"BIANCA!" Amelia Henry, Gideon's mother, welcomed me with a big smile on her face.
The woman was stunning in her emerald green dress and pearl necklace. She looked regally beautiful at her age. Amelia was already fifty-five, but she could still pass as a woman in her forties.
"Amelia." I managed to return her smile as I kissed her cheek. "Happy birthday."
Gideon might be a devil, but his family's different. Everyone I've met in my husband's family was nice to me.
When Gideon introduced me as his wife to Amelia, the woman welcomed me with open arms. She even gave me a diamond necklace, an heirloom of the Henry family.
"Oh, thank you, dear," she muttered. "Gosh, you look stunning," Amelia praised me as she looked at me from head to toe. "Pregnancy suits you, Bianca."
Stunning? Well, all thanks to my make-up and beautiful dress.
When I stared at the mirror earlier, I saw a confident woman standing in front of me. Far different from the weak Bianca that was left alone crying after her husband physically abused her.
I only gave Amelia a smile as Darwin Henry, Gideon's father, joined us. The old man was an older version of Gideon—from his dark blonde hair, striking blue eyes, sharp nose, and chiseled jaw.
"Where's your husband, Bianca?" Darwin asked me, his hand snaked to Amelia's waist.
I cleared my throat and managed a smile. "He left something in the car. He went there to get it."
Amelia's party was held in the garden of a luxurious hotel in the city. Everyone was in their formal attire. The Henrys were one of the richest and most influential families in the whole state of America.
Darwin Henry is the founder of one of the largest multi-billion dollar companies in the country. Amelia Henry is a philanthropist who handles different charity organizations across the state.
Their son, Gideon, is the current CEO of the Henrys' family business.
"And how's your pregnancy, Bianca?" Darwin asked, his eyes dropping to the small bump on my belly. It was already showing in the peach dress I was wearing.
I stiffened at his question, but then I easily recovered. I managed to smile as I rested my hand on my belly. "You have nothing to worry about. This little bean's not giving me a hard time."
"Oh, there's Gideon!" I felt a cold shiver run down my spine as Amelia looked behind me. My throat suddenly went dry.
Soon after, I felt Gideon beside me. I stiffened in my place.
"Happy birthday, Mom!" Gideon greeted his mother as he handed the woman a black elegant paper bag. It was a Gucci bag that Gideon bought in Paris when he went there for a business trip.
"Here's our birthday gift to you. It was my wife who brought that when we came to Paris last month." Gideon glanced at me before he looked back to his parents to greet Darwin this time.
I stopped myself from gritting my teeth. Liar. I wasn't with him when he went to Paris. He didn't take me with him. He never took me to any of his travels. Well, not that I wanted to join, anyway. I'd rather lock myself at our house than go with him.
"Thank you, Bianca." Amelia turned to me to give me a smile. "You're the sweetest, isn't she, Gideon?"
I felt Gideon's hand snake on me. His long fingers rested on the curve of my waist. "Yeah..." Gideon cocked his head at me, the corner of his lips forming a smirk. "She's the sweetest."
Sweetest my ass. Despite the thoughts running through my head, I was forced to look at him and give him a smile in front of his parents.
In the eyes of everyone, Gideon and I were a perfect couple. Little did they know that everything was only a facade. An act orchestrated by Gideon himself.
On the outside, he always acts like a perfect and loving husband to me. I'm the only one who knows what kind of a monster he really is.
But I couldn't do anything about it.
I had no choice but to pretend that everything was fine between us. That he's the perfect husband. And I'm the loving, submissive wife.
Gideon had threatened to hurt me and my baby if I ever told anyone the truth about our marriage.
I know Gideon. He would really do that if he wanted to. I had witnessed how many evil things he could do with his status and power. The man has no heart.
"Gideon," Darwin said, clearing his throat. “I have something to discuss with you. I hope I can steal you away from your wife for a moment." Darwin glanced at me.
I gave him a tight smile. "Of course. That wouldn't be a problem, Darwin." If only he knew how much I wanted his devil of a son to be out of my sight.
"I'll leave you here for a while, darling," Gideon said to me, loud enough for his parents to hear. Then he lowered his head until his lips reached my ear.
"Behave, Bianca," he whispered in a threatening voice before planting a kiss on my cheek.
I forced myself to smile as I watched Gideon walk away with his father. I was able to finally breathe now that he was out of my sight.
"Come on, Bianca," Amelia said to me, touching me in the arm. "Let's head to the buffet table. You must eat first. I'm sure my grandchild's already starving." She jested.
I turned to Amelia and returned her smile. Grandchild? Yeah… even though this isn't Gideon's, this baby is still her grandchild.
