ISLA’S POV
I had stayed up thinking about Ian and how to make up with him. “Poor child, I think I was hard on him. I should call him very early in the morning, I miss him so much.” I was soliloquizing when I heard the main door creaked opened.
I have lived and stayed in this place to know which object or person made a sound without turning my head, so I was certain it was the main door of the mansion.
“That sneaky bitch is at it again.” I turned to the direction of my door, contemplating whether or not to see what she’s up to but I was closer to the window and decided to see what she was up to from there.
I waited to see her but there was no shadow of her, I found it disturbing that there was no one in sight but I heard voices.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. The voices I thought I heard outside suddenly went quiet and I heard the door closed again.
“What is going on? I should go see what she is up to this time.” I said and headed out of my room to Saraya’s room.
As I got closer, I heard two voices. One was Saraya’s, and the other… the other belonged to a man. My heart skipped a beat. His voice was familiar, but I couldn’t hear enough to be sure.
“Could he be…” I asked but shook my head at the possibility of Saraya sneaking him into the house at the wake of the night. “I’m so going to wriggle life out of that playboy if my guess is right.” I promised.
Without knocking, I opened the door. Saraya was sitting on her bed with her phone to her ear. She looked up at me, surprised.
“I’ll call you back,” she said before putting the phone down. “Grandma? Is something wrong?” She asked and ended her call. “Why did you barged in just like that?”
“Such a brilliant actress.” I muttered under my breath as my eyes darted around the room. I looked around, opened the wardrobe, checked the restroom but didn’t find a shadow.
“What is this about?” She asked, standing on my path this time.
I looked straight into her eyes. “Who were you with just now?”
Her face twisted into a look of confusion. “What? I wasn’t with anyone.” She spread her arms. “As you can see, I’m all by myself.”
I glared at her. “Don’t you dare lie to me, Saraya. How dare you bring him here?”
Her face looked calmed but I could tell I was right from her fingers fidgeting. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. “I was on the phone with Peter, my secretary.”
I let out a short, bitter laugh. “Peter? That’s the best script you could come up with?” I took a step closer, not breaking eye contact. “I know what I heard, Saraya. Where is Arlan?” I knew I struck a nerve when a flash of guilt spread across her face.
Her face faltered for just a second before she masked it with another confused look. “Arlan? Why would Arlan be here?”
Ignoring her, I sniffed the air. The faint scent of his cologne hit me like a slap. I let out and soft chuckle and turned toward the window, I noticed it was open. A cool breeze swept into the room.
I opened the window completely, looking around to catch a glimpse of Arlan’s shadow but there was nothing to see. “Good gracious, Saraya. Don’t tell me he escaped through the window!”
Saraya rolled her eyes at me. “Grandma, I don’t have time for your wild stories. If you’re done accusing me of things that don’t make sense, could you leave? I have things to do.”
I looked at her, anger and disappointment bubbling up inside me. “You look more like your mother every day, you know that? But let me tell you something.” My voice hardened. “Just because you’re lucky tonight, doesn’t mean you always have to push your luck.” I said in the most sternest voice I could mutter.
ARLAN’S POV
I jumped out of the window, landing harder than I’d thought I would. Pain shot through my ankle, and I let out a small yelp under my breath as I struggled to scramble to my feet.
My hands stung from the scrapes I’d gotten, but I didn’t stop to check them. It was no time for that and I leaped toward my car receding away from Saraya and isla’s voice.
By the time I slid into the driver’s seat, my phone buzzed. Saraya’s name lit up the screen. I answered immediately.
“Are you okay?” I asked her. “Did Isla give you any tough time?” I added.
“Why should you be worried about me?” I could hear a glint of frustration in her voice. “You’re the one who jumped down the window.”
I could hear the way she emphasized the last part, and it made me smile despite the situation.
She let out a sigh. “That brings me to ask-are you okay?”
I glanced down at the bloodied skin on my palms and the tear in my jeans where I’d scraped my knee. My ankle still throbbed, but nothing felt broken. “I’m fine,” I said, brushing it off. “Just a couple of bruises. Not something I can’t handle.”
“Arlan…” Her voice softened and I could feel her genuinely concerned about me. “You could have hurt yourself badly, you know?” she asked. “You should go get your bruises treated in a hospital.”
For a moment, there was silence between us. I could hear her heavy breathing just like I was breathing heavily as well.
“I’ll be fine,” I said finally. “But you need to be careful. Isla is suspicious, and she’s smart. She would continue to keep her eyes on you.”
“I know,” Saraya whispered.
“And Saraya?”
“Yes?” She replied.
“It was so good to see you.” I said but there was no response from her end. “I should go, goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Arlan.”
I ended the call, tossing the phone onto the passenger seat, and leaned back, letting out a shaky breath.
*Earlier*
We were in her room when we heard the footsteps. The sound was faint but unmistakable-someone was approaching.
“Arlan,” Saraya whispered, her face pale with panic. “Someone’s coming. What do we do?”
“Calm down,” I said firmly, taking her hands in mine. “Don’t fidget. Just breathe.”
Her wide eyes searched mine for a solution. I didn’t have time to explain. Instead, I leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. “I’ll handle it.”
Before she could react, I moved to the window. The wind hit my face as I looked down, calculating the jump.
“Arlan, wait-what are you doing?” Saraya’s voice was filled with disbelief.
I turned to her briefly. “Just trust me. Pretend you’re on a call. Act normal.”
And then I jumped.
As I fell, I heard the faint sound of her voice. She was already talking into her phone, playing her part like I’d told her.
When I hit the ground, I bit back a groan and forced myself to move. I couldn’t afford to put Saraya in trouble, she already had enough on her place.
*Present*
My mind drifted back to Matilda, I took my phone and called her severally but got no response. “Stop playing games with me, Matilda. if you won’t pick my calls, then you leave me with no option than to come to you.” I said aloud as though she could hear me.
I increased the car’s speed and headed to Matilda’s place.