Ghost of My Heart - Chapter 98

The Same Night…

Elaine and her husband, Royce, stepped out of a plane and entered a black car that was waiting for them at the private landing area.

As soon as they are seated comfortably, the car moved out of the airport, taking them to the heart of the city.

Royce glanced at his wife. He saw her concern look but there were no words coming out of her mouth to spill whatever she had in her mind.

“Elaine, are you sure mama is going to be just fine back home? I don’t know if we are doing the right thing.” Royce said to her.

He was worried because their trip to Country D wasn’t on plan. They were supposed to fly to another country but then suddenly had to change their course to another country.

Elaine inhaled a deep breath and said, “We are currently doing the right thing. Don’t worry, we have papa backing us up.” She explained with a smile.

“All we need to do is to look for my sister. We managed to pinpoint the possible country where she may reside, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. The sooner we clear all this matter, the better because only then I can agree to go on a honeymoon with you.” She added and looked out, enjoying the night view of the huge city.

“Fine then. Here, take this.” He handed her a letter and also an envelope which he took out of laptop case.

Elaine took it and read the content carefully. That instant, her eyes widened in surprise. She turned at him with a wide smile.

“This is amazing! You managed to get all the place details to where Belle had gone to.”

“I did,” Royce answered with a proud looking face. “I also managed to get the information about the new address which they probably visited during their trip to this country. Look at this possible address,” He pointed to a home address and also the documents about a villa on the papers.

“The villa was previously owned by a man named Hue Hedo and about, probably four months ago, the name of ownership had been changed to, guess who, Jennet Lockhart. This Jennet Lockhart is who we will be going after.” He smiled at her. “Also, this Jennet Lockhart had been in contact with the owner of the villa from five years ago. So, which means, it really matches the possibility that this Jennet Lockhart may be your sister.”

Elaine smiled even more widely. Unexpected indeed. Her husband had been keeping his mouth sealed throughout their journey.

“Why didn’t you tell me and papa about everything?”

“Well, I wanted to make sure I got the correct Jennet Lockhart. I was even planning to visit the home address before letting you and papa know about the result of my discovery. Even this Jennet Lockhart that I have information about, I don’t know if it’s her. Just trying our luck.”

“Ohh, honey, this is already a great, great discovery.” Elaine hugged him tightly. “I love you!”

Royce smiled as he hugged her back. The complicated family matter, he had spent so many years to locate Elaine’s eldest sister who ran away from home, refusing to get married to Anderson Hanvel.

While they are busy talking with each other, the car stopped in front of a hotel. A chauffeur opened the door for Elaine and her husband. The couple stepped out and smiled at the chauffeur.

“Thank you, Danny.” Royce thanked the chauffeur with a smile as he read his name tag over the chauffeur’s chest.

“You’re most welcome, sir, and welcome to our hotel,” Danny replied with a wide smile.

The couple entered the hotel and proceed to the check-in counter. Shortly after that, they disappeared inside the lift to get to their room with a butler.

Meanwhile, Danny went towards the front office and greeted the receptionist with a sweet smile.

“Good evening ladies. Remember to smile.” He said to them as he walked past through them.

All of the beautiful receptionists smiled back at him. “Yes, Mr Stanford.”

Danny entered an office which was exclusively for him. Well, inside the office, Mira was sitting on the sofa, reading a magazine. She was so focused on reading the magazine and she didn’t even realize Danny was approaching her stealthily.

“Baby!” He startled her, scaring her out of her life.

Mira was so shocked. The magazine flew out of her hands. She immediately turned around and started to nag at him.

“Danny, how many times have I told you to not startle me like that?!” She fumed madly. Ever since his changes, he loved to startle her.

“I am sorry, baby. I was just too happy today. Did you meet your friend and apologize to her?” He changed the subject.

“I did. I told them of our marriage as well.” Added Mira, looking a bit bashful.

Technically speaking, she was forced to meet Jennet, to apologize to her and then to tell her that she’s married to him.

***

Many many hours ago…

“Baby, let’s get married!” Danny said and took out the rolled marriage form and also ink pad from inside his pockets.

Mira shook her head, “No, no!”

Danny paced a step closer to her. However, Mira stepped further away from him.

“Danny, come back to your senses! You’re going crazy!” She screamed and swung the purchase bags at him, wanting to dispel him from her. He was a disease that she needs to get away from as much as possible!

