Ethan Walker…he was the CEO of one of the top rising companies. He had allegedly made collaboration with other fast rising companies across the globe and had made several investments in different industrial sectors, and he was one the sponsors who invested heavily on the filming industry she worked with.
She had seen him on two occasions at an award show. She had always felt he had an oppressive air around him. He was a married man yet one knew who his wife was. Now she happened to be in the body of his wife??? She couldn't believe it and could only gaze upon his face, hoping her shocked expression wasn't obvious.
He was a fine man, with a well chiseled jawline and an over long black hair, which he had packed in a bun, which should have looked ridiculous in this day and age of much shorter styles merely added to this man's already overt masculinity, the sharpness of his features; Straight brows over hard blue eyes, his nose an arrogant slash, and looking at him, she was quite sure he was well over 6'5. The windbreaker he had seemed to have amplified the oppressive air around him, she thought as she looked at him in an awkward silence.
'What the hell is going on and why is he looking at me with such an empty gaze?' Elisa thought. For a man who saw his injured and recovering wife, he should have shown more concern, or was it that he just couldn't show concern but was actually concerned?
Behind him was the doctor who had tended to her earlier on. She was hoping to hear Ethan speak to her but he turned to the doctor and said
"How is she now, doctor?"
"She is recovering at a fast rate and her vitals are currently stable. She needs a wheelchair especially since she had ran to the bathroom earlier on, despite the fact that her legs were seriously damaged. It made her bones weaker than it already was, and she has a clavicle fracture.. .."
Elisa's face was already contorted weirdly as she heard the doctor continue with her so-called medical report. Apparently, she had two severe injuries and a lot of minor injuries.
Ethan looked at Elisa as she sat on the hospital bed looking extremely weak and pale, her lips were chapped, her head wrapped in a gauze, her dark chestnut hair was messy right now. In short, she looked pitiful and miserable.
"How are you feeling?," He asked, still gazing at her.
As she heard him speak, she immediately stopped wracking her head on how to act towards the husband she had just gotten. Although he had asked her how she was feeling, which was supposed to carry a feeling of concern from a loved one, for some reason it still felt distant.
She crooked out an '' I'm fine" because her voice was still quite hoarse from not drinking water in a while.
"Do you need water?" he said as he made his way to pour her a glass of water. She bobbed her head in affirmation. She didn't want to hear that scrawny little voice that came out of her throat. Even her voice sounded weird.
She realised that she didn't want to be around him yet. What if he was a lover inside but only playing his cool here. What if he devours her when she goes home with him?
NO!
Elisa's inner subconscious screamed. She wasn't ready for any of that. She hasn't even gotten used to this; the new family, the fake life she's living, the pretense and all, and now this? With those eyes that seemed to be capable of reading minds, she wasn't sure she'd be able to pretend around this man.. She decided it was best to stay with Ashley's family.
As she gulped down the water he gave her using her free hand as the other was wrapped in a cast, she thought of how to make him agree to let her stay with her parents when she will be discharged. She needed to understand the personality of the person's body she occupied so as not to raise suspicion.
'Well here goes nothing' she thought to herself as she handed the glass back to him and he placed it on the table. She propped herself on the bed and cleared her throat "So Ethan…" She had been cut off by the sound of his phone ringing before she could say another word. She was grateful for that as she mentally scolded herself at how she addressed him. Was she meant to call him by his name? Do married couples do that?
So like what did the owner of the body refer to him as? Babe? Honey? Ughhhhh
She cringed at the thought of calling him by a pet name. Thankfully, he heard her though because he said,
"Hold on" as he proceeded to pick the call.
She couldn't hear the person on the other side of the phone but from the response he gave, it was a call from work.
"Schedule my flight for tomorrow…yes the press conference will be held…send the files to my office and send an email to Mr Wang about the contract agreements…"
That was all she heard, as she was still thinking of possible excuses on why she wanted to stay with her parents.
She was so lost in the sea of her thoughts that she didn't notice that he was done with the call .
"Ashley you seemed to have something you wanted to tell me earlier on"
SCORE! It seems they call each other by their first names.
