His to Keep

Chapter two:Descent into darkness

Praise POV

Tears streamed down my face as I drove, hot and bitter, blurring the road ahead. My chest heaved with sobs I couldn’t control.

Why would they do this to me? After all the sacrifices I had made, after all the love we had shared together. How could they betray me so completely, so callously?

The questions circled in my mind like vultures, each one tearing at me with razor-sharp talons. Perhaps Joe had grown tired of waiting for me. Perhaps five years of disappointment had eroded his love, his patience, his commitment.

But why did it have to be my sister? Of all the women in the world, why Kiara? He knew how I cherished her. He had seen it every single day. He had watched me mother her, protect her, sacrifice for her. He knew what she meant to me.

My mind flew back to that terrible night fourteen years ago, when I was barely eighteen years old. I could still see the sterile white walls of that hospital room. I could still smell the antiseptic that couldn’t quite mask the scent of death approaching. I had held my mother’s frail, trembling hands, feeling the life slowly draining from them, and I had made a promise through my tears.

“I’ll take care of Kiara,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I promise, Mama. I’ll do anything to make sure Kiara gets a good life. I won’t let you down.”

My mother had squeezed my hand weakly, a single tear rolling down her gaunt cheek, and then she was gone. Just like my father had been gone six months before, taken by the same cruel cancer that seemed determined to destroy our family.

And I had kept that promise. God knows I had kept it. I had taken on two jobs while still in school to make sure Kiara lacked nothing. I worked as a waitress during the day and cleaned offices at night, studying whenever I could snatch a few precious hours.

I went without new clothes, without meals sometimes, so that Kiara could have the childhood she deserved. I made sure she had new school uniforms, money for field trips, and a birthday cake every single year, even when I could barely afford to keep the lights on.

I put my own education on hold so she wouldn’t have to. I gave up my own dreams so hers could flourish. I became mother, father, and sister all rolled into one, trying desperately to fill the void our parents had left behind. Kiara was the only family I had left in this world.

The one soul I was ready to die for, the one person whose happiness I had placed above my own for over a decade. And this was how she repaid me? By sleeping with my husband in my own bed?

The steering wheel was slick beneath my hands, and I realized dimly that I was gripping it so tightly my palms were sweating.

My whole body was shaking now. Tremors ran through me like aftershocks from an earthquake that had just destroyed my entire world. Maybe all of this explained Joe’s earlier behavior.

He had been unusually distant for the past few weeks, maybe even months, if I was honest with myself. I had attributed it to work stress. He had mentioned failures at the office, some demanding client who was making his life difficult, how his debtors were on his neck. I had believed him, had rubbed his shoulders and made his favorite meals and tried to be supportive.

How could I have been so blind? How could I not have noticed what was happening right under my nose, in my own home?

The signs must have been there. Late nights “at the office.” Unexplained phone calls that he took in another room. The way he sometimes smelled different when he came home, or the way his eyes would slide away from mine when I asked about his day. I had missed it all, too trusting, too naive, too focused on my own secret hope that I was finally pregnant.

One image pierced me more deeply than all the rest: Kiara’s face when she saw me standing in that doorway. She had looked directly at me, our eyes locking for one endless, terrible moment. And then she looked right at me and pressed her lips to my husband’s, a gesture of such brazen defiance that it stole the breath from my lungs.

Tears blurred my vision completely now. My head began to feel strange, light and heavy at the same time. The edges of my vision started to darken, and a wave of dizziness washed over me so powerfully that I had to grip the steering wheel to keep from floating away.

The road ahead seemed to shimmer. I blinked hard, trying to clear my vision, but it only made things worse. My head was spinning faster now, a carousel of pain and betrayal and loss.

Suddenly, a vehicle appeared from nowhere, speeding toward me in my lane. Or was I in its lane? I couldn’t tell anymore. My vision was too blurred, my head spinning too violently. I was too dizzy to even control myself, too broken to care.

And then, BOOM.

Pain exploded through my body, white-hot and all-consuming.

And then, mercifully, all I saw was darkness.

