by S. S. Sahoo
“Thank God you called,” she whispered and I furrowed my eyebrows confused.
“Why are you whispering?” I asked with a low tone not wanting Zachary to wake up.
“Listen! Wherever you are. Don’t come back home now okay? I got this! I will handle everything. I promise,” she whispered and quickly buttoning up Zachary’s shirt I walked towards the glass window where I looked out towards the street. The sun was setting down and I watched as the birds flew away right before the window probably back to their home. Street lights were already on and people scurried away in several directions, a lot of hustle and bustle down there because of traffic.
“What? Why?” I asked biting my nails.
“Your parents are here. Somehow they got to know that Zachary is also in this town and they flew down here for you. Your father doesn’t wish you to be with Zachary. They have been trying your phone since morning but I have already told them that you and Zachary are back together,” she whispered and I heard my father’s voice in the background.
“You did a good job, Kiara, you don’t have any idea how dad has created misunderstanding between me and Zachary regarding divorce,” I said and held my forehead.
“Yeah?” she asked and I hummed in response.
“Moreover, is everything alright between you two now? I hope you didn’t spoil everything like the last tim-” I cut her off with a groan.
“How many times will you make me feel as the villain? Yes, everything is fine between us now,” I said with a smile.
“What? Really? Ya-” she squealed but then lowered her voice “Yayyy,” she whispered.
“Look you don’t need to come here. I’ll take care of your parents. You be with Zac-”
“No! No. I am coming back home. It’s good that dad is here. I will make this clear to him that I want to be with Zachary now. And moreover I have planned a surprise for Zachary and for that I have to come back home first,” I said and I heard her gasp.
“You mean you want to clarify with your dad about all this today?” she asked and I nodded but then realized she can’t see me so said a yes in reply.
“In fact not today, but now. I am coming,” I said with determination and she said a quiet okay in response.
“Okay. I am with you. Come bac-” I heard her groaning and I furrowed my eyebrows when I heard her cursing under her breath.
“I am telling you, I will murder someone or worse commit suicide if this moron doesn’t stop calling me every single minute,” she said and that made me laugh.
“So our prince charming still after our princess eh?” I mocked her and she huffed in annoyance.
“Prince Charming my ass!” she cursed which made me laugh. After a chat, I hung up on her letting her know that I’ll be there soon and turned around to go back to Zachary to wake him up but then stopped on my track when I saw the landline phone. An idea popped up in my mind and smiling I hurried to the phone where I called the hotel’s number.
As I paced around the room impatiently waiting for my delivery the doorbell buzzed and I ran to the door and pulled it open to find the person whom I have been waiting for.
“Your Roses that you had asked for ma’am,” the guy said as he passed the bouquet of red roses that I had asked for earlier in the phone. I handed him the money and replied a thank you before closing the door when he went away. Inhaling the smell of the roses, I smiled at myself.
“I hope you like them,” I whispered to myself and placed them in a vase on the table and plucked a single rose out of the bouquet and went to the couch where I kept the bouquet and took the paper and the pen and scribble down.
Dear Husband,
Here is a lovely rose for my lovely husband.
I guess when you wake up you won’t find me near you but don’t heat up and go all Tarzan searching for me because I am already near you. Right in your heart ;)
Cheesy right? But get used to it! From now on you will be seeing this side of me every often :)
And yeah, don’t think I am going anywhere. I will be right back before you can even blink. Guess what?
I am planning a sweet surprise for you.
Wait for me and yeah, I love you.
Your Wife.
Satisfied, with my work I kissed the paper and smiling to myself I tiptoed back to the room where I found him still in his sleep.
Guess someone is really tired.
Walking to the side of the bed I kept the rose down on the pillow with the letter and bent down where I placed a kiss down on his forehead “I will be right back,” I whispered and lifting my purse from the nightstand I ran out happy and excited to return back to him and this time forever.
As I walked out of the building, people who went passed me turned around to look at me again and again before walking away. I was still in Zachary’s shirt and track pants.
“What? I am wearing my husband’s clothes,” I threw my hands up in the air annoyed. As soon as I said that people looked the other way and I huffed out air “People these days,” I muttered to myself.
As soon as a Taxi pulled up before me, I jumped in and told him the address of the house where Kiara and I lived. He pulled the meter down and drove off using the GPS. I smiled as I looked out of the window. The sun had already set down and it was already half past seven in the evening. Everything seemed so unreal. How my world has changed in a single year, I still can’t believe. I fell in love with a man thinking him as the true love of my life then I believed that marrying him was my right choice but then Zachary entered my life and even in all those odds I fell in love with him. He made me realize my true self. I was always myself with him. He treated me well even though I hated him the most. Even in all those insults, care and love were hidden. I smiled when I remembered the time when I disturbed and annoyed him intentionally. I fell in his fountain, I even forced myself on him obviously drunk..., and felt jealous and even tried to beat the shit out Loana.