Danny smiled at her and unrolled the form. Holding them out before her, he ignored all of her unstoppable screamings.

“Baby, let’s get married. I want to be a responsible adult, a quest that I must fulfil in my life after I see the lights of love.” He said, expressing his greatest gratitude to an unknown existence that had never crossed Mira’s mind.

“Danny, you’re insane! Get away from me!” Mira kept on swinging the purchase bags like swinging a lasso rope. All she saw of him was the weird behaviours that weren’t like him before.

Danny smiled even more widely at her and ignored all of her aggressive stances. He opened his mouth which turned the woman mute instantly.

“When we last slept together, I didn’t put on any contraception. I think you’re about a few weeks old pregnant. I must marry you to father our child.” He told her.

Mira’s face turned paler. That was the scariest news in her life. Aside from that, she didn’t find it scary. Even if people told her that Luca is about to get married, she will not hesitate to destroy the marriage because it was still not too late to stop it. She will march to battle for her love.

She loved men and she was used to having nights stand with them because she knew, she could control herself from getting pregnant. However, the news that Danny had just told her was a nuclear bomb that she didn’t even want to happen. The man who had been her s** friend for a year and who doesn’t want any accidental pregnancy before, are talking about fathering her child now.

The Danny Stanford she knew would not care about such thing and he was also the one who would always remind her to buy him extra contraception every time they want to make out. He was a s** maniac and doesn’t want any accident while in his enjoyment.

But, it was totally the opposite at the moment. After his failed attempts to bed Jennet back in Country N, he had been chasing after Mira non-stop. Now, when he finally cornered her, he won’t let her escape again.

“Baby, I need your thumbprint on this form to validate our marriage.” Danny continued and opened the inkpad cover before her, urging her to give her thumbprint on the paper.

Mira shook her head even more wildly. “No, I’m not getting married to you!” She backed away slowly. In a few moments, the lift will arrive at her apartment’s floor and she needed to make sure Danny didn’t block her way of getting out of the lift.

As soon as the lift opened, Mira charged madly towards the door and pushed Danny to the side. She ran for her life towards her apartment room and frustratedly tried to unlock the door. The password she inserted were all wrong!

“Why can’t I remember the correct password?!” She grunted before the door.

“Baby!” Danny’s voice echoed along the hallway which made Mira’s having goosebumps all over her body. Just imagine yourself in her situation, of course, you would feel the same scary feelings.

She was having the hardest hurdles in her life, trying to unlock the door and to run away from Danny all at the same time.

“Baby!” The echoes were getting closer and closer, giving more pressure on the woman who tried so dearly to unlock her own door. The hair on her back stood up and she started to sweat cold sweats.

Mira frustratedly kicked on the door but it couldn’t even help her. Then, she took off her glove and the band-aid on her thumb before pressing her thumb on the fingerprint lock, her second back up to unlocking her door.

As soon as the door unlatched, she felt so relieved and swung the door open but someone had already hit her on the back of her head and she fell unconscious on the floor at the entrance of the door.

Danny stood behind the fainting woman. There was sadness on his face. “Baby, I didn’t mean to hurt you but this is the only way for me to make sure you’re officially mine. Pardon my action.”

He took her thumbprint and rolled the form before putting it back inside his pocket along with the inkpad. Then, he carried the unconscious body and placed her nicely on the bed.

He took off her hand glove and all of the band-aid that she wrapped around her slender fingers. He undressed her and wiped her entire body clean from the sweats. Then, he dressed her in a nightgown that she had in her wardrobe.

After making sure that she was in conditions that were out of possible danger, he left the room with a wide smile on his face.

The next day, Mira woke up with a very sore neck. When she was about to go to work, she was kidnapped by four men in black suits. They took her to an address which had a large house, unlike any other house that she had ever seen.

Then, she was escorted to the garden. A couple was sitting in a gazebo, waiting for her arrival. There are two maids by their side, standing straight and keeping their eyes locked at her.

Mira gulped and looked around. She was utterly confused by everything that happened to her. Where she had been taken and who are the people that she’s going to meet, she had no idea.

She may have offended lots of people before but she never ever offended such rich looking couple like those who sat waiting for her at the gazebo. They are a couple in their fifties and had a very calm and warm looking faces.

