The Twist!

The Twist!
Dennis

I honestly didn’t want to look at the screen, but the minute I heard the music and saw the soft lighting of the camera sweeping across white roses and crystal chandeliers, I knew it was Freya’s wedding again. 
Every damn day for the past week, some news channel or entertainment show found a new clip, a new angle, a fresh commentary to air. It was either her dress, the venue, vows or even the food.
The guards here thought it was entertaining and some of the inmates found it amusing too, watching me squirm while the woman I destroyed stood there glowing, radiant, married to someone else.
Victor Whitmore… I used to call him “the enemy” but now I just call him “the better man”. 
I sat on my bunk, staring at the tiny screen nailed to the common room wall, the volume low but clear enough to hear her laugh. And God, that sound used to be mine. I used to make her laugh like that.
I watched the way Victor looked at her, like he’d waited all his life just to earn her smile and I felt something ugly crawl up my throat. It wasn’t even jealousy or anger, it was something I couldn’t describe but definitely not a nice one. 
Maybe it was regret because I do regret every bit of my actions. I ruined the best thing that ever happened to me.
Freya loved me… she really loved me and gave everything while I gave her betrayal and scars in return. I played games with her heart, treated her like an option while she was out there building her world around me.
I thought I was smart and in control. I thought I could play both sides… keep the girl in my pocket while I chase her money, then steal it and discard her. I should have known it wouldn’t end well, because she had a pure heart and people like that always win in the end. 
I remember that night she caught me and confronted me. I tried my best to control the situation but I know something in her broke that night. I lost her right then and that haunts me more than any prison bar ever could.
And now I’m here, sitting on a steel bunk with peeling paint, eating food that tastes like paper, and surrounded by men who wouldn’t know love if it slapped them in the face. Meanwhile she’s out there in a designer dress, kissing the man who held her hand through the fire.
Victor didn’t just take her from me, he actually earned her. He picked up the pieces I shattered, held them like glass, and gave her a world I never could. And watching them on the screen burned but somehow, it also makes sense.
She was never mine to keep, not after what I did…
I leaned back against the wall and rubbed my face with my palms, trying to silence the thoughts, but they kept coming loudly.
The most painful part was knowing how much she loved me. She would’ve died for me. She loved me that hard and I should’ve fought for her. I should’ve let go of the damn greed and realized that she was the prize. Instead, I successfully schemed my way right out of the best life I could’ve had. 
I don’t blame anyone, not even Sonia, even though I hate her as so much.. I am to blame for my actions and I deserve all the punishment I’m getting now.
As for Freya, I’m glad she moved on to a peaceful and better life which she truly deserves…

Darla

At first, I thought it was a dream when I saw the white walls and the way everything smelled like horror. Nurses were moving like ghosts in and out of the room, and I kept wondering if it was a bad dream that I was soon going to wake up from. 
But then, it’s been over a month, and I’m still in this shthole. I don’t even know where I am, and no one would tell me or answer any of my questions. 
I have tried asking a thousand times where I am but they just ignore me and all they do is give me pills after pills every day. 
I even tried telling them what really happened, how Victor kidnapped me and must have planned this whole thing. Of course I didn’t tell them that I stabbed Freya because I know that would get me in more trouble. But then, they still didn’t believe me.
They said I was admitted voluntarily with a history of severe mental breakdowns, hallucinations, paranoia. 
There’s a whole file with forged reports and signed evaluations. It all looks so legitimate, so damning and as if that isn’t enough, I’m no more Darla. it’s just “Patient 109” now.
It’s like I’ve been erased completely from my normal life. Some days I scream and fight. I bang on the door, refuse the pills, and throw away the food. On those days, they’d strap me down and inject me. 
Other days... I take the pills and that scares me because now, I’ve started to believe and wonder if I’m really sick… Maybe I really did go mad the day I stabbed Freya…
Ohh, Freya.
She was on the TV again today. She was glowing and Victor obviously couldn’t get enough. It was like a royal event and watching from my bed, knees pulled to my chest, I started to regret everything.
I ruined everything not just for me, but for everyone, especially my baby. Sonia.
She’s sitting in prison, probably curled up in some cold corner, wondering why I haven’t come to visit her. She probably thinks I’ve abandoned her again, not knowing that I think about her every single day. 
If I hadn’t abandoned her, maybe she wouldn’t have gotten caught up in Dennis’ web of lies and greed or betray Freya.
That girl has a good heart and would have helped my Sonia find purpose too. She would’ve lifted her up, and shown her the world.
But it’s all gone now and it’s because of me. I failed my baby. I fed her poison as advice, and turned her into me.
It wasn’t even Dennis who destroyed her. It was me. And now I’m here in some God-knows-where facility, eating from plastic trays and swallowing pills I don’t even know, while my baby is also there, rotting away. 
I wish I could turn back the clock, I honestly would make better choices. Maybe in another life, because in this one, I’m just a ghost with a name no one calls anymore. A woman locked away with her regrets, and for the first time in my life, I can’t talk or scheme my way out of it…

