BRIANN P.O.V
My skin still burned from the lashes when I stumbled out of Mrs Agnes's room.My legs shook beneath me,but I forced them to move,the shattered smell of perfume still clinging to my clothes,sharp and nauseating.My eyes were swollen with tears,but I refused to let them fall again.Not now.
As I turned down the corridor,I froze.Mrs Angeles stood there,phone in her hand,her eyes was glued to the glowing screen.Her face looked pale,her lips slightly parted.I didn't need to ask what she was watching,every part of me already knew.
Her voice trembled. "Briann…everyone saw… they all saw…"
A wave of heat rushed through me,it was shame,rage,exhaustion blending into one unbearable storm.Before I could stop myself,I lunged forward and snatched the phone from her hand.
"Enough!" I shouted,my voice broke as the words ripped from my throat.
The comments were still pouring in, the stream replaying in fragments,my cries,the lashes,Mrs Agnes's fury.My name flashing in the text again and again.I couldn't take it anymore.My chest heaved,my hands were shaking as I pressed down on the screen.
With one sharp swipe,I switched off the phone,the screen went dark.The silence that followed felt deafening.
Mrs Angeles gasped softly,reaching a hand toward me. "Briann,what have you done? This…this will destroy everything."
I tightened my grip on the phone,my knuckles white.My body was still ached,my heart was still raw,but all I could think about was how the world had seen me humiliated,broken and how the one person who had done it wasn't even afraid until now.
I looked at Mrs Angeles,my voice became low but trembled with fire. "Good.Let it"
Mrs. Angeles's words stopped me cold.
"Briann" She whispered,her eyes darted nervously down the hallway as if someone might hear, "You need to know the truth.Mrs Mason…she didn't die.It's true she faked her death"
The phone in my grip felt suddenly heavy,as though the weight of her words had poured straight into it.My breath caught. "What?"
"She planned it" Mrs Angeles said quickly,her voice was urgent. "I've been digging,reading articles,forums, even the court archives.And a week ago,most of them said she was spotted at Kentucky thrice,but the news kept shutting down every article about it like it's real.And now,scattered reports started surfacing.....eyewitnesses claiming they saw her alive,traveling under false names.And then there were whispers about Sua with her in Kentucky"
At the sound of that name.Sua.My stomach twisted violently.
Mrs Angeles stepped closer,lowering her voice. "Every article I found about Sua's death…they don't add up.The reports all contradict each other.One claimed you fought with her that night.Another says you were seen running from the building.They've twisted everything,Briann.To the public,you're the villain,the girl who killed Sua in cold blood"
My knees went weak and I stumbled back against the wall.The words pierced straight through me.My face burned as if I could feel every hateful comment,every accusing eye from the livestream replaying it all over again.
"No" I whispered,shaking my head. "I didn't… lI would never—"
But the pieces began to shift in my mind.Mrs Mason faking her death.Sua gone. And the one man who gained from it all—money, freedom, silence.
Mr Mason.
The thought cut like glass.He had always been there in the shadows,always drinking,always cruel to his wife.A man who thought money could bury sins.
I gripped the phone tighter,my nails digging into the casing as the realization formed in my mind.
"It was him" I muttered,more to myself than to Mrs. Angeles.My chest heaved as anger surged,hotter than before. "It was Mr Mason.He killed Sua.I know it"
Mrs. Angeles's eyes widened,a flicker of fear passing over her face. "Briann…if that's true,then you're in more danger than you realize"
And for the first time since I stepped out of jail,I understood this wasn't just about broken perfume bottles,or even Mrs Agnes's rage. This was bigger.Much bigger.
I've heard the rumour so many times about how Mr Mason treated his late wife.It was said that he killed his wife just to be with the one who took away Sua from me.It feels like a memory that isn't mine. Sometimes,when I let my mind wander,it plays out before me like a film I wish I could stop watching.
The wife came home late that night,hospital papers clenched in her fist.Her face was pale,her eyes was red from holding back tears.She'd just learned the truth,she had cancer,but when she opened the bedroom door,what she saw broke her in ways the sickness never could.
