WHEN THREE HEARTS COLLIDE

New Horizons, Stronger Bonds

CHAPTER 3 

Carine's POV

My phone buzzes on the nightstand, the sound a harsh reminder of the tension that has been simmering between my mother and me for months. Tim, glances up from his math textbook, his eyebrows furrowed. "Carine, you have to answer her calls," he says, his voice thick with concern.

I sight, my shoulders slumping forward in resignation. Tim is right, but how can I talk to my mother when every conversation feels like walking on eggshells?

The buzzing of my phone seems to grow louder, the sound reverberating through my head, a constant reminder of the doubt that has taken root in my heart. I think back to that night, the night that my world was turned upside down.

The memory is still vivid in my mind, the images playing out like a broken record: The call from the hospital, the frantic drive, the sight of my father's still form on the hospital bed.

And then, the way John seemed to take control of everything, his hands firmly grasping the reins of our family's grief.

I remember how John had swooped in, his grief seemingly more intense than my own, his presence so strong that it almost eclipsed mine. As the weeks passed, I started to notice the whispers. They were like a low hum in the background, a barely perceptible buzz that seemed to follow me everywhere. In hushed tones, I would overhear people discussing my father's death, using words like "unexplained" and "questionable."

With each passing day, these words grew louder in my mind, until they were a roaring chorus of suspicion. Combined with the way John had taken control, it seemed as if the seeds of doubt had been planted in my mind, sprouting and growing with each passing moment.

As the initial shock of my father's death began to fade, a sense of unease took root in my heart. John's behavior started to change, becoming more possessive and controlling. One night, when I was talking on the phone, he snatched it from my hand, his eyes cold and determined.

With each passing day, the doubts in my mind multiplied, like a sickness spreading through my body. And with them, the distance between my mother and me grew wider.

The doubts and suspicions in my mind seemed to grow with each passing day, like a cancer eating away at my insides. John's behavior became increasingly possessive and controlling, as if he was trying to keep me in a cage. It was as if he knew what I was thinking, what I was suspecting, and he was determined to keep me from voicing those thoughts.

I tried to reach out to my mother, but the distance between us seemed to grow wider with each passing day. It was as if she was in denial, unwilling to see the truth that I was starting to see. As the silence stretched between us, the tension became unbearable. I knew that if I didn't speak up, if I didn't confront John, the weight of the truth would crush me. But I also knew that if I did speak up, if I did confront him, the consequences could be catastrophic.

In the end, I was trapped in a terrible limbo, unable to speak and unable to stay silent. The secrets were eating me alive, and I knew that sooner or later, they would have to come out.

And so it was that I made the decision to enroll at the University of Cape Town, far away from the clutches of my stepfather.

It was only in the space and distance from Durban that I began to see the truth with frightening clarity. With each passing day, the certainty that John had killed my father grew stronger, as if it were a living thing inside me, feeding off my fear and my anger.

I knew that I needed to do something, but I was torn between the need to protect my mother and the need to uncover the truth.

I can feel Tim's eyes on me as I stand up, my phone clutched in my trembling hands. "Fine, I'll call her," I mutter, stepping out onto the balcony. The night air is cold against my skin, but it does little to quell the fire in my heart.