Chapter 3: Scars that would continue to haunt her

CALEB

Caleb stormed inside his house, only to stop at the sight of Selena sprawled over his couch. The annoyance in his expression turned into fury, as he clenched his fists and marched to her. Selena sat up, before getting up from the couch.

“What the fuck are you doing in my house?!” He asked, his voice just as venomous as the woman who was standing before him.

Caleb had met her before Abigail, and had always thought she was a beautiful woman. And that it was a tragedy she did not have the brains and reputation to back it up. Even though he had rejected her the first time, Selena kept approaching him. Until he fell victim to her seduction at his weakest point.

“Don’t yell at me like that Caleb, I just lost my grandmother”, Selena said, blinking her doe eyes at him. 

Though she looked pitiful, the red lipstick, stench of alcohol and cigarette did not show that she had been mourning. Definitely not the sinful red dress she wore that clung on to her every curve. He loved red, and Selena knew it.

“Cut the crap Selena. The both of us know you are happy she is gone. I can see right through your bullshit”, he spat. 

Selena’s lips stretched into a beautiful smile, and she walked towards him. He looked at her legs. Long, tanned legs that he had wrapped around his waist not too long ago. The memory of their time together made his blood rush south, but he quickly shook it out of his mind. He was not going to fall for her. Not again. 

“That is why I like you. You’re right, I’m glad we finally got rid of that annoying old woman”, she said. 

“Did you do it?” Caleb asked with his brows drawn together. 

“Of course not”, she replied with a frown. 

Caleb believed her, because he knew that though Selena despised her grandmother, she did not have the guts to murder her.

“But it is a good thing that she is out of our lives, don’t you agree? Whoever murdered her did us a favor”, she said, taking another step towards him. 

“Your grandmother died a horrible death, Selena. What kind of granddaughter are you?” It was not like he cared about Felicia, but she was the one who convinced Abigail to consider him. The time he had spent trying to please the old woman was not a waste after all. 

And it was even better now that she was gone. Abigail would have no choice but to lean on him. And because she was the favorite grandchild, most of her assets will go to her, and he would benefit from their marriage. 

However, Selena had ruined everything. Caleb clenched his jaws when he thought of Abigail being displeased with him. Will she eventually crawl back to him?

“The one that has been ignored by her all her life! Abigail should mourn her alone, after all, she was the only grandchild she ever loved!”

Selena never hid the fact that she was envious of Abigail. Envy that had turned into hatred. What Selena did not know was that Abigail was only the favorite because of her capabilities. The love Felicia showered on her was because of what Abigail could achieve and has achieved on her own. 

And that was why Abigail would always be the better choice to him.

“Is that why you approached me? You seduced me because you were jealous of Abigail and wanted what she had?” Caleb questioned, even though he already knew that was the truth. 

“Of course not Caleb. I approached you because I wanted you. You met me first. And don’t act like you did not want what happened between us, because you did”. She touched his cheeks and Caleb looked at her hand with disgust, but he did not remove it.

“You fucked me like a starved man. Has that frozen woman been denying you? What do you even see in her? Hmm?” She rubbed his cheeks, closing the space between them.

“I can give you what she can’t”, she whispered, her breath touching his lips. 

He could feel her soft chest against him, and he knew that if he took off her dress, there would be no bra. She was right, Abigail had denied him. They had shared kisses and he got close enough to feel what laid beneath her clothes, but nothing more. And he told her he would wait. He thought he could wait. After all, patience was a virtue.

But he had gotten tired. The infatuation he had for Abigail had long faded, leaving only his desire for what he could benefit from marrying her.

“No, you can’t”, he removed her hand from his cheeks, but she placed it on his shoulder.

“What do you even see in her? That bitch is no less than a block of ice. She is damaged Caleb, and you cannot fix her”.

Selena’s words made the screws in Caleb’s head turn. Abigail had never shared with him why she was so frigid, but he always knew something was wrong. And it seemed to him that Selena knew as well. 

“Damaged?” 

“Yes, she is a crazy bitch. Not good for a man like you Caleb, you deserve better”, she pulled at the collar of his shirt.

“By better, do you mean you?” Caleb laughed mockingly and she frowned. 

“Look at yourself Selena. You are nothing compared to her. What else do you have to offer apart from your pussy?” He asked, smiling when she saw the anger on her face. He had hit her where it hurt the most. 

Caleb was no pauper. He was one of the best lawyers in the country, with a stellar reputation to back him. Abigail was the perfect wife for him, and Selena was the perfect side piece. One who had to be hidden from the world.

“The good thing is you cannot have Abigail, Caleb. What makes you think she will take you back after seeing you with me?” She asked smugly, fixing the collar of his shirt she rumpled.

Caleb grabbed her wrist, his grip hard. But it only made Selena smile seductively at him. She liked it rough. 

He would convince Abigail. Somehow, he knew that at the end of the day, she might forgive him.

“It is quite straightforward sweetheart. Chose me. I will make your life so much easier”. Selena dragged her hand down his chest to his stomach. Caleb gulped when he felt himself harden at her touch.

“Leave my house Selena”, he said, but he was still holding her hand. He looked at her lips which were inviting him to kiss. Would it matter if he succumbed? After all, it would make no difference since he had been caught the first time. 

He gasped when Selena grabbed him. He looked at her with widened, hungry eyes.

“Look at that. So hard for me”, she said, touching him through his trousers. 

Caleb grabbed the back of her neck, tugging her hair. She gasped and moaned with a triumphant smirk. 

