Battle line
1955 Words
Chapter 5: Battle Line
Aubrey POV……
“Sorry, you can’t go in, ma. You are no longer allowed into this premises.” The security guard stepped in front of me, puffing out his chest as though I were nothing but a complete stranger.
I nodded slowly, feeling the familiar sting of betrayal pierce through my heart.
This was the same man I had helped pay his children’s school fees and his wife’s hospital bills when they couldn’t afford them.
Back then, he couldn’t stop thanking me. Now, he couldn’t even look me properly in the eyes.
“Are you really doing this? You are really not going to let me in?”
He looked away for a few seconds, probably fighting with the little guilt he had left before finally turning back to me. “I can’t let you in, ma. Those were my orders.”
“How can you do this?” Henry stepped forward immediately, unable to hide the anger in his voice.
“After everything she has done for you, you are turning against her at a time like this? That’s unbelievable.”
“Let him be, Henry. He’s only carrying out the orders he was given…” I was about to finish my sentence when my phone vibrated inside my pocket.
I frowned slightly before pulling it out. Manager.
My heart skipped a beat. He was my last hope.
“Hello,” I answered quickly. “How are you doing? I was at the hospital and that’s why I couldn’t make it to the shoot. You rescheduled it like we normally do… right?”
There was a long silence.
A silence so heavy it almost suffocated me before he finally spoke.
“There won’t be any need for that anymore, Aubrey.” He paused briefly before continuing, his voice lacking its usual warmth.
“I only called to let you know that your contract has been terminated. You are no longer signed under this agency.”
My head spun so violently that I almost lost my balance.
“Ma…” Henry quickly reached out and held me. “Are you alright?”
I nodded slowly, my eyes fixed ahead as though I hadn’t heard him.
“How can you do this to me?” My voice trembled despite my efforts to remain strong.
“I am the best model your agency has ever worked with. I brought recognition, international deals and millions in revenue to your company, so why are you doing this?”
He sighed deeply. “My hands are tied, Aubrey. No company wants to work with you anymore. Clients have been calling nonstop, threatening to pull their deals if I don’t cut ties with you.”
“Sponsors are withdrawing, brands are distancing themselves, and… with everything spreading online…”
His voice trailed off.
“So you believe that too?” I cut in before he could finish. “You believe I could actually do something like that?”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore, Aubrey, and I can’t do anything to help you now. So… you just have to find your own way from here. I’m sorry.”
The call ended before I could say another word.
I slowly lowered the phone from my ear and turned to Henry. My lips parted, but for a moment, no words came out.
“The agency… cut me off.”
My vision blurred as tears gathered in my eyes, threatening to fall one by one. I blinked repeatedly, forcing them back. No. I had cried enough.
Everything was gone. And now… my career.
I took in a shaky breath before wiping the moisture from the corner of my eyes.
“Get him away from the gate,” I said calmly, my voice carrying a firmness Henry had never heard before. “Let’s go in.”
Henry looked at me for a brief second, surprised by the sudden change in my tone, before nodding.
“Yes, ma.”
He walked toward the gateman and stood in front of him. “Please move,” he said firmly.
The gateman hesitated, looking from Henry to me before finally stepping aside without another word.
Henry held the gate open for me.
I lifted my chin slightly and walked into the compound without looking back.
……………..
Loud music filled the air. Merriments, laughter, the clinking of champagne glasses and the savoury aroma of freshly prepared jollof rice drifted through the compound, making the celebration feel even more lively.
“What’s goi…”
My lips sealed shut the moment my eyes landed on the massive banner hanging right above the entrance.
CELEBRATING THE JOYFUL UNION OF EDWARD AND LILY
I swallowed hard, biting back every form of weakness that threatened to rise inside me.
I took in a deep breath.
“I don’t have to cry over losers anymore. I have to teach them a lesson.”
With that, I wrapped my fingers around the door handle and slowly pushed it open.
Silence immediately fell over the entire living room as every pair of eyes turned towards me, swallowing me whole.
“What are you doing here?” Mother rushed toward me, grabbing my arm roughly. “I ordered that you should never be allowed into this house again!”
The mere sight of her irritated me, and her touch felt like filthy worms crawling all over my skin.
Without hesitation, I yanked my arm free and calmly dusted my clothes as though she had stained them.
“I am not here for that.”
I watched the shock spread across her face one expression after another.
“I am here to take my belongings and get the f**k out of here because every single one of you irritates me.”
