Chapter 16

Finally in the evening Agustín bid goodbye to his parents as it was getting late and it was getting dinner time also. As there wasn't any maid or helper in his apartment so he has to cook for Innara and himself. Even though Vanessa asked him to eat atleast something but he politely denied not wanting to eat when Innara must be waiting for him to return back. She must be hungry too.

The evening air was cool and crisp when Agustín stepped out of his sleek black car, the lights of Madrid glowing softly behind him. The city buzzed faintly in the distance, but here, in the quieter corner of his luxury apartment complex, silence wrapped the air like a comforting shawl. He cautiously looked around for some danger even if his men were on duty in alarm.

He entered the building with a swipe of his key card, shoulders relaxed but eyes alert—he had been gone only a few hours, but something tugged at his chest like gravity, pulling him home faster than he’d expected. It was something unknown because he has never felt like this. He has never stepped inside this apartment with the thought of someone being inside already.

As the private elevator hummed upward, he adjusted the cuffs of his blazer and exhaled slowly. He’d left Innara in good hands—safe, cared for. Still, a part of him hadn’t stopped thinking about the quiet strength behind her eyes, or the way she clutched her stomach protectively even in her sleep. He tapped his foot impatiently on the floor.

The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime.

Warm light spilled from the slightly ajar apartment door. Inside, soft instrumental music played—a calming classical piece he had left on to soothe the atmosphere. As he stepped in, the subtle scent of chamomile and lavender greeted him. The doctor must’ve left the herbal diffuser running.

Innara wasn’t in the living room. The throw blanket he’d offered her earlier was draped neatly over the armrest of the couch, and her half-finished cup of warm milk still sat on the side table.

"I'm back." he called gently, his voice low enough not to startle her.

From the hallway, a soft rustle.

She stepped out slowly, barefoot, wearing one of the loose maternity dresses Agustín had bought her yesterday. Her hair was loosely tied, her face still pale—but clearer now, more alive. Her hands instinctively hovered over her seven-months belly, as if shielding the child from even the quietest tension.

"I didn’t hear you come in." she said, her voice fragile, but not broken.

He gave her a soft smile, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. "Didn’t want to wake you. How are you feeling?"

She shrugged lightly, fingers brushing her stomach. "Better. Tired… but safer than I’ve felt in years."

Agustín’s gaze softened. "Good. That’s all I wanted for today."

A pause lingered between them. The air buzzed with unspoken things. Questions. Memories. Gratitude. Guilt. But neither reached for the other yet—they weren’t ready. Not tonight. Tonight, they were just two souls in the quiet, trying to breathe again.

"I brought you something." he added, walking over to the dining table and pulling out a brown paper bag.

"It’s from my mama's kitchen—fresh bread and soft cheese. She sent it especially for you, thought you might be craving something salty."

Innara blinked, surprised. Shocked . A small smile tugged at her lips, hesitant but real.

"Thank you and her for thinking a lot for me, for us." She completed her sentence while looking at her baby bump and felt her eyes glistening because it was the first time she felt cared for.

He nodded, placing it down gently. "There’s also cake. Just in case your baby has a sweet tooth."

That made her smile a little more.

"Never got to know about that." She said to herself while looking down and he also heard it but didn't choose to question it yet.

As she stepped forward to sit at the edge of the couch, Agustín stayed standing for a moment, just watching her. Not in pity—but in admiration. Her face held a quiet bravery, the kind that came from surviving the unimaginable. Her eyes, though still rimmed with fear, no longer looked empty. There was a flicker of something there now—something warm, something waiting.

And in that flicker, Agustín found his reason to keep going. She looked so strong to her that he knew even if he wouldn't have helped her, she still had given a healthy life to her unborn child. She was a fighter, a strong warrior. He was admiring her silently without himself knowing while she turned towards him feeling his gaze on her. He turned off guard and immediately looked everywhere but her.

"Are you hungry?" He asked her while clearing his throat because Vanessa told him that pregnant women often feel hungry and crave things.

"N-No-- I'm not---" before she could deny he beat her to it knowing she doesn't want to bother him that's why she was lying.

"You don't have to stop yourself from eating or asking something from me. You and the baby already needs proper care and attention. You are not being a nuisance if that's what you are thinking about." He said walking towards the open kitchen of his apartment and she silently followed him.

"I don't want to become a burden on you." Innara muttered lowly making him to look back at her with gentle eyes.

"You aren't, Ms. Innara." He said waiting for her to meet his eyes and eventually she did after a few moments.

"Innara is enough." She said nervously fidgeting with her fingers because she was already past the formalities with him.

"Okay then Innara. Please settle down on the stools and tell me what you would like to eat, bread or cake? Or do you want me to cook something for you?" He asked her with a smile and turned around entering inside the kitchen.

Innara silently climbed upon one of the stools and her mind went blank because for the first time she has a choice of choosing her own food, a fulfilling meal above that. She was feeling hungry already because it's been a long time she ate something and she was feeling hungry again. She couldn't wait for him to cook something and as if in the queue her stomach growled gaining his whole attention on her.

