This chapter is dedicated to zanuishan, you honestly don't know how much you've supported my dream to be a writer. From the time I started writing with book and pen till now. You've been so supportive. I really do appreciate it. Thanks for everything, love❤️.
Warning: This chapter might be triggering for some people as it contains murder.
{Eleanora's P.O.V}
I raised my hands to block off the rays of sunlight which were penetrating my eyelids before opening my eyes to limit the effect of light entering my eyes.
It took me a while to understand that I was in an unfamiliar room. Sitting up instantaneously, I looked at the time on my phone. It was 7:00am.
"You're awake" I heard Justin say as he walked into the room with a tray in his hands.
"Hey, good morning". I greeted him as he took his seat on the stool by my side.
"How was your night?" He asked, as he poured me a cup of Moringa tea from the ceramic kettle.
"I surprisingly slept well. Normally, I wake up in the middle of the night to drink a cup of water or two but I didn't even wake up till this morning" I told him, amazed at how soundly I slept. I haven't been sleeping well for the past two weeks. Most times I cry myself to sleep or sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night due to some nightmares that I don't even remember when I wake up.
The last thing I remember from last night was embracing Justin to get warm.
"I'm glad you slept well. Here. Take this to warm up your body, so you wouldn't catch a cold or fever". Justin said as he handed to me, the cup of Moringa tea. I drank it almost immediately and discovered that the taste of Moringa was totally different from the one Mary makes for me.
"What? Does it taste bad?" Justin asked, leaning towards me with full eyes of worry. I smiled before gulping it all down.
"No, Jus. It tastes sweeter than the one Mary gives me. The one Mary gives me tastes more medicinal than this". I explained to him, handing him the empty cup.
Just then my phone rang beside Justin and Justin brought it forth and handed the ringing phone over to me.
It was Ciara. I picked the call.
"Princess, Master is back and he's requesting your presence". She announced.
"Okay darling. I'm coming right now". I responded but before I hung up I heard Dure yell into the phone "CALL YOUR MISTRESS AND TELL HER THAT HELL WILL LET LOOSE IF I DON'T SEE HER HERE IN THE NEXT TEN MINUTES!" That was enough to put me in a panic. I got out of bed immediately.
"Where are you going all of a sudden? Is anything wrong?" Justin asked me as I looked round the room for my heels.
"My husband is home, Justin. And I was told he's requesting my presence. I need to go. Later". I hastily replied him, wearing my heels and rushing out of the room.
"Let me drive you". I heard him say but it was too late for I had already entered the taxi which just dropped someone in front of his house.
_____________________✍️
On getting to the entrance of the villa in which I and my husband were living in here in Dubai, there was no sign of any little party taking place here and the house was uncomfortably silent.
Each step I took felt like I was walking on thin ice and my heart was running a marathon in me as I prayed silently that Dure was calm already.
The atmosphere was cold but I was sweating even to my palms. All I could do was pray silently in me that Dure was calm already.
I calmly opened the entrance door and pratically tiptoed into the house with my heels still on. The house was completely empty and deadly silent. My mind wasn't at peace and my whole body knew that.
Still, I kept tiptoing till I got to my bedroom door. I haven't had a shower since yesterday, my hair has been drenched by yesterday's rain while there were some hair glue inside which is definitely making my scalp uncomfortable and my clothes are beginning to itch me. I don't know if it's because of the fear of Dure's anger or it was just me being uncomfortable.
I sighed in relief when I saw there was no one in the house, then walked into my bedroom a little bit more relieved than when I came in but my relief was short-lived when I saw my husband, standing right in front of the window, looking out the window with a glass of whiskey in his right hand and his left hand in his pocket.
My body began to tremble badly in fear when I felt the anger in the air. My gut began to tell me that danger was lurking around the corner. I looked round the room for Ciara but couldn't find her.
"Worried about your maid?" My husband asked before turning around to face me. I couldn't really see the expression on his face because of his golden hair and the rays of light that shone from his back.
"I asked her to go look for her mistress. I didn't know her mistress will be back before her or I'd have asked her to wait". He said calmly but in the calm voice, I could sense great danger.
"My love, you're back". I tried to smile and pretend nothing was going on.
"Yes, I am. And I'm also glad you're too. Where have you been?" He asked so casually as he sat on the bed, crossing his right leg over his leg as he twirled gently the whiskey in the glass.
"Um... I was... I was bored so I...I... I went to visit a friend of mine". I stuttered as my body froze from Dure's cold glare which was coming from a calm face. I don't know how Dure does that but he's a person who's face says something and eyes says another thing.
"Wow... So if I got this straight, you left the house because you were bored and stayed with your friend till this morning". He said calmly and I nodded to the extent my head could have fallen off if I didn't stop on time.
"Let me guess...This friend we're talking about is Justin, am I right?" He asked, his cold glare pinning me to where I stood. I couldn't move. I couldn't nod neither could I talk.
The next thing I saw was a glass of whiskey coming my way. I narrowly dodged it by duking down and the next thing I heard was the shattering of glass on the wall where my head once was.
The rate of my heartbeat incredibly increased when I realized that that wall could have been my head and I would have died from the impact of the throw. My legs started trembling and I couldn't stand up straight.
