Kayla
A tint of silver hair, it couldn’t be…Emily
My eyes widened as soon as it dawned on me who she was. My eyes saw her but my heart refused to accept the reality staring at me in the face.
This couldn’t be true. She can’t be alive!
No matter how much I tried to deny it, it was true.
I was staring at the same woman from the picture I had seen in his study. Every single detail was the same, she was beautiful and hadn’t aged in any way.
It was bad enough that I had to compete with her thinking that she was dead but now that she was alive how on earth was I supposed to compete with her?
I couldn’t at least not in the way that I wanted to. I wanted Asher to love me, to crave for me like I did for him. But I had seen on different occasions that it was her he loved, it was her he craved for and it was her that he missed all the time. I couldn’t pry the hurt away from my eyes.
And now that the woman who holds the key to his heart was standing in front of us, I wondered what would happen to me.. to us?
Her eyes rested on me for a brief second and there was a fire of rage and jealousy flashing through her eyes which faded so quickly and her gaze moved to Asher again.
There wasn’t a single sound between any of us. I didn’t dare to look at him. I wouldn’t be able to bear it if he stared at her with love-filled eyes. The pain would crush me into tiny bits and I wasn’t ready for that.
I felt my heart break when she dashed past me like a gust of wind and threw herself into Asher’s arms. My heart clenched and I felt like I was choking on absolutely nothing.
I didn’t want to watch but it seemed as if my body had a willpower of its own.
My entire life shattered before my eyes and there was nothing that I could do to stop it. I felt my throat burn, and my body ache but more than that my heart seemed to be on fire. But no matter the warning signs my brain was sending, I could not look away. My eyes were transfixed on the horror unfolding in front of me.
Asher was frozen, he stood like a statue and his hands were not even around her. She was the one holding onto him while he tried to get over his shock of seeing her alive.
“Emily!” He finally mumbled, his eyes searching hers for the answers only she could give.
She nodded, reaching up to cup his cheeks in her hands. This was something I had done not quite long ago, now she was the one touching him. I hated all this but in an actual sense, I don’t think I have the right to feel this kind of way. She was the first woman in his life and also he loved her even before he knew I existed. I was the substitute and not her.
“I don’t understand,” Asher said in a shaking voice. It hurt to listen to him, especially when he was like this before her. “I mistakenly killed you, Emily, you were dead. You weren’t breathing. There was no pulse. How then did you manage to be alive?” Asher slowly pulled away from her, putting some distance between them.
It was then that Robin joined us. He took one look at Asher and I before his eyes fell on Emily. His eyes widened in horror and he was staring at her like he had seen a ghost.
“I was right brother, I told you I saw her but how come she is still alive? She was supposed to be dead from what we saw.” Robin asked,
I saw the way Emily glared at him and couldn’t even hide the look of distaste from her face. It was quite obvious that she didn’t like Robin.
“Please can we all go inside and talk about this?” Emily asked with pleading eyes.
“Kayla?” I felt a warm, soothing hand on my shoulder. I glanced up to find Robin next to me, his eyes on me holding concern “Are you alright?” he asked.
I nodded, even though I was very much not alright. My heart was racing hard right now, and I couldn’t slow it down.
We all got inside and settled down, Emily took a quick glance around and turned to Asher with a captivating smile “Everything is still the same as I left it. Asher can’t believe after all these years, you still left the purple shimmering light and the white lotus because they are my favorite even though you don’t like them. It was so amazing knowing that my presence was still felt even without me being here.”
Her words cut through me like broken glasses. This was her way of indirectly telling me that Asher still cared about her.
“Emily” Asher called, stopping her from saying anything more. “I need to know what happened. What really happened? I need to know how the woman I thought was dead is alive and sitting beside me.”
She sighed and leaned back on the couch,” After dying, I can’t remember what happened but I remember waking up in an old deserted shack with a witch conjuring out something from my body. I was held hostage against my will and I started plotting my exit but after a few years, I finally escaped with the help of a stranger. So I came here to see the only person who the thought of seeing him again made me endure it all.” she choked a sob and pushed back some locks of brown hair that covered her face and tears were gliding down her cheek.
I stared at her, something didn’t seem right with her story. Everything about her screamed evil and strange.
How could she be alive all these years and never try to send a message across to Asher?
“Your words don’t make sense to me Emily. How was it even possible that you stayed all these years without sending a message across to Asher? How could you even stay without letting anyone know you are alive? And who the fuck are these people?” Robin asked,
Emily shot Robin an annoyed look and it completely surprised me. How could she go from crying to glaring in a few seconds?
I watched her eyes twitch with something in them, but I couldn’t tell exactly what was in her gaze.
“I was scared that they might raid the pack and also kill Asher in the process” she rushed sharply, crying further. “They are evil and I have to delay and buy enough time to be able to escape. We shouldn’t be concerned about the past. We should focus on the bright side of life which is that I am alive and back home.” she buried her face in her palm crying.
We all remained silent, unable to say a word, after some time, her loud sobs died.
She wiped her cheeks and her brown menacing gaze was turned to me.
“Who is she?”