HELLO SINNERS, IT'S TIME FOR RECKONING

As she slowly walked through the garden filled with beautiful red roses and hibiscus flowers, the breeze gently blew against her face, making the strands of her curled hair drift against her smooth skin. She was putting on a short white dress, which accentuated her figure. The dress was decorated with pearls and stones, which shone under the sunlight.

She slowly shut her eyelids to inhale the fresh air, which somehow consoled her troubled and restless mind. She smiled although deep down in her, she knew she wasn't happy.

She couldn't get herself to be happy until she gets her revenge on them; on the people who repaid her kindness with evil. The ones who took her children away from her and made life a living hell for her. The thought of those sinners made her eyes flung open. She clenched her fists in frustration and gritted her teeth to show her hatred for them.

She remembered how happy she was some years back before Carlos and Charles came into her life and turned it into a garden of bitterness. She remembered when Charles jilted her and how Carlos had come through for her. She had thought Carlos was going to heal the pain the demon Charles had caused her, not knowing that Carlos was the King of Demons. Although she loathed them, she still felt grateful towards them. She felt the need to thank them for killing the old her and bringing out the devil in her.

She proceeded to walk away from the garden into her gigantic living room. The living room exuded luxury with velvet sofas, a marble coffee table, and a crystal chandelier casting a warm glow. Large windows with silk curtains and a Persian rug completed the rich, elegant feel. In the living room, apart from the paintings, a large portrait hung on the wall. It was the wedding portrait of her and a man. The man she saw as nothing more than her revenge pawn. The man she never thought she would fall in love with. Looking at the portrait, she smiled.

She sat on a mini sofa after which she called out for one of the maids to serve her juice. Picking up the glass of juice, she took a sip as her eyes ravaged through some pictures she was holding. Her eyes blazed with fire as she looked at the pictures and a wave of rage washed over her. Just then, a tall figure dressed in a black suit walked in. She noticed the presence of the figure, but she didn't lift her head up to acknowledge his presence.

The figure bowed his head to pay her respect after which she gestured for him to rise. Putting down the pictures on the table near her, she raised her head as she placed her right leg on top the left and folded her arms.

"Spill." she commanded, her voice firm and stern.

"According to your directive Ma'am, I was able to gather some information. I looked into Mr. Clinton's death as you had instructed, and it wasn't an accident as it was claimed. It was a murder in disguise of one. Charles actually pushed him to his death" John, the tall figure man, who turned out to be her bodyguard and undercover agent said.

Hearing what John said, she clicked her tongue and burst out into laughter.

"Just as I had thought. A demon can never stop acting as one" she said aloud as she smirked with her arms still folded.

"What about Carlos? Did you get anything on him?" she queried as she faced the man, and her smile slowly faded away.

"Yes Ma'am, I did. He is having an affair with his secretary, and they have a two years old son together" he calmly replied.

"Wow!!! This is going to be more interesting than I had thought. I can't wait to have fun" she said as she slowly rose to her feet, with a devilish smile on her face.

She picked up two pictures with different women out of the stack she was holding earlier. She held one in her right hand and the other in her left hand. With her eyes fixed on the picture on her right hand, she said with a satisfying smile on her face "I can't wait to see the expression on your face, when you find out your darling husband killed you father".

"As for you dear sis, what are you going to do about your husband's mistress and her child? Will you accept them like I accepted you and your child 5 years ago or will you do otherwise? Can't wait for the real fun to begin!!!" she said as she turned her head to look at the picture in her left hand. She chuckled loudly and she laughed so hard that she began to tear up.

Finally, she stopped laughing and her once smiley face turned cold. It was so cold that it could make a hot plate of food cold. She vented her anger on the pictures she was holding by squeezing them. With a determined and unwavering look on her face, she said, "Dear Sinners, be ready for your judgement. Carla is back and the time of your reckoning has come!". She burst into uncontrollable laughter, which echoed in the room.

Carla's POV

I can vividly remember that day. The day what I feared the most happened.

I was seated in the bridal suite, admiring my beautiful self in the mirror in front of me. I looked so beautiful that I couldn't stop admiring myself.

"The day has come. The day everything would change for good" I had thought to myself, putting on a smile. I was happy that after 7 years of courting him, he was finally going to be mine. But at the same time, I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure if that day would go as planned.

Her words from the night before echoed in my mind.

