Forced Marriage: Escaping Her Monster

Jerlina got so confused and paranoid and she kept on having nightmares during her sleep. Sometimes she felt like she was not exactly existing and was living someone else's life. She questioned whether everything happening to her, is actually happening or not.

But then, she'd sit on the balcony beside the planter and the pain in her heart would remind her of everything that transpired in her life.

That little plant will pull her back to reality each time she was about to lose herself.

Thankfully, after that breakfast, she didn't see any of them for the next few days. But with no one disturbing her, she found herself losing time without knowing.

Most of the time, she just lied on the floor and stared at the ceiling forgetting the time. Some times she wondered if TJ will accept the offer for her company. Other times, she just stared blankly.

At times, she sensed little flutters in her stomach as if she was pregnant and then there would be heaviness hitting her heart, making her cry uncontrollably.

When she fell asleep, she got nightmares of her stay in the cabin and her failed attempts to escape.

Most times she didn't know if it was morning or evening. But she heard a lot of animals. Especially coyotes and dogs – a lot of dogs. They howled and barked. She wanted to take a look, but she couldn't put herself to get up and look out of the window.

She didn't want to get up to take a shower or even to use the bathroom.

She rarely felt hungry and only pushed herself to get up to tend to the rose plant. That plant which is the grave of her baby was the only thing that pushed her to move around to eat. She needed the energy to take care of the plant after all.

The kitchen on the second floor had a fully stocked refrigerator and Jerlina cooked her food and ate on the second floor. In the two days, she could push herself to eat only thrice and she knew she had a problem when she couldn't even keep the meals in.

She knew what this condition is – depression.

Those two days passed without her taking a shower or even brushing her teeth. That morning as she was watering the planter carefully, she saw TJ in the backyard.

It seemed like TJ was staying in the guest house outside and she saw him emerge out from a shed in the backyard.

The backyard was very large with the fence, not insight. The West side fence was visible and she could see the houses she saw on the way here, which were next to the mansion.

The South of the house was the woods that extended as far as the eye could see. And in the clearing thirty meters from the mansion, there was a wood chipper close to the shed. From the sound emitted from the shed, Jerlina figured that the shed is some sort of workshop used by TJ.

She saw him scrolling through his phone and it was only then she got reminded of her phone. She was one of those who thought they cannot live without their phone until a month ago.

How wrong was I!

But that day she drove to find Gerard to inform him of her pregnancy, she was blocked by a couple of cars and was brought to the cabin. She was stripped of everything except her clothes and was kept captive in there. The entire cabin was left for her, but she had no way to contact the outside world. Her only hope then was that someone would find her. As days passed, she lost her hope of getting rescued.

Until that day... Emma came to her and gloated about her wedding. She accidentally left the door open and her car keys were on the dining table. It was that day Jerlina escaped – a big mistake.

Maybe if she didn't escape that day, her baby would have...

Jerlina took a deep breath and walked to the table where she saw her phone the other day. Holding her phone, she let out a dry laugh. There were no missed calls or messages.

What a life I have led!

She saw the icon of the social media app and she clicked it. Her fingers automatically searched for Gerard's handle.

Her lips curved to a mocking smirk when she saw his profile. He had changed his relationship status to married and he also was very proudly proclaiming that he is the husband of Emma Harrison.

HaHa...Gerry... You used to laugh at people who mentioned their partners in their profile... You used to say if their relationship with someone is their achievement, they must be boring... You never mentioned me as your girlfriend in your profile. But you could mention Emma.

She saw the various pictures of them smiling happily and bitterness spread in her heart. She locked her phone and lied on the bed closing her eyes. Tears escaped the corner of her eyes.

Shame on me! Why am I the one crying when I did nothing wrong?

Jerlina sat up and wiped her eyes.

If this is the reason TJ returned my phone to me, I refuse to behave the way he wants me to.

She poured herself a glass of water and drank it slowly as she stared at her phone. Reaching a decision, she unfollowed and blocked Gerard. As if that was not enough, she deleted the app too. She wanted nothing to d with anything.

If anything the past month taught her is that online followers and friends are as useful as a box of rocks, and her 'family' she endured is as useful as a bag of shit. She wanted them no more.

Just then she received a call from an unknown number and she answered the call and a polite voice greeted her from the other end.

"Hello, this is Darren Scott from Britsby. Am I speaking to Ms. Jerlina Hopkins?"

"This is Jerlina Hopkins. Pardon me, did you say you're from Britsby?"

Jerlina was surprised. Britsby is the biggest international real estate brokerage firm and if she heard right, the one who is speaking to her - Darren Scott is one of the best real estate brokers in the world.

As someone who worked as the secretary of the CEO of a construction company, she knew a lot of things in that industry. Britsby usually works with millionaire and billionaire clienteles and deals with properties valued in millions of dollars. They are not someone any Tom, Dick, and Harry can hire.

Why the hell would I receive a call from them?

"Yes, I'm Darren Scott. I called you about your company Hopkins Glasswares. I have a client who wants to buy that company for twenty million dollars. Can we set a time to discuss it further?" his voice was professional and smooth. As a veteran in his field, he came straight to the point.

Wait, what? Twenty million dollars? What the...