Chapter One
1199 Words
~JANICE~
I think I'm going to throw up.
And that's just what I need, isn't it? To empty my guts all over the marble floor of Belford Grand Hotel's penthouse suite. That would definitely make for a peak romantic moment. Arrange to meet my fiance at the most luxurious establishment in AZ country, then start the night by throwing up.
I'm sure he'll find that very sexy.
"Quit it, Janice," I groaned, giving myself a mental kick.
I had already attracted odd stares from the receptionist downstairs when I arrived. I was so jittery, I dropped the room key when she gave it to me. I hadn't missed the scepticism in her eyes as she watched me scramble to pick it up, and I had to hurry away before she suspected me of something.
'There's no need to be nervous,' I thought. 'It's Phillip. It's just Phillip.'
I exhaled, wiping sweaty palms on my jeans as I tried to slow down my breathing.
I knew I shouldn't be nervous, but I really couldn't help it. It's normal to be nervous when it's your first time, right?
Still, I needed to get myself under control before Phillip got here. It would be mortifying for him to see me being such a nervous wreck. Men liked their women bold in the bedroom. At least that's what the woman at the lingerie store said.
Speaking of lingerie…
I sat on the bed and pulled it out of my bag. It was red and lacy, and I blushed just looking at it. I could only laugh at myself as I smoothed it out on the spotless sheets, trying to imagine how Phillip would react when he saw me in it. How his eyes would darken with desire like it always did whenever we kissed.
My stomach did a swoop, and I could feel my hands begin to tremble again.
"Come on, Janice," I chided myself. "Don't be such a wimp."
I couldn't deny that there was something reckless about this, especially since I'd spent my whole life being the careful kind of girl. We've been together for years, yet Phillip and I have never done more than just kiss, hold hands, and cuddle. And now we were taking the plunge right into this. This one irrevocable act that felt like it would bind us to each other once and for all.
That thought was what finally grounded me. I took a deep breath and, at last, turned my attention to the tastefully furnished room. It was quiet except for the sound of running water coming from the bathroom, but I didn't think too much about the latter. This wasn't the first time Phillip and I had stayed here. The room staff practically considered it our bedroom at this point. It wouldn't be the first time, either, that they'd done things like running a bath ahead of our arrival. They had even left a bottle of champagne and two glasses on the table. Feeling grateful for their foresight, I filled a glass and drained it in one go.
Seduction and liquid courage went hand in hand, after all. Or so the internet claimed.
I did feel braver though.
Enough to get up and change into the lingerie. I stared at myself in the mirror, hardly recognizing the woman before me. This woman, who was all smooth skin and accentuated curves and legs that went on for days. For the first time since walking into this room, I felt confident. I looked nothing like the boring, sheltered Janice who didn't know how to have a good time. I looked daring and sexy, the sort of woman who could sweep her man off his feet and give him a night he would never forget.
I was reaching for the champagne bottle when pain suddenly shot through my stomach. I cried out, clutching it with both hands. But already the pain was traveling, tearing up and through the rest of my body. I staggered, black spots filling my vision as my head went light and too heavy to lift at the same time. My legs had turned to jelly and now I was scrambling, groping desperately for something to hold onto, but all that met my hands was thin air.
I collapsed, my body hitting the floor hard. My attempts to struggle to my feet were fruitless, and it took me a moment to realize that the warm, metallic fluid that had filled my mouth was my own blood.
I was gagging, writhing on the floor when the bathroom door slowly swung open. A pair of feet clad in red five-inch stilettos stepped out, walking forward till they stopped in front of me.
"Who…" I tried to say, but I was choking too much to get the words out.
'Who are you? What are you doing here?'
'How did you get in here? What did you do to me?'
I struggled to lift my head, so that I could see who it was, but my body would not cooperate. I was getting weaker and weaker, as if all my strength was being siphoned away. The woman tut-tutted mockingly, before crouching beside me.
Placing one manicured finger tipped with a long red acrylic nail under my cheek, she raised my face so that I was looking into her cat brown eyes. My eyes widened with shock. If I wasn't too weak for that, I would have rubbed them just to be sure I was seeing right. Apart from the fact that her eyes weren't blue like mine, this woman looked exactly like me, down to the defined cupid's bow of her full lips.
But… how?
Who in the world was she?
"Finally," she said, smirking. "You have no idea how long I've been planning this moment. And now that you're finally dying, I can take my rightful place at Phillip's side." Her smirk widened. "With you out of the way, he will be well and truly mine. Forever."
She tilted her head, gaze running over my lifeless form.
"I should have done this sooner, you know," she said. "You've always been the only obstacle standing between me and the love of my life. I wonder why I let you live this long." She scoffed, abruptly letting go of my face. My jaw smacked the floor, but I hardly felt it. I was fading fast.
"Well, at least it's over now," she added as she stood up and walked away. "Goodbye, Janice Chambers. No one will miss you."
'No,' I thought. 'You can't just do this. You won't get away with this.'
But it wasn't like there was anything I could do. I barely had any consciousness left, and I didn't need a soothsayer to tell me that I really was dying. All I could do was lie here helplessly while my murderer walked away. While she deceived my fiance and stole my life without ever paying for what she had done. At that thought, tears began flowing out of my eyes.
'Philip…'
'I don't want to die. Please…'
Those were my final thoughts as the cold darkness pulled me under.
'Someone…anyone…'
'Please don't let it end like this.'
- Writer
