"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 pulling me away.
"Gideon..." Charlie muttered coldly, making both Gideon and I stop.
"Did you hurt Bianca?"
I felt like my heart had stopped beating in my chest.
Gideon dropped his hand that was on my waist and turned around to face Charlie.
"Me? Hurting Bianca?" Gideon let out a dark chuckle. "Do you really think I'll be able to do that to my pregnant wife?"
"Why don't we ask your wife?" Charlie replied, his voice challenging the man in front of him.
Charlie, please stop.
I shut my eyes for a moment before I turned around. I never dared look at Charlie. I was afraid that my eyes would give me away.
Gideon turned to me. He was smiling. But I knew what he really meant with that smile. "Did I ever hurt you, Bianca?"
I shook my head. "No. You never hurt me, Gideon."
Gideon drew his gaze back to his brother. "See? I never hurt Bianca. Tell me, Charlie? Why are you doing this?" Gideon smirked evilly. "You still can't accept that Bianca chose me over you, can you?"
"Shut it, Gideon. This is not about that."
This time, I couldn't help but glance at Charlie. He clenched his fist as he stared coldly at his brother.
"Just remember this, Gideon. The moment I learn you are hurting your wife, you don't want to know what I'd do to you." Charlie said as he walked away from us.
My eyes widened as I followed Charlie's back. What did he mean by that?
"What did you tell Charlie?" Gideon whispered through gritted teeth as he dragged me to the exit of the hotel.
"I didn't tell him anything, Gideon." I gulped. "Are we going home now?"
I felt his grip tighten on my waist. "We no longer have business here."
I anxiously looked at him. His face was grim. "B-but we haven't said our goodbye to your mother."
"I'll just call her later."
We were nearing the exit when Amelia saw us.
"Where are you two going?"
"We're already heading home, Mom." Gideon flashed his mother a smile. "Bianca was already tired. She needs rest." I felt him caress my arm.
"Oh. Take care, dear."
Amelia gave me a peck on the cheek before she let us go.
Our whole ride to our home was quiet. I gulped as I saw Gideon gritting his teeth as he gripped hard on the steering wheel.
"Gideon, slow down..." I said, nervous about how fast he drives and with his grim expression.
"Shut up, Bianca," he barked, throwing me a dark look.
"Now, tell me. What did you two really do there?" he asked me the moment we entered our house.
"Nothing, Gideon." I answered as I sat on the couch, taking off my shoes. "He just helped me. Like what he said to you." As soon as I took off my shoes, I stood up. "I'll head to our room."
"We're not yet done." In an instant, he was already in front of me. "What did you tell him?"
"Nothing, Gideon. I didn't tell him anything."
"Stop lying to me, Bianca." He gritted his teeth.
I swallowed. "I'm telling the truth, Gideon. I didn't tell Charlie anything. But he saw a bruise on my pulse." I showed him my left wrist.
He grabbed my wrist and looked at me with slanted eyes. "You let him touch you?"
"I…" I didn't manage to finish when he dragged me to the wall. My back touched the cold wall.
"Don't lie to me, Bianca. What did you tell him?" he asked. His dark eyes zeroed in on me. His jaw clenched hard.
"G-Gideon, I'm not lying. Let go. I'm hurting."
My eyes widened when he gripped my mouth, forcing it to open. "You will really get hurt if you won't be honest with him." He warned. "I repeat, Bianca. What. Did. You. Tell. Him?"
I blinked back the tears in the corner of my eyes. "I said nothing."
"I know you still love him, Bianca.” He smirked evilly. "Did you tell him that, huh? Did you tell him you missed him? Did you tell him he's the father of your fucking baby?"
A tear fell from my eyes as I felt pain in my mouth.
He's really a devil! "You're right! I still love Charlie." I answered him as I gritted my teeth. "But I didn't tell him anything, Gideon. I didn't tell him that you only forced me to marry you… and that he's the father of my baby!" I looked at him, my eyes burning in fury.
"Now, let go of me, you devil! B-because if something happens to my child, I will hurt you, Gideon."
His grip tightened as he dragged me away from the wall.
"Before you do that, I'd hurt you first, bitch," he said, before pushing me down to the carpeted floor.
My back hit something hard. A wince escaped me.
"You know I hate it when you talk back to me."
I didn't answer. I just shut my eyes and gritted my teeth and listened to his footsteps as he walked away from me.
When I opened my eyes, Gideon was already gone. I slowly stood up... but then my eyes widened in panic when I saw blood gushing out of my legs.
"My baby... No..."
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
I WAS back in the present when I heard the door open behind me. I turned my head only to be paralyzed when I saw who entered the room. "What are you doing here?" I asked Charlie, looking away and bringing back my eyes to the unconscious man lying on the hospital bed. After Gideon got transferred here, I haven't seen Charlie again. Until now. "I'm here to visit my brother." He said. From the corner of my eyes, I saw him standing a few feet beside me. "You should have waited for your turn, Charlie. This is my private time with my… husband." I almost whispered my last word. "I wanted to talk to you," he said in a gentle voice. The corner of my eyes heated up. "We have nothing to talk about, Charlie." "I heard about what happened to your father from Mom," he said instead. "I'm sorry, Bianca." I bit my lower lip. I only managed to nod at him without looking his way. I was afraid my own emotions would betray me. "I'll leave you here…" I said, almost in a whisper. I couldn't s
"WHAT are you doing here?" I almost jumped on my feet when I saw Charlie outside of my hospital room. Today is my last day here in the hospital. The doctor already gave me a green light to go home. All my injuries were already healed. I only had a few scars and bruises left on me. He cleared his throat. "I'll take you home, Bianca." I tried to hide my surprise. I looked away. "There's no need, Charlie." I didn't want to talk to him. The last time we saw each other, he wanted to get the truth out of me. Charlie… he's a trigger to my emotions. "Mom asked me to take you home, Bianca." Amelia… Of course, she was clueless about everything. She didn't know… I was Charlie's ex-fiancée. "Tell Amelia I can do it alone." "You're avoiding me," he declared. I faced him. "Well, yes. I am. Because we had a past, Charlie. And I've hurt you! Wouldn't that be enough reason to avoid you?" I bit my lower lip. I needed to stop here. I was afraid that my emotions would betray me. "But we