THE UNFORGIVEABLE ACT

THE UNFORGIVABLE ACT

"Happy birthday, our prince," my dad said for the 1000th time today. I smiled brightly. My parents and I were coming back from celebrating my 13th birthday at my dad's newly opened hotel.

"Afonso, my prince, when you get to 23 years old, which will be 10 years from now, you will take over Dad's hotel," my mom said.

"Really!! Mom? That big hotel is mine," I said happily.

"Your dad already registered you and your little sister's name there, Afonso Junior," she said, smiling. My mom was heavily pregnant; we just had a month to welcome my little sister after 13 years of my parents waiting for a child.

"I love you, Daddy and Mommy; I promised to always be the best to my sister," I said, smiling.

Suddenly, a car was coming in our direction at a very high speed. The car was driving directly toward us. My dad suddenly took the left turn, and Mom was holding me tightly to herself, but the approaching car took the left turn and crashed into us. I was screaming in fear when my mom smiled at me as she held me tight and slowly closed her eyes. I couldn't talk or scream; I felt like my voice was gone. A man came out of the car that crashed into us; he was holding his neck. He approached us and stared at my dad. I shot my eyes out of fear; he brought out his phone, and his hands were trembling. I believe he was dead drunk.

"Hello, Mom," he said, but I couldn't hear who was at the other end of the phone.

"I just had a little accident, and these people crashed into my car, and they are not moving. I think they are dead; they have a child here." He said this, shifted his phone from his ears, and shut his eyes like he was being screamed out on the phone. After he was done, he said something that caught my attention.

"Just tomorrow for me to be appointed as chairman, then this little trouble comes knocking; I can't just have fun without trouble."

He said this and kicked his car tyres angrily. After some time, as I was about to go to sleep, I heard sirens, and I smiled and said, "My parents are saved."

*******************************

I opened my eyes little by little. I looked around me; I was in a hospital bed. I could see people staring at me; the only person I could recognize was the man who hit our car. Fear gripped me the way he was staring at me like he wanted to strangle me. I thought to myself, "Why is he here instead of the police station?". The doctor came closer to me to inspect my eyes.

"Can you see me? he asked, and I nodded in response.

"What is your name?" he said, but I couldn't answer.

The doctor beckoned the man that hit my parents and an old lady standing with him; she has been staring at me with eyes filled with guilt and pity.

"Afonso can't talk, and he has lost his memories of 13 years of his life. He is like a child starting to store a new memory. But once he has overcome his shock, he will start talking again. The smoke from the fire affected his lungs so he needs to heal gently". He said, and I thought to myself,

"But I can talk, and I remember everything; I just choose not to talk. Why will he say I can't remember? Why did he say I was in a fire? though my hands and legs were burnt which I don't know why, But I knew I wasn't in a fire. How did I get burnt marks?

My parent's picture was shown on the TV; they were talking about their accident.

"The new president of Martins Corporation, whose driver killed a man, his pregnant wife, and his son last month when he crashed into another car while driving home and was intoxicated from alcohol, was sentenced to life in prison this morning." The lady on the TV said:

I stared at them. "But that's the man, not the one on TV," I said to myself when the alleged picture of the man was displayed on the news.

But I am alive, why will they publish me as dead?

"Why are they mentioning Martins Corporation? What if our stock prices fall?" Martinz Junior said interrupting my thoughts.

"Can you just shut up?" Helena Martinz said. She moved closer to me and said, "Your name is Afonso Martinz, I am your stepmom" she said, faking a smile.

" Mom, Why are you bringing him into our house after his mother abandoned him? Why not send him to an orphanage home?" he said to his mother.

"Your father's will indicated his name, and you can't receive your inheritance without him being present" she answered her son faking a smile to me.

"It's just father's way to protect his bastard," he said with hatred writing all over his face

***********************

Their house was so beautiful, and it was a majestically built mansion with maids, cooks, and guards. That's how rich they are, so they can protect themselves from enemies, but they are also enemies of others. Their house was painted gold; they believed they were royals. Mrs. Helena Martinz took me to a well-furnished room. She assigned a maid to meet my needs and left.

After she left, a beautiful woman came to my room and stared at me. She was a beautiful woman with golden hair and blue eyes, which was very rare in Oniva. She stared at me with eyes filled with pity, and she left after staring. I was astonished by this rare and strange-looking lady. I followed her as she entered a room. I was peeping at her through the half-closed room door. She carried a baby from the crib and sat on her bed, sobbing bitterly. She lifted her head and looked at me. She hurriedly cleaned up her tears and smiled at me sadly. I found later that she was Martinz Junior's wife, who had just given birth to his daughter Kamilla.

