Chapter 199

Chapter 199 65%

It’s been three weeks since our anniversary and surprisingly, Everest hasn’t made another appearance. This worries me because I can’t feel safe while knowing that he is out there, wishing to inflict pain on me. I’m trying to live my life normally; however, it’s hard to do so. Everest managed to poison me and because of him, I haven’t eaten out ever since the incident.

Silas is back on the field, and he is really happy. But honestly, Silas has been happy for a while, even before returning to football.

I thought he would be happier, yet for some reason, he’s not. I’m not saying that it’s making him miserable, but I can tell that the effect it once had on him no longer exists.

“You still don’t want to come to my game?” Silas asks and I shake my head. I can’t bring myself to watch him play ever since the accident. It’s been more than a year, yet the image of him motionless on the ground while people were trying to get him to wake up refuses to leave my mind.

In some way, my mind is convinced that if I attend, I’m going to watch him get hurt again and that’s the last thing I want.

“But I want my lucky charm there,” he says, pulling me on his lap, making me smile. We’re in the living room. I’m working from home today because I’m just working on finalizing some spreadsheets. Silas has a game today that he has been preparing for.

This is going to be his third game since his return I’m trying not to show him how scared I am about him whenever he tells me that he has a game. I haven’t forgotten what the doctor said. I know that if he gets another concussion, the consequences will be terrible, but I’m trying not to channel these negative thoughts to him. I want him to be confident while playing.

“And your lucky charm is still traumatized. Give me time, please I tell him and kiss him on the lips. “You’ll do great whether I’m there or not.”

“But you’re coming to the big game, okay?” He sounds disappointed that I’m not coming today, but I know that he understands how hard it was for me to watch him get hurt.

“I will come, I promise.” I smile, pushing a fallen strand of his hair away from his forehead. “And I’m making you dinner tonight.

What do you fancy eating?”

“Stir–fried chicken and veggies in white sauce.” His reply is rather fast, making me laugh.

“Have you been craving this or something? Because your answer was really quick,” I wonder.

“I saw a video of somebody making it a couple of days ago, and have been craving it ever since,” he admits.

“Your wish is my command, icing.” I beam and he kisses me.

“I gotta go. I will call you once the game is over. Do you plan on watching it on TV?” he asks as I climb off his lap.

“I honestly don’t know. I will try to watch a quarter or something to get used to watching you on the field again before the big game,” I reply. Some people may think that I’m exaggerating but I swear I’m really scared of seeing him get hurt again.

“Okay, cupcake. See you later.” He smiles at me before walking away.

I’m glad that we both understand each other’s fears and respect them. I don’t mind eating out again, but I noticed the way Silas would act whenever I would mention eating out. He always seemed to break out in cold sweat whenever the topic was mentioned, so I made the decision to stick to homemade meals until Everest was caught. If eating at home is going to give him the peace of mind he needs, I’m going to do that in a heartbeat.

I spend a couple of hours working before deciding to make myself something to drink. The game doesn’t start until two hours later, but Silas had to go earlier because the team is used to training before each game.

While making myself some coffee, my phone rings in my pocket so I take it out to check who’s calling. An unknown number.

“Hello,” I answer.

“I have two girls here that you care about so much, Rosie.” I still, knowing quite well who this voice belongs to.

“What did you do, Everest?” I gulp, fear already gripping me by the throat.

“I think you might want to hear their voice,” he says, and I wait, hoping my thoughts aren’t correct.

65%

+5 “Rosie, it’s Lily. Aniyah is here too.” My eyes widen upon hearing my little sister’s voice. He kidnapped my sister and sister- in–

law. He did that to get to me.

“Lily, are you both okay? Listen, don’t be scared, okay? I promise I will get you back home,” I try to assure my sister even though I’m petrified. I don’t want them to get hurt. If any of them got hurt, I will never forgive myself.

“I bet you didn’t expect that to happen, hun?” Everest chuckles.

“What do you want, Everest? The girls have nothing to do with anything between us. Do not hurt them!” I’m going out of my mind. I love these girls with everything in me, so I can’t just imagine anything bad happening to them.

“Oh, Rosie. I wonder what I want. I lost a lot of things because of you.” His tone is bitter. I’m scared that he might hurt them out of his utter hatred for me.

“Everest, we can talk things out, okay? Just let the girls go. What do you want me to do?” I try to get him to reason with me for the girls‘ sake.

“I want ten million dollars in a matter of three hours,” he replies, and my eyes go wide. “In cash.” My stomach sinks. How can Isecure this amount of money in cash in just three hours?

“How am I going to get you this amount of money in just three hours, Everest?” I exclaim, running my fingers through my hair.

“This is a problem you gotta solve. You’re talking to someone who has nothing to lose, Rosie. I won’t hesitate to kill the girls if the money isn’t ready in three hours. Wait for another call from me in three hours and remember, I will find out if you call the police and if you do that, you won’t like the consequences at all.” I don’t get the chance to reply as he hangs up right after he’s done talking.

I’m out of breath and my heart is beating so fast to the point of pain. Tears well in my eyes and I place my hand on my chest, trying to calm myself down. I don’t have time to waste. Only three hours to secure the money to save Lily and Aniyah.

Quickly, I pick my phone and make a call to the manager of the bank. I’m going to do everything in my power to get them back home, even if this is going to cost me my life.

“Yes, Mr. Burton, I want ten million dollars to be ready in cash in the next two hours. This is urgent,” I repeat my words. “I want them all from my account, not the one I have with Silas,” I quickly add. I don’t want anybody to find anything about this. I want to call my parents and Silas’s parents and tell them everything; however, I can’t do that. I’m scared because I don’t want Everest to do anything to the girls.

“They can be secured, Mrs. Cromwell.” I breathe out a sigh of relief as my body falls on the couch “All right. I’m on my way. Thank you so much,” I say and hang up. I run upstairs and change my clothes into something comfy because I don’t know what to expect from this day. It was supposed to be a good day. I had simple tasks to do from home for work, then I was going to cook to my husband the meal he had been craving. How did it go wrong like that? How did Aniyah and Lily’s life suddenly become at stake?

I have a strong feeling that the odds won’t be in my favor, but I don’t care. I don’t want them to be in my favor. I want them to be in Aniyah and Lily’s favor because they’re my priority.

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