MASSILO P.O.V
Being confined within these four walls for over a month was suffocating, driving a deep wedge of anxiety into my chest.Outside,I could feel the world teetering on the edge of chaos,knowing my father was orchestrating it all.It was a tormenting thought.
Was his thirst for power as insatiable as his cruelty? I couldn't shake the fear that someone would get hurt because of me. All I ever wanted was a different life with Sua,to live a simple life.I never asked for this nightmare.
"I hope she's okay" I whispered,my voice was a fragile echo in the stillness,the emptiness of the room pressing down on my shoulders.I closed my eyes,envisioning her safe and sound,when suddenly the door creaked open.I whirled around,longing to see Briann's familiar face,but it was Michelle instead.
Her eyes glistened with unspent tears as she rushed to me,enveloping me in a tight embrace.I could feel her sobs resonate through both our bodies and I returned her hug,fighting back my own tears.
"I thought you were dead! You shouldn't have gone to Kentucky" She cried,her voice shaking as if each word broke her heart further.
"I'm sorry" I managed to say,reaching for comfort in her warmth,but her phone rang,slicing through the moment like a knife.She reluctantly pulled away, her face shifting from relief to dread as she answered the call.It was Dad.
"I only gave you a chance to bail him out.Don't forget our deal" He sneered from the other end.
"What do you want this time? You've already taken Sua from me! I won't let you hurt anyone else!" I shouted, snatching the phone from Michelle's trembling hands.
"Don't you care about Briann's life?" Dad's voice twisted in my ear,dripping with malice. "I'm not known for my patience,Massilo.The clock is ticking"
In that haunting moment,I heard a familiar voice,barely above a whisper, cutting through the atmosphere like a wail of despair. "Please...Massilo...Save..."
"Give me the company,and I shall give you your girl" He demanded,his words igniting a rage so fierce it almost consumed me.I clenched my fists,nails digging into my palms,trying to hold back the storm brewing within.
"I've given you the company!"
"Not entirely,my boy.It's still...in the hands of…" He paused and I looked at Michelle,whose anguish was palpable, her eyes screaming for help. "I give you until sunset,or else your girl's gonna be blown up"
The call ended,leaving a suffocating silence that only Michelle's muffled sobs could puncture.I stepped toward her, desperation clawing at my throat. "I need you to hand over the company to him.Where are the documents?"
"I can't let the company fall into his hands! I won't!" She cried.The sheer terror in her voice mirrored my own.
"Don't you see? A life is at stake! The only way to save Briann is by giving him what he wants.We can retrieve the company later,but we can't bring back a soul if it's lost!" My voice broke as the gravity of our choices settled around us like a dense fog.She looked at me,her eyes brimmed with crimson sorrow with her cheeks flushed with pain.
"I don't want to lose her too,Massilo. Time is running out"
Torn between desperation and despair,she finally relented. "Alright! Bring me the company documents.We can't wait,sundown is almost here!" Her assistant nodded,urgency lining his features as he rushed to gather the necessary papers.
"Why don't we fight him?" She pleaded,hope glinting through the fear. "What if he doesn't let Briann go?"
"But what about my mom?" I asked,desperate for some glimpse of a plan.
"I have no idea" She whispered, defeated.
A thunderous voice erupted from down the hall,cutting through our desperate tableau. "Let me in! I need to see Massilo! I am his wife, Agnes Mason! Get out of my way!" She barged in,striding toward me with an air of false concern.
"Oh, darling,what's wrong? I rushed down the moment I heard" She said,smiling through her feigned worry.But I saw through her.I could sense the insincerity oozing from her every word.
"Why are you really here?" I asked,my voice was icy and unforgiving.
"I came to check on you!" She feigned innocence,reaching for me,but I pulled away,disgust flooding my senses.
"Your presence is the last thing I need" I remarked sharply.
She diverted her eyes to Michelle,who was lost in her own storm of thoughts. "Michelle,how could you leave without telling me about Massilo?"
"We have to leave" Michelle interjected,her voice laced with urgency as she brushed past Agnes,who looked genuinely confused.I followed,bitterness rising in my throat as Agnes trailed behind us.
In that moment,as we all moved toward an uncertain fate,I realized the weight of my choices and the truth that sometimes a life hangs precariously by the thinnest thread.
