by Anna Collins
Luck did not smile upon Nina and Steven, as on the day of their marriage, Steven never reached the wedding hall; some said he died in a car accident. But Nina knew the actual reason; the darkness of her past had swallowed up her fiancé. The guilt of destroying her own love didn't let Nina live in peace. She wanted to kill herself, but that's when destiny played another game on her; she found out she was pregnant.
A new hope evolved in her heart. She thought she could fulfill her dream of having a lovely family with her child. Nine months passed in a jiffy, and she gave birth to twins. The two girls were distinct from the very first sight; one was born with dark black hair like hers, and the other was born with shiny blonde hair like Steven's. She named them Rebecca and Caroline.
Like their hair color, they were very different from each other. Rebecca was the naughty one, and Caroline was the gentle one. Nina did her best to keep them away from the supernatural world, but she forgot she couldn't keep them away from something rooted inside them.
The girls grew older, and Nina was having a tough time dealing with Rebecca, she was totally out of control. At the age of 15, she got expelled from her school for getting caught in the middle of a drug deal. Homeschooling couldn't keep her away from engaging with several guys and ending up on their beds. Even the neighbors of their apartment in Grapevine were fed up with the rough and rude behavior of Rebecca, but they absolutely adored Caroline and Nina; that was the sole reason they let them stay in their neighborhood.
Unable to handle Rebecca, Nina fixed her a marriage alliance with a wealthy family, praying all the time the good nature of Rebecca's husband would force her to walk on the right path. Everything appeared to be going smooth for the first few years, but it was too good to be true. One day Nina saw the reality in her daughter; she saw Rebecca practicing voodoo with her own little army who helped her. Nina tried to stop Rebecca but got killed in the process. Caroline had no idea about all this, so after the demise of Nina, Caroline stayed with her sister. Rebecca was a maniac; she enjoyed drinking the human blood, and that's the reason why her first husband died. Years passed on like this, and the sisters never aged. Rebecca kept marrying guys and killed them for her hungry needs.
Rebecca was pacing in the dark room where she had caged Caroline in a mirror. She remembered how she had always been the winner for all her life, how she had defeated everyone to win her powers. But she had no idea Caroline's inner strength would rise up like this.
"How could I forget she is also the daughter of a witch?" Rebecca murmured to herself and started to tug on her hair in anger. "For this whole year, I kept her trapped inside this mirror and kept using her body for all my activities. Now she is damaging her own body so I can no longer use it".
Caroline laughed from inside the mirror, "you may have all the powers in the world, but you couldn't get the ring mom had given to me. The ring had all of mom’s powers, and it saved me from all your selfish moves."
"Oh shut up! I snatched that ring a long time ago. You are a bloody damn loser," Rebecca snapped.
Tears poured from Caroline's eyes and landed on the long white dress she was wearing. A white aura made her whole body shine like glitter. "I loved you sissy, but you ruined my entire life. You forced me to marry that creep named Joseph Hudson. He was a characterless guy, and all he wanted was money; he never loved me. And then you killed your husband, and let’s not forget you didn't even let your own son live. Poor Robert," she sniffed.
Rebecca shrugged and rolled her eyes at Caroline, "don't blame me for your dumbness. It's not my fault you couldn't control your own husband. And forget about my son, think about your child. Do you know where he is? I can kill him anytime, don't believe he's safe just because my people let him escape," she stated proudly.
Caroline smiled, "I'm not worried about him. Liam is in safe hands, now you can't blackmail me. Now all your plans will fail, my dear sissy."
Rebecca's eyes were now red with anger. She clenched her fists and uttered, "We will see about that. Rebecca hasn't learned to lose," she looked intently at the mirror, and the mirror went blank within seconds.
Chapter Eighty-One
Freya
"A total debt of 100 million dollars?" My jaw fell open as my assistant showed me the accounts figure of Hudson Industries.
"Yes mam, the company has been running in a total loss since the demise of Robert Hudson," she added while adjusting herself on the beige chair so we could talk face to face.
