A few days later, Lia found herself studying in her room at the quiet estate, feeling the quiet stillness around her. It was broken only by the woman's faint footsteps. She glanced up, noticing that the older woman was watching her quietly, but she seemed almost… nervous.
"Good afternoon," Lia offered, hoping for a friendly exchange.
The woman gave a small nod. "The family will be back tonight," she said in a clipped tone, then walked off, leaving Lia alone with her thoughts.
The family would be back? She felt a nervous flutter, wondering what that would mean. That evening, she couldn't bring herself to leave, wanting to see them for herself.
Around 8 p.m., Lia heard the soft hum of an approaching car, and her heart raced as she waited near the foyer. She smoothed down her dress, then heard the faint sound of voices as the door opened. A tall, handsome man with dark hair and a carefully composed expression walked in first, flanked by a young woman and a few others. His gaze landed on her immediately, his intense, dark eyes flickering with something she couldn't quite place as he sized her up.
The young woman's face lit up with a warm smile as she spotted Lia.
"You must be Lia," she said, stepping forward and taking Lia's hands in her own. "I'm Jasmine. Welcome to our family home."
Lia gave a small, nervous smile. "Thank you. It's lovely here." Are these the family that adopted her? she thought. They both look so young like they are in their twenties. was she mistaken and it's all just good genes and good skin?
"And this," Jasmine said, gesturing to the man beside her, "is Rhys, my Fiance. He and I will be your… well, let's say, your guardians, from now on."
Rhys extended a hand, his expression unreadable. "Nice to meet you."
As Lia shook his hand, she felt a sudden chill, as though something in his demeanor shifted subtly. Rhys didn't seem like the friendly type, but for some reason, she found herself being curious about him.
"You've been here a week," he said, his voice low, "Hope you don't mind us showing up now?"
Jasmine interjected quickly, taking Rhys's hand. "Yes, well, I hope your stay here had been comfortable so far?" She gave a slight laugh, but Lia could sense an odd tension between the two. If one didn't have sharp eyes, they wouldn't have been able to spot it. She can because these were tell-tale signs she was familiar with growing up, especially with her mother and her numerous flings.
"Anyway," Jasmine continued, "I'm sure we would all get along just fine."
That night, they shared a polite dinner together, where Lia tried to focus on the food and avoid eye contact with Rhys, who remained largely silent, observing her. Finally, after dinner, Jasmine retired early, leaving them alone.
Rhys leaned back in his chair, watching her intently. "You've had a comfortable stay, I assume?"
Lia nodded, uncertain. "Yes. Your home is… beautiful."
He raised an eyebrow. "You don't have to be polite, Lia. You don't seem entirely comfortable here."
She glanced down, biting her lip. "It's just… a bit overwhelming."
He nodded, almost approvingly. "Good. I wouldn't want you too comfortable." Then, he stood. "I have work early. The woman who's been here will make sure you're settled. Good night."
With that, he turned and left, leaving her confused but oddly intrigued. Who were these people?
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Over the next few weeks, the house seemed to come alive with Rhys's presence, though he remained distant, almost aloof. Jasmine, however, was attentive, always checking on Lia, asking about her day, and inviting her to outings. And as for Rhys, Lia found herself increasingly drawn to him, though she sensed he kept her at arm's length.
One afternoon, she was in the home library when Rhys entered, glancing at her as he picked a book off the shelf. After a tense silence, he looked up.
"Do you have any ideas why you are here, Lia?" he asked, his voice sharp and direct.
Caught off guard and confused, she stammered, "My mother… she asked me to come."
"Doesn't that strike you as strange? To live with strangers, in a strange house?"
Was he playing mind games with her? didn't he purchase her like some sort of Goods from her mother? why was he acting like he had no idea? if he was playing games with her, she could also play games with him. She met his gaze. "It's… confusing, yes. But I trust my mother."
He tilted his head slightly. "Stubborn. Dangerous trait."
"I don't see you offering any answers," she retorted, surprising even herself.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Fair enough."
The days continued like this—brief, intense exchanges that left her wondering. She always thought that this family was all kinds of strange. One evening, she overheard a conversation that made her blood run cold.
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Standing just outside the drawing room, Lia could hear the hushed voices drifting through the heavy oak door. She recognized Jasmine's voice, and though it was low, there was urgency in her tone.
"You have to make a choice, Rhys," Jasmine was saying, her voice tight but pleading. "For this family. I've waited for you to do the right thing, but I can't keep waiting forever. It's been seven years."
Lia leaned closer, straining to catch Rhys's response. When he finally spoke, his voice was strained but laced with an undeniable edge of resignation.
"Jaz, do you even hear yourself?" He sounded exhausted. "You can't just try to manipulate people's lives like this."
"Manipulate?" Jasmine's tone sharpened defensively. "I told you, it's not like that! Why can't you just believe me, Rhys?"
Lia held her breath as a silence settled between them, broken only by the sound of Rhys's muffled scoff. His voice, when it came, was low and sharp.
"Jaz, let's be real. Why did you even come back here? I thought you'd left with him and started some... perfect life far away."
Lia's heart thudded. There was so much she didn't know about Rhys, so much mystery lurking beneath his aloofness. And Jasmine, standing there like a figure from his past, was now revealing pieces of a story Lia couldn't quite stitch together.
"I've told you countless times, Rhys," Jasmine said, her voice steady but with an undertone of raw pain, "things weren't as they seemed. Was that why you brought that young woman back with you? To try and get back at me?"
