Chapter Twenty–Seven: Out in the Dark
Anna, my new housekeeper and personal assistant, walked with the dresses hanging from her arm. Thomas’s family was doing a dinner get–together and still invited me, even when they knew they had been divorced for months. According to them, we have a child together, and so I was still part of the
family.
Evans had read the text with me, and even if I didn’t want to go, he said it was okay if I went. It would be the first time I would see Thomas in months. I didn’t know if I was ready for that.
“Come with me.” 1 had told him, but an emergency work call pulled him off my arms in the early hours of the morning. And so Angela was the only other person who could go alone, as I was not ready to face the Miles family alone.
Anna dropped the dresses on the bed. Her face was filled with an admixture of expressions that I could not quickly decipher as I tried to read her.
“Do you need me to do anything else?”
“No, not at all. I’d take it from here; you can wait in the living room; there is tea, coffee, cookies in the kitchen cupboard, and even whiskey; you can help yourself to any.”
“Alright, ma’am. The Miles family dinner starts in an hour.”
“I should be ready before that.” I forced out a wry smile. I watched Anna’s back as she walked out. The pointed heels of her shoes hitting the floor let out a clack, and her white shirt was tucked in a black straight skirt. She was a middle–aged woman who had been working for the company for over a decade. I had promoted her a couple of times into different positions, but she jumped at the offer when I announced I needed a personal assistant. She had watched me grow up and somehow taken care of me.
I took up the dresses in my arms. They were both ankle–length dresses. A red and peach silk dress. As I raised the dress a little higher, a white envelope fell off the dress. The envelope had a red ribbon around it and a design of pinkish kiss lips all over it. I tore it open, and a piece of paper with a well- written note met her eyes.
“Regina, my beautiful angel. You are all that I want. Every night I stay up in bed, thinking of the day I will finally feel your skin. I can’t take you off my mind; believe me, I have tried. All I want is a chance for us to be together so that I can show you what you mean to me. I adore you and wish you would be mine. You are like the stars I look up to in the night sky. It glistens and glows, just like you. I love you,
baby.”
I held the letter in my hands and walked out towards the living room, where Anna sat on the sofa
chair.
“Who delivered this to you?” I asked.
“What’s that?” Anna asked, moving closely towards me, to take a proper look at the letter.
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“A letter has a stamp on it; I think it was mailed here.”
“Oh, when I got to the porch, a mailman gave that to me; I thought I had misplaced it when I came in,” she replied, smiling.
“Did the mailman say anything else to you?”
“No, he didn’t,” she said.
“Alright.”
“What does it say?” Anna asked.
I was caught in between my thoughts on whether I should tell her about the content of the letter. I looked back at her for a while, but then I said nothing, holding back my words instead.
“Don’t worry about it, Anna. It’s nothing pressing.” I assured myself and walked back inside.
I just had an hour left to prepare for a dinner. I certainly do not want to attend, but thanks to Angela, she had promised to show up and would meet me at the location. And so I headed to the bathroom for a quick shower.
As I ran her hands around my body, washing off as water dripped down, My mind drifted to the letter I had just seen.
“A secret admirer? Who could it be?”
The thought of the mystery lover created a smile on my lips as I watched the mirror run my hands through my wet hair as a means to detangle it. I took up the brush, running it through my hair as well. In a bit, my hair was free of tangles; it was straight brownish hair that fell to my back. The sweet- smelling almond oil in my hair was next; I had it in a perfect bun. The red dress ran to my ankle; I had chosen it because it brought out my skin tone. There was a cleavage from a part in my thighs to the end of the dress. It was sleeveless, so it revealed my neck and part of my chest. I held on to my golden purse on golden heels with a diamond necklace around my neck. It was a birthday present Evans had
gotten me.
I watched myself in the mirror for a while, applying finishing touches to the makeup on my face. I adjusted my dress and necklace for a final, perfect look.
“You look absolutely stunning, ma’am.” Anna said as she watched me take steps into the living room.
“Oh, dear, you really don’t have to flatter me. I have seen better days.”
“But this is not flattery.” Anna said as she moved out of the sofa chair where she had sat for more
than an hour.
“Thank you, Anna. I’m sorry I took that long. Shall we go now?”
“Yes, of course.” Anna led me out of the door as we walked with Anna in front into the parking lot. I stood for a while, surveying the area, before entering the car. A new habit I had started ever since the secret admirer and the troll. I was certain the mailman never came at night.
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The ride was smooth; Anna stared at me from the rear view mirror at intervals, and I was compelled to speak as everything suddenly started feeling weird.
“How is the ride, ma’am? Are you enjoying it, I hope?”
“Yes, I am. Why did you ask that?”
“I just thought maybe I was speeding or too slow.”
“You don’t have to bug your head about all of that.
Just before we drove past the estate gate, I sighted a black figure just beside one of the bushes, staring at me. I was sure it was this because the figure didn’t move. As Anna hit a bump, I shifted my gaze from the black figure for a while. But as I looked back, I didn’t find anyone at the spot where I had once seen the black figure. I could have sworn I had seen someone, and the person was watching me. Yeah, someone was definitely watching me closely. Maybe I would have looked at the windows in the room and over my shoulders more often. The person might have been watching. Could it be the same person who scribbled down that love note? I thought to myself.
