Chapter 50: Chapter 50

CHAPTER 7

Natalie's Voiceover

Revenge is a disease that eats you up. It begins with your heart, because the heart is the very first thing that feels the emotion of hate and love, pain and anger. Then slowly, it eats up your mind, as it will be the only thing you can think of. Then it moves further to your head, and it destroys you completely and sometimes, there's no hope or ray of light at the end of the tunnel; your vengeance might be all you'd have left. But even for the filthiest souls, there's still some form of hope for our condemned souls.

The party was slated for 7pm, but it was 8pm. I arrived late intentionally. Before I step into Lydia's home, where the party's being held, I place a call to Lydia. She picks.

"Has he arrived?" I ask. Her response is as I expected, so I end the call and mentally prepare myself as I step into the building. The party is being held by the poolside, according to Lydia's preference. I walk straight ahead, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. I could feel the stares piercing into my skin. I scan the area, trying to find Lydia, but my vision fails me.

"Natalie!" I hear a familiar voice call. It's Lydia. I turn to respond. She looks stunning, dressed in a white embroidered mesh dress. We hug and kiss.

"You look amazing, Lydia. Oh, my friend!"

She gasps, "Do not! Look at yourself, you are gorgeous. Milf!" She says, and we laugh.

"You flatter me. Thank you. Thank you for this." I say, referring to the party.

"Anything for you. I'm with you and I will be forever. We need to teach these men that we are not weak and they can't just trample over us as they wish. We must teach them to fear us and give us the respect we deserve. You know I'm always ready to make men cry." She says as she smirks. Oh, Lydia! Typical mean girl. I couldn't judge her for her attitude towards her husband and men in general. Her father was violent towards her mother, so that must've impacted on her greatly.

As Lydia and I walk, a waiter serves us with drinks. Lydia takes a glass of champagne, but I don't.

"There's a special waiter waiting, and ready to serve you. Once you're in position, I'll give him the signal."

I nod, "Did you ensure they weren't mixed up or tampered with?"

"I didn't bring them out until I got word from you that you had arrived. All the bes—

"Daphnia." I chuckle uncomfortably, trying to stop Lydia from talking further. Lydia gets the message quickly and turns around. Daphnia was behind her.

"Lydia, Natalie, I must say you both never fail to impress." She laughs.

Lydia sips her champagne, "You came. But I don't remember sending you an invite." She laughs uncomfortably.

I look the other way, trying to restrain myself from laughing.

Daphnia coughs, "Oh, dear. David didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what, Daphnia? What does this have to do with David?"

"I'm here as a plus one." She says. Lydia turns to look at me, and I can see the irritation all over her face.

Daphnia raises up her hand, and flaunts her finger. A diamond ring. My eyes widen in shock. It couldn't be what I was thinking. Did David give her an engagement ring? Did he propose to Daphnia?

"Lovely, isn't it?" I hear an oddly familiar voice say from behind me. Lydia and I turn.

"Father." Lydia says.

"Senator Jackson." I say, as I look him in the eyes. David's father. I disliked this man as much as I disliked his son.

"I'm your new mother-in-law. To be." Daphnia says to Lydia, and I gasp.

"What?" Lydia asks. "Is this true?" Lydia asks the senator. The senator smiles, as he caresses Daphnia's face.

"I couldn't find the appropriate time to tell you and David this, that's why I thought of bringing her here today and introducing her to you and David." In a split second, we hear clapping. It's David, he's heading towards us.

"Wow, dad. Wow! I'm amazed. You impress me everyday. What is this, your fifth wife?" He says, holding a cup of whiskey. He was drunk.

"I'm not surprised you're already drunk, but please, control yourself, David." Lydia says to him. He ignores her and moves closer to me. I look at him and look away.

"You." He snuffs. "You've become quite a piece of work, haven't you? Lucas complains about you every single day." He says and I look at him in shock. Luke and David were still in contact, and from his reaction, it sounded like they were very close. Why didn't Lydia tell me this much?

