What HE took from ME

Chapter 7-Heartless

Brenda

"So now he loves me? What the hell is wrong with people? I got engaged less than twenty-four hours ago, and he suddenly developed feelings? The feelings that he did not even have the guts to tell me directly- I had to find out from my fiancé." I mumbled to myself.

Edgar was too late. Where was he when I tried to catch his attention? I swayed my hips left-right and center, but instead of acknowledging, Edgar asked if my legs were okay. When I tried to bite my lips, he asked if I was drinking enough water, and he gave me lip gloss. I also tried to make the small talks but ended up blabbering, overwhelmed. He should have noticed all that and did something instead of telling me to breathe.

A chuckle left my lips as flashes of me making a fool out of myself surfaced. Or maybe I did not make a complete idiot out of myself because it worked. He loved me. But what am I going to do now?

The confusion left me drained, so I slumped on the ground. I placed my left hand over my stomach to ease some grumbling, but it did not work. I could not help but wonder, what were Tim and Edgar even talking about to end up discussing their romantic feelings?

I grabbed a small stone and flung it across, hoping it would go with some of my frustrations. However, it did not work because suddenly, I was mad at everyone.

First: my parents. If those people had raised me, I would have turned out okay. I would not have been rejoicing that my crush loved me when I knew I was engaged to another guy. Second, I was angry at Edgar for waiting for too long to confess his feelings. And third, Tim. Why did he wait till now to pass the test? If he had not shown up tonight, it would have been easy to break up with him. But he did, so now what?

"Hey." I felt the stench of his custom-made sanitizer hit my nose ten minutes before his hands landed softly on my shoulder. What did he do? Take a bath in sanitizer? He didn't smell that way when he was at our house.

I quickly wiped my face then looked up, "Hey." I answered back. I tried to smile, but my mouth felt like it was cracking. Tim slid down and squatted in front of me.

There was a second of silence before he spoke," Let us get you cleaned up before you take some rest." He said calmly. I nodded, and I followed him meekly to his car. He got the door for me and helped me settle in. He rounded the car, and when he came in decades later, he reeked sanitizer.

Tim

After helping her into the car, I went to the back, scratching myself all over. I desperately banged on the end of the sanitizer bottle, hoping to salvage even a little product to save my life. The minute it made contact with my body, I started breathing again, but I knew it would not be long until the images of maggots came to my mind. I hurriedly opened the door and sat down. I threw a glance to her side, and she was curled on the seat crying. It was conventional to show that I cared, but I could not bring myself to touch her. I knew it was my fault that she ran out of that house, but did I have to face the consequences right away? I thought karma waited a couple of years later to strike? Why was I locked up in my new car with the little pig? Where was I even going to take her?

I had spent more than enough time with her kind in that pigsty until my sense of smell went numb. After using all my sanitizers, I started to smell again, but now I wish I had not. I reeked of pigs. I hated that I had to put my hands on Brenda's dirty shoulder in the name of consolation. I had tried to evade it, but I could not anymore.

Agh! I could puke. I did not even know the last time she took a bath.

Maybe, I should not have told her about Edgar's feelings because I think I hit a soft spot. The way she looked at him, she had never looked at me or anyone that way. Now I am offended because I think she does not love me. It had always been him, I mean, the few times I had met her, all she talked about was Edgar.

I should have known when I saw her look at Edgar, like that, when they were still in the orphanage. She fancied him. I mean, I had seen that look from my parents and her parents-may their souls rest in the hell I gave them, so I should have done something to destroy it. But I thought that history could not repeat itself, and I was wrong again, as I was wrong about her parents all those years ago.

I hated Brenda's parents more than I grew to hate mine. I would tell you why, but I am freaking out of my mind right now.

Breathing in and out, I pulled myself to the present and realized It had been thirty minutes since we started our journey. Brenda was still crying, looking outside, yearningly. If she thought I would ask her if she wanted to go back, she was mistaken. I had already messed up my plan by opening my mouth, and I was not doing it again. The plan to be richer was now in motion, and I would see it to fruition.

So now, what do I do? It was not like I could just put my hands on her shoulder and beg her to calm down. I had run out of my sanitizer already.

"Why are you still crying?" I asked, trying not to sound annoyed. Her silent cry turned into a sob, and that made me roll my eyes.

"I am sorry. I can not stop." She continued sobbing into her germ-filled hands. Ugh!

My hands tightened around the steering as the thought of Edgar crossed my mind. Edgar caused all that confusion. She was crying because of him.

God, I hated that man with every fiber of my being. He ruined my life. Even before his conception, he had started to mess with me. He came and took everything that belonged to me, and he would pay dearly-I would make sure of that. And taking the woman he loved was the beginning of his long list of punishments.

To hell with a motel, I was taking her to my house, get them to clean her up, and when she looks presentable enough, I will marry her; get her to transfer all her money under my name before she too disappears from the face of this earth.

Poor ghetto trash. Brenda had no idea how much she was worth. All that time, I made sure she felt worthless, but in the real sense, she was an heiress. Too bad she was never going to enjoy any of that wealth.

I am heartless and evil, and I do not care. I love being that way.

Having a mysterious thing such as a heart made people weak and easily manipulated. Look at our dear Brenda, all she wanted was to feel wanted, and since I had watched her since she was born, I was able to give her exactly that. I even played hard to get when necessary, and that made me her God. I became her siren, and with a few tricks up my sleeves, she did what I wanted of her. Magret calls it gaslighting, but I say it is, studying your subject. Because of that, I knew what she needed and when to give it. I had her eating whatever crams I left at the palm of my manicured hands. I just had to make sure it stayed that way until I was ready to touch her.

"You do not have to apologize to me, I understand exactly what you are going through." I fought not to chock on that lie.

I did not know what growing in an orphanage felt like because I had lived a life of luxury my entire life. I owned mansions, private islands, so many jets, and I was about to own another island. The only thing I had to go through to get all that wealth was adding her father's name to my brother's name and stealing his identity. I loathed everything about it, but it was a price I had to pay for living luxuriously-that and having to control Brenda's mother for sixteen years. I would not let anyone ruin my life with their stupid feelings.

I recalled the way she looked at him, her eyes lit whenever Edgar would come home after being away, looking for food in the pits of bottomless trashcans.

I almost gagged at the memory of them eating stale bread.

We did not talk any further until we arrived at my home. Technically, that was her home, but I wanted it so, I took it. Like I was going to take away everything she had.

I drove direct to the garage, and my maids ran to serve me. I got out of the car, my stomach already bloated from inhaling the scent of trash. The maids bowed to their master while I fought not to get sick. I hurried to Loyce, my head of stuff. Loyce knew everything about that bundle of filth and hated that I had bad intentions towards her. So I purposely annoy her. Standing in front of her, I forced a smile, "Loyce, make sure she is germs-free clean, then get her a bed in one of the storage rooms." I ordered. Her eyes pleaded with me not to do it, but that only made me want to torture them more, use the pipe," I did not wait for her reaction but sped inside to peel off my skin.