More Than A Dream

Chapter 3

In the dark moonlit night, Safe Haven stood in all its glory shrouded with a sense of mystery. The house had a peculiar air of danger which was intimidating from afar but it lovingly engulfed a person with warmth and comfort when you entered it.

Samantha was no stranger to it's charms but the question she asked herself was whether she should lay claim to that safety and warmth or deal with her problems herself.

Afterall her problems weren't Rosaline and Edmund's concern, they owed her nothing, but she knew that they would do everything in their power to help her if they knew about her situation because that was just the kind of people they were.

One year ago when Rosaline and Edmund had found their daughter Jacqueline missing from the nursery they had been devastated. They had left no stone unturned in pursuit of Jacqueline's whereabouts. But it looked like their daughter had disappeared without a trace off the face of the earth.

Those were some dark times when Rose had stopped talking to people and confined herself to her room, never venturing out or talking to anyone. She had watched as their once beautiful home Safe Haven which had been filled with happiness and warmth, turned into a dark, dreary hollow place, emptied of joy and laughter.

Hesitantly she made her way into the front porch and before she could change her mind knocked loudly at the door.
The door was thrown wide open instantly, revealing a worried looking Edmund who pulled her inside before she could say a word to him.

"You finally decided to knock, Thank God!" he exclaimed, leading her towards the sofa where an equally anxious looking Rose waited for her.

"What happened to you? Who did this to you Samantha? Why is your arm dislocated?" asked an enraged Rose, horrified after taking in her appearance.

She explained in detail about her sorry situation, breaking into a sob when she reached to the part about her son.
Rose immediately engulfed her into a soothing hug while Edmund watched on in stony silence.

"I should have killed that bastard when I had the chance, pathetic little coward who lifts his hand on a woman." said Edmund finally breaking his silence.

"I agree but right now the most important thing to do is to find Oliver, we can deal with Stephen later. He would never dare to come after you as long as you stay here in Safe Haven" said Rose absently, lost in her own heavy thoughts.

"Are you certain that you want me to stay here, I don't wish to burden you both" said Samantha hesitantly, not wishing to impose on their kindness.

"Oh please! Don't give me that nonsense Sammy, you know that you are always welcome here. Tell me who could understand the pain of losing your child better than me" asked Rose, tears glistening in her eyes.

Samantha was at a loss of words knowing what Rose had said was true, nobody else could understand her pain better than these two people. So she silently followed them as they assisted her towards the guest room to retire for the night.

Stephen returned home to an empty house. Even before he raced into Samantha's bedroom to confirm his suspicions, his intuition already told him that she had escaped. On finding the bed empty, he frantically went through her wardrobe checking if she had taken anything with her but he found that everything was intact.

"So that little piece of trash left without taking anything did she?" thought Stephen trying to think where exactly she could probably hide.

"It better not be anywhere easy to find darling because when I find you I'll give you a lesson which you'll never forget." said Stephen with a sadistic smile as he pulled out a thin sharp knife from his pocket. He happily day dreamed about the day when he would tie Samantha up and carve the word UNGRATEFUL on her flesh as she screamed for his mercy.