Chapter 4

Nico lunged forward and grabbed my wrist.

I stumbled and fell against the edge of the bed. A sharp pain shot through my lower abdomen.

I ignored the pain, gritted my teeth, and stood up.

Looking straight into his furious face, I raised my hand without hesitation.

Smack!

A sharp, ringing slap across his face.

Nico didn't even flinch.

His eyes were glued to the lit screen.

He gripped my wrist and pried my fingers open one by one.

I gasped in pain and my grip loosened.

The phone dropped into his palm.

Watching him frantically scroll through the screen, I clutched my stomach and burst out laughing.

"Can't unsend it, Nico. What, feeling sorry for your whore?"

Before I even finished, a gust of pure rage hit me.

He slapped me across the right side of my face.

I crashed into the mattress.

I saw stars. My ears were ringing.

"Seraphina, how vicious can you be?!" Nico's veins popped on his forehead, his eyes bloodshot. "She's unstable! You trying to push her over the edge?!"

I turned my head and spit out blood.

"Then let her die," I rasped.

Nico completely lost it.

He yanked open the nightstand drawer and pulled out his gun.

Click. A bullet in the chamber.

He roughly grabbed my hand and shoved the barrel into my palm.

Then, he gripped my wrist and pressed the muzzle against his own forehead.

"Shoot me!" His eyes looked like they were going to pop out. "Her drunk ex is still hunting her down, I don't have the fucking energy for this! Are you done throwing a tantrum?!"

The metal barrel dug into his skin, leaving a red mark.

"You waited six years in Chicago for me, and now you can't give me this little bit of time?! You can't even give me that much grace?!"

Six years. Time. Grace.

Looking at this hysterical man, I just found it absurd.

Just a few hours ago, because of this fragile life inside me, I was delusional enough to think I could piece together a real family in this blood-soaked world. Be loving parents.

But he ripped my wounds wide open and trampled my dignity.

All for another woman. Using a gun to force me to cave.

Right then, the burner phone rang.

Nico snatched it and hit speaker.

Misha's wailing echoed in the room.

"Uncle Nico! Mom looked at the phone and ran out into the pouring rain! I can't find her!"

Nico's face dropped.

He grabbed me by the collar and dragged me off the bed.

Dragged me all the way to the garage.

It was pouring.

The wipers were going crazy but couldn't clear the water off the windshield.

Nico drove like a maniac. Finally, a few blocks away, under the awning of a convenience store, he found Elena, soaked to the bone, hugging her knees and shivering.

The car door flew open.

Nico rushed into the rain, took off his coat, and wrapped it around her.

Elena threw herself into his arms, crying so hard she almost passed out.

I sat in the passenger seat, coldly watching this touching melodrama.

Next second, my door was ripped open.

Nico grabbed my arm and dragged me into the rain.

The early spring rain was bone-chilling. It instantly soaked my thin nightgown.

"Apologize." His voice was colder than the rain.

I stood straight, staring dead at him. "For what?"

He shoved me hard. I lost my balance and fell into the freezing puddle.

People taking shelter on the street stared, shocked and pointing fingers.

My kneecaps felt like they split open. Cold rain poured over my head.

My whole body shook. My teeth wouldn't stop chattering.

Elena shrank into Nico's arms in terror, covering her mouth and sobbing. "Nico, don't do this. It's not her fault, it's mine..."

"She needs to apologize." Nico's voice was purely cruel. "Seraphina, I can put up with your temper. But Elena has depression. She can't take this kind of stress."

Can't take this kind of stress.

The pulling pain in my lower stomach violently spiked. It felt like a sharp blade was twisting wildly inside me.

A warm liquid snaked down my inner thigh.

Soon, a shocking pool of dark red spread in the muddy water beneath me.

The rain brutally washed over my face.

I looked up, pulling my lips into a desperate smile.

"Is that right..."

I looked down at the spreading blood, my voice shrill.

"Nico, I'm pregnant. I can't take this kind of stress either..."