Sins of a Black Diamond Bride

CHAPTER 2

I stood frozen on the tarmac, eyes fixed on the jet struggling in the sky. Tears ran hot down my face. My legs started moving before I could stop them. One step. Then another.

“Veda, stop!” Nanny Maureen cried out. Her hand reached for my arm.

My fingers slipped through hers. I kept walking, eyes never leaving the plane.

The jet started coming down. From where I stood I could see a figure at the front window, fighting with the controls.

“What’s happening?” I screamed. My voice tore out loud. “What’s happening?!”

I spun toward Nanny Maureen. Short gasps punched out of my chest. “Why are they landing? They are supposed to go to India! Why are they coming back down?!”

I did not wait for her answer. I started running. My feet pounded the concrete. Each breath tore out sharp and painful.

“Veda! Wait!” Nanny Maureen shouted behind me. Her footsteps slapped the ground as she ran after me. “Please!”

I did not slow down. The jet touched down hard. Strong wind from the engines whipped my hair across my face and pulled at my clothes. I reached the plane breathless, chest burning, tears still flying.

“What happened?!” I screamed. “What happened?!”

The jet door opened. Two nurses stepped down the stairs. Their faces looked long and heavy.

I ran straight to them and grabbed the first nurse’s uniform with both hands. “Why did you land? Why aren’t you going to India? My mother needs the heart transplant! Tell me what happened!”

They only looked at me with sad eyes. One nurse had tears shining in her own eyes.

I let go and grabbed the second nurse, shaking her shoulders. “Where is my mother? I want to see her! Take me to her right now!”

The first nurse stepped closer. Her voice came out soft and broken. “Miss Rain… I’m so sorry. Your mother passed away mid-flight. Her heart gave out suddenly. That’s why we had to make the emergency landing. We tried everything… but we couldn’t save her.”

The words landed heavy. My hands dropped from the nurse’s uniform. A strange laugh pushed out of my throat even while tears kept pouring down my face. I reached out and straightened the nurse’s uniform with careful fingers, then patted her shoulder gently like she was the one who needed comfort.

I turned and started walking away.

“Veda?” Nanny Maureen caught up. Her voice shook. “What happened? Tell me.”

I stopped and placed both hands on her shoulders. Another laugh broke out, cracked and raw. “You were there, right? You saw how my mother suffered for months with that heart disease. The doctors kept saying it could be managed… until it got worse. We searched everywhere for a donor. Then we finally got the news—a heart in India.”

I laughed harder, shoulders shaking. “Who on earth would donate their heart? But my mom… she kept hoping. She kept faith alive. She promised she would be back in four weeks for my twenty-second birthday.”

The laughter stopped sudden. Fresh tears flooded my eyes. “But she died. She died mid-air. Just like that. The same woman who promised to celebrate with me… is gone.”

My voice rose into a scream. “Selfish! Everyone is so selfish!”

The screams turned into their names. “Mom! Dad! Mom! Dad!”

My knees hit the hard ground. My whole body shook with violent sobs.

Nanny Maureen dropped beside me and tried to pull me up. She cried loudly herself. “Veda, please… get up, my love.”

I stopped crying all at once. I brushed her hands off me. “I’m fine,” I said. My voice came out flat. “I’m not crying anymore. Leave me alone.”

But Nanny Maureen held on tighter. She screamed for help. “Somebody help! Please!”

I tried to break free and run, but her arms stayed locked around me. Finally I stopped struggling. I looked at her with empty eyes.

“I won’t run anymore,” I whispered. “What am I running from? My worst nightmare has already become real. My father is dead. My mother is dead. All of a sudden… I’m an orphan. I have no family left.”

Nanny Maureen let go in shock. Her hands fell to her sides.

I turned to her and gave a weak scoff. “You didn’t know?”

I started walking away.

The world started to tilt. My vision blurred at the edges. My legs felt heavy, like they belonged to someone else. A loud ringing filled my ears. I took two more steps before everything went dark.

As I fell, distant voices shouted. Nurses called for an ambulance. Footsteps ran toward me.

The last thing I heard was Nanny Maureen’s voice, raw and terrified, screaming my name.

“Veda!”

Then everything turned black.

---

Four weeks later…

I woke up to the sound of waves.

I stood on the balcony of our family house in Miami. The big white mansion sat on the cliff. Tall windows glowed softly in the evening light. Below, the ocean stretched wide. Waves crashed against the rocks in a steady rhythm.

Cool breeze touched my face and played with my hair. For one brief moment my shoulders eased.

Then the waves grew violent. The sky darkened fast. Heavy storm clouds swallowed the sun and turned day into sudden night. Rain poured down hard. Thunder cracked loud above me.

“Mom! Dad!” I screamed. My throat tightened hard. “I’m scared! The storm is coming! Please come out!”

Tears mixed with the rain running down my cheeks. “Mom! Dad! I’m scared of the storm! Come and get me! Don’t leave me alone!”

They appeared on the balcony, both dressed in pure white, holding hands. Rain fell all around them, but not one drop touched their skin. They looked peaceful, almost glowing.

I ran to them, sobbing. My hands reached out fast. “You knew I was scared of storms! Why didn’t you come get me? Why did you leave me out here alone?”

My father looked at me with soft, sad eyes. “Child, you have to get used to the storm… and learn to live on your own now.”

My mother smiled gently and nodded. “We love you, Veda. Always.”

No. No, please.

I grabbed at them. My fingers passed straight through their bodies like smoke. My chest burned sharp. “No! Don’t go! Please don’t leave me! Mom! Dad! Come back!”

My hands kept clawing at empty air. Each breath came shorter. “Don’t leave me here alone! I can’t survive the storm without you!”

Their figures grew fainter. They faded into the rain like ghosts.

“Mom! Dad!”

The sound of frantic beeping cut through my screams. Loud, steady, mechanical beeps. The storm vanished. The balcony disappeared.

My eyes fluttered open slowly. Hot tears slipped from the corners of my eyes and ran down my temples.

I blinked a few times, trying to clear the blur. White walls surrounded me. A heart monitor beeped beside the bed. An IV line sat in my arm. The faint smell of antiseptic filled the air.

A hospital room.

The door clicked open. A nurse in a white apron walked in. The moment she saw my eyes open, she froze, then turned and ran out shouting, “Doctor! She’s awake! Doctor!”

I lay there without moving, staring at the ceiling. Fresh tears rolled down my face and soaked into the pillow.

My hands stayed limp at my sides. My chest rose and fell in slow, heavy breaths.

Mom was gone.

Dad was gone.