"Don't speak to her in that manner. Don't forget what I can do to you. The press is here. Go inside and don't cause a scene, I beg you, for your sake."

Lydia turns to Daphnia, "You're not David's mother so never make the mistake of calling yourself my mother-in-law." Lydia chuckles, "Did you really think I would call you mother or something of the sort?” She scoffs. “What a joke." Lydia says and giggles. She continues, "I have no business with your personal life nor can I tell you who to bed or who to not get engaged to. I have no right to do that, however, this is my home, and I don't particularly like your wife to be, very much, father. Have a lovely evening." She says and gives the senator a peck.

I follow closely behind her. She stops. "It's beyond my imagination how he can decide to marry that woman. I have no issues with her, but that woman always finds ways to rile me up. Have you heard the rumors? She's nothing but a filthy gold digger." She says, and my mind flashes back to the night Luke found out about Rocky and how he called me a whore, a loose woman.

"Why didn't you tell me Luke and David had gotten so close? Do you realize that their friendship can prove to be a thorn in my path?" I ask, agitated.

"I thought I mentioned it earlier when you came visiting. They've gotten rather close, but still," She says, and holds my hands. "You're doing it again. Don't be selfish. I have problems too." She says, and walks off.

I sigh, "Lydia!" I begin to chase after her but I'm distracted as my eyes fall on Luke. He was speaking to some men and I couldn't see his face, but I knew all too well that it was him and as though he feels my eyes on him, he turns around. We have an eye lock. I turn around, trying to figure out where Lydia could be. I take out my phone and send her a text.

"I didn't know you would be here." He says, clearing his throat.

I breathe in, and turn to face him. "My being here doesn't concern you, does it?" I ask, and my eyes fall on Lydia who's at her balcony. She nods at me, and I'm relieved. The waiter was coming. I had to keep the conversation going for as long as I could.

"Everyday, I wish I never met you. I wish I could erase your betrayal from my mind but each time I see you, all I see is a dishonest and loose woman who has no respect for marriage."

"Says the rapist." As soon as I say those words, I see his demeanor change and his face harden. His eyes are almost bloodshot red. He grabs my arm. We're dangerously close. My breathing intensifies, being so close to him.

"I was your husband!"

I look around and smile, as I realize a few people were watching him already. You fool. You're playing right into my trap! "If that's what you tell yourself so you can sleep at night, have at it." I say. Just in time, the waiter arrives with the glasses of champagne and red wine.

"Let go.” I say as I jerk my hand off. I adjust my dress and take the glass of red wine. As I hoped, he takes a glass of champagne, and as planned, Lydia begins to scream.

"False alarm! Sorry! I thought I saw a snake! Carry on, please!" I sip my wine as I watch Luke gulp his champagne down. The waiter leaves.

"Luke!" I hear someone call, and it's none other than Laurel.

"Heh." I begin to walk off. I check my phone. It is 10:17 pm. The drug would start to take effect any moment now. I can hear Laurel behind me yelling at Luke.

"Why did you talk to her?! I went to get us drinks, Luke, you told me you hated her!"

Suddenly, she grabs me from behind. I jerk my hand off as violently as I can, and she falls straight into the pool. I hear a few gasps and laughs. Cameras start clicking. I smile wickedly at her as I bend. She screams.

"How do you feel?" I ask. She eyes me viciously.

"Get in here, and you'll know exactly how I feel.” She responds sternly.

"Do you want to know a secret?" I say, as I extend my hand towards her. I see the look on her face as she reaches out for my hand. She wants to drag me into the water, but I remove my hand as fast as lightning.

"You're a fool!" I say, as I look at her, disgusted. "Oops." I say.

I drop my glass on the nearest table I can find. I check my phone. It's 10:25. I begin to make my way into the house when suddenly, I see Rocky. What the hell was he doing here? He sees me. He waves at me. I ignore him and go inside the house. I prayed that Luke would follow me in, I just hoped he wouldn't disappoint me and foil my plans.