I swallowed; suddenly feeling my voice lost somewhere. This was totally unexpected. I knew the business had been in a total loss, but this much? God! This was far beyond my imagination.
"Mam, I have gone in and out of the way to get this information. But one thing is for sure; Hudson empires are going to the docks," stated Riley in a low voice.
I let the paper slip through my hands and placed my finger between my throbbing eyebrows, "every freaking thing is going out of control."
"Mam, don't stress yourself. It's not your fault Caroline Hudson doesn't care about their business," exclaimed Riley.
Riley was a chirpy blonde girl; she used to be Robert's personal assistant. Her job was to manage his schedule and everything. I bet she had a tough time dealing with my monster. After Robert's death, Riley tried to stick up with Hudson Industries, but Caroline fired her, with the excuse she made too many mistakes and was not up to her standards. However, when I moved to London, my old assistant couldn't follow here, so I hired Riley instead, and till now she seems to be doing a good job.
"Riley, do you have any news about the weapon deal they were about to take forward?" I asked, raising my head from my Maplewood table. I looked at Riley, she too didn't seem much happy.
"Ahh, that thing got canceled. Apparently, the investors are not ready to proceed with Caroline Hudson. I guess they backed out after calculating Mrs. Hudson's criminal records," Riley smirked.
My forehead crooked after hearing the word criminal, and I remembered about the video where she had very brutally killed Barney Wyatt. I wondered how she did manage to wrap this up with her money and influence. Money did speak to her.
"You hate her, don't you?" Riley's eyes went playful now.
"No. Umm...maybe a little, she did behave badly with me when I went to her office," I bit my lip.
Riley pursed her lips to stop herself from giggling.
"Don't judge me," I blinked.
Riley laughed, "Why will I judge you for hating this witch?"
The word 'witch' sounded a whole lot different in my ears. It came in as an echo. The ugly flashbacks of Rebecca made my eyes burn, and I shut them tightly.
"Mam, are you all right? I mean your hands are shaking," said Riley.
"Hmph, no...It’s nothing. I think I had enough for the day, I need some fresh air," hastily I stood up from my chair.
"Okay, mam any further instructions?" She asked.
"Just keep an eye on that Caroline. I...I don't trust her," I managed to say before grabbing my purse and pulling the glass door open.
The sun had rested a while ago, and the bright beams of moonlight were busy playing hide and seek with the floating clouds. The night was expanding in all it's glory, bringing peace and rest to the lives of exhausted human beings.
The bits of powder snow ticked against the soles of my feet as I walked barefoot on the lawn. My body had gone numb, inside and outside, and it wasn't due to the freezing temperature around me. My wavy hair was flying in the air, and it didn't even occur to me I was roaming around like a mad girl in just a white Tee and folded blue jeans.
"Freya, just get away from here, I promise I'll take care of everything," Zack's last words were ringing in my ears. He died because of me, I let him go there. God! Why couldn't I just drag him along? My breath was caught in my throat. That stubborn wild cat. He pushed me away; he ran into that village of demons just to save the little girl they were about to sacrifice to Satan.
Jeez! All this seemed too bad to be true.
"I
am sorry Zack, I am really sorry. I played with your feelings, I treated you like trash and you, you crazy guy! You didn't even think twice before jumping in front of the fire for me!" I broke down into tears; my limbs went weak, and I knelt down on the wet grass with my hands covering my mouth.
"Freya, Jeez!" Kate cried out as she helped me get on my feet and get inside the house.
"Now sit quietly and drink it," Kate rolled her eyes at me as she made me sit on the hearthrug near the fireplace and wrapped a purple blanket around me. She also made me a hot chocolate. I smiled sadly; some things never changed. Kate had been with me since I started this struggle in life.
"Are you done with this ‘You-are-so-sweet’ look? Now it's my turn to get some answers, " she gave me a disturbed look.
"Kate, I don't want to talk," I frowned.
