Bound To The Seduction

Chapter 25: Shopping Day

The next day, Sarah lay sprawled on the bed. Her thick black hair spread all over her white pillow forming a sharp contrast. Her eyes were slightly puffy, perhaps because of the crying last night, or because she just woke up. She kicked the blanket aside, turning it into a crumpled mess, before resting her leg on top of it. She looked like she could use a break from the harsh reality.

"Girl, there is no breakfast for you if you don't wake up," Emily's excited voice blasted into the room as she kicked the door open. "Did you forget about shopping today?"

"Do you have to be so loud in the morning?" Sarah sat up on the bed and saw Emily holding a sandwich. She ran her fingers through her messy hair. "You can have it, I don't want to eat," she said, her voice a little husky.

"Hey girl, are you going on a hunger strike because of a breakup?" she stared at Sarah with wide eyes. They always solved everything with food. If they are happy, they eat. If they are sad, they also eat. None of them has ever gone on a hunger strike. She must be lucky, or unlucky, to witness this version of Sarah.

"You are giving him too much credit," Sarah said nonchalantly. She suddenly remembered something. She raised her head and glanced at Emily who had just taken a big bite off the sandwich. "Weren't you on a wheat-free diet? If I remember correctly, a sandwich has wheat in it."

"Yeah, I know this is wheat. But, so what?" Emily shrugged and took another bite. "Dieting is not a rule and it would be boring if I stick to all the rules in life. People need to take a break once in a while. It keeps life interesting and worth living."

Emily munched the last piece in her mouth and chewed it as she walked towards the window. She drew the curtains and sunlight flooded into the room. From the intensity of the light, it should be almost ten o'clock in the morning. She turned around dramatically, snapped her fingers, and said with excitement, "That's why we are going shopping today."

Sarah shielded her eyes with one hand to block the excessive light and held her other palm out. "Emily, do you want me to go blind?" she shouted. She squinted her eyes and blinked a lot trying her best to adjust to the new lighting in the room. The light illuminated her brown eyes, enhancing their charm. "And, yes, we are definitely NOT going shopping!"

Emily walked up to the bed and sat down beside her. She stared at Sarah without blinking. Sarah leaned back a little and felt Goosebumps all over her skin from her creepy stare. She asked, stammering, "Wh-why are you staring at me like that?"

Emily smiled sheepishly and said without moving back, "Girl, how come I've never known that your eyes were this beautiful?" Sarah's face heated up from her words.

Emily shifted her eyes to Sarah's face and she caressed it with her index finger. Then she did the same on the left side and repeated the whole process two more times. Sarah leaned back even further and gave Emily a questioning look.

Emily stroked her chin and acted cool like those kung-fu masters in ancient martial arts movies. She cleared her throat and spoke in admiration, "I say, Sarah, your appearance is not bad and your skin is so smooth, radiant, and flawless. How did Clara, that vixen, sneak in?"

Sarah got up from the bed and replied nonchalantly, "Maybe I did not keep a tight leash on him." she grabbed a baby blue bath towel from the hook beside the wardrobe and continued, "Or maybe, Brandon just wanted to escape." She shrugged, maintaining her calm and indifferent attitude, "what can I do about that?"

Emily watched as Sarah wrapped a towel around herself, about to head to the bathroom. She shook her head and let out an audible sigh. "Sarah, if Brandon heard you, he would pass out from anger."

Sarah chuckled as she stepped out of her pajama pants but did not say anything. She opened the wardrobe drawer to take out something, but her hands froze when she touched something hard. She paused and then took out a photo frame. Sarah stared at the photo in a daze.

In the photo, Sarah sat on a fancy studio chair and Brandon stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her. Their faces lit up with bright smiles – a clear indication of how happy they had been that day. This photo was taken on their second year of dating, a day after Brandon proposed to her. At that time, none of them ever thought things would turn out this way.

Emily bit her bottom lip and remained silent. In such cases, it was better to stay quiet and minimize her presence. Sarah placed her trembling hand on Brandon's face in the picture. She gently stoked it with her thumb a couple of times and smiled.

Sarah suddenly turned around and tossed the photo into the bin. "Yep, we are going shopping," she announced, catching Emily by surprise. She put on her flip-flops and disappeared into the bathroom.

As soon as Sarah walked out of the room, the smile on Emily's face disappeared. She knew Sarah very well. The calmer she appeared to be, the more pain she was in. Emily knew that that photo had affected Sarah deeply even though she tried to play it off.

If it were any other day, that would have been fine. But, what had happened to Sarah these past few days was too much for an average person to handle.