"Ohhhh" she exclaimed as she been too busy jubilating, she forgot he asked a question. Her brain slowly processed what he said and she bobbed her head in agreement and response to his words.
"Indeed I want to talk to you about something." She paused to check for any facial expression of some sort, but there was none. " I want to stay with my parents for sometime and I was wondering if you would be okay with that" she said as she continued gazing at his face to see if there would be any change in his expressionless face.
"Okay that's alright you can stay with your parents after you've been discharged. I will be going on a business trip tomorrow and I won't be returning for about a week or two" he said as he unbuttoned the collar of his shirt. She could see his Adams' apple bobbing up and down as he spoke. Elisa swallowed, 'hmm. This husband of 'hers' is quite attractive' she thought to herself. Wait, what did she just say to herself??
There were approaching footsteps and Elisa assumed it was Ashley's mom and her siblings, and it was. As they entered the ward Ethan made his way to them.
"I'll be heading back to the office to pick some files and I will be going on a business trip and I won't be back in a week or two. I will have to trouble you with taking care of Ashley as I can't leave her alone at home when she has been discharged " Ethan spoke as he was buttoning his collar which he had removed previously.
"That's alright son, it's not troublesome at all, it's a win for me, I get to spend time with my daughter and take care of her, just be careful on your business trip" Ashley's mom said as she touched his hands.
"I will be taking my leave then." He said as he made his way to the door.
Ashley's mom made her way to meet her on the bed. She dropped a food flax on the table "I brought brunch for you Ashley, you have to eat something before you collapse again, my poor little girl" her eyes turning red as she said that.
Elisa could feel her heart become warm at her words, she could feel the love and care she had for her daughter, "Okay mom" she muttered under her breath.
Ashley's mom smiled and sat down at the edge of the bed to feed her as she didn't want her to stress herself in any way.
Lucas had left the ward with his earphones in his ears, his disinterest in whatever was going on was quite evident. Wendy was staring at her with concern and Elisa admired her hair as it looked all cute and she looked adorable. Then her gaze moved to Jessy who had just peeled an apple and handed it over to her mom, who in turn fed it to her.
Elisa wondered if Ashley's Dad was alive or dead, and if he was alive why wasn't he here?
"Ohh Ashley your dad is calling, say hi to your dad, he wants to speak to you." Ashley's mom said as she handed the phone to her. Spwak of the devil.
'Ohh it is a facetime' she thought as she saw the face of a man who looked older and also energetic at the same time, he had greyish black hair and looked quite handsome.
"Hello dad" she said feeling a little awkward inside of her, because she wasn't the original owner of the body, but when she saw the hanging tear on the corner of his eyes, her heart melted and she felt closer to him more than ever. She had this feeling of familiarity and close bond. "Ashley, how are you doing? I'm so sorry I couldn't be there with you right now, I've been winded up with work and currently very far away from home, I'm so sorry baby girl" Ashley's dad said trying to hide the crack in his voice.
"I'm fine dad. When will you be back? I miss you already…"Elisa could tell that the body was controlling her into saying these things, and she went with the flow. She ended up talking and laughing with him for over thirty minutes.
"Alright pumpkin. Rest now. I'll call tomorrow." He said and she nodded in response. She blew him a kiss before the call disconnected. When she looked up from the phone, she saw her new mum smiling at her. It was evident from the way she looked at her that she was very pleased with the call.
Elisa could tell that Ashley was closer to her dad than anyone else in the family.
Then her mind wandered to Ethan. What kind of relationship did they both have? Were they really married or was it a facade, and if indeed they were married, was it because they loved each other?
….
Elisa was discharged from the hospital
As she was wheeled to the car by Jessy, she tried to start conversations, to get to know her better, but her curt words told her everything. She was not as disinterested as Lucas, but just not the right person to go to if you wanted to have long talks. She seemed very reserved and business minding and would only talk if it was really necessary. "So, um, I don't know," Elisa sighed. "I'm trying to bond with you. I feel somewhat disconnected from you after you know, the accident"
"We were cool," Jessy replied. "We didn't have to talk to be cool. There was just no lingering bad air or anything".
"oh" Elisa decided to give up trying. Thankfully, she could see Mrs Davis —Ashley's mum —standing in front of a car with the back seat open.
