Eye Opener

*****

"Rose’s POV"

I was almost running to Mr. Brown’s office, my heart pounding so fast it felt like it might burst. With every hurried step, I kept asking myself if I was ready for what I was about to hear.

For days, I had begged his secretary to arrange this meeting. I couldn’t rest until I knew the full truth. Ever since I woke up in the hospital with another woman’s face, my life had been like a puzzle with missing pieces. Now that I was carrying Maya’s face—the face of his only daughter who was no longer alive—I needed answers. Answers about her, about me, about the life I was being forced to live.

But a sharp fear whispered inside me: What if I don’t like what I’m about to hear?

Just yesterday, his younger brother had almost slapped me. His eyes burned with a strange kind of hatred the moment he saw me. I didn’t understand his problem with Maya, but it was obvious he didn’t like her. Ever since that evening a month ago, during dinner, when I walked into the dining room in Maya’s white gown, his expression had gone cold. His hands stiffened around his cutlery, his face drained of all color, and he couldn’t even look at me. That reaction has never left my mind.

When I stepped inside his office, Mr. Brown was sitting behind his heavy mahogany desk. Papers and files were scattered before him, though it looked like he hadn’t touched any of them in hours. The air smelled faintly of expensive cologne mixed with the sharp scent of whiskey. When he saw me, his lips twitched into a small, tired smile.

“You’re welcome, Rose,” he said warmly, his deep voice carrying the weight of exhaustion. “Please, sit down. I’ve been buried in business matters, but truth be told, it’s not just work that keeps me busy. I miss my daughter. Maya could be spoiled and even rude sometimes, but she was smart. She understood the business better than anyone and knew how to close deals when I couldn’t. She forced me to relax when I wanted to keep working, and for that… I’ll always be grateful.”

The pain in his voice almost broke me.

A young lady about my age entered quietly, carrying a glass of water on a silver tray. She placed it before me with a polite bow. “Thank you,” I whispered, smiling weakly as I reached for the cold glass. My throat was dry, and I finished half the water in one breath.

Then, before I could stop myself, the questions tumbled out of my mouth.

“So… what happened to her? How did she die? And why didn’t you tell anyone about it—not even your own brother?” My voice shook with urgency. These questions had been gnawing at my heart since the day I discovered the truth about Maya.

The change in him was instant.

His eyes watered, his lips trembled, and within seconds, tears streamed down his face. He gripped the edge of the desk, trying to hold himself together, but failed. The sight of this powerful, respected man breaking before me forced me to reach across the desk and hold his shaky hands. His grief was raw, and I suddenly realized how much pain he had been hiding from the world.

“She was twenty-four, just like you,” he said finally, his voice cracking. “Same skin tone, same way of walking, even her voice… almost the same as yours. The first day I saw you, especially after the surgery, I broke down. I cried because it felt like my Maya had come back to me.”

His tears flowed harder, and I clutched his hand tighter.

“I lied about her being alive,” he admitted in a whisper. “I couldn’t face the truth, not until I find her killer. That girl was full of life, full of dreams. She was intelligent, beautiful—you can see for yourself, Rose. You wear her face now…” He laughed bitterly at his own words before wiping his tears with the back of his hand.

I nodded quietly, offering him a soft smile in an attempt to lighten the heaviness in the room. But his sadness clung to the air like smoke.

“We found her body in the bush,” he continued, his voice hollow. “Rotting away. Smelling. She had been gone for a whole day before anyone saw her. She didn’t come home after work that night. It had never happened before. Maya would always call me if she was staying late. Always. When she didn’t… I knew immediately something was wrong. But I wasn’t fast enough.” His chest shook as another wave of sobs escaped him.

I slid closer, squeezing his hand again. “Sir, you don’t have to cry anymore,” I whispered gently. “If you want, I can be Maya for you. You saved my life. And for your health’s sake, please… let me carry this burden with you. Let me help you find the killer.”

Just then, the secretary walked in briskly and whispered something into his ear. He nodded quickly before she disappeared again, leaving us in the thick silence.

When she left, he turned to me, his face softer now. “I know you’ll help me, Rose. I was going to ask, but you volunteered first. Thank you.” He sniffed, then added firmly, “I’ll also help you get back what belongs to you. That David of yours—he’s a thief. He doesn’t deserve a sweet soul like you.”

At those words, my chest cracked open. I broke down into tears. We both sat in his office crying, silently pouring out years of pain. And for the first time in a long while, I felt like someone understood me—without me needing to explain myself.

He was grieving for the only daughter he had lost. And I was grieving for the life I had wasted with a man who had betrayed me and wished me dead. Five years of marriage, and all he ever wanted was my wealth.

“My daughter was strangled to death,” Mr. Brown whispered after a long silence, his voice so faint it almost disappeared. “The autopsy found no fingerprints, no traces. But she was raped by several men. They cleaned her body. No semen, no evidence. Whoever did it… it was professional. They knew exactly what they were doing.”

A shiver ran through me.

I wiped my face and stared at him. My tears had stopped, but my resolve was stronger than ever. “I will be Maya for you, sir. I’ll fight your enemies. I’ll treat you like my father. I’ll protect you because I have no one else. I’m an orphan, remember? But now… I’ll be your daughter.”

The promise rolled out of my lips naturally. Something deep inside me wanted to protect him. To care for him. Whoever thought they could break him because he was older and alone… they would have to go through me first.

Days later, that promise was tested.

I was in the general calling room when the phone rang. I lifted the receiver carefully. “This is the Brown residence. Who would you like to speak with?”

The voice on the other end was low, thick, and smooth—like velvet laced with danger. “Maya? You’re still alive? Why did you change your number? I’ve been trying to reach you. I thought you finally decided to kill yourself after I broke our relationship… and our wedding.”

My blood froze. My first instinct was to smile at the warmth in his voice, but my mind snapped me back to reality. This is Richard. Maya’s ex-fiancé.

I tightened my grip on the phone. “So you want me dead, Richard? Did you plan to kill me too?” My voice came out sharp, almost like a growl.

He sounded shocked. “This is why I left you! You’re so full of yourself. Couldn’t you read the sarcasm in my words? I was only joking. I’m happy to hear your voice after six months. Your father said you were in the hospital. I knew you wouldn’t want me to visit, so I stayed back.”

He kept talking, his voice smooth and steady like a radio filling my ears.

“Keep your worries to yourself, Richard. I’m fine now. Go back to Mrs. Ivy and stay away from me. After all, you left me for her.” My anger snapped through my words.

“You rejected me first!” he shot back, raising his voice. “You told me I was arrogant and that I’d break your heart. You said you wanted nothing to do with me. And now you blame me for leaving?”

The words slammed into me. I froze, remembering Mr. Brown’s story. He once told me Maya had come home years ago and begged him to break off the engagement with Richard. She didn’t want him anymore.

“I’ve moved on, Maya,” Richard’s voice cut in, sharp and cruel. “I proposed to Ivy. We’re getting married soon.”

I rolled my eyes, gripping the receiver tighter. “Then go to your Ivy. I don’t care. Go to hell, Richard.”

I slammed the phone down before he could say another word.

My chest heaved, anger still swirling in me. I had never seen him in person before, but I had seen enough of his pictures in Maya’s room. His face was carved like a Greek god—handsome, tall, magnetic. But his arrogance leaked from every word he spoke. No wonder Maya broke off the engagement, even though her room was plastered with his pictures.

I leaned back against the wall, my thoughts racing.

“Maybe he killed her… because she rejected him.”

The possibility clung to me like a shadow.