(JARED’S POV)
I arrived home and hurried inside. As I entered the living room, I was met with the sight of Sofia sprawled on the couch, munching on junks with the TV blaring in the background. I was disappointed at the sight before me. “Sofia, what’s going on here?” I asked, picking up the remote and turning off the TV.
She scowled at me. “What’s your problem? Why’d you turn off the TV?”
“We need to talk,” I said firmly.
She hissed and sat up on the couch, crossing her arms defensively. “About what? You left the house without telling me where you were going, and now you want to talk?”
I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm and not snap. “Sofia, no tantrums, please. I need to ask you about something.”
She glared at me for a moment before rolling her eyes. “Fine, I’m listening.”
“Yesterday, you saw Arielle when she returned home, right?”
“Why are you asking me this? I told you she walked in on us,” Sofia said, the defensive tone back in her voice.
“Alright. Do you know why she was home earlier than usual?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t even talk to her because she ran out immediately.”
“Alright. And I wanted to ask; did you spike my drink? Furthermore, did you call Arielle because you wanted her to see what she saw? Don’t get me wrong, I know you don’t really like her, and you probably did it to spite her-” “Jared!” Sofia yelled, an appalled look on her face. “Is that what you think of me?”
“Sofia, look-“
“Enough! I can’t believe you see me in this light. Spike your drink? Why would I? It was merely alcohol, and you drank it all, remember? And speaking about dislike, If there’s anyone who harbors such feelings, it’s your wife. She doesn’t like me, and my presence in this house, and she makes no effort to hide it.”
“And now, you want to blame me for what happened?” By not, Sofia’s voice was shaky. “I wish I had somewhere else to go, I wish I were never divorced, and I wish my dad was not sick, that way my parents will be in the country and I would be with them.”
Sofia was sobbing now, and I felt really awful. I shouldn’t have said what I said. I needed answers, and in my quest, I said what I wasn’t supposed to say, hurting Sofia’s feelings in the process. “Sofia, I’m sorry,” I said, approaching her.
But she shot to her feet, and moved away from me.” Don’t come close to me. I’m disappointed in you,” she said, turned back and fled upstairs.
I slumped into the armchair, burying my face in my palms. I couldn’t believe what I’d just done. Sofia’s words echoed in my mind, and I felt a jolt of guilt for hurting her feelings.
Why had I accused her of spiking my drink? And worse, suggested she’d deliberately hurt Arielle? I knew she and Arielle didn’t get along so well, but Sofia was incapable of hurting anyone.
I made a mental note to apologize to her later when she was more receptive. For now, I needed to gather my thoughts together.
The shrill ring of my phone cut into my thoughts, startling me. I reached for it in my pocket, hoping it was the investigator with news about Arielle and Ashley’s whereabouts.
I checked the screen and my heart sank. It was my mother.
“”Hey, mom,” I said, forcing a cheerful voice.
“Jared, you bad child. You haven’t checked in on your poor mother in days,” she said, her voice a friendly scold.
“I’m sorry, I’ve been caught up with work. How’re you?”
“Aging. How’re you, and Arielle?”
My stomach twisted in a painful knot. How could I tell her that I had no idea where my wife was?
“We’re fine. She’s gone to work.”
“Okay, dear. I was trying to reach her by her phone because I wanted to send her pictures of some family bride heirloom jewels. I thought she might want to choose one for herself, but she’s been unreachable.” “Oh, she’s… um… probably busy at work, and might not be close to her phone. You know how it is,” I lied, trying to sound normal.
“Alright. Just in case you are able to reach her before I do, kindly pass the information to her.”
“Yeah, Mom, I’ll let her know. She’ll appreciate that.”
“Alright, Son. By the way, how’s Sofia?”
“She’s fine, Mom. She’s asleep upstairs,” I replied.
There was a momentary pause on the other end. “How do you know that? Are you home?”
“Y…yes,” I stammered, caught off guard. “I didn’t have much to do at the office, so I decided to work from home. I’ll be heading to the office soon, though.”
“Alright, dear. Take care, and give Arielle my love.”
“Will do, Mom. Bye.”
“Phew!” I let out a sigh of relief as soon as the call ended. How long would this go on? Arielle, where are you?
I leaned back on the chair, thinking
of my next line of action. I slept off in that position, and was only roused by the ringing of my phone. A glance at the caller ID and it was the investigator. Hurriedly, I answered the phone.
“Hello?”
“We’ve got some news, Sir,” the investigator announced.
My grip on the phone tightened. “What news?”
“We managed to track the locations of the two phones. They’re both at Health wise Hospital.”
I raised a brow. “Hospital?”
“Yes, Sir. I visited the hospital and did some digging.”
“What did you find out?”
There was a pause before the investigator continued, his words dropping like a time bomb. “I’m afraid, sir, but your wife was involved in an accident yesterday and was admitted to the hospital. Her friend
has been with her.”
I stopped listening, my blood pressure skyrocketing. Arielle, in an accident? How? The image of blood stained pavement on the street flashed in my eyes. Could that have been her? Oh, God!
My hands shook, my head buzzing and swirling in thoughts.
The investigator’s voice cut through my reverie. “Sir, are you there?”
I jerked back to reality, stammering, “Y-yes.”
“I’ll keep investigating, sir. But I thought you should know-“
I cut him short, my voice shaking. “No, that’s enough. Please forward your account details to my account manager. Payment will be made.”
“Understood, sir.”
I dropped the call, my phone slipping from my fingers. I collapsed back into the armchair, feeling like I had been hitt with something heavy.
Arielle, in an accident? I tried to put
together the pieces of the puzzle. She probably returned home and saw Sofia and me, and then ran off. If the blood on the street was hers then she likely was hit by a car.. Ashley was contacted and rushed to the hospital to be with her. That made sense now. It all made sense, except in all of these, I still can’t figure out why Arielle was home when she was, and why she didn’t contact me. I was her husband, why was Ashley contacted, and I wasn’t?
I jerked up from the couch; I can’t be seated here assuming things when my wife was in the hospital, and I don’t even know the state she was in. I needed to get to the hospital. Now. With shaking hands, I grabbed my keys and rushed out of the house.
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