Just A Nightmare

Angel opened her eyes to see the ray of the afternoon sun reflected on a silver metal just above her head and a few steps behind her. She did not make any attempt to move from where she stood. Her gaze remained focused on the waves that formed their crest, then disappeared only to appear again, chasing one after the other, until they turned into whitish foam crashing into the powdery white sand of the shore where a couple was helping a little girl build a sandcastle. 

She dared not blink because she was afraid that the beautiful scene below was just an illusion that would disappear the instant she closed her eyes. What remained would be the endless cycle of waves chasing each other and crashing on the seashore.

She wanted to hold on to that happy memory, the happiest of her childhood when her father was still not too busy.

Time stood still. 

A ray of light reflected on the glass wall from the silver metal a meter or two from her back momentarily blinded her, but she kept her eyes wide open, thus not missing the silver glint and the face of a woman mad with jealousy closing on her.

Back at the beach, a strong wave flattened the sandcastle, and the little girl cried. The man, who looked in his early thirties, picked up the little girl, hugged her, and gently patted her back. The little girl stopped crying, and the man put her down. She extended her right short, chubby hand to the man and her left to the woman. The family of three turned their backs as they walked away.

She blinked, and a pair of teardrops escaped from the corner of her eyes. 

The people on the beach vanished.

Angel finally closed her eyes and waited for the blade to pierce her back.

"Emily, what do you think you're doing?" A loud, deep voice startled Angel, and she unconsciously opened her eyes. From the reflection on the glass, she could see that the 'devil' was hugging the woman wearing a sexy black dress. The knife was missing from her hand.

"Leo, how could you do this to me? I am your fiancee. Why are you marrying this bitch?" The woman's hysterical cries filled the room.

Angel's head throbbed.

Leoric sighed.

"Emily, we have already talked about this before. You know my plans." His voice was gentle as he coaxed the woman who was clinging to him, crying piteously.

Angel stood there indifferently as if she was not hearing the exchanges between the two people and everything had nothing to do with them. Her gaze scanned the beach, trying hard to find the family of three.

"But I don't want you to marry her even if you will divorce her later. I don't want someone else to be your wife because only I can be Mrs. Graystone. You are powerful. Can you not change his will?'" The woman's sobs almost made her incoherent.

Angel clenched her fists until her fingernails dug into the flesh of her palm.

'So that is his plan. He wants to legally control my father's properties by marrying me. What a coward of a 'devil.'' Angel looked at the man with hatred through the glass wall before shifting her gaze to the floor.

Leoric secretly watched the woman standing rigidly before the floor-to-ceiling glass wall. She was staring blankly at the beach.

Angel slowly turned around. She looked terrible with her puffy red eyes and unkempt hair. She was wearing a white blouse with a square neckline. Her dress was drenched because of her tears, making her skin-tone undergarment visible and exposing her beautiful bosom.

Emily was full of jealousy. The woman before her had a more beautiful face and a better figure than her, even with cheeks blotched red from crying.

Angel chuckled. She looked at Emily with pity in her eyes. "I am relieved. You are more pitiful than me. You are not as important as power and revenge in his eyes." She said with mockery in her voice.

Emily saw red. "You bitch!" She struggled to escape from Leoric's embrace. Perhaps Angel's words had angered her so much that the adrenaline rush made her stronger. She was freed from Leoric's hold, or possibly Leoric let her go so she could vent her anger on Angel.

Emily raised her hand and slapped Angel with all her might. Angel wasn't a fool to just let herself be slapped like that. She already suffered from the hand of the 'devil,' so she will not let herself suffer from his woman.

She took a step to the side. Since Emily put a lot of force on that slap, she lost her footing and should have fallen if not for the fast reflex of the 'devil.'

Leoric glared at Angel.

"Bitch! I will not let you off. Leo, you have to stand up for me. You punish her for me." Emily shouted. Her voice was shrill, and it almost shattered Angel's eardrums.

"Em, be a good girl. I'll take care of this. Common, I'll take you to your room." He held her wrist and pulled her out of the room. Emily kept cursing as she reluctantly let Leoric lead her out.

Angel heaved a sigh of relief when the two devils left her room. She dragged her tired body to the bed. Her legs were trembling. She was exhausted physically and mentally. She no longer had the energy to remove the ruined wedding gown from the bed. She lay directly on top of it and closed her eyes.

...

Angel was jolted awake by the incessant knocks from the door. She was muddle-headed when she woke up. She rubbed the sleepiness in her eyes a few times trying to force herself awake. She swaggered to the door wondering why they bothered to knock when they could simply enter the room without her permission.

When she opened the door, her eyes widened. 

"It's you!" She blurted out.

'Then everything that happened was just a nightmare?'