Chapter 1.1

"Ahhhh!" Tatiana was screaming because of the excruciating pain in her womb. She was already soaking wet with her own sweat. Her breathing also became uneven like she was running for a marathon. She could not help but to hardly grip in the side rails of the stretcher to lessen her pain. She felt like she was having more than a severe menstrual cramps. She was roughly tortured. 

"A-aunt Adel… " Her tears were continuously streaming down as she looked fearfully at her stepmother, Adelaida. It was her first childbirth so she was afraid that she might not successfully deliver it. Anxiety was striking her. And it was evident in her beautiful amber eyes. 

The matron, who was irritated at her, rolled her eyes as she scolded her. "Can't you calm down, Tati? You look like a mother pig! For God’s sake!" 

Adelaida was verbally abusive towards Tatiana everytime her father was not around. And she could not even hide it even if the lady was about to give birth. She was irritated because her stepdaughter did not seem to care about her appearance while writhing in pain. 

'What a shame!' she thought. 

She was naturally careful about her body and face. She did not want to look like a wench, especially in front of other people. She had always pampered herself with a bunch of skincare products. And her undeniable beauty was her asset. It was one of the reasons why Ramon fell in love with her. 

Tatiana Ramirez was rushed to the hospital as her water broke this morning. She was 21 years old and was supposed to finish her bachelor's degree in Primary Education this year. She dreamt of being a great teacher to kids someday. 

Unfortunately, she got pregnant nine months ago. 

Back then, she was invited by Madeline, one of her friends, to come with them at a bar near their city to join the celebration for her friend's birthday. She was not usually attending that kind of place because her father was very strict with her. And her Aunt Adel also did not want to waste her money on her. 

That was true. Adelaida's family belonged to the middle class families. While Ramon and his daughter were just street vendors before he met Adelaida. 

Tatiana did not know how they met, but she knew that her Aunt Adel loved her father dearly. She would not stay in his arms and married him with her money if not. She was also the one to give capital to her Papa Ramon for their grocery business.  

And she was grateful that she came into their lives. She might have not liked her, but at least, she loved and took care of her dad genuinely. 

She had also planned not to come with her friends. But Madeline was persuasive. She came to their house to ask permission from Tatiana's dad. 

And since he knew Madeline, he gave her his consent. But he had a condition. Tatiana must be home before dawn. 

With her father's consent, Tatiana went with her friends to the bar. They were happily celebrating and drinking that night. Different brands of wines and hardcore drinks were lined to their table. Her friends also had boys beside them. But she was an exception. She did not want to mingle with strangers. 

And despite not being an alcoholic person, she had an exceptionally high tolerance when it comes to alcoholic beverages. 

She was still clear-headed as she went to the powder room. After fixing herself, she got out and went to the bar counter. She ordered something light. But minutes later, she suddenly felt dizzy after she drank it. She also felt extremely hot which made her remove her jacket. Until the dizziness worsened. However, just when she was about to fall off the ground, she felt someone catch her. After that, she totally lost consciousness. 

In the morning, she was awakened inside a hotel room. She felt her whole body sore and her head was so heavy. But what horrored her was her naked body under the thick blanket. Suddenly, she felt pain between her thighs. Then she realized something. 

Someone already had her v-card! 

She tried to remember what had happened that night. But what she could only remember was the drink she took and the man who caught her before she fell off the ground. Nothing else she could recall.

She cried her heart out inside the room for hours. She suddenly regretted coming with her friends that night. She should have followed her instinct. She asked the front desk clerk if she saw the man who brought her there. She begged her. But she got nothing.

She went home that day feeling empty. She was even scolded by her dad because her phone was unreachable last night. And all she could do was to apologize and lie that she had slept at Madeline's place just to escape her father's sermon.

Three weeks later, she regularly felt dizzy. And she also vomited every morning. Her nose and tongue became suddenly sensitive. She did not like the smell of her step mother's cologne. She always ended up feeling dizzy or worse, vomiting. And her favorite food became the food she hated the most. 

And her Aunt Adel, who noticed her changes, immediately told her father. 

"Tatiana is pregnant! I swear!" She could still remember how her stepmom's eyes widened as she said those words to her husband. 

Tatiana did not have an answer when her dad asked who was the father of the child in her womb. Because she did not really know who it was. 

"I was drugged, papa! I did not know who did it to me. I'm sorry, papa," she explained while crying. 

"Then why didn't you tell us?" her dad shouted angrily.

She said that she did not know how to explain her stupidity that night. And she did not know that it would bear fruit. 