I never really knew that I do have this side of mine. Never really thought I could ever raise my hand to actually hurt a woman who was after my husband. Never really thought I would fell in love once again after being betrayed.
All thanks to Zachary for bringing the best out of me.
As I felt my phone vibrating, I fished it out of the purse and immediately a smile formed on my face as I bit down on my lips seeing the caller ID displaying ‘My Heartbeat’.
“Somebody is up and already searching for me I guess,” I spoke playfully as I grinned all the while.
“Juliette why did you leave without me?” he said and I heard his restless voice.
“Did you not read my note?” I asked playing with my hair.
I feel like a teenager in love.
“I did! It’s not necessary. Just come back to me,” he said and I chuckled a little.
“I will. But before that, I need to do some work. I need to deal with my parents and then plan about the surprise,” I told him and heard him sigh.
“When will you start listening to me?” he asked and I raised my eyebrow as I roamed my tongue over my teeth before speaking “When you start to listen to me,” I said and heard him sighing for the second time.
“Your parents are here? So, why did you leave alone? Your father tried to separate us. I am coming. You can’t handle him on our own,” he said and I heard noises in the background.
“No, you will not!” I said out loud and watched as my taxi driver looked at me through his rearview mirror. I muttered a quiet sorry to him before focusing on Zachary.
“Who is there with you?” I heard Zachary’s voice.
“I am in a taxi,”
“I could have driven you back and why are you even going back? Your home is with me. You don’t need to explain anything to anyone. Tell your driver to take a U-turn and return back to me,” he said adamantly but I giggled at that.
“Zac you are really cute sometimes,” I cooed and heard a laugh cracking at the other end.
“Only you can call me that,” I heard him
and I shifted on my seat “Liar! you have permitted Jace. I know it! He calls you Zac too,” I said and heard his throaty laugh.
“Okay, don’t try to change the topic. Fine, do whatever you want to do. But if your father is too out of control, call me. I’ll handle him,” he said and I rubbed my forehead “Zac! He is my father. Have trust in me, I can handle him,” I said and heard him humming.
“Okay. And you don’t really need to plan anything for me. You being with me is only what I have always wished for,” he told me and I felt tears threatening to spill out.
“Too much happiness,” I muttered to myself.
“Sorry? I can’t hear you. Did you just say something?” he asked and I realized he can’t really see me.
“No, Nothing. Zachary...”
“Yeah?”
“I love you,” I said truthfully and felt my heartbeat speeding up. I still can’t believe I feel butterflies in my stomach whenever I say it to him.
“Really?” he chuckled and I rolled my eyes.
“Yes, really!” I laughed.
“I’ll back before you even realize I was gone,” I said as I watched the driver taking a left turn towards the bridge.
“I hope so, because if you don’t then you know me. I will drag you back,” he joked but I knew him better. Even though he was joking, he would actually do that if I didn’t return.
“Okay, sir!” I said playfully.
“And I have a shirt and a track pant of yours if you haven’t realized yet,” I told him as I looked down at what I was wearing.
“Everything of mine is yours,” he said and that made my heart filled with love.
“Are you alright? I mean did I hurt you?”
“No, you didn’t. Stop worrying about me so much,” I laughed and realized we were already on the bridge very near to the house.
“Zac, I need to hang up I am already near...” before I could complete I jerked forward because of the driver who applied a sudden break. My phone slipped out of my hand and as I realized what happened I looked forward to find a car before us stopped in the middle of the road. A lady was driving the car and she looked out apologetically shouting a sorry to the driver.
“What are you doing lady?” the driver yelled at the lady as he began to undo his seat belt.
I shook my head as they started bickering and as I realized my phone fell out of my hand, I moved down to pick my phone up but when I sat back on my seat, rays of light fell on my eyes and I could still hear Zachary’s worried voice calling out for me from the call. Stopping the light hitting my eyes by my hand I looked to my side towards the back of the car to find a truck coming our way in a full speed. Before I could shout or get out of the car, it was too late. The truck hit the taxi from behind with full speed with me in the back seat. Our Taxi turned around with a screeching noise and as if the impact was not enough, our car hit another car which caused the taxi to fly up and then back to the ground. My head hit the roof and the window every second when it tumbled.
Cries and screams left my mouth and the only thing that I registered was being hit by a truck. Still, in the tumbling car, I felt my world rotating as in two to three tumble, I felt as if I was not on the ground anymore. True, to my feel my eyes fell on the road from where our car started to tumble upside down and before anyone or anybody could do anything, our car struck the barrier of the bridge hard and the car dived into the water.
Water filled in my nose as I felt my consciousness fading but before I closed my eyes; my eyes fell on the body of the driver who floated on his seat hitting the car’s windshield.