"You think I will allow the wedding to happen? Stop dreaming, darling. I will make sure I stop it at all costs. You can't take him away from me!!!" she had yelled at me with fury. Her look was fierce like that of a Lion. With the look on her face, it was evident that she wouldn't back down. She was ready to do anything to make him hers.

The thought of her taking him away from me made me cringe and my hand began to tremble.

"What is she planning to do? Will she show up at the church and create a scene? Or will she kidnap me?" Different thoughts began to run through my mind and my once happy face turned pale. I was engulfed with fear, as I was unsure of what would happen at the church where the spectators had converged.

Just then, a beautiful figure walked in. It was no one other than my best friend, Amelia. The only person who had stood by me through thick and thin. Her presence pulled me out of my thoughts, which made me momentarily forget my worries.

"See my beautiful bride. If I were a man right now, I would have snatched you away from Charles. Because WTF!!!! You are as beautiful as a goddess" she had said, being dramatic as she always was. I rolled my eyes before I eventually burst out laughing.

"You are a drama queen, you know right?" I said to her as she giggled. Although I was smiling, I was still worried. I tried to hide my worries away from Amelia because I knew she would nag as usual, but I couldn't hide from her as she knew me too well and always saw through me.

Walking up to where I was seated, she took my hands in hers and asked, "Do you really have to do this?". Her tone was serious, and the environment felt tense. I averted my gaze from hers, thinking she wouldn't dwell further as I knew where she was heading to, but she wasn't one who would back down easily.

"Look at me, Carla" she said as she turned my face to face hers.

"He doesn't deserve you. You deserve someone much better than him. I know you are doing this because of Mia, but she will be fine without him in her life. Those two years he wasn't around, you singlehandedly raised her, and I am sure you can still do a better job without him in it. Let go of him before it's too late, Carla. I beg of you. I do not want to see you get hurt" she pleaded with sincerity in her eyes, but her words only fell on my deaf ears.

"Amelia, I understand your concern, but I am doing this because I love him, and you know he loves me too. What happened was a mistake. He has promised me that such wouldn't happen again. He has nothing to do with her again, he is only seeing her because of their son. I will be fine, Amelia" I said calmly, trying to assure her but that only got her angry the more. She swiftly let go of her hold on mine and her eyes turned red.

"Are you f*ck*ng serious right now? He loves you? He loves you but he still went ahead to impregnant another woman? Not even a random woman but your sister's best friend? And you are still giving excuses for his mistakes? Snap out of your dream and accept the reality!!!!" she yelled angrily at me, which made me flinch. I had never seen her as angry as she was that day before.

"They are no longer together? Have you forgotten I saw them both walking out of the hotel last week? Your soon to be husband lodged in at a hotel with another woman a week to your wedding and you are telling me he loves you? No babe, he doesn't. If he does, he wouldn't be treating you this way!!!" she further blurted out. I knew all she had said was nothing but the truth, but I was too clouded by love and fear of not being able to live without him, that I failed to accept the truth.

I got up from where I was seated and approached her. I knew she was looking out for me, but she needed to take my feelings into consideration too.

"Amelia, I know what he did was wrong, but love is all about forgiving. I know you are worried about me, but I can assure you that I will be fine. I promise" I said as I held her hand, assuring her that her fear wouldn't come true. Luckily, it didn't but something worse than that happened.

While amid our discussion, my aunt walked in. Her look was unpleasant, which showed that she was angry.

"What are you both doing? Aren't you supposed to be in the church right now? Don't you know you are keeping us all waiting?" she yelled angrily. My aunt was one devil in a human form. Her presence always made me feel unsafe and unsettled.

"You don't have to yell before you pass a message. Not everyone is as deaf as you are. Today is her happy day, so try to be humane and make her happy. Although, we all know you aren't" Amelia said before I could response, as she gave my aunt dreadful glances. Amelia hated the sight of her and at any opportunity she got, she was always ready to strike her with words.

Her tone was laced with barely concealed disdain. My aunt's face stiffened but Amelia didn't seem to care as she continued glaring disdainfully at her, as if daring her to say a word if she had the gut. The room became tense, and I had to step in to prevent a drama from happening.

"I am sorry, Aunt. Was about coming out before you came in. Can we go now?" I asked, as I rushed to her side, holding her arm.

"You had better be" she said as she yanked off my hand away from her arm and dust it off as if there was dirt on it.