Three months later

Kamilla was crawling to the stairs; she stopped and stared at me, smiling. She smiled at me, the only thing I could feel was anger in my heart.

"Why was she smiling at me? She shouldn't be happy while my little sister is dead," I said to myself.

I looked at the CCTV location and remembered it was maintenance day. I gave her a little push down the stairs, She went tumbling down the stairs. I screamed to attract their attention, and everyone came running to the stairs with wide eyes, staring at Kamilla tumbling down the stairs. They stared at her in shock and looked at me with fear....

KAMILLA

The hall was filled with dignitaries. They were trying to curry favor from my family and flashing fake smiles at me. Most of them gave me the judging looks that said the mute and dumb girl in this family. I am used to these judging eyes. Looking around the hall, the decor gave me all the satisfaction I needed. My best friend Sarah and I decorated this hall with beautiful light pink and blue materials imported from Italy. Because my fiance Antonio loved blue, I wanted our best color in the hall. Though Sarah complained about the color combination, I care less; I just wanted to connect with Antonio more. Make him know I care about him, even though I don't love him. I am marrying him because he is the nicest to me. He never cared about me being mute; he loved me unconditionally.

I snapped out of my thoughts when Alexa, my assistant, whispered in my ears.

"Miss Kamilla, someone delivered this mail to your name; it's urgent," Alexa said in a low tone. I nodded in response, and Alexa opened it and handed the mail content to me. I was dumbfounded, but I knew that I was dumb.

I was just staring at the pictures of Sarah and Antonio on the bed. I just couldn't believe it. Sarah was the happiest when Antonio promised it to me; she helped me arrange this place. I can't believe she did this. It must be photoshopped; there are lots of technologies that can do this!

I used sign language to communicate with Alexa, telling her to throw it away; it's nothing. Suddenly, my phone beeped for incoming messages. I went through my phone and saw a video. I was awed. The content was a video of Antonio and Sarah making love in my room. I was shocked, but not very upset, because a phony smile and fake love had duped me a long time ago. I stared at the crowd in the hall, and my eyes went to Sarah. She was smiling at me lovingly and waving at me; she even gave me an air kiss. Using sign language to say she loves me and saying I look gorgeous. I was happy when she learned sign language just to communicate with me. I was elated, thinking she was the best for me. For her to learn this difficult language out of friendship, I felt she was the best human I ever met. I faked a smile back at her.

I scanned the hall with my eyes to find out who delivered this. Behold, my eyes met someone like my uncle Afonso; he smirked, especially when he had mischievous plans. I can't believe it's him; he died 3 years ago. He can't be alive. Cold ran down my spine, and I trembled like a leaf when he stood up and walked in my direction at the top of the hall. I immediately took off to the bathroom.

Staring at myself in the bathroom mirror, trembling like I saw a ghost, I ran the tap and hurriedly washed my face.

Everything is fine; he died a long time ago. There is no way he made it out alive. I was trembling like a leaf, frightened, and looking lost. I washed my face, raised my head, and looked in the mirror. I saw him at my back. He hugged me immediately, and I froze.

"My pretty Milla," he called me fondly like he always did.

I had goosebumps as he whispered my name in my ears; these electric feelings have never left me all these years.

I turned to him and was frightened by his presence, but I pretended not to be afraid. I wanted him to know I was not the fragile Kamilla he knew. His presence got me weak in the knees. Our past escapade kept replaying in my head. Looking into his eyes, I could sense his rage. It's been 3 years, but that anger still shows in his eyes.

"You look absolutely stunning and confident enough to make your own decisions. Getting married without my permission, I missed you so much, Milla." He said this, smiling and tucking my hair behind my ears. He kissed my neck. I tried using sign language to talk to him, but he held my hand.

"Pretender! You can talk now; you lie with your pretty hands." He laughed loudly, and I covered his mouth immediately and shut the bathroom door.

"What do you want, Uncle? Why are you here?" I asked because I had lots of questions. I wanted to ask, How did he make it alive? But I couldn't.

"Pretty Milla, the first word you have ever said to me since your birth. You can't ask where I was all these years!!" He answered loudly with rage in his voice. I gulped, and my legs were shaking. How did he know I could talk? Trying to figure out a lie to tell, I hugged him and smiled.

"Stop being gross I know you won't miss me; you were the happiest when I left," he said with a little smirk, releasing my arms from the tight hug.

"Uncle, are you here to wish me a happy married life?" I said, flashing a fake smile.

"You are still my little Milla; you are not old enough to get married," he said, and I could sense a little jealousy in his tone. I smiled inwardly but I don't know why. I felt happy that he still cared about me.

