“When there's a corpse!”
1299 Words
AURORA'S POV
*Flashback*
I was driving home from work after another really terrible day which made me question my entire existence. It's not exactly easy when I've been married to my boss for three years and no one knows about it. It doesn't get easier because I was just a stand-in bride, and my “husband” doesn't give a s**t about me.
Today… she had returned, and apparently, my life couldn't get any worse.
By she, I mean the real bride, my sister. Only that she wasn't my sister at all. The story is pretty messed up, I'll make sure to tell you about it sometime soon. Just stick around, will you?
My mind was filled with several thoughts. All of them scared me to the marrow. What now? I know my marriage to Desmond has been the faultiest marriage in the world, but we were getting somewhere. Why did Vivianne have to come back now?
I heaved, swerving the car left as I turned a corner. It's our three-year anniversary soon. I intend to tell Desmond how I really feel about him, to tell him that even though I was just a stand-in bride, I'd always been in love with him. I could get rejected and probably insulted, but you'll never know until you try, right?
I swerved another bend, and that was when my car started acting up. The radio turned on its own. I turned it off, yet it came back on almost immediately.
Furrowing my brows confused, I tried again. I got the same result. My heart skipped. I tried to ignore the extremely loud glitching radio and kept my eyes on the road, but it was difficult to focus.
Also… I was hypersensitive to loud noise.
What was going on? The speaker got louder and louder. I gripped the steering wheel, my heart pounding in my chest. The road ahead suddenly began to blur right in front of my eyes.
I swallowed. “Oh God, no! What's going on?"
I resorted to stopping the car even though I was in the middle of nowhere. Well… just my luck, that didn't work either.
I stepped on the brakes as hard as I could, but the more I did that, the more the car sped forward. I was really panicking now.
I began tapping on everything — brakes, gear, controls… — yet none worked. What was happening? My car never gave me issues.
I was slowly hyperventilating, struggling to breathe as I tried to keep the car in control. I failed. The next minute, I was driving directly at another car, and I could do nothing about it but watch.
The last thing I remembered was the scream piercing out of my mouth, then the world faded into oblivion.
I woke up after who-knows-how-long with ropes that burned against my wrists like fire kissing skin. I tried to sit up, my eyes scanning the environment with fear.
All I saw was darkness. It took a little while for me to realize that there was a blindfold over my eyes.
My throat was parched. “Hello…” I mumbled.
A rough voice echoed in the room before a second even passed. "Shut the f**k up!”
I swallowed the gigantic lump in my throat. "Who are you? What…Do you want from me?”
He snarled loudly. "I'm the man who'll slide a knife through your throat if you don't shut the f**k up.”
I held my breath, my heart pounding in my chest. "Please…please don't. What do you want? Money? Call my husband, he'll give you anything you want.”
The voice began laughing at that point, hysterically. I felt goosebumps crawl up my skin. “Your husband? Which one? The one that said to call when there's a corpse?"
I gasped. “No! You're lying. Call him again."
He cackled. “Gladly."
The line went through the on the fifth ring, just when I almost gave hope. I heard my husband's voice from the other end. I barely even had the time to feel any sort of hope when his cold words hit me.
“I told you to call when there's a corpse."
The line went dead afterward, plunging the room into silence.
The man laughed. “Your husband has guts.”
I was frozen, my heartbreak into a million pieces at that very moment.
…when there's a corpse…
*Present*
The scent of leather and cigars brought me back to the present. Back to the man in front of me.
Desmond looked the same. Black suit, blood-red tie, cold blue eyes that had never once warmed for me. Standing next to him was her—my sister.
Vivienne.
Bitch!
“What the hell is she doing here?” I snapped before I could stop myself. My voice sliced through the air sharper than any blade.
Desmond’s eyes flared. He took one step toward me, then another. “Who are you speaking to with a tone like that?"
I sneered, mustering up courage. “Who f*****g cares about my tone? I ask "what she's doing here?"
Vivienne stepped forward, her fake-ass smile plastered on her face. “Rory… is that how you welcome your sister you haven't seen in three years?”
I clenched my fists, my heart pounding. “Am I supposed to hug you? And lie to you that you're welcome here. f**k it, you aren't, and you know that."
Desmond's eyes turned a very deep shade of dark. He closed the distance between us immediately, grabbing my arm fiercely. “What the f**k is your problem? You had better behave, or you sure as hell won't like what comes next."
I looked him in the eye, something I'd never dared to do before now. “What comes next, huh? Are you going to hit me? You've done worse s**t, Desmond. I am not scared of you."
Vivienne mouthed a wow, her eyes filled with shock.
Desmond's hold tightened. “You should be. Is this how you seek attention now, by acting up? I said, "behave."
I swallowed.
“Get out of my way,” he growled.
Rough hands shoved me backward. My spine cracked against the glass table. A burning flash of pain shot through my ribs. My breath left me in a choked gasp as the papers fluttered to the ground. I looked up at him, eyes brimming with fury. My blood on his hands. Again.
He turned his back on me and walked away like I was nothing, just a stain on the floor.
But that’s not what happened. Not really.
That was just the version I wanted to scream into existence. Instead, I smiled.
I turned to Vivienne. “Welcome home, sister.”
She blinked, too perfect in her silk dress and glossy lips. Playing innocent like she hadn’t screwed my life sideways.
I walked past them. However, Vivienne, the cunning b***h she is, bumped her shoulders into mine roughly, and I fell backwards.
“Oops! Sorry, sister."
I bit my lips, trying so hard to remain calm. Deep breath, Aurora! You want to know the most annoying part? It's that my husband just stood there, watching while my sister humiliated me in my own home.
I swallowed, rising to my feet without help. My heart began racing as I saw the contents of my bag emptied on the floor, including the divorce papers!
I picked them up quickly, and tucked them into my purse. “Thank you, Vivienne! "I hope you have a nice stay here,” I said, voice light, lips tight.
Desmond’s eyes narrowed. I didn’t give him the satisfaction of a glance.
With trembling legs, I made to walk away when Desmond stopped me. “What are those papers in your bag?"
I froze.
- Writer