Dure gave me a devilish grin as he stood up from where he sat and walked up to me. I tried to move back but his hands rested heavily on my shoulders stopping me from moving.
"I have been out there, cleaning up the mess your brother created, my life and happiness hanging by a thin thread over a cliff that has no bottom while you were having fun with a man friend?" He asked me, with a beautiful devilish smile on his face that made my legs tremble more.
I have never been so scared in my life than I have been now.
"I asked you a question, Eleanora. I'm waiting for your reply". He told me calmly, the very art of wickedness displayed on his face. One look in his eyes you'll know that he's secretly planning your death.
"Ju...Just...Justin... Isn't... isn't... my...my...my... man friend" I tried to tell him, through the chattering of my teeth and the beating of my heartbeat that seems like I'd die from heart attack anytime soon.
Dure's laughter stopped as suddenly as it started but before I could understand that he had stopped laughing, a heavy hit landed on my face, which made me lose balance and hit the leg of the dressing table hard.
Even through my blurry eyes which has been clouded with tears, I could see Dure walking towards me, as I tried to crawl away from him, blood flowing down the right side of my face more freely than a free flowing river. I continued to crawl backwards while he continued to walk towards me until I hit the hard wall and I could crawl backwards no further.
He took newspaper from the bed and threw it at me, angrily telling me "Read the headlines". There was no need for him to ask me that though because the newspaper landed right in front of me where I could read the bogus headlines without any stress.
"Duke Dure lost 300,000 dollars just because he bet with the Arab prince that he and his wife are loyal to each other not knowing his wife was dancing with her man friend under the rain".
What the-
"Convert 300,000 dollars to liaos, Nora". His voice sounding more angry as he pointed at me.
"Why on Earth will you bet such amount of money on such a flimsy thing, Dure?" I couldn't help but ask him not understanding why Dure of all people will fall for such ridiculous trap. Surprisingly, I didn't stammer this time.
His nose flared at my question and he raised his hand like he was about to strike me again but then the next thing I heard...
The shattering of glass...
The groan of Dure...
And the sound of someone falling to the bed with the broken pieces of the glass flying everywhere at the impact of his fall. Revealing Ciara to be behind him.
She ran towards me and hurriedly pulled me to my feet with my hands. "Quick princess, let's leave this place before he catches up with us". She said as she rushed towards the door and out with me running behind her.
I couldn't wait to get out of the house. Looking behind me a very few seconds to check if he was coming right behind us.
In just a few minutes, a princess had turned to a fugitive. I just wanted to get out of this placd as fast as I could, I don't care how.
Running down the stairs, I missed a step and before I knew it, Ciara and I were tumbling down the stairs, hitting my head on the tiles as I landed on every step.
I held my head as the pain shot up my head and I could feel the sly and sticky texture of my very own blood. It affected my eyesight because I almost couldn't see anything.
"Princess, we need to get out of here. Princess, please. Stand up". I could hear Ciara crying while I shaked my head to regain conciousness.
I struggled to my feet, Ciara helping me not to pass out as we both struggled to the door. But the next thing...
A loud thump...
A scream...
Blood splashing all over my face and body...
A bloody metallic ball...
Ciara terribly shaking on the floor...
Dure walking down the stairs, his real face surfacing, his eyes red and the tiles giving a loud thump while he came down the stairs.
I fell to my knees as what just happened began to record itself in my head. Pulling Ciara into my arms, who looked like she was having a seizure, as she looked at me, tears flowing out of her eyes as her seizure slowly came to a stop. Her blood had soaked my golden gown. She stretched her hand towards me slowly but before I could hold it, her hand fell back to the floor and I heard as she breathed her last. Her spirit leaving me with her body.
The tears came on it's own as I realized that Ciara was gone never to return anymore. I didn't bother shaking her body. My eyes flew straight to her murderer.
"You killed her, Dure". I croaked out at him, trying my best not to break down.
"Yes, I did. And you'll be joining her very soon". He told me, grabbing me by the hair and dragging me to wherever he was going, while I looked at Ciara as he pulled me to my death, her blood still trickling down my face.
Suddenly, I felt my self engrossed with water. I couldn't swim, that was a fact Dure knew well. Using that fact to his advantage, I wasn't surprised because it's Dure.
The water entered every hole in my body. My nose, my mouth and my ears, as I felt oxygen leave my body. I wasn't ready to struggle for life because I was done with life. I've been trying to hold on for so long because even though I wasn't exactly a Christian I believed in heaven and hell and I knew for a fact that hell awaits those that take their own lives. Well, I didn't take my own life, so I believe angels in heaven will accept me.
I felt it as death slowly took the better of me. It seeped into every part of my body, taking effect more slowly than it should. I couldn't breathe anymore. I was slowly suffocating. My eyes began to shut itself as death enveloped my body.
This is it. This is how my life ends. Grandma and Grandpa will be disappointed to see me in heaven at such a young age, wouldn't they?
Grandma, Grandpa. I'm coming home. Wait for me at the gate. I thought to myself as I felt my body resting at the bottom of the pool floor.