"Okay don't talk, just listen. Stop blaming yourself for everything," she stated rigidly.
I felt a lump in my throat and swallowed it immediately. The logs burning in the fireplace seemed like a reflection of my heart; there was nothing except for fire and destruction.
"What else can I do, Kate? That woman! She killed my love and Zack too! And this happened because of me. My bad luck rubbed off on them," I sighed.
"Life, death, everything is written and sealed by the Almighty. No one has the ability to change that, Freya" she spoke softly.
"But..." I tried to speak, but she cut me off.
"Cut it out. Just dump all these unpleasant things into a dumpster. And get one thing straight. You are just an ordinary girl, so live like one. Otherwise..." her advice seemed more of a threat.
"Otherwise, what?" I crooked my eyebrows.
She sighed, "Otherwise I will whine and cry like a child and will disturb you more than Eric does during his panic attacks," her voice was heavy now like she was about to cry.
That made me smile, "you are so sweet," I uttered.
"Hey! Don't you dare abuse me. If you want to praise me, then call me hot," she shrugged, raising her head.
"Oh! I never knew sweet was a word of abuse. On second thought, I don't want to praise you," I wiped out the tears from my face.
"Fine! Don't praise me, just be my date to this fantastic party," she ran to the book rack to fetch a flyer.
"What's this?" I raised an eyebrow as she shoved it into my hands.
"You can read, can't you?" She stuck her tongue out at me.
I shook my head and read it out loud, under the light of fire, "Halloween-themed Christmas Eve Party." The words were written in blood red color against a black background.
"Sounds freaking hot, doesn't it?" Her eyes were glowing in excitement.
I made an ‘are-you-nuts’ face.
"Now don't shoot those looks at me. We are going, it's final," she pouted.
"Kate...I don't feel like it. Besides, I don't want to leave Eric alone with the sitter. He scared away the last one shouting like a mad man," I frowned.
"You are talking like he did this on purpose. The poor boy had a panic attack for God's sake. And besides, that overstuffed English madam was a total slut. I caught her making out with your chauffeur," she shrugged.
"Big deal! Her personal life should be none of our concern. And I'm not blaming Eric, I can't even imagine being in his condition. Edward told me Eric faces a nerve wrecking pain during those terrible attacks," I handed the flyer back to her and began getting up.
"Ya, that was before Edward started treating him. I don't see him having any panic attacks since he started on this new medicine. Dr. Edward is doing an excellent job. You can quit worrying about your brother," she added.
"Ah! Kate, why are you so stubborn? Did I stop you? Go there, have fun and you can take Edward with you. He's free this weekend; he asked me to have coffee with him, but I turned him down, giving a work excuse," I stated.
"WTH! Are you mad or what? Didn't you get it?" She asked before grinning like a fool.
"Get what?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Idiot! A hot doctor asked you out. It means he likes you," she stood up and hit her palm on my head.
"Ah! Stop assuming things. He just asked me in a friendly sort of way," I spoke.
Kate rolled her eyes at me and she was now standing next to me. "I've got a Ph.D. in matters like this, haven't you seen the way he looks at you? His smile says everything. He likes you dumbo.” She put both of her hands on my shoulders, "life is giving you a second chance Freya. Take it! Be happy because you deserve it my friend," she sighed.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, "for me, love died when Robert died. There is no question of a second chance. No one can take Robert's place in my heart. No one!" I narrowed my eyes at her and Kate stood silently; maybe the rigidity in both my voice and eyes had startled her.
"Go to sleep," I said and went back to my room, but sleep refused to kiss my eyes; I twisted, turned and kept thinking about Robert the whole night.
"No! I only want red shirt," Eric cried out in his full volume, jamming the eardrums of the people who were trying to choose some items to buy.
Now the bald, middle-aged black salesman who was showing us the different colors of clothing started to throw weird glances at Eric.
Shit! I shouldn't have listened to Kate; taking Eric out for shopping with us was a bad, no, really bad idea. I forced a smile to cut through the questioning gazes of the customers.
