23

OLIVIA
Cyril approached Kate violently like a beast. He was making moves to hit her, and she dodged to wave the slap. He looked as if he wanted to tear her skin apart.
It was now clear to me that Kate wasn’t aware that Cyril was around. She wouldn’t have snitched on me like that. I trust her more than I trust Cyril.
I knew I needed to come through for Kate before she got killed for something she knew nothing about.
Hurriedly, I drove straight to Kate’s main building. Cyril spotted my car and started running towards me like a psychopath. I don’t want the spirit to possess him.
He stood In front of my car and brought out a dagger that rang a bell in my head.
“The damn nightmare!”
I snapped my fingers as I recalled where I’d seen the dagger before. It was a nightmare coming back to reality. The only difference was that it was Kate’s house this time and not Adrian’s.
“Get down from that car right now and come kneel in front of me to apologize,” Cyril commanded me.
I was stuck in the middle of making the biggest and worst decision of my life. He appeared deadlier than what I saw in my dream. It’s obvious that he was going to stab me to death the same way it happened in the dream and nothing would stop that from happening.
“Please, don’t do this. You’re going to regret it. I know you wouldn’t want to spend the rest of your life behind bars.
We could sort this out amicably,” I pleaded with Cyril from the car. I couldn’t summon the courage to come down from the car, knowing what he was capable of doing.
When Cyril saw that I wasn’t paying attention, he forcefully grabbed Kate and caressed the dagger on her neckline the same way he did to me in the nightmare. Kate might just be the one to die in my place after all.
I started the car and drove slowly towards Cyril. I hope it will scare him away. Rather, It made him stronger. He kept coming closer to me with Kate under his captivity. It didn’t seem like my threat was effective on him.
“Don’t do this, Cyril.
This isn’t who you are. Don’t let the devil mess with your head,” I cried. I was ready to come down from the car if Cyril could let Kate leave and he refused.
I was a few miles away from him. He started rushing towards me. I lost control of myself and accidentally hit him with the car.
“Cyril!” I screamed from inside my car.
I couldn’t step out. The shock seized my breath and made me crippled. The only question running through my head was, “Is he dead?”
I can’t imagine myself spending the rest of my life in jail for committing murder. No one would ever believe it was a mistake.
I haven’t killed anyone before in my life. I can’t even hurt a fly. It wasn’t enough to cheat on Cyril, now I want to kill him? I already imagined myself dressed like an inmate.
“Don’t just sit there like a dummy. Do something,” Kate yelled at me to restore my memory. It was obvious that I was losing it.
“Oh, my goodness.
Is he dead?” I quickly rushed outside to check on Cyril.
“What in heaven’s name were you thinking when you hit him?” Kate berated me. I couldn’t respond to her question. Even if I had a thousand years, I would still be clueless.
“Is he dead?” I asked Kate. Those were the only words my brain could process at the moment.
“Are you seriously asking me that? Let’s take him to the hospital immediately. We can’t afford to lose him,” Kate tasked me. I was surprised that she wasn’t freaked out. She sounded so calm although Cyril nearly slit her throat with a dagger. If I was half as courageous as Kate, I would have found a way to maneuver through Cyril and avoid his wrath.
We finally drove Cyril to the hospital using my car. We were lucky enough to meet the ambulance service that quickly took Cyril to the theater room on a stretcher.
“What happened to him? He’s bleeding from the head. He seems to have a serious head injury,” one of the doctors returned to ask me a few minutes after Cyril was rushed inside.
I glanced at Kate as we both shared a telling look. I was too afraid to speak up, knowing that I was the cause.
“Hello?
What happened to him? Please, you may need to speak up. That would enable us to know where to commence the treatment,” the doctor asked me. He has been our doctor for decades. He was the same person who attended to me when I collapsed in the office.
“He was involved in a ghastly car accident on his way from the office. Fortunately for us, a good Samaritan called us immediately,” Kate explained on my behalf. She was my messiah. I was never going to say anything to Doctor Escobar.
“You mean the good Samaritan called Olivia?” Doctor Escobar corrected Kate.
“Yes, exactly what she was talking about.” I quickly chipped in. I felt motivated to speak when Kate came through for me.
“Well, that’s fine.
He suffered a severe internal bleeding. If he wasn’t brought here on time, you would have lost him,” doctor Escobar disclosed.
“Lost him?” I echoed.
“Yes, you would have lost him. But don’t worry, he would be fine,” he said and walked away.
“Did you hear that from the doctor? He said we nearly lost Cyril,” I wept and rested my head on Kate’s shoulder while she consoled me as though I were her child.
“I heard him. You missed the part where he said that Cyril would be fine. Let’s just be hopeful on that,” Kate divulged. She acted like the big sister I never had despite our huge age difference.
“It was a mistake
I didn’t mean to hit him. I just wanted to scare him away,” I explained to Kate repeatedly. The guilt was killing me.
“I know! It wasn’t your fault. It was a mistake and I believe you,” Kate smiled at me.
“No, you don’t.
You probably hate me right now. Look into my eyes and tell me you believe me,” I begged her. I had a feeling that she was lying to me just to please me.
“Ma’am Olivia, I believe you with all of me. Mistakes are bound to happen. Don’t worry about Cyril. He would come out of this alive. He’s a strong man,” She affirmed and smiled at me.
I finally believed Kate was telling the truth. That was the only time I ever convinced myself that I was innocent. I haven’t felt this emotional for Cyril before. Despite how he usually treats me, I still wish the very best for him. Perhaps, it could be my conscience making me act like I truly cared about him.
“Do you know how we could reach out to Rene?” I asked Kate after the brief silence.
“Who the hell is that?” Kate looked confused. She tucked her arms and looked in the opposite direction.
“Have you forgotten so soon?
She’s Cyril’s mistress,” I revealed.
“Cyril’s who?” Kate widened her eyes. She nearly screamed. She had to quickly shut her mouth when she realized we were In a public place.
She pulled me up and forced me to go outside with her.
“What do you want to do with Rene? Do you want to mess things up for you?” She whispered to me.
“I need her to come keep Cyril’s company,” I replied.
“What happened to you?
The last time I checked, Cyril was married to you and not Rene. Rene is just his side piece. She has no reason to be here,” Kate told me.
“I know, right?
You don’t have to rub it in my face. Who’s going to be with Cyril when we are on our vacation to Singapore? Someone has to be here,” I told Kate. The shock on her face explains it all.
“You’re so unbelievable.
If you weren’t my Boss, I would have said nasty things to you. Your husband is fighting for his life, and you want to abandon him in the hands of his mistress?” she lamented.
“Cut the crap.
We all know Cyril would do worse in my situation. You saw how he treated me when I was hospitalized, didn’t you?” I clapped at Kate. Before I could speak further, she stood up and left.