Apollo's 11

by Anna Collins

  Robert looked like he was worried about something and he spoke "Mr. Wyatt, please take my advice. Don't mix business with emotions. Your company is standing at no.1 position in the telecommunication sector and you want to ruin this by handing it over to a careless, foolish and incapable girl like Freya? What can she do except lying and cheating?"

  My mouth hung open, that idiot! he was abusing me. My first instinct was to go ahead and put a tight slap across his face. I stopped myself from doing that loud thingy, but I couldn't stop myself from barging into the office.

  "I'm sorry for barging inside like this but I couldn't stay silent after overhearing the rude words of Mr. Hudson," I said.

  "Not a problem Freya, please come inside" Mr. Wyatt smiled.

  I also faked a smile and then turned to Robert, he looked rude as usual and was about to say something but I chose not to give him any chance, "who are you to call me names? Mr. Wyatt, can you remember the time when he told you that he was married to me? And not only that he was going out with your daughter so that she could convince you to give these shares to him. everyone knows what kind of a disgusting person he is. Mr. Hudson, before pointing out the scars of other people take a good look at yourself" I spoke in a jolt.

  "I know everything Freya, and I also know what he did to you. That's why I am not willing to trust a man like him. Freya I know you have no idea about the business world but I have an excellent team who will be elated to teach you everything. And I will be there with you. So there is no reason to get nervous" Ben Wyatt assured me.

  "Sure sir, I have nothing to fear when you are there with me" I bit my lower lip nervously.

  "Freya, don't. You know that you won't be able to handle such a big responsibility. Say no" Robert warned me with his piercing eyes and his eyes reminded me of the eyes of that veiled woman. God! What was I thinking? I shooed away those thoughts.

  "I am not incapable. I can do anything that you can do and maybe I will do it better than you" I winked.

  Robert held my hand, his hold was very strong "you are going to regret it" his gaze mirrored the strong force that his hand was applying.

  I wiggled my wrist in pain and he left my hand and walked out.

  I rubbed my hand "Robert Hudson, I am not a weak creature. Mr. Wyatt where are the papers? I am ready to accept your offer" I said with anger burning in my eyes.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Robert

  "Nothing is going according to my plan" I punched on the sandbag in my office room. I had kept it here for the purposes of stress relief. Apparently, the word relief had no place in my life. I couldn't believe it, I lost my long desired thing; that too from a girl who wasn't even eligible to stand beside me. She was never competing against me. I shook my head, thinking about her foolishness.

  "Sir, may I come in," someone said from behind the door.

  "Yes, you may" I answered.

  It was Mr. Cooper the new surveillance manager.

  "Sir, I have replaced all the damaged equipment, and as per your orders, I have installed hidden microphones in all the warehouses and basements. Now you can hear each and every word they will speak" he informed.

  "That's great. Now I will be able to solve the mystery behind the missing boxes. Thank You" I smiled.

  "You are welcome sir and please let me know if there are any further orders," he said and left.

  I had installed cameras and microphones in uncle Joe's room too and a part of me was feeling that I did it because the other night Freya had told me that Uncle Joe was involved with it. Did I actually trust her? No! I didn't trust her. I just put the cameras for….for a complete watch. Yes, I was not listening to Freya Lawrence, her blunt words left no impact on me.

  Rubbing my face with my hands, I decided to focus on my work.

  I was checking out if the cameras were working properly and that's when I saw Danny was entering the building of Hudson Industries. Why was he here? I zoomed on him.

  He went straight into the office of uncle Joe. Now that was interesting. Two people who had no connection between each other were meeting up, what could be the reason. I turned on the volume and laid back on my chair.

  Uncle Joe was surprised to see him, "Danny, I told you to come here earlier when Robert was not here. What if he sees you?" he spoke in tension.

  "I don't care. And I don't want to work for you anymore. I thought that you are a small deceiver who steals from his nephew's company. But I never knew that you are a murderer and a kidnapper. I know you were behind Freya's kidnapping" he said.

  I narrowed my eyes, what? Murder? Kidnapping? Stealing? Uncle Joe was involved in all three of them. I found it difficult to believe.

  "Danny, you are making a big mistake, I know nothing about this kidnapping or murder" Uncle joe clarified.

  Danny shrugged "I will not make the mistake of believing you anymore. Here, take this ring, this will be my last gig for you but don't forget your promise. I love Freya, and I will not let you harm her" he said boldly.

  "Ahan Love? Seems like everyone is crazy for that chick. First Robert and now you. What is so special about her? Why is everyone is so keen to have a piece of her?" Uncle joe grinned, making Danny feel irritated.

  "You were also ‘keen' to use her as a bail? Weren't you"? Danny smirked.

  Ha-Ha, you got me, kid. It was so difficult to play the role of a good uncle when you are so bad from the inside" he laughed.

  "She never knew that you were behind each and every step that she was taking. First, you made herthe house manager when you clearly knew that her only motive was nothing but revenge. But how were you so sure about her?" Danny asked.

  "When Robert walked out from the interview, I saw the anger in her eyes and at that moment I felt that this girl has it in her to fight back, that too with attitude. I really liked her and wanted her to continue with her revenge plan but then she made the mistake of poking her head into my business, she found out that I was stealing from the company" he sighed.

