Chapter 53 Tied-knot

• It is funny how we plan things looking forward to tomorrow when we do not even know what today might bring. Angel started the day with a gloomy face. She received her package containing the "last gift" she might be able to give Kyle before she bid him goodbye. "bid him goodbye." This idea that she had ever since he read the text message would have been better to not be read, but what sealed this idea like a wax stamp on an envelope is Samantha's visit. Young, pretty, tall, and clever, she comes from a wealthy family with a prominent background- She has it all more than Angel can ever have. "I should let him go...." A tear rolled down her cheek as her situation came to light. No matter how she loves Kyle or how he loves her back, there will never be them-this is their reality- they have different boundaries. It was around six in the evening, there was something in the air – the chills seemed to send something -it might be a warning, but for what? But people do not listen to warnings; they seldom do- maybe because most of the time we do not understand. Amidst the cold weather and the dark night at around nine in the evening, Angel went on her way to buy food. She would have stayed at home if she knew what would happen on her way back. The feeling that someone is following us might be familiar for most of us. We frequently console ourselves, thinking that it is just imagination. But most of the time, there is really someone following us when we felt this way- and this is what she felt, what she did, and her mistake. A dark alley, brought by accident near the place. The sudden rain and cold weather. Things have been planned carefully – a mastermind like the chess queen. Amidst the noise, no one did not even notice. Just a matter of seconds. A black car, men in dark shinny clothing wearing black gloves. Took Angel from behind! Injected her with something she was unsure of but made her blackout in just seconds. And at the last seconds, she can only think of one thing- "Kyle will be waiting for me." _________***_______ "Like a mad man." This is the best description that anyone would give to Kyle at this exact moment as she shouts,' Angel's inside her obviously empty apartment. Walking back and forth as he tries to figure out where is she. Kyle has sent hundreds of messages and miscalls to no avail, praying that she would miraculously answer one of them- but that did not happen not this time. Samantha watches silently as the love of her life worries to death for another woman, earnestly wishing that she was her. The pitiful look in her eyes was drastically changed to guilt when her train of thoughts flashed back to an earlier event. Samantha recalls that time when she refused to tell Stacy who Angel is, but her stupidity left a window of opportunity for her to know who that person is, "did she really see those pictures? But she said she didn't. No way I know I closed that door just in time. Or I didn't?" Samantha walked out of the scene in silence, just like a ghost who was never there, and Kyle, in his confused and worried mind, did not even notice her presence. Samantha slowly drove her car away from the scene and stopped a block away. She tried to reach Stacy several times but to no avail. With fear, guilt, and yet a slight hint of relief that Samantha denies having, Samantha murmurs inside the car with heavily tinted windows, " Is, is Stacy? Did she kidnap Angel?" _____***____ The face she will never forget She would know this face even from afar, this plain figure so plain compared to her, and yet her plainness was able to grab Stacy of the things she wanted the most -Kyle's affection. A mix of emotions overpowered Stacy as she looked at this pitiful figure in front of her. Tied, sweaty, and yet even in this state, the fact that she was chosen over her is undeniable. There is something with replacement; when you are replaced with someone better than you, at least you can console yourself into saying that she is better than me. But when your ego tells you that you are better, it may be on your own perspective or a fact- it hurts more. A swirl of emotions and questions danced inside Stacy's being as she stood and stared blankly at the person tied in front of her. She felt numb and confused at the same time. A cold hand touched Stacy's shoulders, a touch that snapped her out of reality. "wh...why is she here?" "Because this bitch has taken so much from us already, I found out who she is for ten years, but I didn't do anything because I know you are trying to find her, but you failed, so I present her to you now." Said in a brusque tone that has a hint of sarcasm and taunting, at least for Stacy's ears. Stacy does not know how to respond because all she heard was the word "you failed." Stacy tried so hard to not hear those words again, but it is here now reminding her of how it was said ten years ago "All you need to do is to get engaged! You can't even do that??" A high-pitched voice of a woman in her thirties echoes in the mansion as the young Stacy kneels amidst broken vases and teacups. Stacy's face is a clear message that this is not the first time it happened, together with a red cheek that is used to being slapped hard and a fresh cut wound that she got from the expensive ring worn by her mother. "You know I love you, right? You are my little princess. I want you to be married to a prince- the perfect prince. You know mommy loves you, right?" a whisper said to her ears as her mother ran her hands into Stacy's hair as if admiring how soft, silky. Long it was before she pulled it hard from Stacy's back that Stacy's neck almost broke. "Why can't you even do just that?!" A painful flashback. The scene had been stuck on Stacy's head for years. As tragic as it is, she treasures that memory- the last memory of her mother before she committed suicide days after she failed engagement ten years ago. The reason? They never found out.