The buffet table was filled with different continental cuisines. From different pasta and salad dishes to salmon, steak, seafood… My mouth watered at the sight of a vanilla mousse.
"Excuse me, dear. I'll just have to answer this call." Amelia said, picking up her phone from her gold clutch bag. "I'll be back."
After picking up food on the table, I settled on an empty table. I smiled as I tasted the vanilla mousse in front of me.
I was able to eat properly with Gideon nowhere near me. I looked around and only saw a few familiar faces in the crowd.
Amelia loves organizing parties. Since I married Gideon, she had already invited me to five different parties she organized herself.
"Hey, you're Uncle Gideon's wife, right?"
A little kid went to me. I remembered her from the party Amelia and I attended last month. She's the daughter of Gideon's cousin, Sofia.
I gave her a warm smile. "Yes. I'm Bianca. What's your name?"
The kid looked like a five-year-old. She was wearing a pink dress. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail.
"Macy. M-A-C-Y." She pointed at the vacant chair beside me. "Can I sit here? Mama's busy talking to some people." She pouted her lips.
"Sure." I smiled.
"Thanks. You're pretty just like Mama." Her eyes widened when they went to my body. "Wait. Are you pregnant?"
"Uh... yes."
"Is Uncle Gideon the father?"
My lips slightly parted. How did she... I mentally shook my head. She's just a kid. It's a harmless question.
"O-of course." I said, bringing back my smile. "He's my husband."
She picked up the vanilla mousse from my plate and bit it. "Well... mommy said that my dad is an alien, so..." She shrugged.
Oh. Right. Sofia doesn't have a husband.
"Can I visit your house and play with your baby after she's born?"
I smiled. "Of course. But you still have to wait for five months." I delightfully watched her as she devoured my vanilla mousse. "Do you want more of that?"
"Yes, please." She pouted.
I chuckled. She's really cute. I hoped my child would grow up just like her. "Stay here. I'll get you some."
I stood up from my seat and left Macy. I was on my way to the buffet table when I heard Amelia behind me.
"Bianca, dear. I have someone I want you to meet."
I turned around to the old woman. The blood in my face dried up when I saw the familiar man beside her.
"Bianca, this is Charlie." Amelia smiled at me before her eyes drifted to the man wearing a gray tux. "Charlie, this is the woman I'm talking about, Bianca, your brother's wife."
Charlie Song, the man standing in front of me right now... is my ex-boyfriend. And the real father of my baby.
I WANTED to excuse myself and run away. But it felt like my feet were rooted to the ground. I couldn't move. Even my heart felt like it had stopped beating for a moment. "Bianca..." Charlie greeted me with his familiar voice. I stared at him. His handsome face didn't change over the past five months that I hadn't seen him. "It's nice to finally meet you." He extended his hand to me. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I accepted his hand. "S-same here, Charlie." My heart constricted when I tried to meet his eyes. His lips were smiling, but her chinky eyes… they were saying otherwise. They were cold and emotionless. "Mom said you're already pregnant," he said after letting go of my hand, his eyes drifting to my belly. I felt a shiver run down my spine. My heart started beating erratically inside my chest. "Congratulations, Bianca." "T-thank you." His eyes went back to meet mine. This time, I looked away from him. I couldn't handle his stares. His cold and dead eyes were
"G-GIDEON!" I muttered when Gideon grabbed me in the arm and placed me at his side. He didn't give me a glance as his eyes stayed on Charlie. "What are you doing with my wife, Charlie?" Gideon asked in a dark voice. "Didn't I ask you to stay away from her?" "I saw your wife throwing up, Gideon," Charlie answered with the same dangerous voice as Gideon. "I just helped her. If you don't want to see you with another man, then you should've never left her side." I could feel the tension between the two men. I knew Gideon hated his brother. But Charlie... this is the first time I've seen him with this expression on his face. "G-Gideon... Charlie just helped me." I grabbed his left arm. "Let's go..." I knew Gideon wouldn't make a scene here. And Charlie... he's never violent, but he's very perceptive. I didn't want him to notice anything. Gideon's left arm snaked to my waist. "The next time I see you near my wife, you know what I'd do, Charlie." He gritted his teeth before pullin
I TOOK a deep breath as I stared at the suitcase in front of me. This is it, Bianca. No more backing out. Today, I finally decided to escape from Gideon. I couldn't allow myself to stay with him any longer. After what happened that night... five days ago... I suddenly found the courage to leave. I know how powerful Gideon is. I have all the reasons to be scared of him. But if I continued to be like this—scared, weak, and pathetic—I would lose my baby. I shut my eyes when I remembered how terrified I was that night... when I thought I already lost my baby. "If something happened to my baby, I would have fucking killed you, Gideon Henry." I angrily muttered to Gideon. The corner of my eyes were hot with unshed tears. I was lying on our king-sized bed after our doctor left. Of course. The powerful and ruthless Gideon Henry didn't drive me to the hospital. Instead, he called for a private doctor to come to his house. My hand protectively held onto my belly. The doctor tol