However, such faces are huge threats. She didn’t know if they are good or bad people now. Her mind was already in a huge mess. No one is good in her head at the moment.

Mira was then given a chair to sit down. She sat silently in front of the couple, smiling sheepishly.

‘Goodness, who are these people?’ She grumbled in her head.

‘Are they going to grate me alive?’ She can’t stop from imagining worst possible death that she would have to go through soon.

The lady by the man’s side smiled at her warmly, “Do you have a pleasant journey here?” She asked.

Mira eyed the muscly men in suits around her. Man, if she started to curse at everyone here, they would surely beat her. Those muscly men are looking so fierce!

She gulped hard as she replied, “Yes, the journey was so much fun. I was kidnapped from my apartment when I was on my way to work. And in the car, they have been doing good jobs just sitting silently all along the way. So far, they didn’t injure me.” She said and smiled sheepishly which looked a bit stupid.

The maids who stood by the couple were silently trying to muffle their laughs. They found her expression to be hilarious. They had never had any guests who were so afraid of everyone around her.

The lady smiled and said, “That’s great. You don’t have to be so scared. I am Nathalie and this is my husband, Ambrose. I am sure you already know why you’re here.”

Mira looked around once again making sure no one would suddenly try to grab her to stop her from talking or saying her minds.

“Men, you may disperse,” Ambrose said to the men around Mira. Those men in black suits immediately dispersed.

The maids then poured them some tea in gold teacups. Even the cookies plates are also in gold. Not to mention, the teaspoon is embedded with tiny diamonds.

Mira trembled the moment she stirred her tea with the teaspoon. ‘Goodness, such wealth! If I could smuggle only a teaspoon and carved the diamonds out, I could sell the diamonds for lots of money and then run away from Danny!’

“Do enjoy the tea. You seemed restless.” Said Nathalie. She was concerned about Mira because she found out about her from her son.

Mira drank the tea as slow as she could. She had tried her hardest to stay calm.

‘Just act calm like how you handle clients at work.’ She said to herself trying to motive her unmotivated soul. She had no idea what had befallen upon her.

“I-I have no idea where I am now,” Mira said as soon as she managed to calm herself.

The couple smiled at her. They exchanged glances before Ambrose said, “I am sure you have known of our son, Danny?”

“D-Danny?” Mira was speechless over the utterance of that name which had caused her to have sleepless nights for weeks. She had developed fear at the mention of that name. It was a taboo for her!

“Yes, Danny Stanford. He is our only son. You know him, right?”

“Uh, I-I do know him but, we’re about to brea…”

“He told us of your pregnancy and also your marriage. Our Danny was a rebellious and irresponsible child. He had never come home to see us and last night he came home, crying like a child he was before and begged for our forgiveness over his ignorance in the previous years.” Said Ambrose, looking so happy and contented. He didn’t give Mira any room to speak her mind.

Nathalie added after her husband, “Yes, he even told us about the only woman who had changed him. He spoke about you and your goodness. He spoke about your love that he craved.”

Mira was once again in utter silence. Those are totally not about the Danny Stanford that she knew.

“We have been waiting for years for him to bring home a woman who would be his wife and just last night, in the middle of the night, he came home after so many years. It was such a lucky night and memorable for us.” Nathalie interrupted before Mira could open her mouth.

“I assure you, everything is a misunderstanding. I have never agreed to marry him and I am also not going to bear his child.” Mira burst her bubbles before the couple.

Nathalie and Ambrose exchanged glances again among them. Nathalie leaned forward and asked, “Were you in love with someone else?”

“Yes, I am,” Mira admitted. She wanted to leave the place as soon as possible. She will not stay!

“Then, you want to divorce our son?”

“What?!”

“Our son is married to you. This morning he got the license with your thumbprint on each of it. Do you want to divorce him so much over another man?” Nathalie’s voice rose instantly.

“No, of course not. In fact, I don’t even know if I am married to your son. I have been avoiding him. That’s the truth.” Mira stuttered before them. Her heart was beating out of control over the sudden changes in Nathalie’s voice.

“What’s the reason for you to avoid him?” Nathalie asked.

“I cannot tell you the reason because I do not know how to tell you.” Replied Mira.

Nathalie inhaled a deep breath. What does she mean? She does not know how to tell them of the reason?

Before Mira could continue, a cheerful voice was heard coming from afar.

“Babyyyyy!”