My words had barely left my mouth when the door swung open and Darrel walked in. His expression was cold, an unspoken accusation glinting in his eyes. “What judgment? Are you two picking something out?” he asked, his hand reflexively reaching toward the phone in my lap. I slipped it back into my mom’s bag before he could grab it.
Sensing the tension, Mom quickly left, giving me a brief nod as she shut the door behind her. The moment she was gone, Darrel sat down in the chair by my bed, pulling out his phone. The silence was suffocating, broken only by the soft, syrupy voice that floated through the speaker on his phone. It was her—Natalie, the intern.
“Sir, you’re not in the office today,” she cooed, her voice tinged with mock innocence. “Some people keep bothering me... I’m so scared. I don’t know what to do. You know I’m just a helpless girl…”
Darrel’s expression darkened. He shot up from his chair, his face twisted with concern, his voice rough. “Don’t worry, Natalie. Just go to my office. Nobody will touch you there. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
He didn’t even look back at me as he shoved his phone into his pocket and headed for the door, not a single word of goodbye. It wasn’t the first time he’d left me without a second thought, like some stranger he barely knew. I watched the door close behind him, the emptiness in my heart as vast as ever.
Once the silence settled back in, I took a moment to let the numbness pass, then dialed my cousin’s number. She’d practically raised me after my parents left for business abroad, so we were as close as siblings. Darrel had been in our lives since then too.
We’d all gone to the same boarding school, growing up together. Eventually, my cousin got married and when our family home was demolished, Darrel insisted I move in with him for my “safety.”
Seven years later, we were still living under the same roof, but the dream had died.
When my cousin picked up, her voice was bright, practically bursting with excitement. “Finally! Seven years and it’s finally happening. When’s the wedding? Tell me the date—I want to be there in person, to see this day come true. After all this time, you both deserve it!”
“I don’t even know much about the person I’m marrying,” I muttered, trying to make light of it. “It’s all a family setup… It’ll probably be fine.”