Mr Mason.
And her best friend.Together.
Her gasp was sharp,her bag slipping from her hand to the floor.
"You—" Her voice trembled with rage. "How dare you? My own husband? With my best friend?"
Mr Mason barely flinched,pulling his shirt back on. "Stop your noise.What do you expect? You're nothing but a burden now. Sick. Weak.You should be grateful I've even kept you this long"
Her chest rose and fell,fury giving her strength.She tore open the wardrobe,flinging clothes into a bag with shaking hands. "I won't stay another day in this house.I should have divorced you years ago!"
She turned,eyes blazing, but her best friend rose from the bed,smirking cruelly.
"Divorce?" She scoffed. "And go where? Who would want you now? You're pathetic,dying,and you still think you're a wife? You can't even keep a man!"
The wife froze,tears spilling down her face. "You…you knew about my illness?"
"I knew" Her friend spat,stepping closer. "And I don't care.You've always been useless.Always clinging to me,clinging to him.Now look at you.Weak,broken and worthless"
"Shut up!" The wife's voice cracked as she shoved her friend back,clutching the bag like it could save her.
The room erupted into chaos.Mr Mason barked insults from the corner,the wife screamed,the best friend hissed like venom.In the scuffle,glass shattered,a vase,a table,I can't tell which.Then it happened too fast.
The friend's face twisted with rage.
"You're nothing but dead weight!" She shouted and with a violent shove,she pushed her.
The wife stumbled backward.Her scream pierced the air,cut short as her body crashed through the window.The sound of breaking glass echoed into the night, and then there was silence.A silence that stretched too long,too heavy.
I blink hard whenever the vision ends because it felt so real,too real.But I shook my head and force myself to breathe.
It played like a vision behind my eyes.Her fall.
The moment she was shoved,my chest tightened as though I was the one stumbling backward.The sound of glass shattering ripped through me,sharp and merciless.I swear I felt the sting of shards slicing the air,glittering like cruel jewels as they burst free from the window.
Her scream…oh God,her scream.It wasn't just terror,it was every heartbreak,every betrayal,every unspoken plea torn from her soul all at once.My ears ring with it even now.
And then she was falling.
I could almost feel the rush of the wind against my own skin,tugging at me,dragging me down with her.The city lights blurred beneath us,a whirl of brightness and shadow,but her eyes was in my mind,her eyes stayed wide.They weren't just afraid.They were haunted.Full of all the years she endured,all the love she never received,all the pain she was leaving behind.
In those seconds,I felt her memories burning into me,the birth of Massilo,the endless nights she cried alone,the betrayal of a friend she once trusted more than anyone.They flashed before me as though they were mine.As though I'd lived them.
Her hand reached out,maybe for help,maybe for one last chance,but there was nothing there.Nothing to catch her.Nothing to save her.
And then it ended.The impact cracked through me like thunder.I flinched as if my own bones had shattered,my lungs seized like the air had been knocked from my chest.
When it was over,I could only see her lying there,still and broken,surrounded by shards of glass that glittered like a cruel crown around her head.
I tell myself it's only a story,only a rumor.But when I felt her fall in my own body,when I heard her scream in my own ears…how can it be just a rumor?
I heard Mrs Agnes sudden call from behind. "Mrs Angeles,meet me in the room"
There was silence for a while until
Michelle came running to meet us with
worries in her gaze, "Briann Adrienno!! So you knew about this long ago and
you decided to tell the world, you are a
big disappointment,you didn't even inform me" She said to her,leaving me to no choice than to fall on my knees to plead for the mistake I made. "I was so foolish to have caused you a lot.I never knew that my incompetency could bring so much problem to everyone around, but I had no intention on destroying your beautiful family.I'm really sorry"
"I found out yesterday and i was thinking of how to tell you the whole secret today, but it eventually busted out & in an awful way, i'm sorry" Mrs Agnes said to Michelle sarcastically.
