Chapter 19
Jason had a huge fallout with charlotte. She was beginning to pressurize him, demanding they both elope to another city or country altogether as previously planned.
Charlotte seemed to forget that what held him home was much more than he could explain. He couldn't leave his fortune and run off with nothing all in the name of love.
He wanted badly to run away with charlotte and even get married but, he would lose everything and have nothing, and charlotte wasn't the most decent girl, she wouldn't be able to cope without money or understand that he was broke.
She loved to spend a lot even on unnecessary things. She could spend money on trivial things because Jason was always there to pay.
But this time the wheels changed. He felt more peaceful in his new home than with charlotte. She began to nag unnecessarily and her mood swings.
Jason already lost count of the number of times she had thrown him out of their house in anger or jealousy. She was very impulsive and competitive. She had also talked to Jason about letting her stay with him in his new home and maybe Sophia might just get fed up and leave.
Strangely Jason took it personally and they quarreled so much about it that the quarrel just left him drained and in a sore mood.
So he sat on his favorite position at night in sheer resignation and sipped on his wine while Sophia was asleep as usual.
The night was very cold, it rained heavily during the day and still drizzling outside. Jason sat there with an almost empty bottle of wine. it wasn't giving him the satisfaction he needed anymore.
things that intrigued him before, didn’t recently.
Finally, he stood from his spot leaving everything behind in the living room, he made his way to where ever his mind took him.
***
She pulled the hoodie on her head properly to cover the drizzling rain from pouring on her wet face.
She walked down the narrow path at such an ungodly hour, with her worn-out sandals which had seen better days. With no particular destination, she kept walking and crying but all she could think of was that her parents had no nearby relatives whom she could go to for shelter and even if she knew anyone close. It was too late at night to take a cab and knock in front of someone’s house.
The roads became quieter and quieter as it also looked eerily dangerous. Someone was behind her following her at her own pace.
She was scared, the streets were dangerous these days, and she had no weapon to fight even if she could. She increased her pace and the person behind her did the same.
Fear gripped her, she swiftly took a left turn and emerged into a more open road but the rain was intensifying. It was better than being chased by rapists.
While she walked with her body so heavy on her, she turned back to make sure no one was following her when she heard a tire screech piercingly as if it was right beside her.
She was on the floor, at high speed, everything happened. She rolled her eyes to her sides, confused, from her peripheral view she saw a dark liquid, gushing out from beside her head and she thought how cold the floor was, then... Nothing.
she began to fall into nothingness, a long dark cold endless hollow she was falling into it and shouting but her cries were muffled. but as soon as it started she jumped from her bed in beads of sweat.
"It was just a dream," she thought, clutching her dear heart.
The dreams came once in a while. It had haunted her since she regained consciousness. She knew it was part of her lost memory but mixed up in her head that she couldn't decipher which was which.
Outside it was drizzling and unfortunately, her window blinds weren't shut. And none of those girls were around to help with it.
That was when her eyes fell on the oddly shaped figure on the armchair away from her bed, very close to the window she was looking at.
She became scared of the unknown, Of what could have entered her room? Her door was open so something must have crept in while she was asleep.
In the nearly dark room, she strained her eyes to see the figure very well.
"It's a human being!" She thought.
"Stan?!..."
The person moved and stilled.
"Is that you Stanley?... Stan" she added more weight to her voice making whomever it was a jerk from his sleep.
Her words were caught in her throat once she recognized who it was.
"Hey..." She started.
Jason rubbed the sleep off his face and sat up. He was immediately embarrassed at being caught sneaking up on her.
"Am sorry I just... I was..." He sighed in frustration. He was a little relieved that she couldn't see his face properly in the dark for he would have died right there of shame.
Sophia just watched him, expecting a proper explanation for his weird behavior. But he seemed to have recoiled.
"Just mistook yours for mine, Sorry I'll leave you to it then" he made his way out of the room in shame.
"Wait!" She called out before he could leave entirely.
"C... Can you help me shut the blinds? It's freezing inside here."
He nodded and made his way to the window but he tripped on something and fell with a thud. he groaned in pain.
"Are you alright?" She switched on the bedside lamp and found Jason in his black joggers and matching tank top on the floor clutching his left knee.
"Do you need my help?" She asked again in concern since he didn't respond to her previous questions.
"Am fine" he managed to lift himself off the cold tiled floor and onto the armchair he stood from recently.
Once he caught his breath, Jason stretched his hand up to shut the window blinds.
Jason sat there for a while letting the pain subside. He was already limping and might develop a sore knee the next morning, but that was the least of his problems.
His current problem now was how Sophia sat up on her bed and watched him curiously as if in one blink she might miss out on a very important detail of him while he shut his eyes and rested his head on the headrest.
"Do you need me to ring up any of the maids maybe they can get you an ice pack, it will get soar if not treated?"
Jason opened his eyes at the sound of her voice. He wondered why she was acting so nice to him. Maybe because she knew it was her damn fault he tripped.
"No am alright. I just need to let the pain ease off then I can walk" he assured.
Once he felt he could walk, Jason managed to stand, he didn't even take two strides for a piercing pain to shoot down his joint and feet. He groaned loudly and crumbled back unto the armchair.
He couldn't walk. Was he stuck in this room with her intense gaze always searching him? The shameful feeling already left him. now he aimed to leave the scene and hide his face under the pillow but he didn't want to leave. He felt no different about her now that she was awake.
He thought she would shout or throw tantrums like charlotte and demand he never set foot inches close to her. Or she would be snarky and hateful towards him.
But here she was, asking after him like she didn't hate him at all. Like he wasn't the one that fled their wedding scene immediately it was over. not to talk of her present condition, He felt a little relieved at that thought.
"It's half-past one, you need to sleep and your room is a long way from here, you can climb beside me and rest, then tomorrow the maids can help you on your feet" she suggested.
Jason stared at her as she had suddenly developed double heads.
"Besides her?!" He thought.
"That will inconvenience you, I can manage here thanks."
"The armchair will only make your knee hurt the more. You need to stretch it. It's no inconvenience besides the bed is very large for more than one" she urged, but Jason stood his ground.
So she adjusted on her position and went back to her sleep.
Seconds... It didn't take seconds for Jason to take up the offer. He slowly and gently limped to the other side of the bed.
He sighed in relief once his body hit the fluffy mattress which smelled girly, he covered himself with the duvet knowing he was just inches apart from feeling her skin to his. It wasn't helping his raging hormones at all. But he knew he would never try it. She seemed decent and he didn't know how to treat decent girls.
He loved spontaneity like charlotte. She was very bold and fearless. She went for whatever she desired without another thought to it.
It was what attracted him to her then. She was one of his many girlfriends he connected easily with because she was a charmer and he was charmed. That night at a friend's party he unceremoniously made out with charlotte even though they both weren't dating yet.
He was dragged out of his wild thoughts by the shallow breaths Sophia took. She was already fast asleep. Surprised it took her nothing to fall into one. While it took him everything to fall into sleep.
He frowned at himself for thinking of his ex and side chick while in bed with his wife. He knew deep down that he didn't deserve Sophia, she wasn't a spoilt brat like him nor was she a bold charmer like charlotte.
Sophia probably never experienced her youthful age. it was snatched away from her before she could ever...
He slept off. Again with the help of Sophia’s regular breathing. Jason kept smiling in his dream.
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