

She walked in admiring the interior while also looking for the reception.

She paid for a room and checked into her room. She went to the bathroom and took a quick shower, she was moving fast cause she knew that time was not on her side as her mother and husband to be would have started looking for her.

She had already made an online search for an internet cafe and a hardware store close by when she was at the pawn shop selling he jewelries.

She went down to the reception and handed her keys to the receptionist telling her she was just going for a little sight seeing.

She left the hotel and booked a cab that was going to take her to the internet cafe, on reaching there she paid the cab driver and left the vehicle.

She entered the cafe and asked the owner to let her use a computer for about thirty minutes.

Then she went online and began booking a ticket out of the country, she knew she had to leave the country entirely, for her to be totally free from both her mother and her husband-to-be.

She had already made a research on which country to elope to with the tablet of the youngest daughter to her mother’s driver, on one of the days he brought his daughter to work.

She had chosen Germany, as there was better work opportunities there for her and also she liked the vibe of the country.

She had applied earlier and had already gotten a good paying job in an event planning agency as a manager two weeks back.

She booked an emergency morning flight that was to leave the next day.

She also logged out and deactivated all her social media accounts, blocked all her cards after paying for the plane ticket as she was going to use cash from then till she leaves the country.

Then she removed the sims from her phone and broke them into two, while also removing and clearing her search history.

When she was satisfied with everything and was sure there was nothing left to do with the computer, she went up to the counter, paid and left the cafe then she decided to walk to the hardware store.

It took her ten minutes to reach the store, upon entry, she went straight to the burner phone aisle, where she searched for the phone with the longest plan, the Tracfone. It was a black fold able phones that looked like one of those old Motorola phones

She took it to the counter and paid 85 dollars for it. When the sales guy was scanning it she asked, “could you please help me set up my phone”.

“Ermm, setting it up will cost you an extra 10 dollars the tall slim man replied.

“No problem, I will pay”. She waited for about four minutes before the guy handed it over.

“Done”.

“Thank you, I appreciate it”, Esme said with gratefulness in her heart.

“Your welcome, good luck on whatever you’re doing, I hope it works out well for you”, he said with concern.

She left the store and walked down to the main road and waited till she found a cab that would take her back to the hotel.

On reaching the hotel she paid the driver and walked to the reception, where she got her room keys from receptionist, and checked into her room.

When she got in, she laid down on the bed smiling with with satisfaction and joy as she knew that almost one-third of her plans had gone well without any issues. She checked the clock on the wall and it read 5pm.

She picked up the hotel room’s telephone and dialed her best friends number that she had memorized.

It rang and then she heard a click which meant she had picked up the phone.

“Hello, who is this”, came from the other end of the call”, Miki said with suspicion in her voice.

“Its me, Esme. Are you alone?.

“Esme my love how have you been, and yes I am alone in my room. Whats going on, your mum called me to ask if I’ve heard from you and seen you”.

“I am eloping, I just can’t go through with this wedding, I am sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, I didn’t want to implicate you. You know my he’s dangerous and unpredictable”.

“Do you mean your fiance is dangerous, but I thought you knew, and still and wanted to go through with the marriage”, she said curiously.

“The main reason I don’t want to marry him is because I don’t love him, you know I have always wanted to fall in love freely first then date and marry the man I love”.

“I know, you’ve told me numerous times since we were kids”, Miki said laughing. “But where are you and are you safe?”.

“I am at a hotel in town and yes I am safe, I made sure to cover my tracks, but I am leaving the country tomorrow morning”.

“Please my love don’t tell a single soul about my whereabouts, and when I settle in I will call you to let you know, though it might take sometime”.

“How much time will you need”, Miki asked.

“I don’t know maybe days or weeks or even a month, but when I am sure of not being followed you will be the first person I call”.

“Okay then, stay safe please”.

“I love you Miki”.

“I love you too Esme, please stay safe and take care of your self, I will take care of things at this end”.

“Okay” I said blowing air kisses and ended the call, turned off the lights and slept off.