CAN I ESCAPE?

PART 21

"Okay, Darling. I'll be back in an hour or two", Edwin said and planted a kiss on Helena's forehead, as he was leaving for work the next morning.

"Bye-bye."

Helena heard the sound of Edwin's car as she saw him through the window. She walked back to her room once he was out of sight.

"Now, what do we do today, babies", she asked as she picked her kitties up.

"Are my babies excited to meet the two tiny babies", she asked her cats cutely.

Her cats meowed at her as they lay beside her, rubbing her belly gently. They had been extra caring and soft towards Helena since she had conceived.

'Maybe pets do have the power to detect pregnancies', thought Helena with a smile.

"Oh damn! I almost forgot about watching the album today", Helena said and got up to get the album.

She walked into Edward's closet and started to search the upper shelf for the album. After a few minutes, she finally found a bundle of albums.

'I didn't know there were more albums', Helena thought.

She just sat there and started to look through his childhood album, smiling and laughing hard. She found Edwin just so adorable. In one photo, he was standing outside the school, crying. In one photo, he was with his pet dog, with a big laugh on his face. Helena could hear his laugh and felt so happy. In one photo, he was riding a bicycle. In one, he was on the rollercoaster.

After finishing his childhood album, Helena thought to open the other album. She opened the first page and found her photo.

'That's me. But from where?', she began to think.

She turned to the next page and saw her photo with Edwin. That was when she remembered. The photos were from their first date, back in the spring of 2019.

"Aah, that was such a pleasant time. I didn't know that he had got these photos in an album", she said with a soft smile.

She reminisced the time they had met for the first time. It had been five years since her first love, Sam, had died. It was another dull boring day where she was working in the law firm. There were black clouds everywhere, just like her heart was. It was soon going to be her lunchtime when her phone rang. It was her brother's call.

"Hey Daxton", She greeted him.

"Hi, Sis. Look, I have a friend, and he has got into a little legal trouble. From what he told me, you seem to be the perfect one to represent him. So, I have given him your name. His name is Edwin Roberts. He will be there in about ten to fifteen minutes."

Helena sighed. "I told you not to suggest my name to anyone, Daxton. I have specifically told you that it can get very difficult if I lose the case."

"Oh, come on, you've never lost a case in a long time."

"Yeah, but still..."

"No buts. He's already coming and you're going to attend him. You can deny to take his case if you feel like it is complicated for you to win."

"Yeah, okay."

"Take care, Helena."

"Hmm."

The call ended and Helena wore her coat. She took a look at her appearance. She had not been taking a lot of clients in those days because it was the month Sam had died. She would usually isolate herself from her loved ones and stay alone, escaping into her imagination where she could have been able to save Sam. She wouldn't cry at all but would stay numb. Maybe because she cried a lot for him in the past five years.

Her secretary knocked on the door, making her snap out of her thoughts.

"Yes, Kaira", Helena asked her in her usual monotonous voice.

"Ma'am, there is someone named Edwin Roberts, who has come to meet you. He's saying that he had an appointment, but I couldn't find one on your list today", said Kaira.

"Oh, yes, please send him in. Register his name in the client list for today."

"Sure, Ma'am."

Helena scoffed and opened her laptop to write the notes on the case. She was in no mood to work that day.

"Hello, Miss Harrison."

Helena stopped typing and looked up. Her eyes couldn't leave the man who stood in front of her. He was tall, muscular, and had dark hair. He had deep grey eyes and a fair tone.

"Umm, I am Edwin Roberts. Daxton must have told you about me", the man said in his attractive, deep voice.

"Uhh, yeah. He told me that you had some sort of legal problem. Would you care to elaborate", Helena asked, as her tone shifted back to the usual coldness.

Though she was trying very hard to keep up her strict demeanor, she could not lie to herself that she had fallen for him at first sight.

"Thank you, Miss Harrison. I am grateful for your help", said Edwin, when they won the case.

Helena took this case, and she won it. She smiled and nodded a bit at Edwin. But deep down, she was feeling sad. The case had ended, and she wouldn't see him anymore.

"Umm, Miss Harrison?"

Her head shot up and she looked at Edwin. He stepped closer to her.

"I wanted to ask something if you don't mind", he said in a low tone.

"Yes?"

"I won't beat around the bush. I have started to like you a lot. I would like to take you out on a date", he said in a gentle tone with a smile on his face.

Her eyes widened.

'Did I manifest this', she thought.

"So, what do you say about it", he asked.

"I need some time to think about it", she said and walked away quickly.

"I was so silly back then", she thought as she turned the pages of the album.

She found all of their photos taken together in that album. Even the ones that were too ugly. It looked like Edwin gave a lot of time to make this album. Then, in the end, were the pics on his last birthday, where she told him that she was pregnant.

'It felt very nice to view all our memories. It feels like yesterday when I first met Edwin', she thought and got up to keep the albums back in their place.

She saw a black polybag there and she frowned. Thinking that there might be more photos in it, she took it out.

'Just how old is this', she thought to herself as she blew out the layer of dust covering the bag.

She opened the polybag and found a brown paper envelope inside. Out of curiosity, she opened the envelope. She took out the photos, which seemed to be about a dozen. As soon as she looked at the first one, her heart sank.

The photos dropped down her hands. Her legs trembled, and her mind filled with fear. She couldn't think straight, as thoughts raced across her mind. Never in her life, she had thought that something so bizarre and fearful could have happened in her life.

"Helena, what is wrong", she heard Edwin's voice as he entered his closet to change.

He had just come back from work and walked into the closet, not expecting Helena to be there. He looked at her with concern when he looked at her scared face. But then he noticed the photos that dropped from her hand. He took a closer look, and his expression changed in a millisecond. He chuckled darkly.

"So, you found it all? Hahaha, I didn't even remember that I kept these here."

"W-why", spoke Helena in a shocked, scared, and sad tone, making him laugh again.

"What do you think? Why would I do that, hmm", he asked her as he started pacing towards her.

"Please don't", she whispered in a weak scared tone, as darkness engulfed her.