Shattered_An Innocent Wife

A cry for help

Her eyes watched silently when her father's coffin was being lowered into the ground. Never in her life, she felt this lonely. Her eyes met Adi's who was standing on the other side. Sydney needed to ask her so many things and to tell her everything. But the moment she takes a step forward Jennifer caught her arm and held her in place. Jennifer made her wear long sleeve dress that had a collar around the neck. Perfectly hiding the marks of lashes on her body. Everybody noticed the limp in her walk but they ignored thinking she is weak in her sorrow. She was sure that she gestured Addison to talk to her but her last hope died when she saw her leaving in Caleb's arm. Is she not even gonna talk to me? Why? She thought. The whole crowd of people was there but not a single person was there to hear her inner cries for help.

And the moment she saw the very same Cherokee Jeep coming to the ground she felt so suffocated that her body collapsed to the ground.

She woke up in her room feeling dizzy. She knew she had a fever. Her back was still soaring from the lashes. She sat there for a while with her head in hands. But when she looked up her room was haunting her. The whole incident flashed in her room. She felt his sweaty hand on her mouth muffling her screams. The sharp pain she felt between her legs. The voice of cane cutting the air and the things he told her were ringing in her ears. I am so sorry. I won't tell anyone again. I promise. Please stop. She started having a panic attack. The walls of the rooms felt so suffocated. She left her room to find the whole house in dark. The reality hit her. There was no dad in this house anymore. She gets to her father's room. The room had been cleaned. It doesn't even have the scent her father used. She gets to her father's bed and cried herself to sleep.

Her eyes shot open on the ring of phone echoing in the whole house at 4 AM. She rose from her bed with groggy eyes to get to the phone. "Hello," She said with a very sore throat. "Hello, kitten." The man on the other side said. She knew who was this person. She cut the call with her shaky hands and fell on the couch. She started crying loudly and let out all the tears.

The phone rang again. This time she didn't pick up. Thinking that where Jennifer was useless. But I can call Addison. She thought. She gets to her father's room and when she found the cell phone in the drawer she dials it for Adi's cellphone. It was Caleb who picked up. "Hello," Caleb answered. "I need to talk to Addison." She said. Her voice filled with anxiety.

There was a long pause on the other side. For a second Sydney thought that line might have cut. It was still silent on the other line when the phone from the living room starts ringing again."She is sleeping, Sydney. And please never call again. We have suffered a lot because of your lies. Your mental condition is not good. You should rest too." He said and Sydney knew that he was about to cut the line when she desperately said. "Caleb! I am alone and I need help." She said in between her sobs and tears. "Just sleep. Sydney." He said frustrated and didn't waste any time to cut the call.

It was not the call that was cut it was her last hope. The phone from the living room was still ringing. She covered her ears and sat on the floor. But then the phone didn't ring for more than 15 mins. But instead of being at peace she was more anxious. She got to the living room and check all the windows. She checked every window and door and locked herself in her father's room. She got under the covers. Her little body was shivering in fever. It was after more ten minutes when she heard an engine pulling over at her house. It can't be Jennifer. She thought. But she tightens the covers around her thinking he can't enter. But after a minute she heard someone opening the front door. She started whimpering but for not making any sound she covers her mouth with her hand. She heard the shoes going upstairs. Once he will realize I am not up there, he will come here. She thought. So, springing out of the bed, she opened the window and got out of the house. After taking more than 20 steps she turned to face her home.

A home where she was brought up. A home where she always felt safe. A home she never thought will look this horrible. She was crying while leaving her house behind and started running without knowing where she is going. She ran for 5 mins or so when she saw a car coming from ahead. It's him. She thought. She stopped in between the road and started crying hysterically.

The man stepped out of the car. The light was bright. She was not able to see the man until he was very close. It was Uncle Oliver. Her anxiety stricken nerves got relaxed in a second and she felt herself going down but her body never met the ground.

It was 6 in the evening when Sydney woke up in some room she couldn't recognize. Her fever was down but she still felt so weak to even move. Her mind starts recalling all the events. She remembers seeing Uncle Oliver. After more than half an hour a woman in her fifties entered the room. Sydney knew her. Her name was Abigail. She was a very old maid of the Blake family. Abigail had served her orange juice whenever she visited Uncle Oliver's house with her dad. The thought made her sad. Those were her most carefree days.