  "Hmm, she is very smart," Danny said fondly.

  "Not so much. She never found out that you were my man" Uncle Joe winked.

  Danny frowned "because she trusts me and I did all the bad things to her. I stole the file from her, the file that contained all the details of Robert's 'maniac' activities"

  "And I paid the greedy creative head to publish it and gave all the credits to poor Freya. Hey, she deserved the credit for her 'research'" uncle Joe smirked.

  After hearing that I could no longer hold back myself. I rose from my chair and went to the first floor with both my fists clenched with anger.

  I kicked open the door and hurried inside.

  Uncle Joe was startled to see me there "mm…Robert, what's the matter, son? Why did you take the trouble to come here?" he asked, looking everywhere except for my eyes.

  His fake tone added fuel to my anger and I pushed him to the wall and then grabbed his neck between my fists "What are you doing?" he tried his best to break free but my hold just went stronger with each passing second. "Are..y..oupla..nning to ki..ll me?" he tried to speak.

  "That's you right? You are the one who enjoys killing and troubling people. How can you stoop so low? I thought you were my own blood" I yelled.

  He was sweating and panting. His face was all red. "I…wi..lldi..e…lea..ve..me" he requested.

  I sighed and left his throat and said "don't even try to lie. I have the recorded proof of your confession. Yes, there are cameras and microphones in this room"

  He breathed generously. Then adjusted his tie "Fine, go ahead and disclose it to the police and I will give the statement in the press about your sinful activities, the activities that you do at night behind closed doors" he winked.

  My blood started to boil and I grabbed him by the collars "you will not dare to do that" I shook; he had touched my weakest point. This was the only thing in this world that made me defenseless and weak.

  He laughed "relax son, it's a give and take thing. You protect my secr
et and in turn, I will protect yours" my hands were shaking, so he easily managed to get rid my hands that were around his collars.

  "Take care, son" he grinned, patted on my shoulder and then left the room.

  My own uncle was nothing but a back stabber? I felt sad and angry both at the same time. What was going around me? Everyone was busy in going against me, that made me realize what a horrible person I really was!

  I felt so low about myself. I sighed and closed my eyes as a drop of tear rolled down to my cheeks.

  Rebecca lay still on the soft grass and soon the scattered winds whistled to notify the arrival of rain. She didn't move, not even a bit. Her eyes were closed and one might think that she was sleeping peacefully but that was not true. She never slept, even the sleep felt scared to kiss her eyes.

  The rain fell softly as if it were aware of all her hardships; both behind and ahead. Each droplet alighted on her skin with just enough calmness to command her mind to the present, to pull her away from the pain of the past. The transparent beads fell over her face;they were more numerous than the scars that were resting on her skin for more than several decades. She raised her eyes to a gray layer that touched the mountain top, there was more to come before the skies cleared, of that she could be sure.

  "I can't believe it. She saw you, yet you let her run away?" Joe asked he was holding an umbrella in his hands.

  "Freya...do you know what is the meaning of her name?" Rebecca asked without moving or opening her eyes.

  "And why will I care about that?" Joe shrugged, holding the anger within himself. He could not afford to lose his temper in front of her.

  Rebecca chose to ignore him and kept speaking, "Freya was the name of the most powerful and beautiful Goddess. Indeed, she is very beautiful, isn't she?"

  Joe looked at her with shock written all over his face.

  "I think master will be very pleased with her" she hummed.

  Joe's eyes raised his forehead "Oh, this is what you have in your mind for her. But don't you think she is very young for this? Will she be able to take it?" he asked.

  "With her powers and that glow of pureness she will be able to do anything. But we will use her for our own good" and her lips curled into a mysterious smile.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Freya

  Oh God! What have I done? Why did I sign those papers? I frowned sitting on the cold floor of my bedroom holding the papers in my hand that said that I was the new owner of Wyatt telecommunications. And I only did it so that I could win against that monster and now it seemed nothing less than a huge mistake. I had no idea what to do with all these shares.

  On the other hand, Emily Wyatt was hell angry at me, she believed that I manipulated her father to get these shares. Now she hated me.

  Soon the news would be publicly declared and like Emily, everyone would have a repulsive attitude towards me.

  The bell rang and I went to the living room to answer the door. "I got this" Kate squealed and ran to the door. It was her boyfriend. Well, that explained the black cocktail dress and smoky makeup, madam was going out for a date come sleepover. Bloody selfish woman! She had the time to jump on the lap of her boyfriend but could not use a bit of her brain to help me out. I so wished that veiled woman would have kidnapped her instead of me, then they both could have become the best of friends. Everyone was so mean, I hated everyone. Correction, not everyone, Danny, and Rick were quite supportive and very helpful.

  "Hi Freya" he greeted me.

  "Hi…Hi" Shit I forgot his name.

  "Babe, you chat with Freya I will go and grab my purse. And Freya, don't be mean" she warned.

  I pouted. She was the one who was both mean and nasty.

  "Aww, you looked so cute when you made that face to her.

