Not that Xavier had not been in any relationship. Every one of his relationships had been a failure. He didn’t want to stay committed. He easily got attracted to very beautiful ladies. Being rich had made him feel like he could have any girl he wanted. Vanessa Cage, his mother, was tired of him introducing different girls to her.
It was at the wedding ceremony Vanessa initiated his and Sally’s love life. Sally Mayland was her friend’s niece. At the time, she was the prettiest girl in the world to Xavier. Not only that, but she also seemed very calm and kind-hearted, a college girl who loved to keep butterflies in a jar. Xavier never loved her, but he wanted her – to satisfy his mother and try to make the relationship work.
Two months later, he realized he had made a very huge mistake. He got tired of Sally nagging every time. He got tired of trying to make her happy when he was evidently not interested in the relationship any longer. Sally must have noticed because it made her go crazy.
The first hint he got that he was dating a monster was when he went to her hostel and found her burning her butterflies. She said they were pissing her off, and she wanted to teach them a lesson. Then she started threatening all his female friends, telling them of how she’d skin them alive and feed their flesh to crows if they continued hanging out with Xavier. Infuriated, he broke up with her. The next day, she tried killing herself by slitting her own wrists.
Unable to stop feeling guilty when he heard she tried to commit suicide, Xavier went back to her, and they began dating again. This time around, he was seeing another girl named Jane, and Jane was not crazy at all. When Sally found out, she ran to his mother and told her Xavier was beating her because of a girl. To his surprise, when he got to the house and found his mother trying to console Sally, the crazy girl had bruises on her face. She had done it to herself.
It took his parents and every one of his family members a while to discover that Sally wasn’t mentally balanced. The day Vanessa knew was the day Sally had yelled when Vanessa told her to stay away from her son. Sally went into her room and poured a bottle of acid on her face. With the help of Vanessa, Sally’s parents agreed to take her to a mental facility where she was locked up for years. Xavier couldn’t forget her words as she was dragged away, yelling that she would destroy them all. Now, it seemed Sally was ready to fulfill her promise.
“You all can’t run from what is coming. I have everything planned out well,” Sally was saying. Then she grinned at Arnold, “You have to commend Arnold here. He is the mastermind behind this.”
Arnold appeared to be proud of himself. Raymond and the doctor had still not spoken a word.
“What do you plan to do with me? If my family doesn’t hear from me in the next 24 hours, they’ll send every cop in the city to look for me. You know how powerful we are.”
Sally laughed, that cold laugh that always sent a chill down his spine, “Of course, I do. That’s why you’re going to take your phone and call Rita. Tell her you’re fine and that you’re just outside the city to do some things.”
Xavier looked at her with sheer defiance, “What if I don’t? What are you going to do?”
Sally moved closer to him, the rage she must have kept hidden all these years suddenly surfacing and settling in her gaze, “Then you’ll have to watch me destroy everyone you love, starting with your father.”
Chapter Two
A month earlier
The strong smell of antiseptic and the discomfort she felt on the hard bed seemed to pull her closer and closer back to life. Jessica twitched uncomfortably, trying to get the irritating scent of the ward out of her head. She had always hated visiting the hospital ever since her father’s sickness. Jessica had never been admitted into a hospital until now that she had been involved in an accident.
With her eyes still closed, she listened for any sound in the room. Thankfully, it was silent. There was no one else in there with her. She chose that time to open her eyes and study the room. It was a moderately big room with a whitewashed ceiling and just one bed, that is, the one on which she laid. Just opposite her bed, there was a door open that led outside. The beep-beep sound coming from the EKG machine next to her bed got her attention, and that was when she realized that her accident was kind of fatal. Her left hand was the one that had been connected to the EKG machine, so she tried to touch her head with her right hand. Her left leg was immobile too.
“Argh!” She yelled as a sharp pain shot through her right hand. It felt so heavy, and it hurt as if she had been electrocuted. She let it down immediately and groaned.
When Jessica was just a little girl, one of her friends in high school had gotten involved in an accident. She couldn’t remember what had happened exactly, but she was quite sure that it hadn’t been a car accident. Janet, the girl that had gotten involved in the accident, was with her boyfriend when Jessica and one of her friends, Lucy, entered the ward.
On seeing Janet, Jessica couldn’t help but laugh, ignoring all the warning looks from Lucy. Janet’s head and her left wrist had been bandaged. Being a little girl, she had found it amusing.
“I’m so sorry,” Lucy tried to make peace as she realized that Janet was glaring at Jessica, “I didn’t want to come alone, that was why I invited her. Just ignore her.”
“Oh…” Jessica held her stomach, still laughing, “What happened to you, Janet?”
“Stop it, Jessica. She’s hurt right now,” Greg, Janet’s boyfriend, said, certainly not pleased.
“I’m sorry…” Jessica said, but it was too late.
“Do you know how it feels to be involved in an accident?! It’s so funny to you, right? Get out!” Those were the last words Jessica had heard from Janet before she was sent out of the ward.
She had felt bad but was thankful that she could leave the hospital and its irritating odor. Janet was known for taking things too seriously anyway. For all she knew, the accident could have been a very minor one, but Janet was probably feigning the pain to get pity from others. It was a harebrained scheme, though, Jessica had thought. Who would endure the horrible smell of hospital wards, take those bitter pills and take injections for no other reason than to gain others’ pity? Only someone as crazy as Janet could do that.
Now, back in the ward, she smiled as she recalled the nasty incident that had brought her nothing but hatred from Janet. The pain she felt made her wonder why anyone would even think of faking it. She was sure that if Janet could see her at that moment, she would probably laugh her to scorn or, even worse, record her while she was groaning and post it for the whole world to see since she was a social media freak.
How the accident had happened, she still wasn’t sure. All she knew was that it was too late by the time she saw the headlights of the speeding vehicle. She had felt glued to the steering wheel, and as she heard the crash, the unbearable pain was enough to make her pass out.
Then the memory of Xavier cheating on her crawled into her mind. Jessica bit her lips hard, trying to fight her tears. There was no need to cry. Xavier was an animal. He didn’t deserve the heartache she was feeling now. Someone walked into the room. Jessica quickly closed her eyes. She needed time alone to think.
“Haven’t you contacted Doctor White about Miss Warren’s surgery?” A deep masculine voice asked.