THE CAGED BIRD

CHAPTER 28

The warmth of the sun was kissing my skin as I surrounded myself with plants. Droplets of sweat were dripping off my face, arms, and back.

The calming sounds of the birds in the trees and the sky made me relax as I was doing hard labouring work. I carried plants, flowers, dirt, and flowerpots all over the back garden of the massive mansion of now my husband Nicholas. As I was finally married to the man who saved my life weeks ago, I could move more freely around.

Once a week I would go to the store, find new plants to put in our garden, and the next couple of days I was busy planting them. Slowly the garden became more and more enjoyable with the many colours that crossed along the grounds.

Leaving the house was still a whole other thing. I could only leave if I had at least four bodyguards with me, which meant that going outside to just explore was still difficult. Nicholas and Xavier were still weary to let me leave and only let me when I had a specific goal, like going to the store or a restaurant, it was still better than before, so I wasn’t complaining too much.

Something that was bugging me was my brother. His rising from the Dead made cracks in our relationship as a brother and sister. He still treated me like I was that silly girl that lived in her prison with her father, but I had changed and grown.

I always thought he was on my side, that he had my back. His behaviour, however, showed more and more traits of our father. From time to time, he did not let me speak for myself. Just like our father wanted to make decisions for me and justified it by saying I did not know any better. As time went on, the distance between us grew more and more. It saddened me, really. If only he could see I needed to be my own person and not a mindless slave to men.

It scared me as well, to see how much I had changed into a more independent woman. I was still far from it, but I became that woman more with every day that passed. Of course, I had and still learned from the best Evelyn. She was amazing. Together we had organized a little wedding and she was very understanding of my choices, not like her mother at all.

I had a simple long white dress, a small venue, lovely flowers, and a relaxed vibe during the whole event. Nicholas was gentle, understanding, and polite. As we had our wedding in a Catholic Church, the kiss to bond us was very important, so instead on the lips, he kissed my forehead.

He was everything but Edric and that made me relax. I had not worries about the marriage. Well, except on one point though. Will I ever fall in Love with someone?

I was interrupted by the calming and sweet sound of Evelyn’s voice.

‘Hey girl, what are you still doing here? You have been busy all morning.’ I looked up to see her warm smile. Today she wore one of her many glamorous dresses. This time she had chosen a burgundy red dress, which was an off - the - shoulder dress. It was one of her best dresses, it highlighted her great features.

‘I wanted to finish this before going inside, but maybe it is the right time to stop.’ I dusted my hands off my pants and stood up from my crouching position.

‘Yeah right it is. Come, go shower quickly, and then we will have a girl’s day.’

‘All right, I’ll be done in a minute,’ I said as I jogged towards the house.

After a quick shower, I made my way to the living room. I could not help myself to look just around the corner to look at Evelyn. I did this more often as the weeks went by when we were all living here together. Just to take a quick look at her. Never had she notice me doing it until now. ‘What are doing? Come let’s have some fun!’

I laughed nervously at her and responded, ‘What do you have in mind?’

‘Well…’ From that moment she spat out all her ideas for our ‘girls’ day.’ Honestly, I did not mind what we were doing as long as I was with her, and it took my thoughts away from all the bad memories I had gathered in my head.

We laughed, we cried, we screamed, we ran, jumped, and danced. From watching movies to a dance battle, we did it all that day. It was great. It was one of the best days of mine in a while. Evelyn did not always have time for me as she also worked for Nicholas I would see neither of the three in a week.

Still, now that I was married, meaning protected from the underworld, I felt lonely. It was even worse when all three of them were here. Nicholas was my husband, but he wasn’t at the same time. It was purely practical our marriage. So, besides a polite talk, our relationship did not get any further than that. Meanwhile, my brother and I were on bad terms, and to top that, Evelyn and Xavier were dating. Them dating made me feel something, it felt like jealousy. But I had no idea if it was towards my brother or Evelyn. Them being together gave me confused feelings.

Those strange feelings were once again brought up when Xavier and Nicholas hurried their way into the mansion.

‘Are you girls okay?’ Nicholas shouted.

‘Yes, why?’ Evelyn asked in confusion.

Xavier wrapped his arms around Evelyn and hugged her tight. ‘Hey what’s going on babe?’ Evelyn asked again. It was moments like this that erupted the feelings of jealousy in me. I could not put my finger on it to why it was happening the only thing that I knew was that I felt something.

‘So, what’s going on?’ I asked hesitantly.

‘Trouble.’ That was the only thing Nicholas said.