Harriet dropped the twins off at the kindergarten before driving to work. All through the working hours, she found herself unable to focus as her thoughts kept drifting to a certain ex-husband of hers and his new fiance.
“Miss Edwards?” Collin tapped the door softly for the umpteenth time until he was finally able to get her attention.
“Collin. What is it?” She cleared her throat and readjusted her posture, wondering if he had been there for a long time.
She hated how much she had been zoning out at work.
“You can call it a day, Miss. I already cleared your schedule for the afternoon and evening so, you can go home. You don’t really look so good.” Collin said genuinely as he watched her tired eyes stare at him.
He had been watching her since she arrived and without anyone telling him, he knew that she won’t be able to work properly as she seemed to have a lot on her mind. Leaving the office early wasn’t going to affect her either as she had already taken care of most of the week’s activities during the weekend.
“What do you mean? I’m totally fine.” She laughed it off but suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head which caused her to groan. When she raised her head, Collin was staring at her with an ‘ I told you so ‘ look and without being told, she began packing up to leave the office.
*
*
“Looks like Harriet’s ex is moving on for good.” Dion laughed, turning his screen for Tony to see a picture of Damien and Evelyn looking happy. Underneath it was a write up that talked about Damien’s interview, stating that they were set to marry soon.
“Fucker. I can’t understand the man no matter how much I try.” Tony groaned and peeled his eyes away from the screen. He leaned back in his chair and placed a hand on his forehead.
“At least, we’re sure that Harriett will be completely free from him. I mean, he is giving you a chance to go for her.” Dion replied but from the little encounters he had with Damien, Tony knew that something else was going on. Something that the public didn’t know about.
“He’s nothing to Harriett, Dion. It’s not up to him to give me a chance with Harriett. Besides, if I want to get Harriett, I know just how to do it. Nobody knows her more than I do.” Tony bragged causing a laugh to slip out of Dion.
“Do you even love her or you just feel threatened by this Damien guy? Personally, I think it’s the latter because you knew her for four whole years and not once did you ever utter a word about liking her but, now that her ex resurfaces, you suddenly develop feelings for her. Make it make sense, man.” Shaking his head, Dion took a sip of his cold beer.
Tony turned uncomfortably in his seat. He didn’t like where the conversation was going.
“I have always liked Harriet, Dion. I just never told her because I thought she still needed sometime before falling in love again. That’s why I was content with being her friend but then Damien shows up and suddenly wants her back in his life. If I had known that she wanted to be loved by a man all these years, I would’ve come to her as a man instead of best friend.” Tony confessed, his heart burning with both jealousy and hatred.
“Jesus, man! You’ve kept this to yourself for four years! I’m surprised you haven’t given Damien a beating yet.” Dion finally saw some sense in what his friend was saying and he couldn’t help but feel bad on his behalf.
“You know what? I’ll handle your problems here for you. Go to New York and win your woman.”
*
*
“Your Father will pick them up, my love. You still need some sleep.” Ha Young held her daughter’s arm, placing her free hand on her forehead to check if her fever had reduced.
“I’m not sick, mum. It’s just a slight fever. I’ll be fine, I promise. I promised Addison I’ll pick her up personally today. I don’t want to break my promise to her.” Harriett replied, pleading with her mother but her physical state was in no way fit to leave the house.
Harriett couldn’t understand how she has suddenly gone from being energetic and active to developing a fever. She knew it started right from when she heard the news of Damien’s engagement. She visibly felt her heart drop and her mouth instantly became butter.
She didn’t want to admit it but it seems like Damien still had quite an effect on her.
“Besides, all I have to do is drive and pick them up. I drove myself back from work so, I should be fine. You know what, I’ll take the Tesla so you can be sure that If I can’t drive anymore, I’ll just use the autopilot, okay?” She suggested and after much hesitation, Ha Young agreed.
Somewhere in her, she felt that she was making a great mistake but Harriett wasn’t going to give in so, she decided to do as her daughter pleased.
Harriet kept to her word and took the Tesla to the kindergarten. All through her journey there, it felt as though she was being followed by someone but she shook of the feeling, blaming it on the fever.
She finally got the kindergarten and picked up her twins who were both happy to see her. They all entered the car and she began driving home. That same strange feeling that they were being followed returned but this time around, it was stronger.
Harriett looked into her rear mirror and noticed a black sedan that had been behind her from the start of the journey. Immediately, fear kicked in.
She decided to check if her thoughts were true so she switched lanes multiple times only to still be followed by the same car.
That was when she knew that there was a problem.
As she drove into the street, she noticed that there were no cars there, leaving just her and the black sedan. That was when she realized that she had made a big mistake by driving into the street.
“Fuck!” She whispered and dialed the one person she knew would respond quickly and as soon as the call got connected, the black sedan intercepted her and blocked her from moving, causing her to hit the brakes abruptly, waking her twins up.
Tears welled in her eyes and her hands fidgeted as she looked at the twins who were now fully awake and back at the masked men who walked out of the car with guns in their hands.
“Damien, I think we’re about to be kidnapped.”