And no matter how hard I tried to justify my actions,I knew that in this fragile game my father played,we all stood to lose everything.
The tragic reality flickered before me like a haunting shadow.Love,sacrifice and the bitter taste of desperation hanging heavy in the air,threatening to swallow us whole.
AT SUNDOWN
As the sun dipped below the horizon,fear twisted in my gut like a serpent and the weight of dread settled heavily on my shoulders.The thought of Briann perishing at the hands of my own father felt unbearable.Memories of Sua came crashing back like tidal waves; her laughter,her light and the haunting way her life was snuffed out.Guilt hung over me like an omnipresent shadow,a relentless reminder that I had invited this darkness into our lives.I was the architect of this tragedy.
Then,like a beacon in the night,my phone rang.For the first time,it was Briann's name lighting up the screen.My heart raced with the hope that her voice might break through the suffocating fog of despair.I inhaled deeply,sturdy resolve clashing with the trembling uncertainty that coursed through my veins. "Hello?" I answered,my voice cracking with uncontained emotion.
"Massilo,please... don't give the company to Mr. Mason" She urged,her words laced with urgency that sent icy tendrils of fear creeping up my spine. "I'll be fine alone.Don't sacrifice everything you've worked for because of me.Just stay away...I can manage"
Her voice shook,cracking under the weight of her distress and I could hear her fighting back tears,each one was like a silent scream of anguish.I felt my own heart crumple under her pain,but I forced myself to remain calm,to steady her overwhelming fear. "Hang in there.I will get you out of there" I promised,desperate to glean strength from any source I could find.
"Please,I don't want you to lose your company because of me" She said,the tremor in her voice was a mirror of the turmoil inside me.
The guilt surged again. "It was my fault Sua got into this mess" I replied,raw and vulnerable. "I want to atone for my mistakes.I have to"
"Is Sua truly dead?" Her voice was almost a whisper,edged with heartbreak.
"I..." I hesitated,knowing that whatever I said could either ease her pain or drown her in remorse.How could I shatter her world further with the cruel truth? Instead,I stumbled through the words. "Um...she was sent home to rest in a better place.Don't overthink it. She's...she's fine where she is"
"So it's true.She's gone" Briann breathed,a shattered sound that resonated deep within me. "I didn't even get to confront her,to tell her how much she ruined my life.I didn't think I'd never see her again"
"I'm so sorry" I murmured,the emptiness in my chest expanding.
"You don't have to be sorry.It was never your fault.I blame myself for letting her leave the wedding" Her voice trembled as the ramifications of her words hung like a noose.
"What do you mean she left the wedding?" I struggled to understand,the room spinning around me as realization gripped my heart with icy fingers.
"Never mind.It's too late now,nothing will change, even if I tell the truth"
"Are you saying she never attended the wedding? That she was never the bride?" Panic surged through me,a tidal wave of dread crashing over my thoughts.
"Your mom told me not to let you know,but I have to…"
A heavy silence enveloped us,punctuated only by the sound of her labored breaths as she fought against the crushing weight of sorrow.I could hear the quiet whimpers morphing into sounds of resignation,a groan wrought from heartbreak.
"I have to go" She whispered and the call ended abruptly,leaving me in a void that seemed to swallow me whole.
I turned,driving mechanically toward my home,my thoughts was a chaotic storm of fear and confusion.As I arrived,my heart sank.Movers were carrying out boxes and furniture,the remnants of a life once filled with laughter was now being stripped away.My breath hitched in my throat as I stumbled out of the car,dread blanketing my mind.
I rushed toward the house,fear pounding in my chest,searching for answers.When I finally reached the entrance,my breath caught as I saw him.My father was seated at the dining room table,an unsettling calmness about him,with Agnes wrapped around his neck,a picture of twisted affection that tore at my very soul.
Every instinct screamed at me to confront him,to challenge the monster he had become.But the sight before me was a living nightmare,a heart-wrenching portrait of betrayal and despair.I was trapped in a web of my dad's making,someone who doesn't deserve to be called my father and the walls seemed to close in,suffocating me still further.
The weight of it all crashed over me like a relentless tide,dragging me down into the depths of despair.Briann's life hung in the balance,and the choices made in these fleeting moments felt more significant than ever.As shadows danced in the flickering light,I realized that redemption might never come and I was left standing at the precipice,teetering between hope and the darkness that threatened to consume us all.