The next morning.Delle brought warm milk to Rebecca without adding sugar. “You look tired, ma’am? Is everything alright?”“I was having these weird dreams,” Rebecca said.“Oh, talking about weirdness,” Delle said. “I asked Mr. Benyamin to bake a cake for Roshan’s birthday, but he said he didn’t know how to make a cake. I asked him again, and he said he doesn’t know how to cook.”“Huh? He really said that?”“Yeah, I swear on myself, ma’am,” Delle said. “He felt insulted that I asked him to cook, just like your mother would feel.”“Strange…” Rebecca squinted her eyes. “Is he in a bad mood?”“I don’t know. I just wanted to tell you what happened because it felt weird,” Delle said. “I mean, Benyamin, who should know how to cook, says that he can’t cook. And then Mr. Benjamin cooks almost similar to how we know Benyamin cooks.”When these words came out of Delle’s mouth, Rebecca’s eyes widened. “W-Wait, these past couple of weeks, it was Benjamin who was cooking and not Benyamin?”“Yeah.
Rebecca entered Dorothy’s room.The old woman was staring at Nolan Conway’s photo.“He looks handsome in this picture,” Rebecca said.“He might have gone bald as he aged, but when he was young, he was quite a looker,” Dorothy said, smiling. “It was only after he started losing a lot of hair, he got an eagle tattoo on his head. I didn’t like it, but he said that nobody would mock his baldness after seeing that tattoo, and I think he was correct. Strangely enough, I didn’t see anyone ever make negative comments on his baldness.”“That’s just how much influence simple designs can have,” Rebecca opined.Dorothy’s smile slowly ended. Her lips turned flat. “What are you here for? To ask us to forgive your brother?”Rebecca kept staring at her. “You do remember how badly you and your late husband treated my husband, don’t you? You would openly say that he doesn’t deserve to eat with us at our table. Your husband would tell him to go and eat dog shit.”Dorothy frowned. “I-I don’t think he eve
After talking with her sister, Rebecca came to the balcony for some fresh morning air.The squirrels were running up and down the trees. The cuckoos made pleasant noises from within the trees.Just then, she heard a faint sound of flute coming from above. She looked up toward the rooftop.A voice that was easy on the ears followed.“Two livesOne dream;Four eyesOne sight…Two TonguesOne voice;Four legsOne stand…”Rebecca found her heart beating in strange rhythms as she heard these words before. As blood rushed and emotions swelled in her, she rushed upstairs and reached the rooftop.She was expecting to see her husband, but then it was Benjamin who turned to face her.“Two birdsOne love;Four directionsOne destination.”The melodious song ended, and Rebecca felt a hunger and thirst she never had before. How did Benjamin know these words from her memories?Wasn’t it Benyamin who uttered these verses before?So how come Benjamin was able to sing this same song?Her wee-little he
“What the hell is going on?” Rebecca’s voice was filled with confusion, shock, and rage.Benyamin was shocked to see Rebecca. He was fully focused on Dahlia, so he didn’t sense Rebecca coming.He looked at Dahlia who didn’t seem surprised.Was this part of Dahlia’s plan?“Your husband tried to steal my panties,” Dahlia said. “That’s why I tied him up.”“Huh?” Rebecca’s expression warped. A lot of thoughts rushed through her mind, and she doubted Dahlia’s words. “Do you have proof?”Dahlia then pulled out a panty from under Benyamin’s pillow.Rebecca’s eyes enlarged. She looked at Benyamin. “Explain yourself.”“Rebecca, don’t believe this woman. She’s trying to separate us!” Benyamin quickly said.“And why would she do that?” Rebecca asked. “Do you two have some past relationship that I don’t know of?”“N-No,” Benyamin’s heart pounded against his chest. “I don’t even know her.”“You mean to tell me that you don’t know her, but you still let her tie you up when you didn’t do anything wr
Days kept passing.Everybody was getting adjusted to the new atmosphere in the Sterling villa.Elizabeth started going to the weekend parties again with her friends, which helped her deal with Shawn’s absence.Lisa and Roshan also started going to the school.Dorothy had her treatment bill get paid by Selena. She actually wanted Benyamin to massage her arms and legs, but she couldn’t ask him after Rebecca gave her a stern warning.In Rebecca’s room.At night, Benyamin just stepped foot in her room for the first time in a while. Seeing her working on her designs, he smiled, “Tomorrow is our wedding, so instead of sleeping, why are you still working?”Rebecca didn’t stop sketching. “I still can’t get over what happened in the dorms. Why do you not want to talk about it?”“I told you that I’d deal with it, didn’t I?”“Maybe, but I want to know the truth,” she glanced at him. “What is Dahlia to you exactly? Did you two love each other in the past or something?”“Of course not.”Rebecca’s
On the same night.Benjamin and Rye were on the rooftop, their backs facing each other, with the moon in the background.“After tonight, you’ll still have eight more days left in the 40 day time limit,” Rebecca said. “Are you planning on fighting for these eight days too even after their marriage happens?”Benjamin’s mouth was down. “Tomorrow will be the last.”He looked a bit thin because he hadn’t eaten anything in the past 32 days. Even though he did put food in his mouth at times to put on the appearance before others, he never swallowed it down his throat.Rye didn’t feel happy after hearing his words because she could feel his pain and sadness just as much as she could feel her own pain. “Tomorrow is a full moon night. It will be your best chance. Whatever happens, I will not let hatred come between us.”Saying that, she left the rooftop.Benjamin looked at the crystal tear in his hand. It had a golden chain, too. Benjamin made it so that he could gift to Rebecca during the wedd
Breakfasts in the Sterling family generally included a plant and egg-based diet. Today, however, was very different.All the dishes were made by Benjamin, and he cooked vegetable soup, lamb soup, and carrot pudding on top of it.These were the only three dishes he made. He didn’t let Delle cook any other dish.However, nobody complained.The kids loved the carrot pudding, and so did Veronica and Rebecca.Benyamin, however, didn’t touch any of the dishes and settled for water. But after tasting water, he frowned and looked at Benjamin who faintly smiled.Benyamin got up and quickly walked out of the villa and tried to vomit.Dahlia approached him, her arms crossed across her chest. “Did you drink the water in which he mixed baking soda? That was pretty smart of him. Baking soda kills parasites and also alkalizes the body, so it’s going to weaken you demons even more. You can try and vomit all you want, but your stomach probably already absorbed it. You demons underestimate us just beca
The wedding night has arrived on time just like the full moon in all of its splendor.Rebecca did not look happy because Selena did not send invitations to most of the people she should have.Selena didn’t want this wedding news to be spread around the world, either, so she tried her best to suppress it from behind the scenes.Jacob also played his part in doing what his wife wanted him to.Shawn entered the villa, wearing a disguise, as he wanted to see his sister’s marriage and also see his wife and kids once.The wedding was taking place in the front yard.Benjamin was standing in the distance, far from the crowd.Jane and Veronica brought Rye out of the villa. Dressed in dazzling white, she looked like the walking moon.Benjamin didn’t even look in her direction as his back faced the villa.Holding a bouquet of white roses and lilies, she waited for the groom.Moments later, Benyamin also walked out of the villa, as escorted by none but himself. With a hand in his pocket, he walke