PRECIOUS SACRIFICES
"Welcome to Baron Ash!" The guide had welcomed her with a beaming smile at her arrival.
Janet forced herself to return the gesture, her own smile looking more like a grimace.
The student guide gave her a brief tour of the university before showing her to her dorm room where she would be residing for the years to come.
Without wasting any time, Janet set about arranging the room and unpacking her belongings, smiling softly at a frame of her daughter as she placed it on her desk.
"My sweet girl." She mumbled, wiping a stray tear.
Once she was all settled, she stiffly sat at the windowsill, giving a call to her friend.
"Have you gotten to the university?" Her friend asked as soon as the call connected.
"Yes, I arrived a few hours earlier."
"And how was the flight? I know how much you detest plane rides." She asked again with half tease and genuine concern in her tone.
"I slept through the flight so it was fine, I guess," she muttered in reply.
Janet could barely remember the details of the plane ride, she had asked for some sleeping pills as soon as she boarded and had gotten knocked out almost immediately.
The two friends remained in tense silence for a while.
"Sonia is asleep by the way. I know you want to ask about her, so why won't you?" Ruth questioned with a knowing tone.
"It's just, I feel like such a bad mother. Leaving my baby when she barely has any knowledge of the world." She divulged, her tone reeking of guilt.
"I told you not to worry about that; you are not a bad mother; this is the best decision you could have made for the both of you," Ruth argued.
"Regardless, I will ensure to teach her everything that she needs to know about you and the world. Just focus on your career so that you can come back to her at the right time."
Janet let out a soft sigh at her friend's words.
Ruth always knew the right words to say to her, he was glad to have a friend like her.
They spoke for a little while longer, Ruth interrogating her on everything detail of the university and Janet trying to answer all her questions as best as she could.
She let out a yawn in the middle of their conversation and Ruth paused.
"I think you need to get some rest," she said in a warm tone.
"Hmm, I seem to be jet lagged, even after sleeping the whole way," Janet mumbled in reply.
That was the indication of her friend who instructed her to take a nap before hanging up.
However, Janet remained at the same spot as he stared at the grass that ran for miles. Her mind was occupied with the thought of her parents and all she lost.
She was wary about going to sleep because there was something she had omitted to tell her friend. Every time she slept, she had nightmares of that night, every detail just like it had played out until she fell unconscious.
Janet glanced down at her arm, which was filled with thin lines, another thing that she had hidden from Ruth. How could she explain it to her anyway, she was not trying to kill herself, not anymore. But it was the only way to shut out the voices in her head.
Pain was the only thing that distracted her from her thoughts; that was her own little reprieve, and nobody needed to know about it.
"She would not understand anyway," she thought with a sad smile.
Janet leaned her head on the cold glasses, her mind raced, dreaming and plotting revenge. She would do anything to attain her goal, but first, she had to pursue something: power.
"Whoever those men were, I will ensure they feel double the pain that they caused me, one by one until there's nobody left." She promised into the night air.
—--------------
Evans had been in the middle of an important meeting when he received a call from his father's assistant.
"That will be all for today, my assistant will communicate the details of the next meeting to you." He announced in a bland tone, putting an end to the meeting.
Without another word, he stormed out of the boardroom, heading down the elevator to the front, where his driver was already waiting.
However, his jaw clenched when he arrived at his father's office a short while later and was informed that he had to wait before he could see "the senator".
He begrudgingly stood outside the office, refusing to sit until he had spoken to his father.
Evans wondered what this talk was about, as he had barely had any conversations with the man he called his father for the past few months, only following instructions here and there.
"The senator is ready to see you."
Evans scoffed at his father's assistant, wordlessly stepping into the office and shutting the door behind him.
"Like I need permission to see my own father," he thought with a frown as he focused his gaze on the man who sat at his desk with a stoic gaze.
If it had been up to him, Evans was not interested in having any conversation with his father anyway, or even being in the same room as him, except that he had been suddenly summoned.
Their relationship had been strained for a while, especially after the incident that was left untouched. He had never been able to see his father the same after that fateful night.
"Father." One word, accompanied by a short nod.
His father barely spared him a glance, staring at some random folder before him.
"Sit." He commanded in a short tone.
"What is this about? I have to get back to work." He asked impatiently.
He had been appointed as the CEO of his father's multi-billion dollar company, following his father's accession to office.
After having to take responsibility for the company and the thousands of lives associated with it, reality had begun to dawn on him.
"I will just get straight to the point. You need to get married." He monotonously replied, giving him his full attention this time.
"What?"
Evans was barely surprised by his father's words as he had seen it coming, but he knew that there must have been an ulterior motive behind it. He never did anything without gaining something in return.
His father regarded him for a few minutes before giving him a reply, "Mr Lincoln, one of the higher officials, has a daughter of marriageable age and she is the best match for you." He said matter-of-factly.
"Father-"
"Just continue to do as I say, as you have been doing all along. Besides, this is the best time for you to get married. The board of directors is already getting anxious; it is in the best interest of you and the company." His father added, casually cutting him off.
Evans stared at his father in silence, already fully aware of what he was capable of if he refused his order.
"Mr Stephen, you have a press conference in thirty minutes." The assistant said, interrupting their conversation.
"I hope you do the right thing, son." His father said calmly, before rising on his feet and exiting the office with his assistant in tow.
Evans was perplexed; for the first time, he thought of challenging his father.