LOGINOn the day of their second wedding anniversary, Joanne's husband chose his first love over her. Killed along with her unborn child, Joanne had accepted that it was the end. But fate had other plans. She found herself six months in the past. She did not know how it happened but she was not going to let this opportunity pass!
View MoreTrigger warning: violence against pregnant woman
____
.
.
.
“So, Reagan Knight, what will it be? Are you going to fold and give us what we have demanded, or should we send you your pregnant wife’s dead body to your house?” A hoarse, deep, and throaty voice spoke next to her.
He was right next to her, like a dark, evil, looming threat that she could not see or escape from.
Tears trickled down Joanne’s cheeks.
She didn’t know where she was.
She couldn’t see anything through the dusty black bag thrown over her head.
She was gagged and bound, the overused ropes digging into her swollen belly.
She did not know who these people were. She just knew that their enmity was with Reagan, her ruthless billionaire husband, who had ill-wishers probably in every single street.
She did not care about those things right now.
She just wanted out.
Joanne did not want Reagan to fall into danger because of her. No matter how he treated her, her wretched heart still loved him, cared for him.
But tonight, she had to think of her child.
She needed to get out of there alive.
She didn’t care what Reagan had to do to make sure of that.
But apparently, he did not care.
Her blood ran cold at the humorless laugh at the other end of the phone. “Sure, go ahead. Do you know my address, or should I just give it to you now?”
Joanne heard the sudden scraping of a chair right next to her. “Do you think we are kidding, pretty boy? Your wife is right here next to me. And she and your bastard are going to die if you do not agree with our demands.”
She flinched.
“That’s what I said. Go ahead. Kill her. You think she matters to me more than my own life? Or my company?” Reagan was as ruthless as ever.
A choked sob escaped her on hearing those cruel words.
Joanne knew that Reagan hated her. This marriage was purely business. And the only reason she was with child was because the business merger depended on an heir.
But she was carrying a baby girl. And the entirety of her family as well as his had lost all interest in the child as soon as they learnt it was a girl. They deemed the baby unfit to be an heir.
As for Reagan, he had not cared in the first place. She was a business transaction to him. Likewise, her little one was also just a bare necessity.
But Joanne cared. She knew how it felt to be disregarded just because she was a girl. She knew how it felt to be trapped in a family where she was always belittled and undermined. She knew how it felt to be married to someone who would never love her. To be stuck in a life where there was no scope for paternal or marital affection.
But she had her little girl now. And she had promised her little one that she would make sure that her baby would receive all the love in the world that she had been unfortunate to be denied.
But that promise and all those hopes she had for her child hung on a breaking thread right now. Their lives were in peril, and only Reagan could save them now.
And he did not seem too keen on it.
The kidnapper was getting more agitated. “You think I won’t do it?”
He took the black bag off her head.
Joanne trembled at the sight of the monstrosity of a man in front of her - he was more scars than skin. And he was more beast than human.
She screamed through the gag as he grabbed and pulled at her hair. He ripped the gag off her mouth. “Tell him, bitch! Tell him how scared you are! Beg your husband to save you and your kid before I rip that bastard out of your womb!”
She opened her mouth to talk, but could only scream when the man stepped down on her toes.
“Hear that, pretty boy? Is this how this cunt screams for you in bed?”
There was silence on the other end.
“What? Scared now? So what is it gonna be?”
The silence continued for a moment. “You really think-” He started, but stopped abruptly.
“Reagan, who are you talking to? Everyone’s waiting for us at the restaurant.”
Joanne’s heart dropped at that voice.
Serena Cole.
His first love.
The very woman who broke his heart and left him five years ago. The very woman who made him the ice-cold, heartless asshole he was. The very woman he was still obsessed with, despite it all.
“I will be there in a minute.” Reagan sounded bored, his cold voice lacking even a fraction of the fear Joanne felt in her bones.
The next words drilled through the fog of her dread. “I hope I get the body as promised. Looking forward to it.”
The hang-up beep sounded like her death sentence. Her death sentence for loving a man she shouldn’t have loved. For marrying a man knowing he could never love or respect her.
She was the fool who did this to herself and her kid.
She was to blame for her situation.
But her unborn child had to pay the price for her mother’s stupidity. That was just not fair.
