09||~Enid.

09||~Enid.

~~~~

I dreamt of it again. The baby I lost. 

What happened with Adrrik had shaken me in ways I would never imagine. One moment he does something sweet, and another one, he is promising me death. 

I can still remember the ice flooding my veins as Adrrik's grip grew tighter and tighter around my neck. For a dangerous second, I believed I would meet my end then and there, but then he stopped.

My mind must have been playing tricks on me, but I swear, he had looked pained.

I wrap the shawl tighter around myself. 

Why did he do that?

Why treat me nicely and then hurt me again? Is he afraid of being nice for once? Then again, the nice man I met and fell for was just a non existent shadow.

A shadow that took my baby from me.

The sound of voices and laughter is accompanied with the crashing of waves, families camp around the blue ocean, smiling, relaxing. Something I haven't done in a while.

Eyes snapped shut, I force all those thoughts from my mind. It's my honeymoon. I should just enjoy it, after all. I don't know when Addrik might decide his mercy is enough and finally kill me.

Thankfully, he still doesn't know that I am a fake.

The sun searing my skin makes me regret my decision of wanting to get a tan. Avelina would go crazy if she knows I visited the beach without her. 

Another sigh slips out. Maybe she's already gone crazy now, after all, I was meant to have returned to her by now.

I still can't believe I am married, and to Adrrik of all people. 

A loud shriek pierces my ear, making me spring up. Running through the sand a few feet a from me is a small girl, her bright beady eyes are filled with mischief. I am on my feet the next moment, springing forward to catch her. 

The breath of relief that leaves me when I do has me hugging her tightly. She could have gotten hurt of I wasn't there. 

She's so small, her height is just the length of the chair I was lounging on. "Are you okay?" I ask the little girl who only giggles, her angelic face making me wonder how my baby would have looked if it survived. 

If it were a girl, she would be around this age now. Bubbly. 

"Farah!" A terrified woman calls out, running towards me. "Oh my, Farah." I hand the child over to her and she hugs her tightly. "Thank you so much, thank you." 

"My pleasure." I smile, responding in Russian. Her bright blue eyes are like that of her daughter. She kindly thanks me once again and invites me to come over whenever I want. I offer her a smile, telling her I would think about it, then I return to my seat. 

A white sheet of paper is placed the chair, fluttering loudly from the wind. Brow furrowed, I reach for it, only to almost drop it when I read the content written in it. 

DEATH OR SILENCE. MAKE YOUR CHOICE. 

For a deadly second, I just stare at it, unable to comprehend what my eyes is witnessing.

When I return to my senses, my head snaps up, examining those around me. Yet, all I see are unsuspecting strangers having the best time of their lives. Cold sweat covers my spine, making me rumple the sheet of paper in my hand.

I quickly return to my room, panting and very much terrorized. Addrik is there when I walk in, he is seated by the large glass wall, laptop in hand. I immediately turn around, not wanting to be anywhere near him.

The next two days passes with me trying and failing to enjoy my honeymoon. The letter becomes frequent. Slipped beneath the door, delivered with my food, tucked beside when I am sitting. 

At some point, I even begin dreaming of it. Each letter promises death and talks about a secret.

What secret? 

Now that I think about it, Adrrik had said the same too. He said that I knew something about him. My hand travels to my neck, rubbing at the faded mark. He had tried to kill me because of it.

A thought hits me, making me sit straighter. 

Does Ember know Adrrik's secret? But how? The two of them aren't even meant to have met.

I shake my head, the splashing of water turning my attention to the pool my leg is in. There are many people in the swimming pool, including, Rosalina. The kind woman whose daughter I had saved.

"Babochka." She calls out to me, her voice sweet, making me smile back at her, I had told her that name bacause i don't want to be called Ember and I can't risk telling her my real name either. Despite how horrible this vacation is going, I am glad to have her at my side. 

During these past two days, I learned that her husband is an African-American lawyer. They met when she visited America many years ago. And now they are happily married.

Whenever she speaks of her husband, there is always this smile on her face, the kind I might have had two years ago whenever I spoke about Adrrik. Until I found out the monster he is.

My finger unconsciously brushes my clothed stomach.

"Rosalina." I offer her a halfhearted smile, about to wave at her when a cold grip clamps around my wrist and drags me into the water.

My scream is swallowed down by a loud splash as I drop into the pool. A hand grabs my hair and forces my head into the water.

I struggle harshly, trying but failing to push away whoever it is. Lungs burning from the lack of hair, hand flaring around, I fight to return up but the person holds me down. My back meets with something soft. 

It's a woman. 

Muffled scream tears through the space, right as whoever is holding me let's go. Panic spike through me.

I can't swim!

Save me! Somebody save me! I scream in my head. 

I don't want to die. Not now. My strength dwindles, my weak hand useless to save me as the heavy and depressing water squeezes my life out of me. 

Right then, a muffled splash echoes through the space. Through my water drunk haze, I spot a huge but blurry figure swimming towards me. 

Strong arms wraps around my waist and carries me back to the surface. I break through with a gasp, coughing and sputtering. 

Whoever it is pats my back softly, while I claw at my neck, breathing more air than I actually need. By the time I recover, I am shaking really badly. "Oh my God. Are you okay?" Rosalina rushes towards me with a towel which she wraps around my shivering form.

I nod my head, turning around to thank the person who saved me, only to pause when i see that it's Adrrik. "A-Adrrik." For some unknown reason, seeing him after my near death makes me burst into a sob.

I almost throw my arms around him, thankfully, I stop my self. Instead, I wrap my arms around my torso instead. 

Rosalina says something I don't hear to Adrrik. He responds to her, then I am lifted from the floor, secured safely in his arms like a new bride. 

I shouldn't want to around him, after what he did, repulsion is what his touch should do to me. However, the near death experience must have turned my mind into a mess, because I lean into his touch, seeking warmth.

As he carries me to our room, I finally admit what I had been scared to think about before.

Someone is trying to kill me, and it's not Adrrik.

~P-Lia~