Juvenal

Chapter 19

Mabel sighed heavily. She added the location that Edwin had shared into her Global Positioning System and followed the path in silent concentration. The music playing in the background did not grab her attention like it normally would do. She was surprised to see that Edwin had sent her a different location and she thought that after having beaten up Juvenal, he might have felt bad about living closer to her and had gone away somewhere far. When she concentrated her mind on what he had to say to her, she wondered how things would turn out this time.

Leaning her head to the side, Mabel rubbed her forehead. She sighed and turned her car to the right. It was the first time that she was going to meet Edwin in his new home. She had known that he had brought a new home after he had been employed, but she had not even known where it was.

The evening started to turn darker, and Mabel felt her heart beat fast. She wondered whether she had taken a wise decision in deciding to visit Edwin that day. She knew that he would not let her rest until she had done so, but as she drove alone in the lonely road, she scolded herself for not accepting Juvenal's offer when he had asked to come. Mabel flashed the headlights and drove carefully along the road. The road she had to take was mountainous terrain and it had too many bends. She wondered whether Edwin had any specific reason for choosing a home at such an arduous location. If things were better between the two of them, she would have scolded him for his poor choice in selecting a house, but she knew that it was not in her place to say those things to him anymore.

Looking carefully around her, as she took a few more bends in the road, and drove along the straight lane, she slowed down the car and checked the location carefully in her phone, before parking the car beside the road.

"Whoa!"

Leaning over her steering wheel and turning to look at Edwin's house, Mabel exclaimed. His house looked more like a villa than a house. The high steel gates in the middle of the tall dark walls spoke about wealth in volume. Mabel switched off the engine and got out of the car, pocketing her keys. She walked slowly towards the high black gates and looked around her to see whether there was any security to ask for them to open the door. She did not find anyone near the gate, and she thought of calling Edwin to ask him to open the door. She took her phone to her hand and before she dialed his number, she balled up her fist and raised it, but before she had knocked on the gate, it opened automatically.

"Whoa!" Mabel exclaimed again. She took a step back in surprise as the gates opened wide, letting her to come inside. Mabel blinked slowly. The villa which had been hidden behind the gates looked majestic in the darkness. She raised her head up and looked at the two floors, where the top floor had four windows around it. As the gates opened completely and paused, Mabel shook her head and stepped inside. She walked carefully and turned to her right, following the stone path leading her to the villa. The pathway was decorated with freshly grown roses, and it had single stones placed over the grass. Even in the darkness Mabel was able to see that the garden in front of his villa was maintained well. She stepped forward carefully and stopped in front of his home. The white washed walls looked majestic. She climbed the six steps in front of the door and stopped in front of the door, debating with herself whether to go inside or not. The door was opened already, and she shrugged her shoulders, thinking that there was no way that she could avoid him now. Even though she had driven a long distance to meet him, she wondered why she was doubting her decision. Closing her eyes tight, she let out a deep breath through her lips. She was at his home now, and for better or for worse, she had to face what was yet to come.

"Eddie..."

Mabel called slowly. She took a step inside and looked around her. The house was dimly lit, and purple light was spilling from the large fish tank that was in the far corner of the living room.