The fill-in wife - Episode 20

 

Rose:

"Mom he's here. He came early!" My sweaty palms are enough to make my phone slip off my hand and unto my bed. Or could it be my shaky hands? Nelson is back and my nerves are shot. We're supposed to get married tomorrow according to the text he sent me. It's gonna be a court wedding. What a nightmare.

"Calm down Rose . You've got this. You just have to slip that into the bottle of wine. You have to drink it also to remove suspicion from you but make sure you take the antidote as soon as you can." Mom's voice sounds completely cool. Of course, she's not the one who's attempting to poison the devil himself.

"It won't kill him right?" I ask. 
"Of course not baby. Just give him the drink and he'll be out of your way for good." 
"Mother." I sob out. 
"Shhhh. Don't cry baby. After today, it will all go away." I nod slowly.
 "Ok mom."
 "Call me when it's done." She says before ending the call.
 "Okay. I can do this." I pick my hairbrush from the table and brush my hair to look presentable but the woman I see in the mirror is totally not me. Eyes too big for my sullen face

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/the-fill-in-wife

. Hair looking dry and unattractive. Concealer can't even hide the bags under my eyes. I haven't slept for two days now.

"Madam, sir Nelson's car just pulled into the garage." My heart rate speeds up but I manage to answer. 
" I'll be right down." I pick myself up from the bed and head to my closet, dressing myself in records time. I stop at the kitchen to dish the food I had prepared earlier. I try my best to set the table correctly, not forgetting to place the bottle of wine beside Nelson's plate setting. I tweak the bottle nervously before deciding to leave it in the middle of the table so it wouldn't look suspicious before walking out to the sitting room to wait for Nelson.

"And if it isn't my lovely fiance." Nelson's booming voice sends cold chills up my spine. I mask my fear in a smile as he walks up to me and hug me like we are a loving couple.

"You look like sh*t. Make sure you look better at the wedding tomorrow." He whispers into my ear before pulling away. I grimace but once I see Grandma Catherine smiling at the both of us, I fake a laugh. 
"I've missed you." I force out and the bastard grins.
 "Of course you have." He says and the evil glint in his eyes takes away any guilt I had about taking him out of the picture.
 "I smell something great. The maid told me you cooked for me. That's sweet of you." Nelson says with a wink. Why do I feel sick to my stomach?
 "You guys can take the romance to the dining then. You're giving me an headache." Grandma Catherine says from behind us. 
"You are right Grandma. You should totally join us. I'm sure Rose cooked enough for you to join us." Nelson says to his grandma and I fidget where I stand. 
"What do you think, Rose." His eyes stare into mine as they dare me to say no. I gulp down saliva and nod. 
"Yes. Nelson's right. You must be famished from your journey. You should join us."
 "I don't want to impose on your catching up on things though." Grandma Catherine says.
 "Of course not. We can catch up when we go upstairs to the bedroom." Nelson says as he c*ress my upper arm. I cringe but Nelson only smiles. 
"I should probably ask the maid to set another plate for grandma." I say and walk in front of them to the dining room. I get there before them and quickly grab the bottle of wine. I can't let grandma drink this.

"Hey, where are you taking the wine to?" I freeze at Nelson's cold voice.
 "Ummm. Since grandma would be joining us, I thought I should get a better wine." I lie through my teeth. The bottle is snatched off my hands before I know it. 
"No need for that Rose. I'm sure grandma would love this one. Won't you granny?" He turns to ask grandma Catherine who just walked in. She just shrug.

"You see? Now sit down Rose." His glare tells me not to argue and I obey without words. The maids come in and our food and drinks are served. 
"That's it for today. I am giving you the rest of the day off." Nelson inform the maids and I wonder what he's planning. The maids thank him as they leave.

The table is dead quiet as everyone eat silently. I just pick through my food. I'm as nervous as hell. I focus down on my food while I think of a way out of this mess.
 "It's delicious baby. Never figured you as a cook." Nelson says after a while and I just nod. 
"You aren't eating." He states and I shrug. I feel a sudden pain on my thigh and I look down to see him grabbing me harshly.
 "Eat." He orders and I nod. It's now or never Rose. 
"I will just dish more stew." I say as I stand to put more stew on my plate. I make sure my hand hit the bottle of wine not too gently.
 "Oh my God! I'm so sorry." The bottle fall on the table and then rolls off it. 
"Caught it!" Nelson crouch on the ground as he saves the damn bottle of wine. 
"That was a close one." He says with his eyes fully on me. 
"I'll say this is a sign that our wedding tomorrow would get broken no matter who tries to crash it." He jokes and grandma laughs, totally not catching the meaning. I do though. The bastard knows something. 
"Let's make a toast." He uncork the wine slowly. Please no. Stop. Please. He grins knowingly at me while he fills three glasses.

"To life." He says simply. Grandma smiles and raise her glass up to clink his. I fidget with my glass. "What are you waiting for Rose? Drink your wine." I shake my head and grandma eyes me weirdly. "What's going on here?" She asks. "Rose, is anything going on?" He asks innocently. I can't admit I spiked the drinks. I shake my head and he smiles. 
"Let's drink to that then." He says and downs his drink. Grandma does the same and then both eyes fix on me. 
"Is something wrong, Rose?" Grandma asks again. I see her hide a grimace and my eyes sting with unshed tears. I'm sorry grandma. "Nothing's wrong. Here I'll just help her down the drink." Nelson's hand goes around mine on the glass and he forces it to my mouth. I try to close my lips but his hands go around my neck.
 "Drink it!" He yells as he squeezes. "What are you doing Nelson!" Grandma yells in horror. Her face is as white as sheets as she clutch her chest. Air leave my lungs and I unconsciously gasp for air thereby opening my mouth and the drink pours into my throat.
 "Please!" I scream as I nearly choke. Nelson lets go of my neck and I make a beeline for the stairs. I need to get the antidote.

My chest starts to constrict painfully but I force my body upstairs to the room. The damn door takes a while to open and when it does, I all but collapse into it. I crawl in anguish to the drawers where I kept the antidote and pull it open. Nothing. What the hell?! I clutch my chest as tears burn my eyes. Calm down, Rose. Just take calming breaths. I try to take calming breaths but it doesn't help.

Read " Falling For Innocence " by the same author ( Ameh juliet )

. Something drop on my short and I look down to see it's blood.

"Looking for something?" I look up from the ground to see Nelson standing by the door. His hands are idly in his pocket as he watches me. 
"Is this what you are looking for?" He pulls the little bottle out of his pocket and I gasp. 
"Please." That's all I can get out of my overworked lungs. 
"Perhaps I should give it to Grandma downstairs." He muses. I crawl over to him and hold on to his legs. 
"Please, I'll do anything." 
"Of course you will." He laughs out. "Bring in the papers." He says and his personal assistant comes in and drop some documents on my lap. A biro is forced into my hand and I sign on all the places he point at. 
"Good girl." He states after everything is done.
 "I guess I may now kiss the bride right?" He bursts into laughter while I continue to writhe in pain on the ground. He presses a rough kiss to my lips and my lungs hurt just like my chest. I gasp like an animal for air when he pulls away. "Look at you." He mocks. 
"Next time when you plan to kill someone, make sure he isn't smarter than you." He says before throwing the antidote at me. The bottle lands on the ground and breaks. I rush to where it falls and start licking the liquid off the ground. I must look pathetic right now.