"Oh so your tummy is impatient and can't wait enough for me to cook?" Agustín said with a chuckle making her to feel embarrassed but he just smiled at her behaviour.

He opened that brown bag which he brought with him and took out the fresh bread sent by Vanessa just for her. He took the loaf and sliced some slices for her and served it with the soft cheese. The bread was freshly baked and it's aroma was all over the place making her feel like she was starving for days. Agustín also saw the greed for bread in her eyes so he gently slid the plate towards her without making her uncomfortable.

Innara sitting on the stool, her fingers gently tearing at the corner of the bread, nibbling in silence. Agustín also settled onto one of the stools across from her, leaning forward with his elbows on the kitchen island, watching her with quiet patience.

"You didn’t have to bring all this. I’m not used to… people thinking about what I might want." she said softly, hesitantly, eyes lowered.

"You’ll have to get used to it. Because I do, my parents do."  he replied, his tone light but firm.

She glanced up briefly. His gaze was steady, not demanding or overbearing—just there. Present. Like a constant she hadn’t known she needed. A silence passed, broken only by the gentle hum of the city beyond the balcony.

"Why are you doing this?" Her voice trembled slightly. "I mean, not just for me. But… all those girls. You could have just taken your money and lived your life."

Agustín’s expression shifted. He leaned back slightly, resting his head against the wall behind him.

"Money was never the issue with the owner of that brothel where you were caged." He said and looked into her blue eyes which had black spikes in them making it look like a darker shade of blue. He could clearly sense fear in her eyes after the mention of that man, Patrick.

"My fathers are the mafia bosses of Spain and they have power, power to conquer the world. They were cruel ruthless and monsters what not but the love of my mother changed them. Once Patrick came to them for help to expand his business but when they got to know about his illegal business, they decided to destroy it but he flew away from Spain and established that business again in America." Agustín explained to her while she heard him silently nibbling on the bread.

"Our teams was searching for him and finally found out about his whereabouts and then my father sent me there to set all the girls free and erase his existence on the planet including his sinful, illegal business and that's what I did." He completed his sentence earning a slight nod from her.

After a moment her eyes met his. "You don’t even know me then why did you bring me with you, here? I mean why didn't you left me there with the rest of the girls?" She asked looking down at her fingers holding the bread.

"No, I don't know you." he admitted. "But when I saw you in that room surrounded by fire, death was ready to engulf you and the baby just because of my mistake I couldn't stop thinking about it. And then I knew you needed someone to look back."

A soft exhale left her lips, shaky, but healing. It was like her soul had been exhaling for the first time in years. She looked down at her belly and laid a gentle palm over it.

"Sometimes I think… if it wasn’t for the baby, I wouldn’t have had the courage to run. To hide. To try." She said remembering the time she was hiding inside that dark room just staring at the walls and doors all day having nothing to do and fearing what if someone barged in anytime.

Agustín nodded. “Sometimes the smallest things give us the biggest reasons.”

She looked at him again, for longer this time. Her walls weren’t down—not yet—but one or two bricks had quietly crumbled. She felt the bread still in her throat and suddenly she felt difficulty in swallowing it down but didn't say anything to him but her silence was enough for him to know about it. She was just like an open book to him. He stood and walked inside the open kitchen, pouring her a glass of water.

"If you need anything—anything—you don’t have to ask twice."

Innara took the glass and nodded, this time with the faintest sliver of trust behind her eyes. As she sipped, he moved toward the hallway not feeling hungry anymore.

"I’ll be in the room down the hall. Door open. If you feel sick, or… if you just can’t sleep."

She blinked, her voice softer now. "Agustín?"

He turned slightly.

"Thank you." she said. The words were small, but the weight behind them was heavy, and they floated across the room like a healing breeze.

He gave her a gentle smile. "Get some rest, Innara. You’re safe now."

And as he disappeared down the hallway, Innara leaned forward a little and laid her head on the kitchen island between her arms—still afraid, still guarded—but a little less alone than she had been when the sun set. Today for the first time she felt seen, cared and attentive. She felt as if everything was becoming right but till when was the question.

Until when she will keep living with him? Until when he will keep her as his responsibility? One day he will have his own life, family and kids. Then what will be her place in his life, in his apartment. She wasn't someone with whom anyone would like to make family and she never ever even imagined that because who would want a ruined, used and tainted girl like her.

She has nothing, no identity, no name, no class, nothing. She was just non existent in the world except for Agustín who was acknowledging her for now but till when he keep doing it without any motive. Until when, he would take care of her without expecting anything in return from her. She laid there with her head down and her eyes staring blankly at the wall in front of her.

One hand of hers reached to her swollen belly and gently caressed it feeling the presence of a baby growing inside her, what will she answer it once it'll grow up and ask about its father? How will she be able to raise her child alone? How will she manage to provide it when she isn't capable enough to work anywhere? She isn't educated enough. There would be a lot of challenges for her in the future while raising her kid.