Chapter 142 CRUEL WORLD
1617words
Once I am out of the room, I head straight towards the elevator and then to the ground floor, I climb down the stairs to the underground floor and then go to the cellar from where I pick a few bottles of wine.
One isn't enough to calm down my nerves, I need more.
I start gulping down the wine one by one and soon there are four empty bottles on the ground. I lean back breathing heavily, "F**K..."
I curse loudly, I don't understand what's happening in my life. First mom and dad left me, then Mona, and now Tessa also seems to leave me, if not by herself then Ann would make sure of it.
But, why do I want her to stay so desperately? I don't love her and neither do my nightmares going away because of her. She isn't my cure, not my love, just a wife.
But what about my happiness? My subconsciousness points out and I frown.
Yes, I am happy and calm with Tessa but day by day she has started pointing out the things that I don't wish to answer, and neither I want her to know about my past. I don't want her to look at me with sympathy in her eyes.
For f**k's sake, I don't want anyone's sympathy.
I and Ann were not able to share our childhood together but still, we both love and respect each other and I would never let Tessa push Ann towards the marriage.
Marriage is forbidden for Ann. She never believed in love and also the past traumas still haunt her. I am afraid that Tessa's foolishness will land us both into big trouble that I don't want for her, for us.
Suddenly, I start to feel suffocated and all the thoughts start to strangle me with an invisible rope and feeling uncomfortable I stagger back to the elevator.
I press the upper floor button. I don't want to see Tessa at this moment. I am afraid that I would do something that would hurt her. I head for the terrace and then start smoking. I never used to smoke at all, but then after my parents died I was so much depressed that I needed something to take out my stress hence I started to smoke.
And later, I find Mona we had a good steamy relationship, she never refused me and neither stop me no matter how rough or brutal I would become she was into rough s*x and I like it about her but Tessa, F**k, she is completely different from Mona but still, I am here feeling nuts at the possibility of her leaving me.
What the hell???
I was lost in a daze when two arms wrapped around my waist from behind, "I am sorry, I shouldn't have picked out Ann's marriage topic," She apologized.
"I swear I didn't mean anything bad… I just thought she is… very lonely, Andrew. and maybe it's the time she should search for her soul partner." I listen to her attentively only to get disappointed by her words, she is still there stuck on her marriage, love, and soul partner.
"Tessy..." I gritted my teeth as I pushed her hands away in disgust. "Ann can never get married, there is no soul partner..." I tell her angrily, "But why?" She asks and I am hell mad now as I blurt out furiously.
"Because God has never been kind to her and that is why her life has been marked with cruel and dark events that no one... No one could erase them from her life..."
"Andrew, why do you look so angry? Why do you look remorseful? What have you done?" She asks, looking terrified.
"Ann had been assaulted, abused, and raped by her adoptive father," I reveal. Telling the truth to her feels like a burden has been lifted from my shoulder but I am angry at myself and guilty too, I am the person who has taken away Ann's happiness.
Only, I am here to blame not anyone else.
"What are you saying, hubby?" She looks at me in disbelief.
Yeah, how could she believe this cruel truth at all? Ann is so graceful and charming even after what happened to her she still comes out and shines like a diamond. I feel proud of her. She is a great and admirable woman in my eyes but unfortunately, she could never be able to get the blessing of love in her life, a soul partner, a caring husband, a child, and a proper family.
"Yes… It's true, Tessy, only my parents and I know about it and now you too," I tell her, sadness and guilt clouding my eyes.
"Come here," Tessa pulled me to sit on the nearest flower bed and I did, "It's okay… What happened with Ann, it wasn't your fault." She told me and I snort in response, she doesn't know the whole truth at all.
"It was all because of me that Ann has struggled so much in her life. People think she is the one who takes away my rights… No… No, Tessy… I am the one who takes away her rights. For 23 years, I took away her rights for 23 years… Everything that belongs to me was rightfully hers, she has the first right over all the things that our father has left for us." I start to get emotional, I have enjoyed luxuries since I was born and on the other side, Ann had lived a terrible life where she would get only enough food that would not make her starve to death but gave her courage to live for another day.
"I wish I was never born, Tessy," I state feeling depressed.
It would be better if mom never gave birth to me, a son, and dad would have chosen me over Ann. I was lost in a daze when Tessa brings me back to the room. I have no idea what's going on or what she is doing, I feel like losing my consciousness and soon I am sinking into the pool of darkness not knowing where I will get to in the end.
****
THUD
I am doing my study in my room when I hear a loud thud that startles me, taking away all the sleepiness that was welcoming me a moment ago.
I stand up slowly and then walk towards my door. Very slowly I twist the doorknob and then step outside of my room. It's midnight and the whole mansion is quiet, pin-drop silence as I would say.
THUD
Again, there is a voice and when I look in the direction of the voice I feel panic, it's my parent's room. Why haven't they slept yet?
Slowly, I make my way towards their room, and then standing outside their door I start to ponder if I should really knock on their door or not when I hear my mother's cry and instantly I start banging on their door.
"Mom... Dad..."
BOOM
The door opens very quickly and my father stands at the door with a stern face, "Andrew, why are you still awake?" He asks and instead of answering him I start peeking inside their room, "Mom, where is mom?"
Pushing my father aside, I walk inside. It's been a long time since my parent have been fighting continuously and I don't understand why they have become like this but it's very upsetting and unpleasant.
"Mom," I gasp when I see my mother on the floor weeping, "What's wrong?" I crouch down beside her and touch her shoulder, my eyes follow hers and what I see makes my jaw drop.
I see a girl's naked pictures. She wasn't any other girl but the girl whom we had visited before, my elder sister, Anna. Her eyes are red and filled with tears and my heart tightens when I notice the marks on her bare body.
Who did this to her? And why do mom and dad have her naked pictures?
"This..." I was burning with fury when I picked one of the pictures and then tore it into pieces. "Who did this?" I question to both and they exchange a look before my mother speaks, "That bastard had raped her, we are going to bring our daughter back. I will put that monster behind the bars."
My mother says with determination and I agreed, "We should go right now to take her." I tell my mother and just then my father holds my arm pushing me out of the room.
"Andrew, that's not your concern. You go, your mother and I will handle this."
"And how are you going to handle this?" I yell furiously.
"Get out, Andrew. You're not big enough to question me," He pushes me out and then slams the door on my face.
BOOM
"See, how you are affecting Andrew because of all of this..." I hear my father's growl from inside the room.
"She is our daughter too." My mother sobs.
"No, she isn't. She is a slut's daughter not mine, why don't you understand this..." He says exasperatedly and my mother cries follow and soon my father starts to calm her down while I stand at the door looking helplessly at the remaining piece of the picture in which I see Ann's pale innocent face covered with slight bruises, she looks terrified and in a lot of pain.
My heart feels her pain and unknowingly I start to shed tears as I crumple that small piece of the picture in my hand.
I wish I am older enough to save Anna from all this cruelty.
