TRAPPED WITH THE PLAYBOY

The Scars She Hid From The World

REGINA MCBRIDE

The heavy iron gates of the Wilderness Correction Camp groaned as they released me after three years of state-sponsored hell. I stood on the dirt road, clutching a plastic bag that held my entire life, waiting for the family that claimed they sent me there for "rehab." My brother, Brady, picked me up in a luxury SUV only to throw me out onto a deserted highway in the middle of a brewing storm. He told me I was a "public relations nightmare" and that the rain might finally wash the "stink" of the camp off me. He drove away, leaving me to limp miles through the mud on a snapped ankle. When I finally dragged myself to our family estate, my mother didn't offer a hug; she gasped in horror because my muddy clothes were ruining her Italian marble. They didn't give me my old room back. Instead, they banished me to a moldy gardener’s shack and hired a "babysitter" to make sure I didn't embarrass them further. My sister, Kaleigh, stood there in white cashmere, pretending to cry while clinging to her fiancé, Ambrose—the man who had once been mine. They all treated me like a volatile junkie, refusing to acknowledge that Kaleigh was the one who planted the drugs in my bag three years ago. They wanted to believe I was broken so they wouldn't have to feel guilty about the "wellness retreat" that was actually a torture chamber. I sat in the dark of that shed, feeling the cooling gel on the cigarette burns that covered my arms, and realized they had made a fatal mistake. They thought they had erased me, but I had returned with a roadmap of scars and a hidden satellite phone. At dinner, I didn't beg for their love. I simply rolled up my sleeves and showed them the price of their silence. As the wine spilled and the lies crumbled, I sent a single text to the only person I trusted: "I'm in. Let them simmer." The hunt was finally on.

Modern Revenge Scheming

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"Nicole, this is Aunt Ella." Lola picked Nicole up so she could look straight at Ella.

"Pretty auntie, hello!" Said Nicole in a lovely manner.

Her words made Ella chuckle, "Nicole, you are so silver-tongued!" Harry and Lola have taught their child well, she thought to herself.

"Thanks auntie!" Nicole looked at Ella's belly with curiosity, wondering whether the pretty auntie was also bearing a little baby.

Lola put Nicole back on the ground, and watched Ella playing with the twins, "How long has it been? It will soon come, won't it?" 'Ella's belly is pretty big now'.

Ella straightened up and put her hands on her stomach, caressing it with great affection, "Yes, the expected due date is less than two months away. 'Samuel and I will obtain our passport tomorrow. I am so happy.'

Her smiling face radiated happiness. Lola watched her happy face and held her hands. "Is Samuel nice to you?"

She knew that Samuel had no affection for Ella, but seeing that happy smile on Ella's face, she had to ask.

Not a bit of the smile faded away from Ella's face. Thinking of Samuel, she believed that she was coming nearer to her Samuel day by day. Ella nodded gently. "But in the past few months, every time Samuel visited me, he just sat here for only a while and then went away. He never stayed over."

She felt terrible at the thought of it. But she should have anticipated all this, shouldn't she?

Lola knew what was going on, and didn't let go of her hand. "Don't worry," she said, "You two will be closer to each other when the baby comes." As long as there's a child of his, however many women Samuel has, he will go back home to his wife and child.

Her consolations worked well on Ella. Ella, too, believed that through persistent effort, her Samuel would accept her love.

Then together with the kids, Lola and Ella went shopping, had dinner, and ended the night there.

Before leaving, they agreed to go shopping or visit each other when they had time.

Lola looked at Ella's back and let out a sigh. Everything is fate. She and Ella had similar dispositions. Both of them were bright, cheerful and frank. But Ella fell in love with someone who was not fond of her. How painful that would be! She could see that every time she mentioned Samuel, Ella would immediately act in a more feminine manner...How true love changes people.

However, she had never behaved like that in front of Harry. So she wondered, was she too tough?

In Splendid Garden Apartments

the next afternoon

The expectant Ella just came back from outside. She looked at the two Passports on the table and smirked. She finally married her Samuel! She would be Mrs. Lowell from now on!

Samuel just said that since she was pregnant now, she shouldn't be too tired. They would hold the wedding after she gave birth.

But it was alright. Now everyone knew that she, Ella, was now Mrs. Lowell. Since she had been recognized, everything would been fine after the baby was born.

She gently stroked her belly, "Baby, mommy can finally be with daddy." Only she knew how happy she was now.

She put away the passports in a small box in the cupboard. That was the box that held her important things.

Someone knocked at the outer door when she put the box away. Since she had been pregnant for more than eight months, she awkwardly dragged her stomach to open the door.

Who is it? Mom and dad? Big brother? Or... Samuel?

She looked through the peephole and found that it was none other than a woman.

She opened the apartment door. "You are?" She looked at the fashionable woman with curiosity.

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