Geneva clutched her throat, not sure what was happening; it had been a few monts since those two... well, technically, three incidents had sparked her off so much that she lost her composure. Sothing she had never done since her marriage.
Among the three issues—one being Ian’s health decline, followed by the circulating news—despite her frustration, the final matter was the worst, and Geneva could not shake off that dreadful sound from her mind. It involved a recording, and that was also why Geneva had lashed out at Aliya the mont she entered the receiving area.
The recording crackled to life as if Geneva was re-listening to it. The most distinct thing about this was the heavy silence punctuated by the sound of a woman’s shallow breathing as if she were trying to hold back her tears.
Her voice erged, shaky but layered with raw emotion as if each word cost her sothing. This was a voice Geneva recognized very much. It was none other than Aliya, and this was the recording that was circulating in the dia throughout the night till that ti of the day.
It also shed so ’truth’ to the supposedly fake marriage between Ian and Shelby, at least in the masses.
Aliya’s voice was indeed pitiful....
"I... I don’t know where to begin. I was gone ... just for a while. I an, I kind of understand them because I was presud dead ... but my body was never found! To , it was only a short while. That’s all it was. And yet... everything I built, everything I held close... it was gone when I returned."
Aliya’s voice trembled, and there was a pause, the faint sound of her swallowing hard.
"He didn’t wait. He didn’t search. He just... replaced . It hurts so bad!
Her! Of all people, her. Because she was beautiful, I suppose. That’s all it took for him to forget everything. Our promises. Our family."
Aliya’s breath hitched, and a faint sob escaped before she steeled herself, a quiet determination creeping into her tone.
"They call her his wife now. They smile at her and admire her grace. But I wonder... what would they say if they knew the truth? If they ... and the whole world knew I’m still alive?"
Her words hang, laden with a veiled accusation, the faintest undercurrent of bitterness leaking through.
"Is it really a marriage if the vows were made while I was still breathing? Is it love... if it ca so easily after ? I’m not here to tell them what to think, but I can’t help but wonder. Will they ever question it? Will he?"
Listening to it, any person who did not know the inside story would feel their heart go out to her, especially when it felt as if Aliya was confiding in soone and was recorded. That was the vibe from the tape.
Her voice softened, almost breaking then, as if speaking aloud had drained her strength.
"I’m not asking for much. I just... I just wanted to speak. To be heard. To remind soone—anyone—that I was here. That I’m still here. You’re my friend ri-"
The recording abruptly cut off, leaving a heavy silence in its wake. This had caused the most trendous uproar in the dia and was circulating at a viral rate.
This recording was the source of Geneva’s distress. However, at that mont, she had more significant battles to fight than to worry about so audio circulating in the masses.
With her hand still clutching her throat, Geneva’s fingers clawed at the base of her neck as though trying to pull free an invisible noose. Her lips parted in a silent scream, her chest heaving as panic painted her face in shades of terror. Alex and the rest looked on for a while, oblivious to her struggle. He founded and then patted Geneva’s back,
"Get your madam a-"
Before he had completed his statent, Suzie had brought over a glass of water. But then, Alex was the first to really glance her way, and his eyes t his wife’s pleading eyes and the unnatural, soundless way her mouth moved.
At the sa ti, the others in the room realized that Geneva wasn’t choking, and their vigilance relaxed but then they ca to the sa conclusion: She couldn’t speak. Not a single sound escaped her lips!
"Let that be a warning to you, old woman!"
The people around could not understand what was going on, but it sohow perated their minds that whatever was wrong with Geneva had sothing to do with Aliya, but it did not make any sense.
A couple of people, like Suzie and Samantha, understood perfectly well. In all this, Samantha did not move an inch!
"I’ll be in my roo-"
Aliya paused,
"You know what, I’ll move to Ian’s room! Get that d-"
"I’m sorry, Miss Aliya. That will not be possible!"
"Sorry?" Aliya said in a deadly tone. This made all at the scene pause because it was exactly what had happened in Geneva’s case.
Suzie took a deep breath, her chest puffing out in what she hoped looked like confidence but probably ca off as a bizarre mix of terror and stubborn resolve. She squared her shoulders, only for them to droop slightly under the weight of her own fear.
’Mistress! Murray! Please protect wherever you are! I have faith that you are still alive sowhere!’ Suzie chanted in her head. In as much as she was worried about her mistress, Suzie had an unshakable faith in Murray, who had gone missing with Shelby. This had crept up from the little things she had seen Murray do. Ard with this ntal faith, Suzie repeated to Aliya,
"You’re a guest."
Suzie’s voice rose an octave higher than she intended. She quickly cleared her throat and tried a bit firr this ti. "And you will forever remain that way!"
Suzie’s insides were in absolute turmoil, but she stood her ground, her hands clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white. She was doing all she could not to twirl her pigtails to give her emotions away.
Suzie’s watery eyes darted nervously to the imposing woman before her, who had stopped mid-stride and now stared at her as though she were an entertaining sideshow.
Aliya’s smirk deepened, and she raised a single brow, the gesture so slow and deliberate it might as well have been rehearsed. Then, with a quiet chuckle, she spoke:
"Oh!" Aliya laughed softly, tilting her head like a cat watching a mouse try to roar. "You know what? ...."
Tension rose in the room when Aliya let her voice trail,
"Never mind."
Suzie blinked in surprise.
"Wait, that’s it?" The words tumbled out before she could stop them. Her courage faltered for a split second, but she quickly adjusted her stance, one hand darting up to smooth her dress nervously. "I an—good!"
Aliya turned slightly, amusent dancing in her eyes as she gave Suzie a mock salute. "I quite like your little show of courage," Aliya said, her tone dripping with mockery. "It’s... charming. But don’t get too comfortable. It’s only a matter of ti before I own everything here."
Then she turned to Samantha.
"You go do your thing for now," Aliya added, then turned away, not without sending an amused look at Geneva. This gave off the feeling that the distressed Geneva seed to give Aliya imnse happiness instead, and this ti, Alex stared at her in horror. Never in all of his life had he t soone like this. The woman scared him in ways he could not imagine.
With that, Aliya swept out of the room, her confidence as grand as a queen leaving her court.
Suzie’s trembling legs almost gave out beneath her. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, muttering under her breath, "Well, that went... okay? Right?"
Her knees wobbled, and she sagged, but Samantha supported her before she fell.
Suzie caught sight of her reflection on a reflective surface as she turned to thank Samantha.
"Pull yourself together," Suzie scolded her own pale and sweaty face. "The estate isn’t going to defend itself. Probably."
And with that, she straightened her dress once more, gave herself a small, shaky nod,
"It’s okay, Samantha. Let’s go see, Madam."
It only took a few seconds for Suzie to earn her deanour back.
She marched back to her duties, barking orders at the few workers who had started to pop their heads to see what was going on.
"Get back to work!"
She was determined not to let the fear show again—at least not until she was safely in the back rooms.
"Geneva! Talk to ! What is wrong with you?" Alex watched in distress, helpless to do anything for his wife,
"W-"
"Sir, let’s take Madam Geneva back to your chambers-"
"No, we need to go to the hospital! NOW!"
"The hospital cannot help her!"
"That will do nothing!"
Samantha and Suzie answered at the sa ti. It was the solemnity and the way of sureness that made Alex pause. Even Geneva turned to them.
"What do you an by that?" Alex asked, still supporting Geneva.
"Exactly what they said."
The three turned to see Currey strode in. They were a bit taken aback at his chilly deanour. It was unlike anything they had ever seen in the man,
"I think it’s ti to let you in on a few things and bring you up to speed, Mr and Mrs Thornston..."
*********
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