Joe’s POV

They tied me to a chair in a large room with a blindfold over my eyes. I couldn’t even think clearly about who had done all of this to me. The only thing that confused me was the fact that I had slept with Kiara.

What would ever push Kiara into doing such a dastardly thing to her sister? The more I thought about it, the more it broke me. What would happen when Praise found out about this? Who had I offended that brought this punishment on me? Fresh tears cascaded down my cheeks and I tasted the saltiness.

It all started last year when my business began to fail. My partners left and investors withdrew their money. When I tried to find out why they did so, they gave no reasonable answer. When my friend George returned from abroad, he sympathized with me and lent me enough money to rise again. I didn’t tell Praise because I knew she would be totally against it, knowing well that George got his money through illegal means.

Months later, George began to demand his money back, knowing how hard it was to rebuild. I begged him to understand, but instead he kept increasing the debt. Praise always understood, even when I became so distant and spent more time at the office than at home. She never complained. The only thing she was worried about was having a child.

Now my home was broken. I had betrayed her trust by sleeping with her sister. Who would believe that I was drugged? I couldn’t even forgive myself.

The door opened and a familiar presence entered the room. Using my sixth sense, I knew the person was George.

“Why did you do this?” I said, trying hard to hide my breaking voice.

“Why did you do it?” he asked, taking a seat beside me.

“What did I do?” I asked, confused. “You were my good friend, George. When you came to the States, you were lost and devastated. I took you in and helped you get into med school. After some time, we were no longer close because you started following the bad guys. But I still helped you when you needed me. Before I returned, I invited you to my wedding, but you didn’t show up. A few years later, you returned and chose to repay all the good times we shared together with evil?” I asked calmly.

“I appreciate everything you did for me, and that’s why I’m sparing your life,” he said.

“What did I do to you?” I asked. “What did I ever do to you, son of a b***h!” I yelled.

“Well, you stole from me. I just want to take back what’s mine,” he said plainly.

“We both know it’s not about the debt,” I said.

“It’s not the debt. It’s part of the process of reclaiming what’s mine. You took Praise from me. Did I ever mention why I left here for the States? I loved Praise since my university days, but she never saw me. Kiara loved me instead. Very foolish,” he laughed bitterly.

I shook my head as uncontrollable tears rolled down my cheeks.

“No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t hate her. I thought, maybe if I made something out of my life and came back, she’d finally see me,” he said.

“But that was very silly. When you sent me an invitation to your wedding and I found out you were marrying Praise, I was so broken.”

“But you never told me any of this. You even sponsored my wedding,” I said, amid tears.

“How was I supposed to tell you? I’m really sorry it had to go this way. I promise not to kill you if you comply and stay out of the picture,” he said.

“I am a lifeless man if Praise is taken away from me. She is not a property to be owned. She is entitled to a choice, and she chose me. Nothing can change that, George. You have to come back to your senses,” I spoke calmly, trying to revive his sense of reasoning.

But he sprang up indignantly.

“If I can’t have her, nobody will!” he roared.

“You have to calm down.”

“Shut the hell up!” he commanded with fury.

He bent beside my ear and whispered wickedly. “I’m only sparing your life because of your good deeds, but if you refuse to comply with my instructions, I will not only kill Praise but serve you her organs on a golden plate.”

“Don’t you dare touch my wife!” I snapped back immediately, struggling hard to loosen myself, but it was useless.

“Fine. I am not going to kill her, but you have to comply.”

“Comply with what?”

“You are not going to contact her again, or else I’ll kill both of you immediately. Secondly, I need more pictures of you and Kiara.”

“What? You’re probably out of your mind, George. You made me sleep with my wife’s sister and now you want more pictures? You are a devil that deserves death!” I spat.

“Mind your words,” he said calmly.

“To hell with you!” I yelled.

He clicked his fingers and I heard heavy footsteps walking toward me. “I’m sorry, Joe, but your words are harsh,” he said with a sober voice.

“You are not just a monster, but an insidious, guileful monster,” I spat.

Thwack! The punch landed hard on my cheek, pain cracking through my jaw as blood filled my mouth.