CHAPTER 1

AGNES LA TRINIDAD's POV

“I want that baby gone by tomorrow.”

My ears rang at the words that left his mouth. His brows were furrowed, glare piercing right through me.

“Henry, what on earth are you talking about?! We’ve been waiting for this child for ten whole years!” I stepped closer to hold his arm, but he violently brushed my hands away.

“I said I don’t want it, Agnes! Are you seriously not thinking?! I’m busy with my project! Out of all the projects I’ve handled over the past years, this is the only time I finally got Dad’s approval. I can’t afford any distraction right now!”

Distraction. I felt my heart shatter into pieces the moment I heard that word.

“Henry, you’re being unreasonable. Your parents have wanted a grandchild for the longest time. Especially your Dad! I'm sure—”

“Can you please shut up?!”

I gasped as he hurled the flower vase in my direction. Thank God it smashed straight into the wall behind me and missed me entirely. I instinctively clutched my stomach as tears began to stream down my face.

“g*ddammit, you are so stubborn, Agnes! Come here! I’ll take you to the hospital myself!” 

He grabbed my wrist with an iron grip. I thrashed wildly, desperately trying to pull away from him.

“No, Henry! Please, don’t! I won’t let you abort our child!”

He dragged me ruthlessly. Once we got outside the house, he forced me into the car. I reached for the phone inside my pocket. I was certain his father would help me if he found out what was happening.

“Who are you calling, huh?! You b!tch!”

He slapped me so hard I heard my ears ringing. Next thing I knew, I was lying in the mud, watching him smash my phone to pieces.

“N-No, Henry, please… I need to save our child…”

“You’re going to tell on me?! You shameless wretch!”

“Aaahhh!!!”

To my horror, right after tearing my phone apart, he started kicking me. It was forceful, aggressive, and for some unknown reason, fueled by pure desperation.

“If you won’t let a doctor abort it, I’ll do it.”

What he did to me last night replayed in my mind on a relentless loop. How he didn't stop hurting and kicking me until he saw blood pooling down my thighs. Only then did he stop. Only then was I able to reach for my shattered phone to call my friend, Grace, to rescue me.

I felt a so helpless. I had practically crawled on the street through the excruciating pain just to cry for help.

The air inside the hospital room was freezing, and the glowing light bulb I had been staring at for hours was blinding, but I didn't care about any of it… I couldn't feel a thing. I feel like I am between absolute numbness and lethal pain.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I waited five hours for Henry to come home. I was so excited because, finally, I could give him an heir. When I finally showed him the pregnancy test, instead of being happy and celebrating like I expected, his face instantly darkened. He slapped the pregnancy test out of my hand and screamed at me.

It hurt so badly. It felt like being stabbed repeatedly every time I remembered it. How Henry wanted to abort the fruit of our love, and how he abused me. He laid a hand on me even while I carried his child in my womb…

My hand rested on top of my stomach, which was now empty. My eyes swollen, but my tears just wouldn't stop flowing.

“Until when are you gonna cry? Aren't you tired?” Luis asked.

He was leaning against the door, arms crossed, staring at me with a deep frown.

“I’m gonna k*ll that bas*trd. Just give me the word, Agnes. I’ll do it without a second thou—”

He didn't finish what he was about to say, but I could feel him holding himself back from scolding me. After all, I had left him for Henry back then just to please my family.

A suffocating silence filled the entire room. I was no longer crying, but it felt like I wasn't breathing either.

Then, a sudden loud knocking surprised us. 

"Agnes! Open this door!" Henry's voice echoed from outside.

My hands instantly trembled at the sound of his voice. Everything he did to me last night came rushing back to my mind, the look on his face as he repeatedly kicked my stomach…

"Don't make us wait here, Agnes!" 

That was the voice of Mom Anabelle, my mother-in-law.

Luis stood up quickly. I saw him clench his fists before blocking the doorway to face them.

"Get out. You have no right to be here," Luis spoke quietly but dangerously.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I heard Henry snap. "Get out of my way! My wife and I need to talk!"

"Wife?" Luis let out a mocking laugh. "Now you remember she's your wife? After leaving her bleeding on the street?! After you k*lled your own child?!"

"A-Agnes was pregnant?" Mom asked in utter disbelief.

I smiled bitterly. Right, she had dragged me by the hair earlier without even knowing what Henry and I were fighting about. As always, mother and son stood by each other, right or wrong.

“Tsk! Ma, I’ll explain later. Please don’t get involved right n—ahhh!”

“What do you mean don't get involved?!” I heard her strike Henry. “Your wife was pregnant?! You didn't say a single word to me, and then you kicked her in the stomach?!”

“You did what?!” Luis roared. “You piece of sh*t!”

"Luis... stop," I weakly commanded him. He couldn't afford to get angry. I wouldn't let him do something that would ruin his reputation for my sake. My conscience wouldn't be able to take it.

"Let him in," I added, my eyes fixed solely on the ceiling. "Let my husband in."

He turned his head toward me, his brow furrowed in a sharp, piercing glare. 

"Agnes, are you serious?! After everything he did to you, you're still letting that demon in?!"

Before I could answer, Mom quickly interfered from behind Henry. 

"See?! You heard her, didn't you?! So get out of the way! Don't act like you're the husband here!"

"He's still my husband, Luis..." I said softly before they could clash, “We need to talk.”