"Get ready and let's leave" she finally said as she rolled her eyes. Not wanting to annoy her further, I quickly grabbed my bouquet of flowers and told her I was done.

"Let's go" she said as she looked disgustingly at me from head to toe, as if she wasn't satisfied with my look. I held her hand as she was the one walking me down the aisle as my parents were dead and she was the only one I had apart from my stepsister, who had refused to show up at my wedding. We took a few steps and suddenly, Aunt halted in her steps only to turn around and shoot daggers at Amelia.

"Get yourself better friends. It's not nice associating yourself with a mannerless and wretched beings like her" she said to me before she turned around and motioned for us to leave. As we took each step towards the exit, I prayed silently that Amelia wouldn't utter a word as I knew she wasn't someone who would back down easily. I knew she would, but I had hoped she wouldn't at that moment, but she was one crazy b*tch after all.

"A wretched being?" Amelia said as she scoffed. "At least I am way better than you who can't handle seeing other people happy" she blurted out. Upon hearing this, Aunt halted in her steps and turned around. As soon as she did, I knew trouble was knocking.

"Are you talking to me?" Aunt asked, as she walked towards where Amelia was standing.

"Yes, it's you b*tch. I am talking to you. You think you can intimidate me like you do to her? Hell no, you can't. I am your nightmare. As long as I remain friends with Carla, you will always see me. If you can't deal with it, then go to hell!!!!!" Amelia yelled, still maintaining her composure. Aunt's eyes turned red, and she clenched her fist.

"What? I am going to kill you!!!" Aunt yelled and before I could try to hold her down, she lunged at Amelia. Right before she could attack her, my soon-to-be husband walked in, saving the day.

"What's happening here? Everybody including the priest is waiting. Enough time has been wasted already" he said in a calm voice. Seeing him, Aunt halted in her action.

"Sorry, we were just on our way out. Will be there soon" I explained.

"Okay" he said as he turned around to leave and just before he exited the room, he whispered the words, "You look so beautiful" to me, which made me blush. I was so flustered that I forgot what was happening before he walked in.

"Will you stand there and continue to smile like a fool, or you will follow me?" Aunt, who was already standing beside me yelled, bringing me out of my admiration.

"As for you, I will deal with you later" she said as she dashed out of the room angrily, leaving me to run after her in my wedding gown. Before I exited the room, I gave Amelia an angry look, pretending to be angry with her but all she did was to stick out her tongue, which made me burst out in laughter. I gave her a thumbs up for a job well done, before I dashed out of the room.

I was no match for my aunt, but I was glad I had a friend who was by my side.

As aunt held my arm in hers and walked me down the aisle, I gazed around to see if I would sight her, but I was glad she was nowhere to be found. As I got to where Charles was standing alongside the priest, I smiled at him, and he returned the favor.

The priest announced that it was time to exchange our vows and just as Charles was about saying his vows, his phone rang. He apologized and brought out his phone to decline the call. He at first ignored the call but the caller kept on calling, interrupting his vows. I told him to pick the call as the caller didn't seem like someone who would stop calling until he did.

"There is no need" he said, forcing a smile on his face. He looked unsettled and disturbed, and it was at that moment I realized something was wrong.

"Let's proceed, sir" he said to the priest smiling, and just before the priest could continue, his phone rang again. Annoyingly, he took out his phone from his pocket and excused himself.

I watched as he discussed on the phone at the corner where he stood, and I knew immediately that it was her who had called. His countenance changed and he looked distraught. I became scared. My legs began to tremble, and I held onto my dress for support. After some minutes, he walked back to the altar. He looked at me and I forced a smile on my face, affirming to myself that everything was okay. He didn't smile back at me but instead, he adverted my gaze.

"Can we proceed now?" the priest queried.

Not minding Charles' change in countenance, I responded "Yes, we can" smiling but the words that came afterwards made my world come crashing.

"No, we can't" Charles had objected. I looked into his eyes surprised by what he had said, and I saw that he looked confused. It seemed like something was running through his mind which I wasn't able to figure out.

"What are you saying? Are you okay Charles?" I asked, in a low and calm voice.

"I am sorry, Carla but they need me" he responded, feeling remorseful and apologetic. By the word "they", I knew who he was referring to. It was her and their son.