"Eric! Don't behave like this, please. I will get you anything you like," I pressed on his wrist.
Maybe he sensed my tensed state, "sorry sis," he whispered. I smiled and patted on his head. He smiled and sucked on his round blue lollypop.
My phone buzzed, and Kate's loud voice yelled from the other side "Freya! Come to the 'Blossom Boutique' ASAP!" And the voice message ended.
"Now what's wrong with her?" I frowned.
I called her back, and instead of picking up the phone, she turned down the call and texted me. "No excuses, it's a matter of life and death :p," I shook my head after reading this. That girl was mad.
We were almost done with Eric's shopping. We got new clothes and a stuffed tiger. Along with a red shirt, he also wanted red jeans, and when I said there weren't any, he didn't act stubbornly; he accepted it gently. This seemed to be a significant improvement. Maybe my brother was actually getting better. I hugged him.
"What's wrong, girl?" I tapped on her shoulder, and she jumped at my touch.
"Ahh…Freya, you are here," she smiled.
"No it's not Freya, it's her hologram you see," I pouted.
"Wow! Look at you! You learned to make jokes," she stuck out her tongue at me. "Anyways, where's Eric?" She looked around.
"I left him with the sitter. Kate, I think his condition is improving," I smiled.
"That's great!" Kate grinned.
"Let's talk business. Why did you call me to this posh boutique? Wanna get me broke?" I teased.
She smirked, "Stop kidding, the Freya Lawrence I know, can buy this whole boutique, including that bimbo salesgirl who is sitting on my head."
"Hmm, she looks really phony. By the way, who's that guy she is flaunting her precious teeth?" I asked.
"He isn't a guy," Kate said.
"Well, he doesn't look like a girl to me," I peeked in to get a better view.
"It's Rick! And look how he is getting overfriendly with that bimbo; looks like he hasn't seen a girl in ages," Kate clenched her fists.
"Something is burning," I winked.
"Sis!" Rick called me from behind.
I smiled and went ahead to greet him. He wrapped his arms around me for a hug, "It seems like I see you after ages," he's voice sounded teary.
"Missed you, bro," I whispered.
"Thank you for forgiving me. Trust me I didn't want to hurt any of you," he said sadly.
"I know brother," I sighed.
"Hello, peeps! Are we done with this melodrama?" Kate broke our hug and shot us with her ‘you-are-so-lame’ look.
Rick smiled, "done for now. So Kate, what
have you planned for your day?"
"What plans?" I crooked my forehead.
"Sis! You forgot? It's Kate's birthday today. She made me fly here threatening she would cut me off her friend list if I didn't spend the day with her. Such a demanding lady," Rick said in a way as if he was suffering.
I held Kate's hand, "I'm really sorry, I'm such a bad friend."
"Hush! Are you mad? After all you have been through, I'm happy you are standing straight. You don't have to be sorry for anything," she pressed my hand. Tears formed in my eyes and my lips curled into a sad smile.
Chapter Eighty-Two
Freya
Like every night, I took my time gazing at the beautiful trail of stars. They have been my best friends since childhood; I always shared my agony and happiness with them. They used to sew dreams of light in my little hopeful eyes. My hopes and dreams had been destroyed by the ups and downs of life, but the pain was still present.
It was Kate's birthday, and she really wanted to go to this Christmas Eve Party. I couldn't turn her down. I convinced the sitter to stay the night with Eric and offered her a tip; she agreed happily. I was kind of forced to wear the dress Kate chose for me this morning.
I stood in front of the mirror, noticing my dress seemed to sort of match the night sky; bright black silk, faintly scattered with subtle glitter like faded stars.
The neckline plunged daringly to reveal just a little of my cleavage, but covered most of my breasts modestly. The skirt clung to my hips and thighs stopping just a couple of inches above the knee. A black lace train flowed from the back and rested just below my thighs. My makeup was expertly applied by Kate to match the dress, and my long hair was pinned loosely into a tousled side updo.
