BETRAYED TO LOVE

CHAPTER TWO: DESPAIR!

Sophia sat, tears rolling down her eyes as she stares at her brother's phone in her hands. He had a picture of her and him from the day he had acted as her escort to an award night as his screensaver. It was his favorite picture of her, the one where he had acted as her guardian the entire night, even though she was three years younger than him. She still recalls that night, it was still alive in her memories, and obviously, it was the last memory she had of him escorting her to an occasion. Rolland has always been her favorite.

Slowly, she slides his phone open and there was a lock on it. She knew his password, it was one and the same everywhere and for everything, and he never changes it no matter how many times she pleaded with him to. Every password needing device he owned, had the same password. Her birthday. Sophia cries more as she begins to type in the password and the phone granted her access.

"Stupid bunny!" She whispers almost inaudibly. "You should have come with me that night." She says crying. "You should."

But he hadn't. They had earlier planned to attend the event together, but two days to the event their mother told them they were both following her to the company that same night for a crucial board meeting. Every meeting has always been crucial where her mother and the companies were concerned, and so Sophia had said no. She was not willing to cancel her big night just to go sit all night in a board room with absolutely no clue to what everyone was always debating or talking about. Business has always been Rolland's thing, or so he always pretended to everyone else. She was the only one who knew of his secret life in the local clubs as a musician. He had his own band and group.

He had agreed to join her that night to her event, but when their mother kept demanding and giving no room for any of them to say no, Rolland had decided to go along with their mother, negotiating for Sophia to go for her night and then join them later that night. But he and Sophia had made a deal, and they both knew she was not joining them later. And so she had left with her team for her big night, and they had planned to leave later with their father too, and. Just before she had left, her mother had come to her room emphasizing on why she had to join them later that night, and how this may likely be her last award night as an actress. She wanted Sophia to join her at the company and take up a management role.

After much talk, her mother had left, and Rolland had come in to find her on her bed with an angry face. He had teased her, and then he had gone ahead and push her to get ready and leave. Before she had left in the car that took her to her agency to get ready, Rolland had stood just outside the car and ruffled her hair, before reminding her of how much he loves her, and how he would be watching her online all night. And then the car had droves away just as he was sending her air kisses. Sophia cries at the memory.

She should have sent him back a kiss. She should have told him of how much she loves him too. No, no! She should have stood her ground and demand that Rolland follow her to her night as was earlier arranged, then, then he wouldn't be dead right now. Sophia sniffs, looking down at the phone in her hand, but just as the phone finish granting her access, what she saw there had her crying even more. It was the live stream of her evening. Rolland had been watching her when the accident happened. The phone falls from her hand as she cries even more. She would never be able to accept the fact that Rolland was dead, so getting up, she heads for his room.

Sophia opens the door to his room and walks in slowly, every memory she has shared with him here flooding her head. Gulping, she walks off to where he had pictures of her and him, and everyone else, but her picture was more than the rest. Her hands shivering, picks up a framed picture of him and her together, on the day he had graduated from Business school, it had been her most proud moment of him especially as he graduated top of the school. Memories of every one of them at the graduation party flood her mind. It was just two years ago, and they had been happy, all of them. So how was it possible that her mother and brother was dead, with her father yet to regain consciousness?

Her hand slowly begin to trace every picture there. It was her fault. It was all her fault, Sophia begins to think in her mind. If only she had been there that night, if only she had not left them to it and leave for some damn night, maybe things would have changed. Maybe they would have left earlier or later and miss the truck that caused the accident. Maybe Rolland and her mother would still be alive. Maybe, just maybe. But she had been selfish to everyone, just as she has always been, and she had left them all to it and left for a party. f*****g party!

Her hand gets to where Rolland had their mother's picture, and there she stood, the very symbol of perfection, her mother. Elena Richmond. New tears find their way down her face as she stares at her mother's picture, and then slowly picks it up. She stood there in her smart suit, as perfect as always, her eyes looking straight at Sophia as though even at this very moment, she disapproves of Sophia's imperfect state.

"Mum!" Sophia mutters slowly, crying more as she hugs the picture to herself. She and her mother have not always been the best of friends, no, if anything at all, they were like each other enemy. They were always disagreeing with each other. Her mother was always finding fault with her, her career choice, her life. Her mother had wanted her to study business and join her at the company, but working at Richmond Empire has never being Sophia's dream. No. Doing anything opposite what her mother wanted has always been her way. But that didn't mean she hated her mother. No, she loved her mother. If anything, she did all she did just to always get her attention, her love back. But to her mother, she has always been an absolute disappointment, even to her death.

She was all alone, with no one to lean on or tell her how she was supposed to handle everything that was happening. Everyone was looking at her with so much expectations in their eyes, as though there was a life manual that was supposed to teach her what to do in this

situation.