"I will be back soon. Just give me 2 hours. Just wait for two hours and we can continue with this. I am sorry" he said, as he got ready to leave. By this time, gossip had begun to fly around the church. Tears were threatening to roll down my cheeks, but I fought them back. "He is just joking. He can't do this to me," I had assured myself.

"No, please don't do this. Don't do this to me, please. I am not stopping you from seeing them but please let's finish with our vows. I beg of you, Charles" I said, as I pleaded with him for him to stay back, but my pleas fell on his deaf ears.

"I am sorry" those were the last words he said, before he bolted out of the door. The tears I was trying to hold back couldn't wait anymore as they rolled down my cheeks. Everybody's gaze was fixed on me, and it seemed as if they were mocking me. I couldn't withstand the pain, nor the betrayal I had gotten from him.

The world around me began to turn and my vision became blurred. The last words I heard before I got taken away by the cold hands of sleep were those of my friend Amelia, who was trying to jerk me back to life.

Carla's POV

My eyes fluttered open to meet with a dim, sterile light. The smell of drugs and antiseptic filled my nostrils, making me slowly become aware of where I was. I was lying on the hospital bed, putting on the usual patient gown and I could feel the weight of the blanket, tucked firmly around me. I looked beside me only to find a beeping monitor and IV line taped to my skin. I managed to get myself to sit up

I felt a slight headache as I tried remembering how I had gotten there. The last thing I could remember was being stood up at the altar by Charles but how I had gotten there was something I had no idea of. I looked around to see if there was someone nearby but there was no one. Just then, Amelia walked in, looking all tired.

"You're awake? Are you hurting anywhere?" Amelia asked as soon as she walked into the room, with concern etched on her face. She sat on the bed with me, touching the parts of my body she could, to make sure I was okay and free of pain. I smiled as I was thankful for having a friend like her.

"Where is Charles?" that was the question I asked as I looked around the room, ignoring Amelia's concern. Hearing this, I noticed a change in her mood. The concern which was evident on her face earlier vanished, only to be replaced by annoyance and disgust.

"Are you nuts? Are you sure you are fine? Despite you being in this condition, you are still asking after that idiot? Have you forgotten what he did to you at the altar?" she queried, her voice stern and her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. It was evident that she was angry at how stupid I was but the love I had for Charles was more than she could understand.

"Amelia, calm down" I said, as I rested my back on the bed, trying to explain things to her.

"I know he left me at the altar but there must be a reason for that. Something urgent must have happened. I think we should listen to his own side of the story before judging him. We can have the wedding another day. We still have enough days ahead of us. Anyways, where is he? Did he go downstairs to get something?" I asked like a fool clouded by love, looking at Amelia for answers. Instead of her to respond, she only burst out laughing.

I was surprised as I didn't know what had gotten into her. I was forced to ask her, the reason for her laughter.

"Amelia, what's the problem?" I asked, as I furrowed my face in confusion. Eventually, she stopped laughing.

"Sorry for the laughter" she said as she took a deep breath, trying to steady her breathing before she continued.

"It's just funny how delusional you are. You have enough days ahead? You can plan another wedding? With whom if I may ask? Huh?" she asked as she smirked and locked her eyes with mine, as if she was daring me to mention his name. At that junction, confusion had begun to wash over me.

"What does she mean with whom? What is going on?" I questioned myself silently, as I looked Amelia in the eye and it seemed as if there was something I was unaware of. Something that made her so confident that I wouldn't have another chance with Charles again.

"What do you mean by with whom? With Charles of course" I managed to say as I studied her reaction, trying to know what was going on.

"With Charles? As his second wife or what?" she asked, with her words hanging in the air, trying to get a response from me.

"What do you mean by his second wife? It's not as if he is married to anyone. Stop pulling my legs and tell me where he is" I responded as I chuckled softly, thinking that Amelia was just trying to play me.

"Pulling your legs? No, I am not. Oh, my bad!!!" she said as she got up from the bed, stood a few meters away from me and held her head as if she had remembered something. By this time, her actions had become more confusing and she was beginning to scare me.

Facing me, she finally let out those words. The words that made me finally let go of all the hopes I had of Charles.

"You had blacked out for two days and within those two days, Charles got married. In fact, his wedding was the talk of the town" she said to me, as she smiled sheepishly. The words came out of her mouth so freely, that had I thought she was actually joking.

