EVADNE
Angelo dropped me off at my apartment early in the morning after taking me grocery shopping. I had an off day today so I had my whole day planned out. Laila went to work so I'd be alone today and honestly I was fine with that. I'll watch Netflix, and maybe a bit of MSA, Woa fairytales LDA.
The apartment was clean so I guessed Laila had cleaned before going to work. I packed the food, some in the fridge and some in the cupboards. This would be enough to sustain us for a week, he even let me choose snacks and junk food, a supply of them actually, all in packages. I took out the steak and marinated it with a couple of spices before putting it in the oven.
After all the packing I took a quick bath and prepared for my movie marathon. The steak I put in the oven was ready by the time I was done bathing and wearing my clothes so I switched off the oven and put the steak on a plate.
I could never afford steak, before Angelo I think the last time I had eaten it was, well in my dreams. My parents were too poor to afford steaks and prawns in fancy restaurants. I don't even remember how they look anymore but I guess it's for the best that they don't have to worry about me anymore. I wonder how they are doing now without me. I wonder if life has become better for them. I hope they are doing well.
I set up a table so I wouldn't have to go to the kitchen to get more food. The steak was huge so sure enough it would fill me up. I took a packet of biltong and soft drink and a finishing touch of a slice of cake.
Finally I sat down on the couch and turned on the TV and searched for the royals because I had not finished the remaining 5 episodes last night. Nora Fatehi is not only a good actress but a hot actor. I loved the scene where she was wearing an elegant red lehenga, she looked like a goddess.
I decided to take a break after watching the royals and cleared the table after which i swept my mess and washed the dishes while trying to decide what i should watch next.
When I was finally done with cleaning up my little mess I had already decided that I would watch Beauty in black. I'd read so many reviews about the series, it sounded interesting.
I put the dish cloth on top of the dishes that were on the dish rack.
I was about to go to the living room when a sudden knock on the door stopped me in my tracks.
I listened for a second and it came again this time more urgent than the first knock.
I'm not expecting anyone today and laila barely ever has anyone over unless she comes with them herself.
Unless it was actually a criminal, a thief perhaps, or a serial killer.
A serial killer, seriously during the day.
I giggled at the silly thought and the knock drawed me out of my little moment once again.
I opened the door and I was startled by who was standing on my doorstep wearing a loose fitted black dress, embedded with black beads as off shoulder arm design, it had a deep v neck but on her it looked more like she was hung on the washing line.
I didn't mean to be rude considering she was in tears, the eyeliner , mascara or whatever
makeup but it ws black and there were black traces of whatever it was mixed with her tears down her face.She looked like she was hit by a train.
"Esmeralda, come on in. What happened to you?"I said with an awkward smile.
She came in and I closed the door after her. I'm not sure why she would come to me for comfort but a little part of my heart was warmed that she came to me, maybe she trusted me.
That feeling was soon replaced by guilt as I remembered the kiss I had shared with Saint at the strip club that night. I pushed the thought away because I had to be positive if I wanted to cheer her up.
I offered her a seat but she refused. For two excruciatingly long minutes she was quiet and her silence was killing me.
"I need you to get married to Saint in my place."
I looked at her playfully and laughed my heart out.
"Wow. You're such a great actress, Esmeralda. It is not April fools and I definitely will not fall for this prank. Nice try."
She was not laughing, I saw tears roll down her face but she did not break down and she did not laugh either, that's when I realized she was serious.
"You…you are serious? You can't be serious. You love him and he loves you and your wedding is in four months. Esmeralda, what's going on?"
"I love Saint. I really do, I love him with all my heart and I wish I could be with him till death do us part, I wish I could fall asleep in his arms, I wish I could bear his children, but I can't do that because I only have one month to live and I'll die soon."
"Esmeralda, I know marriage is scary and so is death and death is inevitable but that doesn't mean you will necessarily die after marriage. It's okay if you're anxious about the wedding but you will be okay."
She shook her head in denial and began removing her jewellery one by one, the necklace, the earrings, the crown on her head, the hand jewelry and she was trembling violently.
She sobbed quietly and undid her neatly done hair, she looked so fragile and yet I couldn't possibly marry Saint because of her fears. It's normal to be anxious before your wedding right, yeah it is.
"Look, this dress doesn't even fit me because I chose your size, I chose your size so you can wear it, it will fit you so perfectly. You will look so beautiful in this dress and you'll look even more majestic with the veil and crown, just make sure he doesn't see you until you are pronounced husband and wife."
She smiled bitterly as she tried to undo the buttons at the back of her dress but her fumbling was useless. The dress seemed to frustrated her as she couldn't get it off of herself. She bit her lips and furiously tried unbuttoning her dress to no avail.
I stepped closer and took her hands away from the dress, holding them in front of me. I smiled at her and I couldn't help but cry despite trying to calm her down myself.
I pulled her into my embrace and she stayed motionless, I almost thought she had calmed down but then she pushed me away.
"I have cancer Evadne. I have brain cancer and I'm going to die Evadne don't you understand. I have only one month left to live and I'm going to die. I can't marry Saint. I'm going to die. Please. Please. I'm begging you Evadne. You're the only one who will love him and take care of him after I'm gone please. "She collapsed to her knees, tears streaming down her face as her body shook with sobs. Her hands covered her eyes as if trying to hide from the pain .
She then held her head and started wincing and gasping for breath.
"Esmeralda, Esmeralda, common please, I'll do it, I'll marry Saint don't cry."
"It hurts Evadne…my…my head hurts."