35 Paid Her Dues

One month later.

Thelma and the kids relocated to Caroline's house before the baptism of baby Cathy- Caroline's daughter with the deceased Joseph and baby Angel- Caroline's daughter with John, the joyous occasion will take place at the end of the month.

Grace accompanied her aunt Thelma on the day of the relocation promising to visit them regularly in the city. She will be sleeping over in Caroline's house and will return to tomorrow to her house in Cavite City.

The family members were sitting on the fluffy sofa and currently eating afternoon snacks in the living room while Lily and Jacob are watching children show on the flatscreen TV. Baby Cathy was sleeping peacefully in the crib beside Caroline.

"Why don't you just stay with us here, cousin?" offered Caroline while sipping from the glass containing ice-cold lemonade juice. "As you can see, we have three bedrooms on the second floor, you can stay in one of the rooms upstairs," she added. Her cousin Grace was very kind to her family, she just wants to return her kindness and generosity.

Thelma smiled fondly at her niece. "Yes, stay with us here, Grace. This house is much bigger and it can accommodate us all. We would love to have you here with us, please consider my daughter's offer," she said.

Grace shook her head. "Thanks for the offer Aunt and Caroline, but I can't leave our house yet. Mother and father were currently enjoying their vacation in my brother's house in Zamboanga, if they return home, I will surely visit you here guys more often," she explained.

"You can visit us here every weekend," Caroline suggested again.

"Alright, I will inform you guys if I drop by and sleepover during weekends," Grace responded while chewing on the fresh baked cookies they bought from the bakery store nearby just a walking distance from the house.

"So, what do you think about the new house?" Caroline asked her cousin with a hint of pride in her voice while roaming her eyes inside the interior of the house. The wall has a soft pastel color all over the house and all the bedrooms interior has been painted with a cream color which exudes a soft and calming atmosphere to its inhabitants.

"The house is beautiful inside and out," Grace commented with admiration flashing in her eyes.

"My beloved sister Catherine, choose everything in this house, from the paint of the wall up to the furniture and appliances, she chooses everything for me," Caroline stated.

"And did you like it? Do you like your sister's choices?" Grace asked.

"Not bad. If I'm the one choosing everything I might end up doing everything bad, when it comes to choices my sister does it better than me," Caroline said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Grace edges closer to Caroline and whispered something in her hears. "How did you owned such a beautiful house?"

Thelma heard Grace's question, she locked eyes with Caroline.

Caroline stood up, "Come with me to my room, cousin. I have something to tell you," she said and walked towards the stairs.

Grace followed her cousin eager to know how she able to own such a beautiful house, maybe her cousin won the lottery!

Inside Caroline's bedroom.

The two women sat down on the bed facing each other.

"Cousin, listen carefully I will start telling you the story of how I owned this house. I will make it short as possible because it's one story of my life that nearly killed me," Caroline said.

Grace swallowed the lump in her throat. "I thought you won the lottery," she said in a low voice.

Caroline closed her eyes for a few seconds and gathered her nerves and started her story.

"My tragedy started when Catherine was still missing and I work as baby Jame's nanny. John's family return to our country to stay here for good. Joseph is the drug addict brother of John who went abroad and undergoes an extensive rehab there accompanied by his parents. They never knew that Joseph is the one who hired a killer to end Dahlia's life. Joseph and Dahlia were in a relationship before, they broke up and later Dahlia had a relationship with John. Joseph hated his brother and bowed that John would never be happy with anyone, he will kill any woman that will become associated with his brother. Then Joseph met me, and one day he kidnapped me and has all the intention to rape and kill me. He succeeded in raping me but thanks God on the day he was about to kill me, he ended killing himself in a suicide, setting me free. That is how I got pregnant with baby Cathy and this house and the car as well the money in my bank account was Joseph's parents of saying sorry to me. All these are compensation to the trauma I suffered in the cruel hands of their deceased son," she explained, biting her lip as the horror of yesterday comes flooding in her senses.

"Oh my God!" Grace exclaimed in shock and disbelief. She can't believe that acquiring this beautiful house was made possible due to a dark history associated with it.

With pain in her eyes, Caroline shrugged her shoulders. "This house is indeed beautiful but tainted with my near-death experience," she said.

"I'm so sorry for the tragedy that you've been through, cousin. I didn't know everything," Grace said and embraced her cousin.

Caroline's eyes welled up. "It's alright. I'm starting to forget and slowly accepting everything that happened in my past. I'd rather want to be a good mother to my daughter and raise her well than dwell in my traumatic past," she uttered those strong words because she doesn't want her cousin to pity her.

Grace looked at Caroline's pretty face with sympathy in her eyes. "You are a strong woman, cousin. You will survive whatever that comes your way," she spoke softly.

Caroline nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, I will survive." She no longer revealed to her cousin that she once fall in love with her brother-in-law and wanting to become John's second wife after her twin gone missing. She was thoroughly ashamed of herself and wanting to forget that dark episode in her life. She becomes a sinner and betrayed her sister and she suffered in silence because of that sinful desire. In return, God was quick enough to deliver karma to her life by sending her into Joseph's evil hands almost ending her life prematurely.

But that was over now, she had suffered so much in Joseph's hands, in her mind she already paid her dues to her sister.