"I know you do not like Charles but you do not have to tarnish his image to make me hate him. How can he get married? Even if he was to get married, it would be to me or did we get married while I was in coma?" I asked laughing, as I couldn't make any sense out of what she had said.

She looked at me with pity and instead of her to respond, she shook her head and brought out her phone. After pressing the phone for few seconds, she threw it right in front of me and said "Watch for yourself".

"What do you want me to watch? Just tell me where Charles is and stop being ..........." I said as I slowly picked up her phone but what I saw there, made the words stuck in my throat. My hands began to tremble as I watched the video. My lips trembled and I tried forcing out some words out of my mouth, wanting Amelia to assure me that what I had saw wasn't real, that it was all a prank but the words wouldn't come out.

There he was!!! The man who had left me at the altar two days ago, getting married to the woman he had told me they were no longer together. The one he had cheated on me with and had a child with. The one he had left me for on our wedding day to go meet.

I saw how he had genuinely smiled at her in the video and it wasn't evident that he was not forced to marry her, he chose to do so. I watched as they exchanged vows and the promises which he was supposed to make to me two days earlier, were being made to her.

I felt my heart tearing apart. The betrayal hit different. The pain I had felt when I first found out about her and her child's existence was nothing compared to what I had felt at the hospital that day. Tears began to roll down my cheeks and my heart was beating so fast that I felt it would burst out anytime soon.

"Where did it all go wrong? What did I do to deserve this? He promised me. He promised me to never hurt me or make me shed tears again. He told me I was the only one for him. He told me he would never have anything to do with her again. Was everything he said a lie? Has he been deceiving me all along?" I muttered to myself, as I cried uncontrollably, trying to figure out why he had done that.

Amelia just stood still as she watched me cry. She neither yelled at me nor offered me solace. She left me to cry my heart out and there I sat, as I cried myself to stupor. After hours of crying with numerous thoughts running through my head as to why he had done what he did, I made up my mind to confront him. I needed to know why he did that and so, I picked up my phone to call him.

"What are you doing?" Amelia, who was watching asked, as I held my phone close to my ear.

"I am calling him. I need to hear it directly from him. The reason he left me, he needs to tell me!!!" I yelled, letting out my anger.

"The reason? Does that really matter? Will it change the fact that he left you? Huh?" Amelia asked, looking frustrated.

"It won't but I still need to know. Maybe I wasn't good enough for him. Maybe there is something he doesn't like about me that I need to change. Who knows? He might come back to me if I know what the problem is and I work on myself" I responded, feeling desperate to have him back in my arms but what I didn't know was that, you can never make a man who doesn't want to be by your side stay, no matter how hard you try.

"Okay, do what suits you" Amelia responded, as she leaned on the wall. It was evident that she was tired of convincing me to accept reality. I dialed his line countless of times but he never picked. It just kept on ringing. When I couldn't hold it anymore, I decided to head over to his new abode. I removed the IV line which was taped to my skin, got up from bed, put on my slippers, took my phone and headed for the door.

Amelia didn't say a word. She didn't ask me where I was heading to. All she did was to watch as I took each step towards the door. Just as I was about exiting the room, my phone rang. My heart beat as I had thought it was Charles who had called back but upon checking the phone screen, I realized the call was from Mia's school.

Picking the call, I heard the voice of her class teacher.

"Hello, Miss Evans" the caller had said, her voice a mix of sorrow and worry.

"Hello, Miss Anna. How are you doing? Is anything the problem?" I asked, trying to hide my sorrow.

"It's Mia" she said, taking a long pause as if she didn't know what to say next. Her silence got me worried and suspicious.

"Mia? What's the problem with her?" I asked, worry evident in my voice.

"I am sorry to bring forth this news but Mia was involved in a car accident. She has been rushed to the hospital but she is in a critical condition. We are currently at Hope for the Living Hospital. Your attention is needed here" she said as she dropped the bombshell.

"What?" I screamed as my hand began to tremble and my phone slipped off it. It collided with the floor, making a loud noise, which called Amelia's attention to me. Swiftly moving towards me from where she had leaned, she asked me what the problem was but I couldn't bring myself to talk. I just stood still dumb, trying to process what I had heard.

When the realization of the matter at hand finally hit me, I took to my heels, rushing to the hospital where Mia had been taken to, with Amelia running after me, calling my name, trying to make me stop but I never did.