Veronica's POV
Today I only planned to give my daughter one happy ending before we left this city.
But it looks like fate had something else planned for me.
While driving toward Janet's school, I thought of taking her to the park. I could imagine her smile when I would tell her. Janet loved playing on the swings, even when she was sick. She would beg me to take her to swing on them.
"Mommy, just five minutes." She would say hoping I would agree.
I gripped the steering wheel as everything from last night was still running around in my head. Before leaving I wanted to give her one good memory of her birth place.
Just the two of us.
The traffic light turned green and I slowly drove into the intersection.
Suddenly…
A black jeep sped toward me from the side.
My eyes widened in shock.
"What??"
The car came crashing with a deafening sound into my car. Metal screamed against metal as my car spun off the road. My head hit the steering wheel and my head throbbed in pain. The world seemed to spin around me, and the next moment everything went black.
After what looked like hours, I finally came around.
My head was throbbing from pain.
My arms felt like they were tied, and my leg was also in pain.
I opened my eyes with a blurred vision.
After flickering my eyes, my vision cleared.
It was an abandoned floor of a construction building. Dust floated in the air as sunlight entered from the unfinished windows. Unused bricks and metal bars lay around the unfinished building. The smell of rust and damp cement was filling my nostrils, making it hard for me to breathe. It was clear work had stopped months ago.
I could see some men sitting around a table playing cards.
Then my eyes went wide open in shock.
The men stood up as Imelda came walking in and came over to me.
Her heels echoed through the empty building as if the place belonged to her.
For a moment, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My mind was desperately looking for another explanation as I myself didn't believe she'd stoop so low.
The car crash.
The kidnapping.
It was entirely her plan.
"Miss Imelda," One of the men said with a smirk. "We did as you said, hit-an-run, oh sorry, hit-and-pick."
Imelda clenched her teeth, practically grinding them.
"Okay," Imelda called out. "The meeting must be going on. Perfect timing."
Then she walked over my crumbled body.
"Veronica, do you know why I did this?" She said, smirking. She leaned over me. "Veronica, have you ever thought, why Jonathan never chooses you?"
"I don't care," I said, wincing from the pain. "He's my husband and my daughter's…"
"You still don't understand," she said. "Don't you? Okay, then, I'll let you…"
Just then Imelda's phone vibrated so she took the call.
"What??!" she said in shock.
Her expensive heels clicked against the concrete floor as she crouched before me.
"Do you know what I hate the most about you?" She asked, softly.
I didn't react.
"It's your calm look," she said. "As if whatever I do, doesn't bother you. As if, you're certain he'll choose you."
She laughed softly.
"Eight years of marriage, and you still don't know Jonathan."
Her eyes went cold.
"Jonathan loves weak emotional women."
"You were never his type," She said in a hyper voice, then she yelled. "BEAT HER!"
The last word barely left her mouth, they began to beat me.
I thought she felt pity on me and stopped them, but I was wrong.
"STOP!" She called out.
"Veronica," she said as she crouched in front of my crumbled body.
"Today, I'll let you know the value of you and me in his heart." she said, smirking.
"Hello." One of the men said. "Mr Rollings, your wife is in our hands. Bring ten million or else…"
"What??!" I heard his voice on the phone.
A weak smile spread across my face, as my heart beat raced.
"He cares for me." I said in my mind as I could hear the worry in his voice.
But that happiness didn't last long.
The men suddenly grabbed Imelda and tied her onto a chair beside me, and held a knife at her throat, before Jonathan could see her standing.
"I'm here!" Jonathan said. "Here's your ten million. Imelda! What are you…"
I smiled thinking he came for me, but that myth broke soon.
"You said my wife is with you," he said. "Why is this woman here?" He said pointing towards me.
My heart broke the moment he said that.
"He came for Imelda?"
"Jonathan!" Imelda called out in a trembling voice.
"We were together when we got kidnapped." Imelda said.
"Okay," the man holding the knife called out. "both of them have your contact saved as 'hubby'. Now, who's your wife? We'll release only her."
I was shocked to see Jonathan actually took time to speak and when he did, the last hope I had for our marriage was—gone.
"Imelda!" he said, throwing the bag towards them. "Let her go."
My breath got caught in my throat. For a moment the world around me seemed to have frozen. Eight years. Eight years of marriage, and he didn't hesitate to take her name.
"And that woman?" He said, pointing towards me with his knife.
"Her," he didn't even bother to look towards me. "She's only Imelda's secretary. That phone is Imelda's old one."
The entire world around me went silent.
Four years of college. Eight years of marriage.
I remembered the day we graduated, he held my hand and promised me no matter what he would always love me, always take care of me.
Back then, I believed every word he said.
I gave up my dreams. I gave up my career. I even sold my design drafts for him. All so he could build his empire. Fulfil his dream.
Today I realized something in the most painful way.
I never was part of his world.
He didn't hesitate even for a second.
As if I was nothing more than a mere stranger.
"Fine." He lifted Imelda by her arms and flung her into Jonathan's arms.
As Jonathan turned his back towards me, the man beside me whispered in my ears. "Looks like you're really not his wife. But now, you've seen us so…"
Pain exploded in my stomach as the knife plunged deep into my stomach.
A sharp scream escaped my lips as warm blood rapidly spread onto my clothes as the knife twisted in my stomach.
Jonathan did turn around, but didn't see me lying in my pool of blood, and left.
The next moment when my eyes opened, a nurse was sitting beside me. The bright white lights were blinding me from opening my eyes.
"Doctor! Doctor!"
A doctor came to check on me.
"Doctor," Jonathan said. "How is she?"
"Mr Rollings," the nurse said. "Your wife is in the next room. You should be worried about her."
"I meant, my wife." Jonathan said. "How is she?'
"Mrs Imelda is absolutely fine." the nurse said. "You can take her home."
"And Veronica?" he said in a hesitant voice. "She is my wife's secretary after all."
"Oh," the doctor said as he stood straight.
"Do you have her husband's contact?" the doctor asked.
Jonathan was about to say something, but Imelda came in.
"Her husband died a few years ago." She said, "That's why she works for me, right Jonathan."
I could see he clenched his fists as he said, "Yes."
Which made me laugh inside.
"Well, in that case, let's allow Miss Veronica to get some rest."
As they left, I tugged on the nurse's arm.
"Sister!" I said. "Can you please make a call for me? My phone is broken."
She obliged and dialed a number for me.
"Hello," I said. "Miss Dorothy? I'm Veronica."
Dorothy was her school teacher.
"Mommy!" Janet took the phone.
"Baby, mommy's sorry." I said. "I couldn't come pick you. Aunt Zena will be there soon, okay."
"Okay mommy."
"Miss Dorothy, can you please call Zena and tell to pick her up. I had a small accident so…thank you."
Zena was our neighbor and the only one who knew my truth.
"Sister, thank you." I said as I gave the phone back.
"It's alright," she said. "You have a daughter?"
Yes," I whispered. "She'll be eight soon."
The nurse hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Then… that's good."
I frowned as I didn't understand what she meant.
The way the nurse looked at me, I couldn't figure out if it was pity or sympathy.
Then my hand slowly moved to my stomach, and felt the bandage wrapped around my wound. I still could not get the feeling out of me, the way she looked at my stomach.
I felt like today, I didn't just lose blood.
As my hand trembled over my aching stomach…
I realized…
I might have lost something…that will never come back.