Chapter 9 Chapter 0009
•ANEIRA•
\[MEMORY FLASHBACK\]
“How many times have I told you to stop playing with Narra’s toys, Aneira?!” My mom scolded me when she found me in Narra’s room. “Stay out!”
I looked at Narra, who was pouting, and I couldn’t understand what our mother meant. Narra and I were twins and shared everything in our lives.
“She plays with my toys as well, Mom. Did I do something wrong?” I cried.
“Listen to me,” my mother grabbed my shirt. “I don’t want to see you in Narra’s room. Do you understand? If I see you here again, I’ll give you the beating of your life, and you’ll never forget it.”
Narra smiled behind her, and I nodded when I turned my attention to my mother.
I took my torn teddy bear from the floor and walked to the door.
“I want new toys, Mommy. I don’t want to play with the ones Aneira has played with.”
“Don’t worry, baby. Mommy will buy you new toys.”
When I looked behind and saw my mother hugging Narra, my heart broke because I didn’t know why she didn’t like me.
Narra and I looked alike, but my mother preferred her to me. We were 10 years old, but she had already decided her favorite was Narra.
I walked to the front porch and sat near the door, waiting for my father to return from work, because at least he liked me.
“Hey, little panda. What are you doing out here?” He picked me up when he returned and tickled my tummy.
“I was waiting for you, Papa!” I giggled. “What did you get me?”
He put me down and asked me to close my eyes. I did as he told me, and when he told me to open them, he was holding a brand new big teddy bear.
“I love it, Daddy.” I wrapped my arms around him and smiled.
I forgot everything that had happened before he came home, and he picked me up and headed inside the house with me, telling me stories about his work.
“You bitch!” Someone nudged me on the shoulder, snapping me to earth.
When I tilted my head and saw Polly and a strange woman behind me on the back porch, my heart raced, and I wondered if she was finally going to kill me.
“If you thought coming here and marrying Rafael would make me stop being the only woman in his life, you lied. Do you hear me?” The woman sneered as she nudged my head with her finger.
“You must teach her a lesson she won’t forget, Amari. Who does she think she is?” Polly chimed in. “She has no place in our home, and I want you to show her that today. Beat her up.” She encouraged her.
“No, please,” I begged, standing up from the bench. “Don’t hurt me. I’ll leave and return to my room.”
Amari laughed as she leaned toward me and kicked me in my stomach. “How dare you? Your father is a murderer, and your entire family has a curse for what they did to Rafael’s parents. If you thought you could bat those eyelashes and lure him under your spell, I’ll stop it. Rafael is mine. Do you hear me?” She slapped me. “Rafael is mine!” She slapped me again, and I fell on the ground and groaned.
“Beat her up, Amari. She should remember this day for years to come!” Polly encouraged her as she laughed. “Imagine her nerves. She waltzed in here and thought my brother would forget what her father did to our parents. She should learn her lesson today.”
“Did you sleep with my man?” Amari asked as she knelt before me, and I shook my head, crying.
“No, I did not. That’s not the reason he married me. Please, I’m sorry for everything. Don’t hurt me.”
“Oh, poor thing. If you had known the hell you’ll get yourself into, you should’ve run away the day you got promised to marry him. Look at you now. You’ve made an enemy of me, and I won’t let you go until you’re dead,” she snarled before she stood up and kicked me.
She kicked me until I coughed blood, and for a moment, I thought I would die.
Somehow, a part of me was relieved that I would die in her hands rather than in Rafael’s hands. I was happy that Rafael wouldn’t get the pleasure of seeing me suffer in his hands.
I closed my eyes and accepted my fate, but when the kicks stopped and Rafael’s voice roared in my ears, I breathed and wondered when it would all be over.
“Leave her alone! Do you see what you’ve done, Polly?”
“I should’ve killed her myself,” she sneered.
“I dare you to kill her and see what I would do to you. As for you, Amari, I want you out of my house, and you should consider the business I have with your family done. I want nothing to do with you or your family. The car you came with is mine, and I want the keys now!”
“Are you saying all this to me because of her, Raf?” Amari scoffed. “She’s Ethan’s daughter and doesn’t deserve your mercy. I can’t believe you’re threatening me because of her. You and I go a long way to be separated because of her!”
“Give me your keys now!”
The keys jingled, and Amari was gone.
“As for you, my sister, you’re no longer allowed in this house. I want you to leave first thing in the morning and return to your villa. You’ll have everything you need there.”
“Unbelievable. Our parents are turning in their graves.”
Rafael picked me up from the floor and took me to my room.
When I woke up in the morning, I groaned and sat up on the bed. I picked up my cell phone from the pedestal counter and called Noleen.
I hoped she would help me and get me away from Rafael. I almost died because of him.
“Aneira? My God, what happened to you? I’ve been trying to call you. Your mother told me you left.”
“I need your help, Noleen. My mother married me off to Rafael Sterling, and I almost died because of him. I don’t want to be here anymore, please help me.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to tell Chris where I am. He might know what to do. He’s the only one who can be Rafael’s match.”
“Rafael Sterling is no one’s match, but I’ll tell him.”
When the door creaked open, I hung up the call and hid my phone under the blanket.
Sandra walked inside with a bottle of water and painkillers. She shook her head when she stood up from the bed.
“If Rafael finds out you’re planning to escape, he will kill you, Miss Narra. So, I would advise you to stop calling people in this house because the walls have ears.”
“Please don’t tell anyone, Sandra.” My heart raced. Noleen was my only chance of leaving the house.
Sandra turned her back and walked out the door.