  Trust me if I were your boyfriend, I would have never left you alone not even for a second. Look at you, you are so beautiful" he said with a flirtatious smile.

  Was he flirting with me? I rolled my eyes at him "thanks" I said and turned to leave.

  "I wished I met you before Kate," he said on my back.

  I turned back "excuse me!"

  "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that but I really like you" he bit his tongue after saying that.

  It was so awkward, I felt clueless, I wanted to rebuke him for hitting on me but at the same time, it felt good that a good-looking guy like him thought that I was beautiful. Only a few guys had asked me out, though I was not keen to make a boyfriend but it felt nice when someone called you beautiful.

  "See stay in your limits. Kate will kill you if she came to know about this. If you don't want me to tell her then behave yourself" I warned.

  He nodded and went to Kate's room.

  "Stupid" I shook my head.

  I lay on my bed but could not sleep. I kept tossing and turning while my mind was unable to remove the image of Robert Hudson from its memory. Why was I still remembering him? Ahh! I closed my eyes and forced closed my eyes.

  Robert

  That feeling of emptiness took over my senses. I wanted to beat and hurt myself until I passed out but I knew even that would not help me. My insides were craving for Freya, I wanted to see her. I wanted to touch her. But that was impossible, she hated me, she hated me more than anything in this world. She considered me to be her biggest enemy. I was just a revenge project for her.

  I gulped down a full bottle of alcohol but my senses were still very much alive. I had never craved for anything like I was craving for her at that very moment. Just a sight of her would mean a lot to me.

  Then the little voice inside my head told me to go and see her. And I decided to listen to it.

  I was standing at the door of her apartment. My tie had disappeared somewhere, the first four buttons of my black shirt came undone. My hair was unruly and I left my jacket in the car. In short, I looked like a complete mess. So the idea of impressing her with my looks was out of the syllabus.

  I had two options, No.1 ring the bell, see her and hear a mouthful from her. No.2 go back empty handed. But there was a problem, I was in an urgent need to see her. I took a deep breath and went for option one.

  I kept pressing the bell but there was no answer. Maybe she was not at home. I was about to go away when I heard the sound of the door, someone had opened it, not someone it was her.

  "Who is it?" she asked yawningly.

  As her face came into my view I forgot all the confusions, all the worries and everything else. She was wearing a pink flowery T-shirt and cotton pajamas. Looking extremely cute, I have always liked her better when she wore these cute night clothes.

  As her eyes met mine, her eyes turned bigger. Then she rubbed her eyes for a clear vision.

  "You are not dreaming," I said plainly.

  Did it mean that she used to dream about me often? Argh! Now I was thinking like a hormonal teenager.

  "What do you want?" she asked imitating my plain voice.

  I want you. I want to take you right here by this wall.

  "Why are you looking at me like this? Listen I am feeling very sleepy so make it fast" she raised her face.

  "First, answer me, why are you being so rude?" I asked inching close to her and she backed away immediately.

  "I have learned this from you" she stumbled, my closeness was clearly intimidating her.

  "Yes, now you can act all rude with me because now you don’t have to pretend to be in a relationship with me. Right?" I smirked.

  "Wrong! We were never in a relationship" she threw those words at my face.

  I gritted my teeth, then grabbed her arm and pushed her inside the house, closing the door behind us.

  "Ouch! Stop manhandling me" she pounced and hit on my arm.

  I smiled mischievously "oh I thought you liked my touches. Ups, I forgot that those words were fake like you are" I growled.

  "I'm not fake. I thought you were evil so I just wanted to expose you to the world" she looked away.

  I held her face, making her look at me. "You
wanted to expose this?" and with my other hand, I began unbuttoning my shirt, soon all the buttons came off and I yanked out the shirt standing bare-chested in front of her.

  Her mouth was silently open when she scanned my bare torso with her eyes. It was not because of the beauty of a male chest; she was awed to see the number of scars that was resting on my chest.

  "This is the real me. You were right Freya. I am a maniac, I am a masochist and I enjoy inflicting pain on myself. This is what you wanted to expose, but could not capture the image. Why are you standing still like this? Take out your camera and capture my madness. An evil person like me deserves all the hatred in this world." I yelled.

  Tears were beaming out of her eyes as she slowly brought her shaky hands onto my chest. The slight touch of her finger on my scar felt just like electricity.

  Then she looked up at me, her face was filled with affection and tears and she slowly spoke "why do you do this to yourself? Don't you feel any pain?"

  I sighed "the pain of guilt is more profound than this one Freya. I did something that is unforgivable" I breathed.

  She wrapped her arms around my back and rested her face on my chest "Robert I'm sorry" she said and kissed all over my chest, placing the beautiful imprints of her moist lips on each and every scar on my chest. I inhaled deeply and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her closer and closer to my body.

  At that moment nothing else mattered in the world. Her touches were healing me.

  Soon I became more and more desperate to take her when I lost all my control, I picked her up in my arms and impatiently headed towards the bedroom.

  She was still kissing my wounds as my hand moved all over her waist and butt.

  She looked at me "I will not ask you about your guilt. I just want to request you something, stop doing this to yourself. No one deserves to be punished like this" she said.