The haunted bride - Season 3 - Episode 22

4 years ago

The haunted bride - Season 3 - Episode 22

Elena spun round at the sound of the soft voice.

‘Good morning’? She stared at the girl with questioning eyes. Idara was definitely a teenager; maybe seventeen or eighteen. She had small eyes and thick lips. It was her friendly smile that caught Elena’s attention.
‘You’re welcome, I’ve been expecting you’. Idara stared at the box Elena carried.
Elena laughed, ‘really? You should call me Elena. I am not comfortable with “Ma”’.
Idara had a feeling she would say that. She had noticed the grimace on Elena’s face when she’d addressed her formally. She was already comfortable around Elena; all she needed was more time.
‘Can I show you to your room now’? Idara asked.

‘Yes, I don’t have much time’. Elena quickly checked her wristwatch. She had just ten minutes left from the time Aniekan had given to her. She couldn’t test his patience on her first day at work, neither could she leave a bad impression at the Games Village.
Idara walked briskly and led her towards the master wing of the white house; before Elena, only her boss had occupied this wing. For him to share it with Elena was significant. Idara wasn’t sure of it, but she had a feeling Aniekan liked Elena in a special way.
She couldn’t let whatever feeling he had to go further. First, she had to tell him the secret; after which he could go ahead in pursuing Elena. All she needed was time, before Ada and Elvis’ evil plans sabotaged her good plan.

‘This house is so big’. Elena’s eyes glowed like a child’s who had seen a great wonder. All her life, she had never come across such a big house. She now understood why the media nicknamed Aniekan Umo’s home as the “white house.”
Everything about the house was magnificent. The designs and colors weren’t just intricate; they were exceptional. The white house had been established for a king; Aniekan Umo was that king. And his abode suited him well.

‘Wait, till I show you to the other wings’. Idara smiled.
‘Other wings’? Elena rolled her eyes. She couldn’t believe there were other wings in the bungalow.
‘There are four wings; this is the main wing. There is the kitchen wing, the garden wing and…’, Idara bit her lip. She had almost spilled important information to Elena. Though Elena would become part of the white house, she was just a new born. She wasn’t ready to learn of the tragedy that had taken place three years back.

Elena noticed Idara’s action. Obviously, she had wanted to say something extra, but she’d suddenly choked on her own words. It made Elena wonder if the girl was scared of her. Or maybe there was something Idara didn’t want her to know.
‘You only mentioned three wings. What about the fourth’? Elena pressed on.
Idara felt her brows being drenched in sweat. She didn’t want to ruin this first meeting with Elena; but she didn’t want to lose her job either. Definitely, Aniekan wouldn’t be pleased if she shared such delicate information about her former mistress. It wasn’t in her place to share the news.
‘Um, I think you should hurry back to the boss. He is a very punctual person and he gets angry if someone wastes his time’. Idara had to find a way to distract Elena from asking more questions about the wing she’d refused to mention. This was her best shot at it, and she hoped that it would work.
Elena lifted a mocking brow. Idara wasn’t smart. Elena felt Idara wanted to get rid of her, so she wouldn’t answer the question about the wings in the white house. But she was also right about Aniekan and punctuality. While going through his online profile, she had come across something like that.
One of Aniekan’s turnoffs was not keeping to time and she didn’t want to be in his black book.

‘I’ll help unpack your box, if you want me to. The room has already been cleaned out. Everything is perfect’. Idara continued. From the look on Elena’s face, her sweet words were doing magic.
Elena chuckled, ‘you little imp! You think you are wise eh? I am only leaving, because I don’t want to be late. But the moment I return, I am getting all that hidden information from you. Cheers’! Elena grabbed her bag tightly and waved Idara goodbye.

Idara felt guilty for keeping the truth from Elena, but it was what any right thinking person would do. How could she tell Elena about the forbidden wing? First, that was the room Elena had been held captive by Ada?
The forbidden wing held a lot of painful memories to most people living and working in the white house; Elena had no business knowing about the place. Idara was determined to keep that secret away from her. She could only tell her about the forbidden wing, when the time was ripe.
‘Bye Ma’, Idara pushed a smile and waved.
She waited until Elena’s figure had disappeared, before she parted the door to the room and moved in with the box.

It hadn’t been up to six hours, since their daughter left them for the white house, but Tamar and her ex husband were already feeling lonely. All their children were grown, and had moved out of the house. This was a new reality for them, especially Tamar, who’d never been alone before.
After their divorce, she had kept her children and done the job of raising them alone. Due to her hatred for their father, she limited their visits to his house to once in a month. But Tamar noticed that the kids all preferred Benjamin to her.

A sad smile roused the corner of her lips as she glared at the pictures on the wall of her room. There were pictures of her four children- Eno, Cassandra, Elvis and Elena. They were no longer children now, they were all grown.
For the first time, Tamar felt different about staying in the mansion all by herself. She was empty and lonely; was this how she would live the rest of her life? All the servants she had were gone. Fear gripped her, as she imagined ending her days in such a lonely manner.