Lia froze. Was Jasmine talking about her? She felt her cheeks flush, but she forced herself to stay silent.
Rhys let out a low laugh, more bitter than amused. "Are you even listening to yourself right now? Why do you think I owe you an explanation about anything?"
Another pause, this one heavier than the last. And then, Jasmine's voice broke, laced with a pain Lia hadn't expected.
"Do you think I wanted to bring this up? To remind you of that night?" Jasmine's words came slowly, as if dredging up memories she'd kept buried. "But I'm not leaving this room until you understand the truth. Maybe then... maybe then you'll see why I did what I did."
Rhys shifted, the scrape of his chair filling the silence. "Fine, Jaz. Go on. Clear up this... this 'misunderstanding.'"
Jasmine took a deep breath, her voice trembling. "Seven years ago, on the night I disappeared... you remember the Mbali attack, don't you? The bloodshed, the chaos… all those gunshots?" Her voice cracked slightly. "I was caught in the crossfire that night."
Outside the room, Lia's heart hammered as she listened.
"I hadn't listened to you after our fight Rhys," Jasmine continued, her voice a whisper. "I came back ….. I wanted to fix us….. the misunderstanding. But I was shot and dying Fado found me in the midst of all that chaos and managed to get me emergency care… only, there was no expert to operate locally. I didn't want to reach out to you, didn't want to make you worry, didn't want you to see me with a gaping hole in my neck just in case I couldn't make it. I didn't want your last memory of me to be one of death. So I was flown overseas, just to have a chance at surviving. They told me later… the bullet was lodged so deeply in my right lung that if it hadn't been for that surgery, I wouldn't be standing here now."
Inside, there was the soft clink of glass as Rhys put down his drink, probably trying to process what Jasmine was telling him. His voice came, gruff and tight with emotion. "And you just… left without a word?"
"What choice did I have?" Jasmine's voice was rough with desperation. "For years, I was in recovery. You have no idea, Rhys, the agony of that recovery. The surgeries, the therapy. All I could think of was you, pushing myself every day just so I could get back to you. But then, you blocked me on everything, cut off any chance I had to explain…"
A choked silence hung between them. Lia could feel it seeping into the hallway, a mixture of unresolved anger and grief.
"Why didn't you reach out to Andy then or someone else, then? Did you think I wouldn't try to help? That I wouldn't be there?" Rhys's voice was softer now, his anger slightly chipped away by confusion.
Jasmine laughed softly, bitterly. "You're the one who shut me out, Rhys. I tried so many times to reach you—calls, messages. And when that didn't work, I came back. But every attempt was met with silence. So I left, thinking you hated me."
She hesitated, and then said quietly, "It was Andy who finally explained everything to me. He told me how hard things had been for you while I was gone. But by then, I'd already... well, I had to let it go."
Lia's pulse quickened at the name. Andy? who was that? weren't Jazmine and Rhy's engaged? Just what the hell was going on with this family? because of how strong she felt this family's connection was, she had to put a hold on her usual Tryst so right now, she was feeling utterly frustrated and irritated. Maybe she was right all along to think they were weird. Was this some kind of open relationship? Was she there because they had a lover's spat and her presence was suppose to make Jazmine jealous? the ridiculousness of it all made her chuckle internally. Didn't Jasmine herself mention she was there as a tool for jealousy? She thought Rhys had truly lost his mind using her as jealous bait for Jazmine. She was a beautiful girl, older than her, everything about her screamed luxury and Elegant. what was Rhys thinking bringing her in to make his fiance jealous?
In the room, Rhys sighed deeply. "Jaz, why bring all this up now? What's the point? We can't go back."
"I know we can't go back," she said, her voice fierce, "but maybe, just maybe, we can finally move forward if you understand what I went through. Seven years of silence, seven years of wondering if I'd ever have the chance to explain myself to you."
A quiet, fractured laugh escaped Rhys. "And you think telling me all of this now will make me... what? Forgive you?"
"I don't need your forgiveness, Rhys," Jasmine replied, and Lia heard a steely edge in her voice. "I came back to clear the air, to make sure you knew why things happened the way they did. You don't have to forgive me, but you have to at least acknowledge the truth."
Rhys was silent, his figure tense against the faint light seeping from the drawing room into the hallway. "So that's it, then?" he asked quietly. "You're back just to clear the air?"
Jasmine hesitated, her voice dropping to a whisper. "No, Rhys. I came back because I... I still care about you. You were everything to me. Even after everything, after seven years, I still want you to be happy."
The weight of her words settled heavily between them, punctuated only by the steady tick of the old grandfather clock in the hallway. Lia felt her stomach twist with the emotions swirling in the room.
At last, Rhys's voice cut through the silence. "So what now, Jaz? What do you expect me to do with all of this?"
"I want you to do what you think is right. If that means... letting go of all that anger, then do it. And if it means never forgiving me, I'll accept that too. But you deserve to be free of this, Rhys. We both do."
Another silence fell, this one filled with unspoken pain and lingering regrets. Finally, Rhys exhaled slowly, the anger in his tone replaced by a weary acceptance.
"I need time to think," he muttered. "To make sense of all of this."
Jasmine nodded, her tone soft and understanding. "Take all the time you need. I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere this time."
As the door creaked open, Lia quickly took a step back, pressing herself against the wall as Jasmine stepped into the hallway, her face pale but resolved. She glanced over at Lia, her eyes catching her in that moment, a brief look of surprise flashing across her face.
But she merely nodded, offering a small, sad smile, before she disappeared down the hallway, leaving Lia in the stillness of the aftermath.