"Lucas!" Mrs Davis shouted angrily at the boy who was already seated in the back playing games on his phone.
"I'm busy mom" he responded, his eyes not peeling away from the screen.
Wendy angrily dragged the phone from his hands, only then did he lift his eyes, glaring angrily at everyone, especially Wendy.
"Are you crazy?" He was so close to grabbing the phone, but she moved away, his eyes landing on the words written boldly on the screen of his phone 'YOU LOSE'. "You just made me lose!!" His attempts in retrieving his phone increased.
"Nuh uh" Wendy dashed out of the car, determined not to let him reach it.
"Stop what you're doing and come lift your sister into the car" Mrs Davis yelled, using the distractions to tell him what she wanted him to do. A personal nurse was assigned to her, but she wasn't going to be available until tomorrow and even if she was available, she wouldn't be able to lift Ashley.
"What? I'm not doing that" Lucas replied, not looking at his mum, his eyes locked on the prize— his phone.
"Wen, give me my phone this instant" He said with a tone of authority, but that didn't work on his sister. She just laughed at his advances, which was biting down on his ego.
Mrs Davis decided to step in. "Wendy, give him the phone, child"
Meanwhile, Jessy couldn't stand there and watch all the drama. Without alerting anyone, she lifted Elisa though with some difficulty, and placed her inside the car.
"Can we go now?" She asked once she was done. Everyone halted their actions and looked towards her. They looked at the empty wheelchairs which she had folded, wondering what happened in a twinkle of an eye. Then they looked inside the car and found Ashley seated already. Lucas used this opportunity where Wendy was distracted to retrieve his phone from her hands.
Elisa had turned to look at them, letting out a chuckle when she saw the shock and confusion all over their faces.
"Sure" Mrs Davis said and settled down. "Let's go"
…..
The car came to a halt and once again Elisa had to be carried down.
Elisa thought about the fact that someone was going to be doing things for her and that sucked. Thinking about it made her cringe, but she had no choice. She didn't choose the body, she just somehow ended up in it. The day was a long one and she couldn't wait to retire.
Jessy carried her down and Wendy was the one who wheeled her in once the car drove into the villa and came to a halt in front of a mansion these people call 'home'.
There was a fountain in front of the villa and there was a garden at the side of the house. The house was really big and looked like the house of 'upper class people' This was the height she fought so hard to attain, and she did until….
'What sort of people are they, to be able to afford such a house and even a private ward or was it the influence of Ethan?' Elisa thought as she was being wheeled into the mansion. It was also a three story building and they seemed to have workers at home which was quite understandable; the house was very huge to start with so it was expected.
They also had a butler, he had opened the door as she was being wheeled inside and instructed the workers to get the things in the car.
Wendy was more open and free spirited than Jessy. She didn't need persuasion into speaking. Elisa didn't need to say anything.
Wendy had asked "How does it feel to be crippled?" That should be offensive in some way, but Elisa found it funny and cute.
"Break a leg and you'd know" Elisa responded teasingly.
"I'd rather not," Wendy replied with a suppressed chuckle. "I didn't mean to sound rude or mocking, I'm just curious, " Wendy said, even though she knew Ashley's response was teasing.
Elisa let out a short breath, preparing to explain how it felt.
"My legs are numb. I can't move them. It feels like the bone are disconnected from the rest of my body"
"Wow! That must suck" Wendy paused. "To be honest, I was so shocked when you sprang up and ran into the bathroom like some psycho…No offense.." she quickly added. "But I thought you were possessed or something" She laughed and maybe Ashley would have laughed too, but this wasn't Ashley, this was Elisa. It wasn't a joke. Ashley was indeed possessed by this new soul. Elisa
....
It's been close to a week since Elisa came back from the hospital and so far things have been quite alright. She had learnt quite a bit about Ashley's family.
Ashley's mom, Mrs Davis had the habit of tending to the flowers in the garden and also planting some vegetables. She took great pleasure in doing that. She also likes hosting tea parties as she has a rare obsession for teas. Her personality was quite cheery and outgoing l. One could tell where Wendy got her personality from.