Ramon did not have any other choice but to accept what had happened to his daughter. He wanted to find the man who raped his beloved Tatiana but his money was not enough for him to hire an investigator. And even if they found out who the man was, it would also be a risk because pursuing the case would be expensive. 

Months had passed and Tatiana had been well-taken care of by her dad. 

And she started to crave for uncommon food. So she was so thankful that her Papa Ramon was there for her and found her cravings even though it was a hard task searching for it. 

Her abusive stepmother was also the one to take over whenever Ramon was in their small grocery store. Even if she was irritated by her, she did not have any other choice but to take care of Tatiana because her husband would be angry at her if she neglected his dear girl. 

"Aunt Adel… where's papa?" The pain Tatiana was feeling in her womb became worse. "Call papa, Aunt Adel… Call papa," she pleaded then screamed again in pain. 

Adelaida was about to shout at her, but they were already in front of the operating room's door. 

"I'm sorry ma'am but you cannot enter the room. We will take care of your daughter for now." The paramedic used his arm to stop Adelaida. 

She gave the paramedic a look with disgust as they pushed the stretcher, where Tatiana was laying down, to the operating room. She really did not like her stepchild. For her, she was a spoiled brat who got pregnant without finishing her degree. She did not believe that Tatiana was raped. She believed that she was rather impregnated by her secret boyfriend. And when the secret boyfriend knew that she was pregnant, he ended up dumping her. 

"How's my girl?" 

Adelaida was a bit shocked when her husband appeared suddenly at her side although she had already called him while they were on the way to the hospital. 

She looked at him. 

His hand was on his chest while breathing heavily. 

"S-she's fine, Ramon. She's in the operating room now," she answered nervously. 

"I told you! We should have gotten her to the hospital last night! But you did not listen! And you even went partying in your friend's house!" Ramon's voice raised a bit. He was worried sick about Tatiana because she had a short painful contraction last night so he wanted to rush her to the hospital. But Adelaida told him that it was normal because her due date was already two weeks from last night. 

"What the heck, Ramon? I did not know that Tatiana was having her labour last night! Why are you blaming me?" she barked at him. 

"You became the mother of my daughter when you agreed to marry me, Adel! She is your responsibility! Yet you chose to neglect her!" he accused. 

Adelaida's tears streamed down her face. "You're hurting me with your words, Ramon. I love Tatiana as much as you love her! I am the one who’s taking care of her when you are not around. And even if you're around! Yet these are what you're going to tell me?" She looked at him with sorrow and faked her tears. 

Ramon's face softened as he realized what he had done. He pulled her to an embrace and caressed her hair. He even kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry, love. I am just worried about our Tatiana because it is her first pregnancy," he softly explained. 

Adelaida sniffed. "I understand, love. But I am worried, too. I am sorry if I flared up your worry," she responded apologetically. 

Ramon did not know that his wife was just acting. He thought that she was really hurting and worried for Tatiana.

Adelaida wiped her fake tears and even rolled her eyes. Her irritation towards Tatiana had increased. 

Hours had already passed when a nurse came out from the operating room. He looked anxious. And panic was visible on his face. 

Ramon immediately stood up and went to the nurse. Then Adelaida followed. 

"How's Tatiana, sir?" he asked worriedly. 

The nurse looked at them with a bit of shock. "The baby is fine, sir. The delivery was successful," he reported.

Ramon felt that his heart was freed from the chains caging it because of what he heard. 

"But the mother is in danger, sir," the nurse suddenly added.

His heart was struck with hundreds of arrows. His worry for his unica hija immediately came back and even got worse. "Sir, please save my daughter. I don't care about the baby. Just save my Tatiana. I need her. Please do everything you can to save her," he begged and cried.

The nurse was secretly startled by what he just said. But he gazed straight at him and cleared his throat. "We'll do our best, sir. But I need to go now. Unfortunately, the blood bank of the hospital ran out of blood type that matches the patient. I need to find someone who can donate blood for your daughter," he explained.

Ramon wiped his tears. He fixed his posture and said, "I am healthy, sir. I will donate blood to my unica hija. My blood is running in her veins." 

The nurse was relieved. He was so nervous a while ago that he did not think of that idea. So he immediately invited Ramon to have a blood test first before the donation. 

Adelaida was left at the waiting area. 

About half an hour later, Ramon came back and sat beside his wife. His face looked sad and tired. He had weakened. 

"Oh? Why are you here right now? I thought you were going to draw blood?" Adelaida wondered.

Ramon did not answer but just handed a piece of paper to his wife. 

Adelaida immediately unfolded it and read what was written on the paper. Her forehead frowned as soon as she saw it. 

What did she just read?