"I would like you to clear everything related to the livestream.Massilo was arrested today and i won't let you become a burden to the Mason family" Michelle was never bothered about the fact that i was the fault as if she never wanted me to get into the situation on the line. "Everything is getting complicated,don't you understand? Why does it have to be now,i'm about to get married"
"Don't you think Massilo would be pissed when you took the company away from him.He managed Damel all his life and now this was how you paid him.By taking what was his and you think he wouldn't do anything just to get his company back.You already own a cosmetics investment,aren't you satisfied?"
"Massilo understands how much i care about his success,he knows that i have no passion to be the CEO of Damel"
"What if that wasn't true...you were only jealous about how he became more successful than you expected,i can see through you,it's all lies"
"What are you talking about...This isn't you,Agnes" Michelle digressed with clenched brows,her expression was clouded with confused gaze that told me what she had in her mind.She wasn't that kind of person who would want to Steal Massilo's star just to shine,she looked so much like a socio-party type,a person who would love to live a life of party and luxury which Agnes mistook.
"Are you happy now? You brought Massilo down and took his title,you have just seen the beginning of suffering.There are lot more,i'm sure that was you and Briann's whole plan"
"Not at all! Please...Briann only came here to work because of money,she never wanted to cause any problem" Mrs Angeles pleaded,almost getting down on her knees as her voice trembled with fear.
"She's fired.I don't want to ever set my eyes on her for good" Mrs Agnes croaked threateningly before walking away while Michelle ran after her in order to catch up with her and she was pulled back with a tug.
If only i had not walked into this house,my life would have been way more better,I wouldn't have been treated like a rat in the street,no one would have known that I existed and i would have been living fine without knowing where i truly came from,maybe this was how Sua felt before she ran away,she might have felt pressured against her own will,she might have being battling to overcome every circumstances brought to her plate.
My inside dropped and i was covered with goosebumps that refused to let go of my fear,tangling the resignation of regret through the hat tears slowly turning into sobs.I was left alone including Mrs Angeles was fed up of my stupidity,she already left me to face my fate which made me sob so hard as i remembered the suffering Massilo would be going through just because of me.
"Michelle!! Why do you still refuse to see what you can gain from eliminating Massilo,do you intend to give back the company to the wrong hands" Mrs Agnes tried not to be straight forward with her words while snatching her stand from Michelle and I realized Michelle buying in to the blasphemy.
"Massilo is all I got and I can't watch him lose because of me.Please Agnes...try to understand"
"ugh! I only want the best for you,your success is my greatest joy"
"No!! I know you more than know yourself.Why haven't you let go of your grudge against Massilo" Michelle digress brought a stern glare on Mrs Agnes face just as she gave me a quick look that said;
Why does it have to be you.
Before she walked away,I heard her croaked, "I want Briann out of this house for good.She doesn't worth seeing.She's the reason for everything"
Everywhere faded into silence for a while until Michelle cleared her throat thoughtfully and uttered urgently. "Briann! Bring me two cups of coffee in the fourth room"
"Yes!?" I replied out of surprise, watching her head to the upper floor and Mrs Angeles shot me a quick glance when leaving.I was left alone to decide whom I must obey.It took few mins for me to conclude my mind and I had no chioce than to go upstairs with the cups of coffee because I was curious.On my way down to the room I was told,i heard Michelle crying which made me to dawdle inside just to know what was actually going on.
But she adjusted herself,wiping her tears immediately she noticed my presence,she hid the pains dangling in her mind,my inside wanted to comfort her and tell her consoling words,but it was only going to create more problems. I set the cups over the coffee table,took a few glance of her face and I realized her makeup was ruined,the mascara left black tear trails beneath her eyelids, already flowing down to her jaw as she pulled off her earring rings and threw them towards my direction.She didn't bother if I was close by rather she kept sobbing.
My gaze went straight to how puffy and red her face had become,her hair was in messy pony tails which revealed the sadness she was going through,but I had to feign ignorance.Was I the reason why Mrs Angeles refused to tell me the whole truth,I was going to make everyone troubled.And as soon as I turned to leave,she called in a low-tired tone.
''Briann Adrienno!"