Ashley's dad was a man with a big heart. He was reserved but spoke when needed. Although he seemed to be quite swamped with work he still made time to spend with his family. He called his wife during her gardening hours and also enjoyed cooking for the family anytime he had the opportunity to do that.
Jessy was the second child of the family. She was quite withdrawn from the entire family. She was very much introverted and was also very responsible, she was currently in her third year, majoring in architecture and stays in the dormitory most times so she doesn't get to see her so often.
Lucas was the fourth and only son of the family. He was just like the typical teenage boy, grumpy and always stuck to his phone, he doesn't seem to bother about the world around him as far as he had his phone on him. The only thing he does other than glueing his eyes to his phone was playing basketball and he was pretty good at it too..
'This family of weird and quirky people was actually a prominent high class family' Elisa thought.
As Elisa was given physical therapy, her mind went back to everything that had happened ever since she came back from the hospital. She got to know a few things about Ashley. Ashley was a certified chef, but ever since she got married she never worked. She was also quite reserved like her parents.
Elisa wasn't told about all this; She just found herself knowing about it from little glimpses of things around, like the tea cups.
She could tell it was the memories of the owner of the body — Ashley
According to her PT she was making a very fast progress which was quite surprising, ' it seems this body has quite a good constitution' she thought.
Roughly after an hour of the physical rehabilitation, Elisa requested that she be left alone. Thoughts surged into her mind as she gazed outside the window, ' I need to recover as quickly as possible for me to set things in motion'. This inability to walk is a hindrance and also a curse. She hated the fact that she couldn't get anything done like this.
…..
After Elisa had dinner, with the help of the nurse she wheeled herself to the sitting room. Wendy and her mom were there conversing . The TV was turned on for her as she requested. She was handed the remote as she switched channels trying to find something interesting. She finally stopped at a channel. It was a news channel. They seemed to be reporting about a death…..'wait hold on that's my death they are talking about…' she thought as she straightened her back on the chair now listening with rapt attention the expression on her face hardening, as the scene on the screen changed.
It was a press conference that her sister Bella held
Bella had her hair covered in a black scarf and had sunglasses on, it created the image that she was trying to hide her pain as she also looked frail and pale. This look was enough to draw sympathy from people. It truly looked like she was mourning the death of her dear sister.
The camera shuttles could be heard and the reporters all seated waiting for Bella's speech
"Good day everyone, thank you all for making yourself available for this press conference. I have few things I would like to speak on," she choked out as she removed her sunglasses, everyone could see her puffy red eyes, it looked like she had just shed tears before coming.
Sniffling she said, " Elisa might have been a star and a high and mighty actress but to me she was just my little sister, she was my entire world and her sudden death is a hard pill for me to swallow" her eyes reddening and tears threatening to spill from them as she spoke
"From the report released by the police she died when she fell off the balcony and that was because she was drunk…my sister isn't someone to drink recklessly. I had failed as an elder sister to be there when she needed me the most and I can't forgive myself for what happened ,if..if..if only I knew..," tears were now streaming down her cheeks.
"The investigation has been closed officially and the police will make an official statement, I'll try my very best to live on the legacy of my sister" Bella said
As she stood up, she took a deep bow, her shoulders trembling as she let out a barely audible "Thank you"
The cameras were shutting crazily, trying to capture this heartfelt moment, everyone was clearly so moved by the speech.
Elisa sat there as she watched her sister display her acting skills. Her eyes were almost bloodshot as she stared at the TV unblinkingly, her eyes containing a lot of emotions that could not be spoken.
Wendy felt her obvious shift in emotions. "Are you alright?" she asked, but she didn't receive a response.
"Ashley, are you alright?" she asked again. Elisa snapped out back to reality. With a small smile, "Yeah I am" she answered back.
Wendy didn't know if it was just her but the temperature in the room seemed to be low, her back was cold and also sweating at the same time. Slightly confused, she thought of checking the room temperature.
Elisa sat there in silence, as her mind went back to what she had just seen. Her stomach twisted in disgust and hate, her eyes flashing an indescribable emotion as she dug her nails into her palm so hard that she bled, and she snarled as she thought 'just you wait sister…'