"How are you feeling now?" Abigail asked with a small kind smile. "I am fine." She said with some hindrance as her throat still felt sore. But then Sydney asked herself am I fine? And a tear escaped her eye. "Do you feel hurt somewhere?" Abigail asked with concern in her eyes. Sydney shook her head in no. Her innocent beautiful eyes held so much fear and uncertainty. Abigail thought that she is uncomfortable because she is not at her home. "Do you want to eat something?" Abigail asked. Sydney again denied the offer. "It is fine for you to not to eat something. Dr. Patrick himself came to inject you some salines and TPN. But will you like some water?" Abigail asked carefully. This time Sydney accepted the offer. Abigail held her head and helped her to get up and take some water. After that Abigail tucked her in the bed. "You better take some more rest. I will be around to check on you." Abigail assured her. Sydney gives her a nod in reply and drifted into sleep within minutes.

Abigail dims the lights behind her and takes a look at the kid. She was so young. She doesn't even look like a woman. What kind of bastard can do such a cruel thing to a child? She thought to herself. Abigail recalled the day she met her mother when she was pregnant with Sydney. No one had ever thought that this girl will have such a horrible fate. Oh God, help this poor soul.

It was 7 in the morning when Sydney woke up with a startle as someone removed the covers from her body."Get out of my house. Now!" Someone shouted. She found a very angry lady in her 40's standing beside the bed. The face was not new to her. It was Aunt Isabella. Wife of Uncle Oliver Blake. Sydney tried to get up but felt dizzy. She was wearing her shoes when that woman

"You can't live under my house after blaming my brother with such grotesque crime. Get out of my house you psycho kid." She was yelling at the top of her lungs as Sydney was leaving the room.

Sydney walks out of the room and found herself standing in the living room. She looked at her left to found three girls. Their faces were laced with curiosity and little smiles were plastered on their lips. Sydney knew them. Maria, Rose, and Sarah. Daughters of the Blake family. Maria was 21 years old, Rose was 19 and Sarah was 16. All of them never welcomed Sydney before when her father was still alive. They were far richer than Sydney and never consider her as someone who should be treated as a guest. At first, Sydney never noticed their cold behavior but one day when she visited Uncle Blake's house with her father a beautiful vase in the backyard got broke by Sarah. Sarah cried and put the blame on Sydney. Though Uncle Oliver Blake never said anything but Sydney was so taken aback that she couldn't say anything in front of the family. But she tells the truth once she was home with her father. It was the last time that she ever visited Uncle Oliver's house and it was four years ago.

Looking at those girls made her even more terrified. She looked towards the exit. And realized that she was on the first floor. Taking the stairs down was looking like a difficult job to do. She was looking terrible, wearing the same black clothes from the funeral. Her head was banging with pain and she felt dizzy. She didn't have a fever now but walking was taking just too much effort.

She was two or three steps away from the stairs when something dawned on her. Where she was going to go? There was no place for her to go. But she still walked anyways. Giggles could be heard behind her. But her mind was not in the condition to register anything. She was about to finish all those stairs but there seemed to be so many. Her breathing got heavy. She clutched her collared neck and misjudged her next step. She was about to fall when a hand saved her and she became unconscious.

Mrs. Blake was storming out of her room fuming with anger. But the scene she found in front of her worked as oil in the fire for her anger. Mr. Blake was carrying the girl in his arms.

"She is not going to live here, for a single second. I don't care about anything." Isabella warned Mr. Blake.

"We already talk about it. Didn't we?" Mr. Blake questioned.

"There is no way that she can stay here. You never talk or informed me earlier about any such arrangement with your so-called friend." She screamed in anger.

"I told you that things are changed now. As her father is not alive anymore. I am going to fulfill my friend's last wish. She is indeed my responsibility until she is 18." Mr. Blake informed her while walking towards the guest room.

"There are orphan houses. And why doesn't that slutty mother of hers took the responsibility? That w***e took away my younger brother. I don't know why he is marrying her. As for this girl... Blake! For God's sake, she made such a disgusting claim. I can't even stand her face for a single second. Let alone letting her live in my house." Mrs. Blake keeps on ranting while trying to run after her husband in her high heels.

"That's my house you are talking about." Mr. Blake whispered while placing Sydney on her bed.

"Oliver you don't talk to me like that for this slut." Mrs. Blake screamed again not giving a s**t about her condition.

