chapter 9

FEBRUARY (TWO YEARS BACK)

She woke up scared—heart pounding in its cage. Her breath came in struggled gasps and every muscle ached in her taut body. It was evident that she had a hangover. Her mouth was drier than the Savannah and she felt a wave of nausea threaten to drown her. Her blurry vision became clearer as she rubbed her burning eyes.

"Last night's events is definitely a dream,"she thought to herself. 

She glimpsed around and realised she wasn't in her room... She blinked her eyes in disbelief—clearly confused. 

She blinked it once more

She was in her room, she didn't understand what was going on. 

Then it suddenly hit her! She was in her old room. 

She couldn't believe she was back to the past—jumping from her bed in total shock, she tried to recall last night’s events.

The strange voice she heard was real. 

She wracked her brain. She needed answers.

Was she crazy? Was she imagining everything?

"YOU AREN'T CRAZY. FOCUS".

Her mind was in disarray. Hearing the mysterious voice somewhat relieved her.

She checked the date in a brisk 

February fourth.

'the voice' had taken her back to a day before her father's death...the murder she was prepared to stop.

She studied her old room—it looked small and immensely simple. The four walls which meant the world to her was looking rather antique and unwelcoming, memories flooded her mind as she studied her surroundings. The room was painted white with purple prints on it. You dare not place a dirty palm on it—it was a strict rule no one dared to disobey. 

She hadn't returned to the house after accepting Simeon's offer. 

She didn't attend her father's funeral either. 

Then she remembered why she was back. Her father! Spending time with her father was her priority .

Her eyes suddenly lit up as the heard the voice of her father—she pushed her brown door and ran to his mini office in a swift—it was close to her room.

Everything looked pretty much the same, except it seemed smaller than she remembered.

Her eyes came in contact with her father's grey eyes which was shaped like an almond. Her eyelids got heavy and tears trickled down her cheeks.

He had appeared in her dreams countless times but this one felt real.

She embraced him tightly—shutting her eyes and perceiving the satisfying scent of coffee on his shirt. She always had a thing for coffee.

Nothing else mattered at that moment. It was she and her father against the world.

Mr. Steel didn't understand why his daughter was weeping, he remembered they had a fight the previous day. She was his little princess. He hated seeing her in tears.

"Why the tears princess? Because I yelled at you last night?"

Raven couldn't remember why she had a fight with her father. She stayed mute for a while still embracing him tightly.  

Her brain struggled to remember why her father had yelled at her. They rarely fought so it was a mystery to her.

In a flash! Memories  rushed in. Her father had set her up on a date. The idea of a blind date made her upset, but at this moment, she didn't care about details anymore. All she wanted was to please her father.

  " I promise I'll go for the date dad, I hate fighting with you".  

 "He's a good guy princess, I wouldn't set you up with just anyone", he said.

"I love you dad". 

She realised he was right, she was just twenty when he tried to set up the date—she was still immature. 

"I love you princess".

She accompanied her father to the living room. The house was beautiful no doubt but it seemed really odd to her. 

 Raven was too engrossed in her thoughts—oblivious to the fact her mother and sisters had join them. 

Her voice went mute. It had suddenly escaped from her. The thought of seeing her mother never crossed her mind. 

She avoided her mother's burning gaze. The tension brought sudden heat to her body.

"Hello sister...since you've clearly lost your manners."  The snotty voice of Louisiana echoed in her ears. 

Raven was the youngest amongst her sisters. Louisiana, her eldest sister had always been cold to her...at least that was what she thought. 

Secrets bloomed around her. 

Tessa, her middle sister used to pay her some attention. They drifted apart without even realizing it—things changed for some reason she didn't understand.

"Hello," she replied shyly.

"Raven," her mother's voice appeared shaky—her blood boiled as her voice zoomed into her head. All she wanted was to spend time with her father. 

“Come with me," Mrs Steel didn't wait for her daughter to protest, she walked forward waiting for her to follow her lead.

Raven looked over at her father, he gave her a warm look—it melted her heart. She decided to act properly, mainly because she was curious to know what her mother wanted.

Arriving into a private room in the mansion—the journey was a rather long one. It was a huge house—she eyed the house like a stranger in a lost palace.

Her mother peeped around to confirm no one was close by—she walked over to her daughter with her head downwards. Her head rose up and Raven could see a glove of fear in her blue eyes.

 "What do you want!" Raven yelled.

"I know you're mad...I'm sorry".

Raven was sick of hearing her mother apologize. Memories trickled down her brain and her head buzzed as the image of her mother with another man flashed in her head. 

He was one of her father's business partner, she became more angry. 

Deja vu was happening. Her mother had tried to beg her not to tell her father two years back, then the next day her father was shot dead.

"I despise you," Raven said, she wished she had a better mother. 

She wished she didn't hate her mother. The hatred was too much for her—it was burning within her and she didn't know how to control it.

The tears of her mother made her body crawl in disgust.

"Things aren't the same with your father anymore," she always had an excuse for everything.

"Doesn't justify your infidelity!" She snapped and attempted to storm out of the room. The door was jammed—she pushed against it fiercely, eager to leave the room. 

The door opened in force and her legs carried her as fast as possible—preventing running into the maids or her sisters. The confrontation exhausted her.

Her heart almost came out of her chest as she entered her room. Tessa was lying on her bed...clearly waiting for her.

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Thanks for reading darlings—your reviews motivates me to update. Things might seem rushed at the moment but it'll begin to fall in place. Xoxo