“He thinks I won’t do it?” The man turned to her, his eyes blazing. “Well, I have to prove him wrong now.”
He kicked her right in her belly. She screamed as the chair toppled backward and pain like no other spread through her abdomen. She fell with a gasp, her every breath felt impossible.
“I am going to make an example out of you.”
Her vision blurred from pain and tears but she could still hear the distinct loading of a gun.
Joanne saw the black circle in front of her. She couldn’t even find the breath to beg for her life as the pain was just too much to bear.
The first shot was fired.
She had hoped for a quick end despite desperately wanting to live.
But it wasn’t.
He had shot her unborn child first.
“AHHHHHH!!!” Joanne screamed from pain, grief, and betrayal. “NOOOO!!”
“Shh, Momma. Don’t worry. You are next.”
He held the gun to her head, and this time he held his aim.
He pulled the trigger.
She heard the piercing shot, which abruptly cut off in the middle.
And then it was complete darkness.
.
.
.
____
____ . . . “Are you for real?” Joanne looked up from her book at Reagan’s agitated voice as he stormed into the living room. She raised a brow, nonchalant. “What are you talking about?” “You just left!” He growled out. “So?” “SO? I was there for you and you just left without me.” He was calming down, and it was obvious that he was putting a lot of effort into making it happen. “I was there as your plus one and you just ditched me there. Does that make any sense to you because it sure as hell does not to me.” “I did not ask you to come.” Joanne picked up the bowl of almonds from the coffee table and popped one into her mouth. “You decided you wanted to attend. Don’t blame this on me.” Reagan stared at her for a long moment before letting out an exasperated exhale. “I am not blaming you. I am just saying that if we went together, we should stay together and we should leave together. It is just proper etiquette.” Joanne choked on her almond, grabbing her throat as she
____...“So she knows it's a boy?” Reagan asked as he sipped on the over-sweetened mojito that went straight to his brain. He winced as he placed the blue food-dyed drink down. Joanne nodded, though all she really wanted was to overturn the mojito on his head. She did not like him here. She did not like that he was sitting, absolutely relaxed, on the lawn chair with his arm draped lazily over her chair while all she wanted to do was eat her nails while she wondered whether the doctors had missed out on some major brain bleed when Reagan got his nose broken. “Yes, yes, the gender reveal was three months ago, Mr. Knight!”Joanne rolled her eyes. It did not help that one of Talia's friends thought the sun shone out of Reagan's ass and tried to start conversations with him. For Christ's sake, he was not a celebrity. He was just a less-than-human piece of crap! Reagan gave her a polite nod but did not entertain further interaction. He turned back to his wife. “So why a separate bab
____ . . . Joanne had not gained a single pound. In fact, she was suspecting weight loss. But all her dresses felt uncomfortable. She had not felt this way back in the past. She guessed maybe it was because she was so used to maternity wear that wearing a fitted dress was making her both uncomfortable as well as insecure. She looked at the baby pink dress and the floral yellow dress with beige flowers. “I should just go with what I wore back then.” She said, “I mean, I am making it harder than it needs to be.” She tossed the floral dress onto her bed and hung the pink dress next to her vanity mirror, scouring through her vast collection of footwear and accessories. She had no recollection of what she had worn in the past. The difference? Last time, being all alone at home, she had picked out everything the night before. But yesterday, she was so mad at the horrible man living across the hall that she had gone straight to bed. She couldn't even blame the pregnancy
____ . . . “You had to see the blood. So much blood. I will send you all the juicy pics as soon as it is made legal to release.” Reagan stared at Sergeant Elliot Grady. He was a homicide detective. He had no problem talking gore. What stunned him was how interested Joanne was in the stories. He looked at the time. The motherfucker had overstayed and it was seven in the evening now. “I don't think she should see all these things now.” He finally opened his mouth after being royally ignored for half a day. The Billionaire CEO was not used to being royally ignored for so long. Joanne looked at him, offended. “Because I am a girl?” She did not say it but she really did feel extremely uncomfortable, listening to Elliot talk about blood and murder. She realized that she was so out of touch with the plight of the victims and used to treat these crimes as entertainment. Until one happened to her. She remembered the pain, the helplessness and hopelessness, the desperation to
Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.