"She is a kid for God's sake. I want you to prepare a room for her. Her luggage is at the front." He snapped at her frustrated while closing the door behind him carefully.

"In your dreams Oliver." She shouted at his back.

When Sydney woke up she was informed about all the arrangements for her by Abigail. The thing that shocked her the most was the news of Jennifer getting engaged to J. Hunt. She was also told that it was her father's request to Mr. Blake that if he died before she turned 18, he must be the one to take care of you.

It's her father who was still protecting her. The thought of her father's death made her so sad that she started sobbing. She didn't realize when Abigail held her head in her lap and she drifted into sleep again.

Two days passed and she never left her room. Only Abigail came to check on her. About her school, Dr. Patrick suggested the homeschooling as he didn't see Sydney be mentally fit for the school. No one knew that it was Mrs. Blake's request to Dr. Patrick who never once rejected any request from Hunt's. The reason was simple Isabella didn't want to bear the school expenses for that girl.

Abigail who was a kind and aged women knew how to deal with Sydney. She cared about her like her own daughter. So, Sydney grew closer to Abigail.

Six months passed. But a lot happened in these six months. Mr. Blake was not living at home again as he had to do so many things outside the station. Mrs. Isabella Blake never arranged a room for her. Abigail took Sydney into her room gladly. Abigail's room was big enough to have two beds inside. Sydney couldn't make herself to talk to anyone, not even Abigail. Sydney didn't show it though but she starts trusting Abigail a little. She still had the nightmares. In her, every dream that jeep haunted her. Sydney always found Abigail to be there for her. So, she started working with Abigail. It helped her pass her time. Abigail prohibited her to do any house chores at first but then let her do the things when Abigail also found her bored. Days passed and she turned into a full-time maid without any salary.

Blake's house was so big but they only had three servants. Abigail, Peter, and Ben. Peter and Ben were in their forties. Three of them always had so many things to do all the time. As there was always never-ending work in the house. But still, three of them tried not to let Sydney do a lot of work. Soon, it was like that they were bringing her up. Her clothes or any other necessities were fulfilled by them.

Sydney didn't know much about the fieldwork. Most of the time she was in, cleaning the house or doing the dishes. Mrs. Isabella strictly ordered that she didn't even want to look at the girl.

Sometimes when she was cleaning any of the girls' room they would intentionally drop something for her to do the cleaning again. Increasing the chance of her being seen by Isabella. She tried to stay put in front of their cold behavior. But as time passed those girls become more sadistic.

One day Sydney, accidentally broke a hand mirror that was Rose's favorite. That day she got the canning on her hands from Mariah. It was also the day when she realized that though Abigail cares for her she can't really protect her. At first, Sydney used to listen and believe Abigail's soothing words whenever she got up from nightmares but after that canning day from Mariah, she stopped listening to her words.

Days passed and she was 14 years old. Her birthday was never celebrated. Jennifer or Addison never came to see her. Her hands were scarred from the canning she used to get from time to time. She just looked at her hands and wonder if her father can see her hands right now. So, she will look into the sky and whisper. Please take me with you, daddy. I can't take it anymore.

With the passage of time, she became the personal maid of the girls and things only got worse. She got to know that Mariah was used to be interested in Caleb. She was Addison's enemy. And the reason behind the canning was never really herself.

Hunts never really come here to see their sister. But Isabella uses to visit her brothers quite often. Arthur Hunt whose wife passed away 10 years ago never had a kid. Plus, he never wanted kids. He was drowned in his business that was blooming and f*****g her two maids and life was more than fine for him. Isabella not knowing his relationship with his maids always pushed him to get marry and start a new family. All she ever wanted was to have his brothers their own kids. The little one married Jennifer who doesn't want kids. So, Isabella was always looking girls in their twenties for her elder brother to finally get ready for the marriage.

Sydney was 15 years old when she was helping out Ben in the fields with something. The days were so busy in the fields. And Sydney was helping them carry things that she can pick. Her Auburn hairs were covered in a cloth. But some strands of hairs were on her innocent face. Her hands were busy working when she heard a horn. She looked at the jeep outside of her fields. It was not the same jeep from her nightmares but when the window rolled down it was the same person who destroyed her life. She ran towards the house leaving all the work behind undone.

