Scent of my sin

1 “Don't you dare walk out on me, Collins!!!” Selena's voice cracked as it echoed through the glassy hall like a whip, a voice that carried both anger and grief in her heart. From the corner of the staircase, Sunshine froze, her heart stoned so hard that pulled her closer, until she peeped and saw her mother, standing broken in silk material and tears, all she saw become a coded memory she could never forget. “Do you think of all we've built together before choosing her over us?” Selena said as her voice cracked in tears of pain. “Ava's supposed to be my hearted friend, my sister but chose to be my close enemy” she yelled. Collins, who's Selena's husband, responded to Selena's wife with a silence heavier than any other insult. And behind him stood a woman with bold perfume and a sharp smile saying she has won the game. “By now, you should know that love doesn't follow rules”, Ava softly whispered, stepping forward wearing a wicked confidence of someone who already knows the outcome. “You should know that by now…young womannn!!!" She spoke hardly Taaahh!!! Selena landed her a hot slap on her cheek before she could gush out another word. The sound echoed raw like a final warning. Collins immediately slammed the door shut and left. Selena unconsciously fell to her knees, with tears already screaming down her cheeks. That was the day innocence died inside Sunshine, Selena's daughter. Sunshine rushed her mom, held her and whispered “it'll be fine someday,mom" but on a second thought she stayed back with a sudden dark thought….“if this love of a thing can destroy my mom this much, then maybe revenge can heal her” While in tears, Sunshine's heart whispered her a sin before her mind could name and label it. Days turned into weeks,and weeks ran into months. Selena no longer smiled at the things she loves doing, even taking her breakfast was war. Every corners of their house carried her painful thoughts, even the air around sounded tired. And then, there was Ava….. Sunshine steering at Ava on a magazine, her face graced with social brunch post. Her arm tucked around the very man who used to make love to Selena, her mom. And Ava laughing in the picture, seemed so loud. Sunshine steadily looked at the picture as an evidence of the sin she's about to revenge. On one ne fateful day,the doorbell rang, Sunshine's mom wasn't home,so Sunshine opened the door and behold it was Ava standing at the door, dressed in soft cream suit, her greeting smiles beemed with unspoken victory. “Sunshine?” she beamed a smile☺️. “You've grown beautifully, your mom must be proud of your beauty” she tried cracking joke to her. Sunshine said nothing, her silence was a psychological mirror. “Eeehm, I came to drop something for your mom, that's a document”Ava said, slipping the document from the file into sunshine's hands, “Also tell her I said HELLO!!!” Her artificial nails brushed sunshine's hand, too intentional to wave out. And for the first time, Sunshine understood they had lost everything to Ava. Ava wasn't just beautiful but secretly dangerous!. “Madam😏, next time tell her yourself ... mtcheewww” Sunshine rudely replied without any signal of respect in her tone. “That's if she still picks up your calls” sunshine concluded. Immediately, Ava's checks mellowed, her smile faltered, “Common, you shouldn't talk to adults like that!! don't you have manners?" She yelled. "Point of correction, I'm not a child!” Sunshine yelled back and stepped closer, “AND I KNOW WHAT YOU DID!!!" She said without minding that Ava is an adult. For a couple of seconds, Ava's cheeks withered, her pupils widened, even her pink lips parted, she quickly recovered her senses and closed her lips. “I seeee….,Selena has been talking trash into your head!” She hissed, adjusted her bag. “Your mom has a way of twisting truth into a tragedy, tell her I said that!!!” She hissed lously “if you like, Don't!!” Then she left with her noisy heels, disturbing the serenity of the tiled floor, each step counting down to the moment sunshine's heart would break for good. That night, Selena, sunshine's mom soaked her pillow case with tears. She sat at the edge of the bed gazing at a picture of she and her husband, Collins. “Why? Ava whyy?”, she softly said with cracking voice. “Why was our friendship not enough!" Sunshine leaning on the door, eavesdropping her mom's painful words. Her nails digging into her palms until she felt the sting of her own skin, her mom's sob striking like a thunder in her head. That was when her spirit come up with a sinful plan of revenge. Weeks later, Sunshine walked into a scene showing a charity banquet,Gold chandeliers, Crystal laughter, Champagne that costs more than dignity. Sunshine wasn’t invited, she just decided to patrol,cool off her head. She wore one of her mom's old dresses, a red satin gown that hugged her body like a sin, her hair curls framed her forehead, her lips moisturized , her perfume was giving this strong sinful scent because if revenge had a scent, it could be hers. Adjacent to her, was Ava flaunting around her legally married husband, Nathaniel. Who was older than every other man she has seen there. To his ignorance, his wife Ava, is dating another man, and that's Sunshine's father. Sunshine sat at a corner sipping her drink with faint smiles, telling her mission was just simple. If Ava would shatter her mom's peaceful home, then she’s capable of breaking hers too. And maybe, just maybe, the revenge would taste JUSTICE!!! “Beautiful evening pretty”, a deep masculine voice greeted from behind. Sunshine gently turned her neck and behold, Nathaniel. Ava's husband. Inside Sunshine, she was like “how did he get to leave his wife to meet me, or did she send him to me or what exactly?” Up closer, he smelled something expensive, his steer lingered on her Not in lust but in curiosity, like he couldn't place exactly where he had seen that face before . “Thank yuuuuu" Sunshine said softly “You remind me of someone”, he said “but I can't still figure the facial resemblance” “Really? Funny how someone resembles another human on earth without permission, hahaha 😂 …” she laughed in guilt. Her heart tightened as she breathed out and gently looked around, whispered to herself “Is he trying to tease me that he doesn't know my face? Hmm" “That's God's Creation, no judgement. I'd like to go back to my wife, you looked beautiful by the way" he stood up and left A few hours later, the party dimmed. Laughter softened into whispers. Music became smoke. Sunshine has patrolled around, already tired. People are already tired of screaming, ladies are tired of twerking,those drinking alcohol are already filled and dizzy, some are finding their way to a room with their woman, girlfriend or side chicks. Nathaniel found sunshine again, outside. Beneath the archway laced with vines. “Hi beauty, my beauty you shouldn't be out here alone,yunno?” She raised her head and her eyes met his gaze, her eye lashes shimmering under moonlight, “oooh,maybe I like been alone" "Seriously?, or maybe you're just running away from something!” She laughed, “Aren't we all?" He beamed a smile, a sad knowing smile. The kind of smile that said he understood pain, too. “Do you know the time right now? Aren't you going home? It's late and already risky for a lady like you!" He asked with a caring vibe. Sunshine opened her purse to take her phone and check the time. In that unguarded second, Sunshine’s heart flipped, she held her chest with her left hand, stood up in shock, ransacking her hand bag madly. “What's it?" Nathaniel asked with Force “My phone…my phoneeee, my phoneeeeee" tears rained down her cheeks, she turned her bag upside down “I can't find it, did it slip out from my bag or what?" Her heart started beating, everywhere blurred for her. “Calm down..nnnn, let's find it, stop panicking, we're outside, people are looking at you and I don't want my wife attention to get here please" “What do you mean I should calm down, are you sure you didn't steal my phone and pretended to be caring all this while?" Tears filled her eyes, rolled down her cheeks to her neck “Me? Steal your phone? How much is your phone that I can't afford? Calm down, let me call your phone number with my phone”. "My phone…!” her hands folded across her head. “Can you calm down right now? call your call line,let me dial it" he requested. She called her call line. "It's ringing" he said. They phone vibrating around them, all eyes on Nathaniel, the sound was coming from his direction. “You, this man!", she pointed at him with force and frowned face “So you approached to steal?”…..