"Afonso, I'm 24 now. I am not that 20 years old, Kamilla, that did everything you asked," I replied sternly, looking straight into his brown eyes.

"How dare you call my name without respect?" He grabbed my neck, and I tried releasing his tight grip on my neck.

"Milla, I only wanted you to come with me, but you harmed me. I thought you wouldn't betray me; I never knew you were a venomous snake. You always pretended you were weak, and I never doubted you," he said, tightening his grip on my neck.

How did he know I tampered with his brakes? I was scared. What if he kills me here? I immediately used my hands and pushed my perfume bottle on the restroom sink, and it crashed to the ground with a loud breaking sound.

"Milla, tell me how you almost..." A knock on the restroom door interrupted him.

"Kamilla, are you okay? What are you doing?" Antonio asked, sounding worried. Afonso gestured with his fingers on my lips, telling me to shut up and releasing his grip on my neck. I bit his hands. And I coughed, gasping for air, because of his tight grip

I walked to the door, opened it, and smiled at him. I made a sign to let him know I was coming later. He nodded. I'm sure he doesn't understand me. If I were dumb, would this marriage work out when he doesn't understand sign language?

"Do you know he is sleeping with your Sarah? Do you like the videos?" He whispered in my ears and smiled like he had won a trophy. I knew he sent those videos to me just to ruin my happiness. He smirked and left through the back door.

As he left, I stared at the mirror, touching my neck; it still hurt from his grip. I removed a scarf from my purse to cover the red bruises on my white skin. If I have to end his life so that the pain he inflicted on me will stop, I will gladly do it for the second time.

*************************

After my engagement party, we gathered to discuss my wedding date with Antonio. Since I couldn't talk, I sat down there, watching my father try to sell me for his selfish gain. When I protested against this marriage, he told me I should be happy that the Walters wanted to marry a mute like me. Everybody was present: Antonio's parents, my father, grandmother Helena, and uncle Afonso. Sarah sat down close to me; she intertwined her arms with mine and smiled at me. I smiled back. Because she believes I am dumb.

She wouldn't believe I tried killing my uncle when I was still mute and 21 years old. Who is she? I can't end her life. I felt like ripping off her mouth to remove her fake smile or pulling out her teeth with pliers. But she is the least of my problems now; I will just continue playing along with her. I now have a more difficult enemy, so I can't divert my energy to her. I was lost in thoughts, staring at everyone in the room. I realized I was sitting here alone; everyone was my enemy. My grandmother Helena and father only cared about the company, while I was molested and raped by my uncle. My uncle and father fought for the company's inheritance. And the so-called fiance and bestie hook up with each other. I don't have anyone who genuinely cares about me. I am just a mute girl who feels useless and must rely on others to communicate. Now I decided to let them know I am not just a mute girl but a smart one. I won't live that way anymore. Suddenly, I have this urge to create chaos in this family. I snapped out of my thoughts when Sarah called me.

"Kamilla, are you okay?" she said, and I nodded.

"You don't look happy?" She said.

She was looking worried while touching my hair.

How can someone who looks at me this way do that to me? Is she a psychopath who has two personalities? You can't suspect anything; she has the sweetest and nicest girl vibe. You can vouch that she can never kill a person. Like I did three years ago, who will believe I tampered with my uncle's car brake?

"I'm fine; I am just so happy I could even die right now," I answered with sign language, smiling. I just can't fathom how someone can be so fake that you can't sense any flaws

"Don't say that if you die, I am going with you; I will never let you be alone," she said, smiling.

I said in my mind, "You are the only one dying, and I will watch you burn to ashes." I smiled at her.

Suddenly, I remembered our conversation from one month ago.

FLASHBACK

We sat close to my family's private pool and sipped the new wine Antonio bought from Paris on his last work trip. She disturbed me by wanting to taste, I never saw anything wrong with her behavior because she was my best friend.

"Milla, I am in love with someone," she said, smiling.

"Wow, that is nice. When can I meet the person who made your heart flutter?" I answered with sign language. Her smile suddenly faded.

KAMILLA

"What's wrong with you," I asked with sign language worried, about her. She smiled sadly which hurt my feelings.

"The man I'm in love with is my childhood friend," she said smiling, I touched her hair. and caressed her face she seemed so sad. I felt so bad.

" Who is he? Do I know him? I can talk to him for you and tell him you like him" I said

" He loves me too, it's just that, he is bethrowed by a woman he doesn't love," she said sadly.

"Really? What a bitch!! Still, it's his family's fault, can't he reject the marriage proposal?" I asked curiously. I was imenced in the conversation.

