Spiral Game

Chapter two : Surprise (part 1)

Griffin sat on the couch, eyes fixed on the television. Zora sat beside him, legs crossed, polishing her nails. She paused, tilted her head, and studied her father. His gaze hadn’t shifted from the screen, but there was nothing warm in it.

“What’s wrong, Dad?” Zora asked, pitching her voice soft with concern.

Griffin didn’t answer.

Zora smiled. “Is it Zara? Don’t worry about her, Dad. She isn’t a child anymore. Why fuss over her? She’ll come home when she’s ready. Don’t bother yourself.”

Griffin turned his glare on her. “You’re telling me to have patience? That’s rich, coming from you.”

Zora’s smile faltered. “Patience? I’m not. I’m trying to comfort you. She’s always late. Give her space.”

Before Griffin could reply, the door opened. Zara stepped inside, slipped off her coat, and hung it on the coat rack by the entrance. She turned toward her bedroom, but Zora’s voice cut across the room.

“Sis, you’re home.” Zora arranged her face into a careful mask of relief. She glanced at Griffin. “See? I told you. My predictions never miss.”

Zara recognized the act immediately. “Enough, Zora. Try being genuine, just once.”

Griffin, silent until then, slammed his palm against the armrest. “You ungrateful brat. How dare you speak to your sister like that after she defended you—”

Zara scoffed. “Defended me? That was kind of you both. Pity it meant nothing.”

She walked into her mother’s room and closed the door behind her, shutting out Griffin’s shouting. She exhaled and looked at Tasha, who lay asleep in the bed. She sat on the edge of the mattress and took her mother’s hand. Tasha’s skin was thin, her face pale. She looked frail and ill.

A year had passed, and she still had not regained her strength.

Zara was only a year older than Zora, yet she carried the weight of the household. Sometimes she wondered why Griffin treated her with such coldness while he favored Zora. Griffin worked at a construction site. Zora did makeup in a small rural shop and earned little. Zara worked at a company, and her salary kept the lights on and food on the table.

They only saw her when her salary arrived. Then the masks came down and the smiles appeared. Once the money was gone, she became a shadow in her own home.

Zora would feign concern, but Zara could see the scorn beneath it. She didn’t understand why Zora treated her like a stranger. Some days they managed civility. Other days they tore at each other. Lately, Zara wondered if she had been adopted into the Wayne family by mistake.

Her phone buzzed. She pulled it from her pocket and moved to the wall so the light wouldn’t wake Tasha. The message was from an unknown number.

_Dear wife, I bought us a villa. It is secluded. I want you and me to keep our marriage a secret. I hope to see you there tomorrow. Bye, wife._

Zara stood still. Who was this man, and why did he keep calling her wife? She had lost consciousness in a hotel room the night before, and now she was meant to believe she had woken up married to a stranger. It made no sense.

Her phone rang. She answered at once. “Hello?”

A man’s voice came through, low and calm. “Wife? I know you read the message. You must be stunned, but don’t worry. I’d like to see you tomorrow at the villa. I’ll send the address shortly. Goodbye.”

The call ended.

Who was he? The question circled in her mind. The word “wife” grated each time he said it. No reasonable person would accept that a woman could faint in a hotel and wake up bound to a man she didn’t know. Had he lost his mind? The idea was absurd.

“Z… a… r… a.”

Tasha’s voice was barely a whisper. Zara’s expression softened at once. She knelt beside the bed and took her mother’s hand.

“What is it, Mom? Do you need something?”

Tasha shook her head weakly. “No, dear. What’s wrong with you?”

Zara couldn’t tell her. Not now. “Nothing,” she said.

Tasha’s smile was faint. “You’re stubborn, Zara. Even when you’re hurting, you won’t say a word. You don’t want to burden me.”

Zara brushed her fingers over her mother’s forehead. “It’s nothing, Mom.”

Tasha’s eyes closed. She spoke so little these days. Zara kissed her forehead and watched her fall asleep again.