Skylar coughed as she tried to force her eyes open but it seemed too heavy for her to lift. At first, it seemed fuzzy but after she got her eyes open, she turned to stare at the darkroom in shock as she couldn't believe what she was doing here away from the hotel.
A quick glance at her legs and hands, she discovered that they were being tired by heavy rope while she sat on a stool. Skylar tried to break free from the rope on her hands which was tied behind the chair but all to no avail.
The memory of the past day flooded her memory as she remembers going to meet Vino at the airport before encountering Elise. Speaking of Vino, Skylar couldn't help wondering if he was alright? Did Elise go through with her threat? Skylar cursed herself loudly for being weak. She couldn't protect herself or the man she loves. What will she tell her child if anything should happen to him?
"Damn you, Elise" Skylar cursed loudly into the darkroom, bare of light except from the sunlight stream from the little window from the left side of the room.
As if on cue, Skylar heard the door clicking open before sunlight overpour the room. The first things that got Skylar's eyes were the hay and saddles scattered around the room. This looks like a stable. Were they on some kind of farm? Where could they be?
"I see you are awake. I was beginning to think I've made a mistake kidnapping you" Elise called to Skylar from the entrance of the room where she stood with her hands in her jeans pocket gazing up at her with a smile on her face.
"How long have I been out? What day is it?" Skylar asked her after some time. She searched around the room for clues that could give her an inkling of her location but none. It seemed like the room had been swept clean before her arrival. Which makes her think that Elise had been planning this for a while now? But why?
"It's been two days now. Today is a Thursday" Elise replied shrugging, she didn't see any need for why she shouldn't provide answers to her questions since she needed them.
"Where's Vino? How is he? Can I speak with him?" Skylar let her words rush out without bothering to hide her feelings from Elise. Let her use it against her, she didn't care as long as Vino was alright.
Elise stepped away from the door where she had rested her back. She took a rushed step to Skylar's side with an angry expression on her face '' What do you take me for, a charity case? No, I brought you here for business. So, I'll like to warn you to refrain from asking me any unnecessary questions because I might not be nice forever" Elise warned her as she tilted her chin up to stare right into her eyes.
"I still can't believe what he saw in you? How can he choose you over me? Even when you rejected him. Tell me, what do you have that I don't" Elise screamed angrily as she delivered a slap on Skylar's cheek who flinched as if been burnt?
"At first, I only wanted to get money from him for my mom's surgery but I discovered that you were the cause of her predicament all this while. Tell me, why should I leave you alive"
Skylar stared at her with wide eyes. She will be lying if she said she understands whatever it was she had told her all she could think about was the sting on her left cheek which she couldn't massage since her hands were tied.
"You were the reason why my mom is lying in the hospital bed right now, fighting for her life. She didn't even remember me; she thinks I'm just a nurse who took care of her. Tell me, can you ever imagine that"
Skylar gulped down tears as she tried to follow Elise's words but no matter how hard she tried; she still couldn't understand anything "I don't know your mom. I didn't know anything about you until the first time we met in my office. So, tell me how I could have caused your mom's illness?" Skylar asked her as she stared at Elise who was already moved to tears. It was the first time Skylar had glimpsed the vulnerability underneath her eyes. And she didn't know what to do next?
"Are you trying to be smart with me?" Elise turned wide eyes at Skylar who was cowardly in her presence.
"Do you want me to slap you again, and maybe this time I can get that child out of you?" Elise told her, angling her chin at her telling Skylar in no clear terms that she can carry out her threats?
"No, please. Don't do anything to my baby, please" Skylar pleaded as her eyes ran through her belly which had jumped on cue with Elise's words. Skylar was afraid for her child's life but she comforted herself that Elise wouldn't dare do that to her.
"Tell me why I should spare that child for you? As far as I know, he/she is the reason why Vino and I are no longer together"
"But how is that my baby's fault? Moreover, Vino isn't aware that I'm pregnant. This is all your fault. How could you push another man's child on him, you____"?
Skylar paused as soon as she saw the murderous look on Elise's face. She had overstepped her boundary. She kept forgetting that this wasn't the same Elise she knows who was all empty threats and nothing but this Elise here will do anything to achieve her aim even though it means killing her.
"I've spent enough time with you joking that you don't know your place again" Elise warned her as she turned to pick up a rod lying closely near the saddle Skylar had noticed a while ago.
"What are you going to do with that?" Skylar asked, she couldn't help but let the fear show in her voice. A little hit from that she might be joining her ancestors soon. Maybe her father will be glad to see her after all he was the cause of all these, if only he had stayed with her mom. If only he didn't abandon them.
Skylar came out of her thoughts as soon as she heard Elise's laughter around the room. She was shocked to see her waving the rod in front of her face "Woah! You should see your face right now, Skylar. I never knew you were this scared. Don't worry, I wouldn't be doing anything to you now, I need you for my plan tomorrow" Elise told her as she turned to call something to someone who was guiding the door, Skylar assumed it to be the guy with the bomb at the airport earlier but was shocked as soon as she looked up to see who stood in front of her with a smirk on face.