“You are going to be sorry when I’m done with you”, he whispered against her lips. 

ABIGAIL

It was cold. And empty. She held on to her knees, shaking and shivering, her teeth clattering. No one was going to save her. After all, the only person at home was the same man who had locked her in the freezer. How long had it been? Would he come and get her out? Or would she die this time?

Her chest felt heavy and cold. She could not breathe. With every second, she could feel her life slipping away from her. 

What did she do wrong? Abigail could not remember, as it felt like her mind was freezing with the extreme cold. But she had angered him. She should have been a good girl. 

Abigail’s eyes snapped open, breathing heavily. Her wide eyes looked around the room in fear, as it took a moment for her to realize she was in her bedroom. But it was still freezing cold. 

She reached for the remote of the air conditioner to turn it off. She ran a hand through her ruffled blonde hair, before climbing off the bed.

While she remained physically undamaged, the nightmares were her scars. They would continue to haunt her sleep and life. They were not as frequent as they used to be, but each one she had always reminded her that she was not healed. No matter how many times she lied to herself that she was fine. 

Abigail walked out of the bathroom with a towel tied around her head and body. As she made her way to the dressing mirror, she was distracted by her phone which was sitting on the nightstand. Once she turned it on, as if on cue, it began to ring. And it was her aunt, Caroline. 

Abigail watched her phone ring, contemplating on picking it up. But if she did not, the persistent woman would continue to call her until she answered. Even though she was not in the mood to speak to her aunt, she answered the call.

“I have been trying to call your phone, Abigail. Why did you turn it off?” 

“What do you want?” She asked, dropping the phone and putting it on speaker to begin her skin care routine. 

“That is not how you speak to your aunt, Abigail. Don’t you find it strange how you’re smart enough to learn everything but not manners, hmm?” Caroline sounded sweet, not matching her biting words. 

Abigail looked at the phone with disinterest. “I’m going to end the call if you have nothing important to say Caroline”. 

She dared to speak about respect and family when she had been nothing but a thorn in her flesh for as long as she could remember. Caroline never considered her family.

“We just lost a member of our family. My mother, and your loving grandmother has been murdered”, she heard her say softly.

“I know that, I was at the crime scene”, Abigail replied coldly tilting her head to drop some oil on her face while trying not to remember what she saw. However, the image had been permanently etched to her mind. Her hand shook a little. 

“And that makes you the first suspect. But that is not the case as that old woman was actually fond of you”. 

Caroline sounded like she was reminiscing good memories with her tone, but Abigail knew better. The woman was as cold blooded and shrewd as her mother. The only difference was that Felicia actually had good morals and knew where to draw the line. 

“This is not the time to estrange yourself from us, Abigail. We need to stand together, it is what my mother would have wanted. She was so big on family, wasn’t she?” No, what Felicia would have wanted was to have Abigail as far away from the rest of the family as possible. And Felicia was not fond of them either.

Abigail’s cold gaze burned through the phone. 

“I spoke to the police, and they told me about how strange the scene was. No evidence, whoever did it was meticulous about not leaving a trace. Look Abigail, I know you are sad and angry. But like I said earlier, this is the moment for us to be together as a family. If you make yourself a stranger to us, then you will have yourself to blame. Do you understand?” 

Abigail understood her perfectly. Caroline was giving her an ultimatum. She could either join them and do as she says, or go against her and suffer the consequences. 

All these while Felicia had been the one protecting her and now that she was gone, Abigail was like a snail without its shell.

“You’re not saying anything”.

“I can hear you loud and clear Caroline”, Abigail replied, looking at her reflection. A woman with radiant, porcelain skin stared back at her. 

“Good to know that you haven’t developed hearing loss”. 

“Is there anything else you have to say? I have important work to attend to”. All her business meetings and appointments had been shifted to the next two days according to her grandmother’s demands yesterday. But she was not sure she had the mental capacity to go anywhere.

“Is your company that weak that it is going to run down with a day of your absence? You just lost your grandmother Abigail”. Caroline sounded like she was concerned, but Abigail could hear the mocking tone beneath it. 

“Anyways, I would like all of us to meet up today by two pm prompt. Don’t be late”. And then the call ended. 

She did not even ask whether she would be busy or not, and she had the guts to talk about having manners. 

Abigail picked up her phone to call her secretary, Karina. 

“Good morning ma’am”. 

“Morning Karina. What is my schedule for today?” 

There was silence from the other side, before she replied.

“I have cleared your schedule for this week, ma’am”. 

One week?!

As much as she knew she was too mentally exhausted to be productive, the thought of not doing anything for a whole week made her nose scrunch up slightly. Without drowning herself with work, Abigail would be free to be alone with her own unhealthy thoughts.

“On whose orders?” 

“Ma’am, you are not in any condition to come to work. You need time to rest and recover”. 

“You can’t judge my mental capacity, Karina. Are you my therapist?”

“No. But anyone with a working brain can come to that conclusion”. 

“Are you implying that I’m stupid?”

“That is not what I said”.

“But that is what your words imply, Karina”. 

“It does not change the fact that you are not in any condition to work, ma’am. Please use this very much needed break to recover. I’m sure the company can survive until then. Goodbye”.

The call ended before Abigail could say anything. She stared at the phone with her brows furrowed. One thing she liked about Karina was the fact that she was afraid of no one. She always spoke her mind. 

It turned out she was free to attend the dreaded family meeting after all.