I make my way to the hallway not too far from the living room. It would be easy for Luke to find. I drop my purse and phone, then I tear the hem of my dress. I loosen my hair as much as I can.

"Sorry.” I console myself, as I look at my well pedicured nails. I hit my nails on the wall and a nail comes off. A nail is enough. I check the time. It's 10:35. Suddenly, I hear footsteps. My heartbeat intensifies. The person is a few feet away from me, I can tell. I turn around. It's Luke. My eyes widen as I go over my plan. I wanted to feel pity for him. I wanted to call the plan off, but I just couldn't forget everything he had done. I couldn't forget about what I'd learned about him from Lee Martins.

"I wish I could express how much I hate you, as I once expressed my love for you." He says, his eyes normal. Why weren't they red? Was it the effect of the hallucinogen? He tilts his head.

"Mom? Is that you?" He asks, coming closer to me. He's beginning to stagger. He holds both my arms. "Why did you have to pick him over me? That traitor! I took him under my roof! He ate my food! But what did I get in return? He stole my wife!" He yells. At this point, I'm a bit frightened, thinking of aborting my mission. No! My subconscious barks at me. Suddenly, he reaches for my neck and begins to squeeze it. I'm shocked. I begin to struggle to push him. His eyes are getting red gradually. I reach for my dress and tear it some more. I can feel my thighs are exposed as I struggle to breath. I wanted to frame him for attempted rape and as always, he was playing along with my plan. I begin to remember the night he took me without my consent. I can feel hot tears falling from my eyes.

"Natalie!" I hear Lydia scream, and in a split second, someone shoves Luke from behind. I hold my neck as I try to breath properly. Lydia holds me as I fall on the floor, sobbing.

Rocky is punching Luke as he lay on the floor, unconscious. Lydia embraces me as I cry. A few attendees from the party begin trooping into the house and making their way to the hallway. They begin to gasp. They're about to take photos but Lydia stops them.

"No photos, please. She's practically naked and it's a crime to post nude pictures of someone without their consent, if you don't know that." She says.

Rocky rushes to me, his face full of fury. "Natty?" He calls me, and I look at him. He gave me that name.

"Are you okay? Did that bastard hurt you?"

I'm about to say no, but I compose myself. "He tried to rape me.” I say. I realize that there are people there, and rumors would help my plan succeed. I continue, "Again." I say and begin to shed fake tears. I smile internally as I hear the people gasp and talk amongst themselves. I wanted and needed them to go and tell others what they'd heard, that Lucas not only tried to rape me, he'd done it before.

Flashback ..

As soon as I receive the cell number of the illicit drug plug, I dial it. In three rings, the call is answered, but nothing is said.

"Hi, this is Laurel. Laurel Carrington.” I say, smiling as I enter the tub. "I'm looking for something that's really strong, something that could make you hallucinate, act out crazily and of course, have memory gaps. Can I get that?" I ask.

"There's no need for names, we run an anonymous business. I don't know you, you don't know me. Of course, I gotchu. That's bath salts.” The man says.

"Bath salts?" I ask, confused.

"That's £150 ma'am. Cash.”

"Wait, how long does it take to kick in? Will it make h- will it make me, violent?" I ask.

"Correct. About an hour plus, tops." He responds, chewing gum loudly.

"That's a lot! I need it to kick in in about 30 minutes. That's too long." I say

"I could make that work. Double the dosage, mix it in a little bit of this and that." He says.

"Great. That's fine."

"That's £500 now"

"I'll send a car to come get it, along with your money."

"The fuck? It don't work like that, what if you a cop? I think I'm talking to a fucking cop!" I hear him tell others in the background.

"Well, how do I get it then?"

"My boy will come meet you, strapped! So if you try some shit, he'll shoot you." He says and I gulp. Jesus.

"Okay. I'll be at Rousseau's. 8 pm sharp. I'll be by the entrance, wearing a black furry coat." Immediately, I end the call, and throw the burner phone as hard as I can on the wall. I couldn't risk anything getting traced back to me.