" No he can't do anything, his family needs her family's support," she answered forcing a smile.

"I am happy Antonio loves me, I wondered how it would be if he was forced to marry me. Who is the guy? Just tell me I can talk to him on your behalf, Is he in Italy too?." I asked smiling, trying to lift her mood. She smiled too.

"Of course, he does love you, He is in New York, I met him in Elementary school," she said, I noticed a smirk when she told me Antonio loves me but ignored I might be seeing things because I only concentrated on her hands so I can understand the sign language.

"Will Antonio know him? Since you all attended the same school back then?" I asked curiously.

"I didn't know Antonio back then, you said he schooled there remember? I never knew him then She blurted out with a straight face. I couldn't sense a lie.

"That's true, but anytime we go to New York. We will meet him?" I said smiling and she nodded.

(End of flashback)

I stared at Sarah smiling, I couldn't believe, who she meant was Antonio. So Antonio loved her all this while and pretended to love me, more than his life. Everything is just because of my family's money. That wasn't even mine, staring at my family they are smiling at Antonio's family, they seem so happy. I regretted ever being born into this family. Their only worth is money, No true love!! No true love!! I wondered how I would and when I could get love.

"Am not in support of this marriage" My uncle Afonso stood up and said loudly, I snapped out of thought when I heard him. He said it loud and clear so I could listen to him. I guess he wanted to prove his authority in this family.

"What do you mean?" My dad asked with a raised eyebrow, trying to read my uncle's facial expression.

"Afonso sit," My grandmother said sternly like a warning.

"Who are you to speak about our family issue? A child his mother abandoned to leave in our house. Your Mother took some money and left you at the hospital" My dad said in an angry tone. I knew there would be a lot of problems when I saw my uncle, he and my dad were never on good terms. But they were brothers with different mothers. But it was sooner than I expected.

"I am her uncle" Afonso answered beating his chest, he was mad by the hurtful words my dad spilled. I wondered if it was the same man, who climbed into his niece's bed at night.

"Where were you all this while? Do you think you have authority for being called Afonso Martinz, having our surname now gives him authority to speak. Your mom is a slut that seduced my dad to have you because of Money" My dad chuckled softly.

"I believe you never looked for me, Why acting like you cared? Mom knows where I was, I left the country for school, At least someone in this family needs to have a PhD degree, I can't be like you still hanging on Father's company for wealth" Afonso said sarcastically with a smirk.

Mom knows where I was, didn't she tell you? What he said kept ringing in my head. All this while I thought my uncle passed away in the car crash.

I stood up immediately and beckoned Alexa to follow me to the room. I shut my room door immediately.

*Alexa followed behind.

"Alexa I need to leave, book me a ticket to New York," I hurriedly packed my clothes into my traveling box.

"Why? But he doesn't know you tampered with his brakes?" Alexa said surprised about my reaction. I guess she doesn't know he is my archenemy.

"He is here for me, what if he knows I tampered with his brake? And he does something bad to me" I said looking at her worried face.

"Why are you so scared of him? You never told me what he did to you to make you try to kill your uncle?" She held my hand to stop me, tears dropped uncontrollably I never knew I was holding it. I thought I had forgotten all his bad deeds.

"He already knows I'm pretending to be Dumb," I said crying.

"So what will you do" she said and moved to the door and peep through.

"Someone is climbing the stairs," she said, walking to my box and zipping it. I only carried some important documents and a few clothes.

She picked up her phone and texted someone, I believe she was booking the flight for me.

"Drive to the back immediately," she said on the phone talking to my driver

Alexa took my briefcase and headed through the back door close to the kitchen upstairs, after she left, I heard a knock and, I ignored it. Hearing the creek sound of the door, I knew someone had entered my room I just prayed it wouldn't be Afonso. The voice came it was our housekeeper she said My dad was calling me I nodded in response...

I opened the door quietly and peeped, there was no soul in the corridor I rushed to the back door, and I dashed out to our flower garden. I hurriedly entered my car, and my driver dashed off after I told Alexa to stay back so she could make excuses for me, she wasted a lot of my time trying to persuade her to stay back she was worried about letting me go alone.

*After 20 minutes into the ride.

"Can you speed up a little James, I need to leave the country now" I said taping James my driver, trying to let him know my predicament, that my life was in his hands now.

My driver hit a bus driving ahead of us, and the passengers alighted, they were hefty-looking men, staring at us and pointing to our car, at this time I knew everything had ended. I prayed for a superpower to make me vanish from our spot and stop at the airport. But I knew it would only be my wishful thinking........