Chapter 24 A Chat with Shina
Maxwell had a subtle smirk as he listened to Mellisa, knowing that she was only trying to help him out. He was delighted to hear her proclaim that she was his future wife, even though she was unaware of it. Clearing his throat, he realized that everyone was awaiting his response. "I am grateful to you, Mellisa, for chasing her out of my house," Maxwell said as he rose from the chair. "Now, please go and take your medicine and rest. After I am finished with my work, we can all go for dinner as Linda suggested." He then turned to Michelle and said, "Michelle, please come to my study room; there is something I need to discuss with you." After saying this, Maxwell left the dining room and headed to his study.
" Melissa goes to your room and gets some rest okay, " Michelle said to Mellisa. " Please don't stress yourself, okay remember the promise you made to me. I will go there shortly. " Michelle said and followed behind Maxwell.
" Melissa, I shall take a shower and return shortly." With that, Linda hastened to her room.
"It appears we are the only ones left here," Shina declared. "Come, let us watch something in the sitting room."
"Very well," Melissa replied.
The two of them proceeded to the dining room, while the maids tidied up the table.
"Do tell me about yourself," Shina inquired in a polite yet inquisitive manner. "I understand you were married; how was your marriage life? What was your husband like?" Her intention was not to cause offense but to provide an opportunity for Melissa to express her feelings without shedding tears.
Mellisa nodded her head in approval, her heart filled with admiration for Shina's story. She took a deep breath and pushed away the sadness that she had been feeling. "I'm done crying," she thought to herself. She flashed a confident smile and faced Shina. "How old are you?" she asked in a formal tone.
Shina wiggled her eyebrows in amusement. "Don't worry, I'm not underage. I will turn 19 on the 22nd of December. So you can relax, Linda is the younger one who is 16 years old," she replied.
Mellisa squished her straight eyebrows together, still confused. "How old is your Dad?" she asked.
"He is 29 years old," Shina said. "I know what you are going to ask. He is not our biological father, he adopted us, and it's a long story for another day. Now tell me about yourself.
Mellisa swallowed the lumps in her throat, feeling a tightness in her chest, but she told herself she was not going to cry again because of Zick. "I never enjoyed my married life," she began, the tightness in her throat worsening. "My Aunt forced me into marrying him and he hated me for agreeing to it. Every night, he would bring different girls into our room and make love to them in my presence. He would beat me up every day for the slightest mistake I made, and insult me constantly, telling me how ugly I was. I endured it all and kept quiet, while his mother made things even harder for me. His grandmother was aware of everything, but chose to stay silent and watch her grandson abuse me until one day he chased me out of the house, where I met Linda. She paused.
"Do you understand why I wanted to take my own life?" Mellisa inquired, her voice quivering as she fought to contain her tears.
Shina was unable to respond, for she was aware of the torment her father who was also Linda's father had inflicted upon their mother. The worst part was that it was his actions that had caused her to develop a heart condition, ultimately leading to her death when Mellisa was only nine years old.
Noticing that Shina was listening attentively, Mellisa continued. "My father abandoned my mother while I was still in the womb. This resulted in her developing a heart problem, and she passed away when I was nine. I then went to live with my uncle and his wife, Michelle, who was already twelve at the time. My aunt never loved me; she despised me so much that my life became unbearable. The reason I wanted to take my own life is because I was exhausted from living and enduring such suffering. However, your father gave me a glimmer of hope that one day things would improve if I refused to succumb to my sorrow and kept pushing forward.
"He is absolutely right, forget and forgive everyone from your past and move on in life. Those who had left you were not meant to be in your life and those who are with you now are written in your destiny, don't ever regret losing someone in your life because some people are not worth of your love or your time. " Shina said
" You are right, I'm done with caring about people who don't care about me, I will move on with my life. " Mellisa said her tone full of determination.
" You have no Kids right?? " Shina asked." I mean to ask that you did not leave your Kids behind right?? "
Mellisa smiled in self mockingly." How can I have Kids when I'm stil a virgin?? "
Shina's moth fall open, her eyes widened in shock like thy were going to bulge out of thier socket. 'Oh my goodness!!!! I will make sure that she becomes my father's wife.' Shina thought in her head before she said." You husband is a biggest fool I've ever heard of in my entire life. It's true when they say you don't know what you have until you loose it, he Wil come running back to you one day I promise you ." Shina said.
" Chatting with you was really awesome, I can't believe that I did not shed tears." Mellisa remark with a smile.
" I'm really happy to know you Mellisa and I really hope we will get along well. " Linda smiled which was unusual to see her smile.
" I will go and have my medicine, I want to recover fast and find a good job for myself. " Mellisa said rising off the couch.
" Let's go to my room instead, the maid Wil bring the medicine there, " Shina said as she rose off Thr chair as well. " We are going out for dinner remember, we must get ready. "
" Okay, let's go. "