The words rolled off my tongue so naturally, as though they had been waiting for years to be spoken.
I slowly lifted my eyes and looked around the room.
I wanted to see every one of them one last time before I returned to settle the score.
My eyes landed on Edward and Lily. Their fingers were tightly intertwined as though they hadn’t completely shattered my own happiness just two days ago.
Dad sat comfortably beside his business partners, his aged eyes boring into mine with so much hatred that it felt like he wanted me dead.
Edward’s parents sat opposite them, their faces carrying the same disgust they had always reserved for me, while the invited guests stared at me as though I were some contagious disease that had wandered into their celebration.
I chuckled softly and shook my head in disappointment.
“I can see all of you are having a wonderful time, and I seem to be the interruption.”
A small smile settled on my lips.
“Relax. I am not here to spoil anything. I’ll simply pack my belongings and leave.”
Without waiting for anyone to respond, I turned around and headed upstairs, leaving every one of them to drown in their hatred.
Henry silently followed behind me.
…………..
Henry helped me with the rest of my luggage while I carried the little I could.
I paused as soon as I reached the foot of the stairs, then slowly turned to face everyone gathered in the living room.
A faint smile found its way back to my lips as I walked closer to them.
“Before I leave, I have a few words to say to some of you, if you don’t mind.”
Silence greeted me. No one spoke.
I nodded slowly and smiled.
“Since no one has anything to say, let me begin.”
“Lily…”
The moment our eyes met, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before. There wasn’t just hatred in her eyes anymore.
There was surprise too, but beneath that surprise was something far more satisfying. Fear. It lasted for only a brief second before she buried it beneath that fake confidence she always wore, but I saw it clearly.
“I am glad you are having the best time of your life,” I smiled softly. “Enjoy it while you still can.”
Her brows furrowed immediately. “Is that a threat?”
I smiled even wider, the smile reaching my eyes for the first time in days.
“No,” I answered calmly. “It’s a promise.”
She parted her lips, ready to fire back, but I raised my hand slightly, stopping her.
“I’m not done, Lily. I don’t have the luxury of wasting my time arguing with you, so let me finish.”
She swallowed hard and looked away without another word.
My gaze slowly shifted to Edward.
“Edward…”
A bitter chuckle escaped my lips as I stared at the man I had loved with everything I had.
“You killed my baby.”
The smile disappeared from his face almost immediately.
His lips parted as if he wanted to deny it, and for the briefest moment, I saw something flash across his face.
Was that guilt? But just as quickly as it appeared, he buried it beneath anger.
“You have no right to accuse me—”
“I wasn’t asking for an explanation,” I interrupted calmly before he could finish.
I held his gaze without blinking.
“You’ll spend the rest of your life trying to convince yourself that none of this was your fault”.
“But deep down you will always remember this day, and one day you will regret everything you did to me.”
His jaw tightened, yet for the first time since all this began, he couldn’t find a single word to say.
I slowly turned to my parents.
“Mom… Dad…”
“I have never been your favourite child, and honestly… that’s no longer my problem.”
“I spent years wondering what I did wrong. I kept asking myself if I wasn’t good enough, if I wasn’t obedient enough, if I wasn’t lovable enough.”
“I searched for faults within myself because I believed a child had to earn the love of her parents.”
A painful chuckle escaped my lips, “I blamed myself for years until I finally realized something.”
“A child should never have to beg to be loved.”
“I don’t have to keep fighting for a place where I was never wanted, and I don’t have to keep begging people who already decided I wasn’t enough.”
I chuckled softly before smiling again. “So today… I choose to walk away.”
My eyes swept across every single face in the room one by one.
“I don’t know when any of you will see me again, but one thing I want all of you to remember is this…”
“When that day comes…”
“You should fear my return.”
The silence that followed was almost suffocating.
I adjusted my grip on my luggage and smiled one last time.
“I’ll be leaving now. Enjoy this happiness while it lasts.”
“Let’s go, Henry.”
Without waiting for anyone to stop me, I turned around and walked out of the house with Henry following closely behind.
This time, I didn’t look back.
As I stepped out of that house, I realized I had nowhere else to go. They had taken everything from me but they forgot one very important thing…
They didn’t take me.
And that… Would become the biggest mistake of their lives.
Because the next time they saw me, I wouldn’t be coming back to beg for love, acceptance or justice.
I would be coming back to make every single one of them pay.
- Writer