Arthur couldn't sleep the whole night. Her innocent face was all he could think about. She turned out to be so beautiful. He thought. The next day, he asked her hand from his sister. His sister was beyond shocked. But her first thought was that how did that slut manage to seduce her brother? Though she loved her brother to give him anything but this task was difficult. She knew that her husband Mr. Blake will never agree to this arrangement.

She tried to convince her brother but couldn't. It was when something so unbelievable happened. Mr. Hunt agrees to give Mr. Blake the disputed land. Mrs. Isabella went into shock. She knew that it will indeed get Mr. Blake to agree to this marriage without any doubt.

On her way back home Isabella was beyond furious. She had suffered a lot from the strained relationship between her husband and brother. Arthur never gave up the land for his sister but he sure did it for Sydney. Isabella came back home and beat Sydney until Isabella couldn't lift a finger. The beating was so much worse, Sydney was unconscious in the end and her head was oozing blood. She was lying on the floor motionless. It was not like she didn't cry for help. She sure yelled for help. But no one came. Not even Abigail. Sydney's trust broke. She was not able to leave the bed for a week. But the trauma was much worse than the physical pain. The feeling of betrayal was so strong that Sydney distanced herself from Ben, Peter, and Abigail.

In this one week of Sydney's recovery, Isabella informed Oliver Blake about the proposal. He didn't agree. But once he got to know about the land he went quiet. He agreed on one condition that If Sydney agrees to this when she is 18, he will agree too.

It was no hard work for Isabella. She knew that she can break Sydney to get her agreement. And so it happened. The day Sydney left her room after recovery. Isabella ordered her to come into the room. The very same room where she was almost beaten to death last time. She entered the room that might haunt her for the rest of her life.

"Oh, you are here," Isabella said. It was the very same thing she told Sydney last time before beating her into a pulp. Sydney's heart skipped a beat. She knew what was coming. And it made her shaking like a leaf.

"I am so sorry," Sydney said without knowing what she had done wrong last time or even now. And started crying knowing she is going to be hurt.

"Why are you sorry? Have you done anything wrong?" She asked with her brows raised while holding a cane in her hand.

"I don't know," Sydney said in between her feet were taking her back. Sobs uncontrollable while clasping her hands in pleading.

"You know you are living a luxurious life in my house that you don't really deserve. I simply hate you." Isabella told her while gritting her teeth.

"But you can change it. I am here giving you a chance to be a part of the family. All you need to do is say Yes to my proposal." She told her while taking a seat on the rocking chair.

Sydney couldn't understand a single thing. And it could be seen on her face. So, Isabella continued.

"I want you to marry my dearest elder brother Arthur Hunt. Consider it as your payback to the family." She said the words professionally like she was giving Sydney a lifetime opportunity.

The mention of the name was enough for Sydney's mind to go haywire. She was silent for a moment. But when words finally registered she said.

"No"

This made Isabella look at the girl with a menacing look.

"You don't know the consequences girl. I can beat you to death. But believe me, if my brother wants to get married to you. I will hand over your dead body to him."

It was too much for Sydney to take. Her knees met the ground as her body was not able enough to bear her weight.

"Why?" Sydney asked. This made Isabella left her chair and she bend down. Their faces were only an inch apart when Isabella said.

"I can tell you why but that will involve a lot of canning. And you screaming for help. And then a whole month on the bed. But I promise you one thing. I won't let you die Sydney." She said those words like she was dictating her every word.

Sydney looked at her and gulped hard. Sydney didn't speak for a minute. But she heard when the cane was cutting the air and landed on her shoulder. She fell on the floor. Two more landed on her skin. She wanted to scream for help like last time. But then it dawned on her. There was no one out there to help her out. No one ever came and no one ever will. So, she gave in. She gave in knowing that it's her life now. There will never be an end to her miseries.

"I will do whatever you ask me to do. Please no more." She screamed. So, she can hear her. And the canning was stopped.

"Good. Now get the hell out of here." Isabella offered while tapping the cane on her palm.

She took some time to stand up from the floor and went to her room. If there was any hope for her that she will be happy in the future that hope died today. She felt dead inside.

She agreed to marry someone who was the reason behind her father's death. He was the reason that she doesn't have a family anymore. When Abigail came at night Sydney hugged her and cried. And she cried for hours. Abigail put some balm on her back and held her head in her lap while she was sobbing in her sleep.