I woke up in an unfamiliar room. It took me a while before I could finally open my eyes and adjust to the blinding lights. "Bianca, you're awake." I stopped when I heard a familiar voice beside me. I turned to my side and saw... Charlie. He was sitting on the couch near me. He looked like he just woke up with his slightly disheveled hair and creased long-sleeve shirt. What was he doing here? My lips parted when he stood up and went to me. I looked around the room. Everything was white. My heart started pounding. "W-where am I?" I asked, my lips trembling when I saw the IV tube on my arm. "You're in the hospital, Bianca." Just like that, everything came back to me. I was finally escaping from Gideon. I was driving on the road when I received a call from Amelia... saying that Gideon had been in an accident. The news shocked me that I momentarily forgot I was in the middle of the road. Then... a truck. It was coming my way. The last thing u saw before I lost my consciousness
"OH. I'm so sorry, Bianca." Amelia cried as she pulled me into a tight embrace. It was my third day in the hospital when Amelia and Darwin came. I thought I had already become numb from the past three days. But the moment I heard Amelia sobbed, hot liquid pooled in my eyes. "My poor grandchild." I didn't know how long we stayed in each other's arms until we both calmed down. "I'm sorry it took us days before we visited you," Amelia apologized while holding my arms. I stared at her. She seemed five years older than the last time I saw her—at her own party a week ago. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Her porcelain skin was now dry and saggy. "How are you, Bianca?" she asked in a gentle voice. "Charlie told me you're not properly eating your meals." "I don't have the appetite," I said in a weak voice. She grabbed my hand and gently pressed it. "The baby... Charlie said he looked just like you." "C-Charlie?" "Yes… Bianca." Amelia gave a gentle smile. "Charlie buried
Five months ago… "Will you miss me?" Charlie asked as he rested both of his hands on my shoulders. I tilted my chin to meet his eyes. "Of course," I said, pouting my lips. "My fiance will be away for three months. I'm sure as hell going to miss him badly." Charlie was my boyfriend, who became my fiancé a week ago. We met each other three months ago in the New York public library. I couldn't forget the first time we met. I was in the adult section of the library when he approached me and asked for directions. And because I got mesmerized by his face, I accidentally gave him the wrong direction. A playful smile appeared on his lips. "Would you come with me, then?" I pouted as I played with his hair. "You know I have work, right?" I was working as a children's librarian at the New York Public Library, where we met. "Yeah." He chuckled, making his eyes turn into slits. "I'm just trying my luck." Charlie was half-American, half-Korean. He was so good looking with his mixed Asia
"LAST month, I lost a lot of money at the casino. There, I met Mr. Gideon Henry. He lent me a huge amount of money without asking for collateral… He said he's confident that I could win back all the money I lost…" I was pacing back and forth in front of Dad as I listened to his explanation. "But that didn't happen… I didn't win. I lost every penny I borrowed from him. Gideon Henry… gave me one month to pay off my debt. He said that if I didn't pay him on time, he would send me to jail." "Dad…" I stopped in front of him. I shut my eyes as my hand went to my forehead. "Why did you only tell me about this now?" We just talked on the phone last week, and he didn't mention anything to me. "Why did you keep me in the dark, Dad?" "I didn't want to give you problems, Bianca." I wanted to get mad at him. For hiding things from me. But somehow, I wanted to blame myself for not being perceptive enough. I thought he was doing fine here. I had no idea he was already dealing with something.
"DAMN." I muttered as I glanced at my bankbook on the center table. In a week, I was only able to collect five hundred thousand dollars from the loan I took out from the bank. Dad emerged from the kitchen with a cup of coffee. He placed it in front of me. "You still haven't eaten lunch." I've been staying here with my father for a week now. After filing a leave of absence from my work, I went back here to Portland. "It's okay, Dad." I gave him a small smile. "I'm still full from the pancake you made for breakfast earlier." Dad sighed as he sat beside me. "I'm sorry, Bianca. I'm sorry for giving you problems." "Dad..." I looked at him. "I'm sorry that I had to resort to gambling every time I missed your mother." He lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I have never been truly okay since your mother left me." Dad placed his hand to cover his face. My heart wretched when I realized he was crying. The last time I saw him like this was when my mother died. "I'm sorry, Bianca. I failed y