Chapter 17 The witch
VICTORIA
My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach as I stared at the face of the witch I had called a friend and confided in. The witch who collided with my shitty ex-husband to take away my property. My fist clenched at the sight of her, and the anger bubbling in me blew up.
“Victoria, are you okay?" I heard Mr Thompson whisper as I stared at her.
“Yes,” I whispered and turned away, even though I knew she had seen me.
Mr Thompson's gaze shifted to her, and his brows raised.
"His wife?” He asked, and I nodded.
He scoffed loudly and pushed the cup of coffee towards me.
"Shouldn't you say something to her?” He asked.
My gaze raised to meet his eyes, and I felt my throat knot. He had this evil hint in his eyes as he stared at me, his body pushing closer.
"Uhmm… no," I muttered, while rubbing my shaking hands together. I wanted to put it all together, but my hands felt like they wanted to throw punches at the bitch behind me.
“I guess… you're still scared of them then,” he muttered.
I felt something in me snap when he said those words. I always hated it when someone called me weak, but what I hated more was not proving them wrong.
"You think…"
“Victoria?” Her annoying voice, which came up behind me, forced the rest of my words down my throat.
I took a deep breath and looked up to face her.
Her lips twitched up into a smile that obviously had mockery laced in it.
“I never thought you would come back again," she said.
“Sadly for you, I did…" I paused and leaned closer to her.
“You and your husband should be getting ready to hand over those properties back to the owner now."
The color drained from her face, and she gasped loudly, her eyes widening in dismay.
“You bitch! You signed it off on your own. It's not our fault you were so foolish and blinded by love!" She spat, seething.
I chuckled and dropped the purse I was holding beside me, then got up.
Erica took a few steps back when I stood up to face her.
“You still have no shame, do you?" I muttered, and she scoffed loudly.
She still hadn't changed one bit. I wasn't surprised, though. She had always been a devil. I only failed to notice until the moment she betrayed me.
“Shame?" She chuckled.
“Shouldn't that be used on you? You dare come back here to talk about shame when you can't even have a child? Worry about your dried-up womb first," she spat.
My chest tightened as pain and anger coursed through my body.
I cursed loudly, and without thinking twice, I grabbed the cup of coffee on the table and splashed the hot liquid on her.
A scream escaped her mouth when it hit her face, and she dropped to the ground, crying loudly in pain.
Everyone in the shop turned and stared at us, but I didn't care about the attention.
“Victoria!" I raised my hand and stopped Mr Thompson from intervening.
I bent down and gripped her hair, forcing her to look at me.
“Look here, I've only begun. I will torture you until you give me everything you've taken from me. I will make you pay for betraying me, Erica, you'll regret the day you met me," I threatened. She shuddered, gasping and whimpering.
I pushed her off and stood up, then picked up my purse and walked out of the coffee shop with a sea of eyes on my back.
I cursed in anger as I walked down the sidewalk to catch a cab, partly blaming Mr Thompson for what happened. If only we hadn't gone to that shop, I wouldn't have come across that witch.
“Miss Victoria!" My feet froze when Mr Thompson screamed my name from behind.
My heartbeat increased as the sound of his running steps filled my ears. I huffed loudly and forced my feet to begin to move again, walking briskly to the stand where I would find a cab.
Before I could get to the stand, Mr Thompson gripped my hand and forced me to turn around.
My heart gave a wild skip when my eyes stared into his.
“Calm down, just calm down," he whispered.
I wanted to protest and shout that he should let me go, but I couldn't.
I remained silent and let him lead me into his car parked at a distance.
He ignited the car and drove off after getting my address from me.
My eyes stayed glued to the window, and thankfully, he didn't say a word to me throughout the ride.
When he got to my apartment, I pulled the door open and stepped out, then began to walk into the driveway without a second glance at him or a word of gratitude.
“Victoria!" He called, and my steps halted.
I took a deep breath and turned around to look at him.
“What?" I asked.
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, the other hand gripping the wheel hard.
“Take care of yourself," he muttered.
I watched him roll up the car’s windows and drive off. The anger bubbling in me increased at his cold behavior. He couldn't even make sure that I was alright before leaving.
“Such an entitled prick!" I spat and stomped my feet on the ground before spinning around towards my house.
“Shit!" I jumped and almost fell as my heart dropped in fear.
A woman who had been standing by my door moved away and began to approach me. I gasped out and rubbed my chest, trying to calm myself down after the panic attack she caused me.
“Did I scare you?" She chuckled, showing off her black teeth that caused my belly to knot in irritation.
“Who are you?" I snapped.
The woman paused and threw her head back, staring at my apartment in a way that weirded the fuck out of me.
“How did you get to my door, and who are you? I don't remember you walking past me!" I questioned, but the woman barely paid me any attention. She kept her lingering gaze on the house and didn't even bat for a second.
Her appearance alone was so frightening that goosebumps spread over my body. She was wearing a black dress with a white scarf tied around her neck. The scarf was stained with something that looked like blood, and her long nails had dirt under them. Her white hair looked messy and unwashed, and she exuded a dark, horrifying aura that seemed to shrink out life around it.
“If you don't leave, I'm going to call the cops,” I muttered and took a step closer, trying so hard to hide my fear. My breath hitched when my eyes looked down and caught the sight of a bloodstained blade in her hand.
A scream escaped my mouth, and I dropped to the ground, engulfed in horror.
Yet, the woman barely reacted. Her dead eyes were still on the apartment, with her lips slanting to the side.
“Poor house full of tragedy and death, it finally got a new resident!" She spat, and my heart clenched.
Shock and curiosity replaced the fear in me as my eyes widened.
“A house full of what?" I whispered, and the woman's piercing gaze finally shifted to me, causing my breath to cease.