"Camille. Why isn't it surprising that I meet you here?" Skylar told her as she scoffed at them. How can she forget about Camille, the one that had started all of these from the beginning?
"Skylar. Woah! I'm shocked too" She told Skylar before turning to call something to Elise "I'm surprised that she's your sister, you know"
"Half-sister you mean" Elise corrected her with half-seething teeth about to pounce on Camille but she thought better of it. As long as she remained a fugitive, Camille was her eyes and ears to the outside world. She needed her like the air she breathed.
Camille rolled her eyes, she was glad that for once, she held the upper hands against Elise. From the onset, she had always been the submissive one while Elise had controlled her all her life. Now, she was glad to be at the top even though it was for a short period.
"Half-sister? What do you mean?" Skylar asked shocked, she refused to believe it was what she was thinking. But how can that be?
"You didn't tell her?" Camille asked Elise with a mocking smile on her face as she took two steps toward Skylar.
Elise groaned as she could see there was no turning back. Camille would make sure that Skylar knew about it and she couldn't stop her. She had been shocked ever since Camille thrust the documents at her at the airport. She had been more shocked to know that Skylar's mom had been the reason why her mom had been in the hospital's bed since then.
"I didn't call you here to tell her tales; rather, I want you to feed her and clothes well against tomorrow. I need her ready for tomorrow's business" Elise told Camille; she threw a hating glance at Skylar before walking out of the door.
Skylar flinched as soon as the door jammed loudly on them. She turned to stare at Camille who had squatted down in front of her.
"It would have been nice if you were a stranger. I helped Elise on this journey because I wanted to see her fail. I wanted her to trust me, so I could release you later. Between her and me, I wouldn't want her to end up with Vino. I would have loved it to be you but you had to be her half-sister. What a life?" Camille said to herself as she stood up from her front and turned to open the door.
"What do you mean by half-sister? As far as I know, I'm the only child of my mother. And my mother isn't lying in the hospital right now" Skylar told Camille trying to make some sense out of her outburst a while ago. But as much as she thought about it, she couldn't help concluding that they were lying. They were only trying to trap her with this...
Camille burst into laughter before turning to stare at Skylar "You both are similar in some ways. Why couldn't I place the resemblance at first" Camille says the last part much to herself as she shrugged as got back to her task of undressing Skylar?
"What resemblance? I don't understand anything" Skylar cried out helplessly as they both kept ignoring her like she didn't matter to anyone.
"Well, she is your half-sister. Elise is the eldest if you care to know. Her father___ Sorry, your father, married Elise's mom first and they had Elise before he came over to your mother. I'm sure you knew that part of the story, right" Camille told Skylar with a wink as she was happy to be telling tales about their sorry families. In all the absurd job she had done for Elise, Camille could say she loves this part the more
Skylar couldn't deny not knowing that part about her father, her mother had told her that once when she had asked about her father. She had always known he had another family but never in her life could she imagine it to be Elise.
"But how come? Why Elise?" Skylar asked after some time as she forced to keep the tears at bay.
"I think you're asking the wrong person that. God should be the one answering that '' Camille replied as she stood up to soak a towel in water and use it to mop Skylar's body.
She smiled as soon as she saw the disappointment on Skylar's face "What? Don't tell me you were expecting me to free you and have you escape on me. No, never" Camille smiled as she got on with her job while Skylar couldn't help hating her more.
"Just get on with the story. I would like to know why Elise thinks I'm responsible for her mom's illness" Skylar urged her on as she tried not to flinch at having another's hands in her body except her mom and Vino.
"Well, let's just say her mom was devastated after her father left, she fell ill shortly after that and still couldn't regain her senses after. I think she had dementia" Camille replied shrugging as she stepped out of the room after she was done with Skylar mini bathe. She returned after some time with food in her hands, she squatted down and started feeding her.
After collecting two spoonsful from Camille, Skylar stopped as she turned to stare at Camille. Camille noticed Skylar's eyes on her and glared at her "What? Anything on my face?"
"Why are you doing this?" Skylar asked her but Camille raised her eyebrows at her in confusion.
"Doing what? feeding you, it's my job. I can't free the rope off your hands else you might escape, so I had to do this myself. Not that I'm enjoying myself, you know"
"No, not that. This" Skylar told her, letting her eyes around the room trying to drive in her point.
The silence stretched into the room, while Skylar waited for her response which didn't seem any forthcoming. She decided to break the silence herself.
"I mean, I can understand why Elise is doing this? She's taking revenge on me for her mom's illness and Vino but what I can't understand is why are you helping her?"
Camille stood up and turned to glare at her "That's for me to know and for you to wonder" She dropped the plate on the floor beside Skylar "I can see that you're done here since you have the energy to ask me unnecessary questions but if you are still hungry. Help yourself, make your mouth useful" Camille stood her before stepping out of the door, her heels making a clicking noise on the floor which Skylar only noticed just now.
The closed door plummets the room into whole darkness, as Skylar fights to keep her sanity with everything going on around her. She hopes she will be able to survive all of these in the end.