Sonia

My face was soaked with tears, my chest hurt, and I couldn’t stop rocking myself on the bench as I watched the wedding highlights again. It was everywhere on every goddamn channel.
Victor and Freya… smiling, dancing, and soaked in love like they were the golden couple of the century. The world adored them but I am stuck here, rotting away alone. I’ve lost my baby, and my mom has also abandoned me again.
I let out another sob, trying to muffle it with the inside of my elbow. This wasn’t supposed to be my life, I was supposed to be someone. I had so many dreams but I took the wrong path. And now, I’m watching my once best friend live the life we both planned on living.
If only I could get a second chance, I would make better choices… 
“Wesson!” one of the guards shouted my last name while I barely looked up, wiping my face with the back of my hand.
“You’ve got a visitor.” I froze immediately.
“My… mom… is it my mom?” I asked, breath catching while the guard shrugged. 
“Just follow me!”
I scrambled up so fast I nearly tripped on the way out of the cell block. Maybe she didn’t abandon me after all and I wasn’t going to die here alone…
I happily hurried into the visiting room but my heart dropped immediately I saw my visitor.
It wasn’t my mom. It was him… Adrian’s friend.
The same man who once offered me a blank check, smiled like he owned the world… then vanished and left me to burn. 
I wasn’t ready for a second pain, so I turned around to leave without a second thought.
“I thought you wanted power,” his voice suddenly cut through the silence.
I stopped immediately, my fingers curled into a fist by my side as I turned back slowly.
He was sitting there in a perfectly tailored navy-blue suit, not a wrinkle in sight. He was calm and relaxed as if he didn’t ruin my plans and was now expecting me to sit.
“Have a seat, Sonia.” He ordered.
I wanted to slap him across the face and say no, but instead… I sat.
“What do you want from me?” I snapped, my voice sharp but shaky.
“I want to reintroduce myself properly,” he said with that maddeningly authority. 
“My name is Nolan Kane.” He let out while my brows shot up. 
“Wait… Nolan Kane? That Nolan Kane? The billionaire?” I quizzed while he nodded with a small, satisfied smile. 
“Second richest man in the country, next to your friend’s husband.” He affirmed while I blinked hard and for a second, I thought maybe the meds they gave me at the clinic were still messing with my head.
“You lied to me,” I whispered. “You pretended to be someone else. You… you defrauded me… I thought you were just…”
“I never lied,” he cut in sharply. 
“I never defrauded you either. You asked for power, Sonia. It doesn’t come easy or on a platter. I needed to see if you had the rage to chase it. And I know now that you do.”
“You ruined me!” I slammed at him.
“No, you were already cracked. I simply took a step back to see if you were worth it.” He said calmly, leaning in.
“Now, I’m offering you the real deal, the power you asked for.” he said. 
“Why now? I’m already stuck in here, I needed the power to save myself. So why now?” I swallowed hard.
“Because you passed the test. You’ve suffered, and lost. There’s nothing left to lose now and that’s when power tastes the sweetest.” He replied while I stared at him. 
A part of me was screaming at me to run but the other part was tempted and hungry.
“I know you’re not just doing this for me. What’s in it for you?” I asked while he smirked.
“Nothing much, I just need my place back,” he said, eyes narrowing and I tilted my head. 
“Victor Whitmore took something from me. He took my place at the top, I want it back and I need you to do it.”
“Why me?”
“Because you know Freya, you can break her. You’ve done it before.”
I hesitated when he said this, and my heart pounded. 
“I already betrayed her once. I don’t even know if I can face her again…”
“You won’t need to, you will stand above her… with me.” He said sharply while I shook my head. 
“I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
“You’re about to find out,” he said simply. Then, he leaned forward, his voice smooth and firm. 
“Be my wife, Sonia.” 
“Wha… what?” I exclaimed.
“You heard me, Sonia. Marry me. We will make it legal. You get my last name, my access, my seat at the table. And in return, I get your fire… and a partner who’s not afraid of reaching for the top.”
“Why the hell would I say yes?” I let out a shaky laugh and he smiled softly. 
“Because I know you… you’re so ambitious and rotting away here can’t be your fate. And this is your chance to write yourself a new fate.”
Each word echoed in my head, it was indeed my second chance. I looked at him and tried to observe him. He already played me once but this time, I could tell it was real. 
I do regret my actions but why should I let that ruin the rest of my life. I can’t spend the best years of my life in here, rotting away. I need to rewrite my fate, and life just gave me a second chance to do that.
“Okay, I’ll do it.” I whispered. 
“Are you sure you’re ready?” He asked while I straightened. 
“I’d rather be hated with power than rot in here forgotten.”
“Then it’s done.” He nodded as he pulled out his phone and made a call.
Seconds later, the guard returned and unlocked my cuffs. 
“Your release orders just came through, you’re free.” He let out while I stared in disbelief.
I was given clean clothes and I took them like I was in a trance.
I couldn’t believe I was getting out and not just leaving this hell behind… I was walking into something bigger…