CHAPTER 6: PREGNANT MARIANNA

Marianna

It's been a long time since the whole saga happened and I had no idea how much time had flown by. Javier kept me in the basement, locking me up like a prisoner. He called me his prisoner, he wasn't exactly lying about that.

The basement lid might not open for days and sometimes I was grateful for that. Grateful that I had the peace to myself, even though I starved badly most times.

His abusive nature was one I could never deal with, I would have killed him if we ever lived together. I had to mind my words around him, knowing how angry he got the last time I asked for a better type of food.

I had lost a reasonable amount of weight. My glowing beautiful skin had become dull, it cracked and drew white lines anytime I itched my body.

Javier had been merry-go-rounding all over the house. Sometimes, I could hear the voices of him and someone else, a lady to be precise, making out.

I was restricted to the basement, chained at the feet and one hand. My dry skin was filled with bruises, some purple, some red, still fresh.

These past few days, throwing up had been my only companion. The floor was soiled with my vomit, Javier refused to have it cleaned up and it only made me more nauseous.

I laid there on the cold dirty floor, tired of everything. I didn't care about the hygiene of where I was, getting out wasn't even an option. My mind traveled back to how everything went wrong, so fast that we weren't even given an upfront.

Every mistake that happened was my late father's fault, even though we weren't close, we still conversed a bit and the house was warm and bubbly, at least because of Diego.

I wondered how he was doing, was he still alive? My heart clenched and my throat tightened badly on remembering the last sight I saw before leaving my father's house.

My lover, Alceo Romanov, it was funny calling his name. He was a Russian and that didn't change a tiny bit of how I felt towards him.

It was all my fault, he's dead because of me.

I wiped the breeding tears away from my face and adjusted my position, trying to find a more conducive area.

The hard boot on the wooden floor and the light streaming in through the semi-opened basement cover had me sit up. I feared what he was coming to do, he hadn't come to see me in the past few days and now he's here. What should I expect?

He descended towards my position, his weight resting on the staircase, giving the stairs a creaking sound.

He held a plate of a poorly cooked pasta and dropped it inches away from him. I knew what I had to do, say my gratitudes to him and eat.

I inhaled a very big breath and thought about how humiliating it was.

"Thank you so much for the food," I said, trying to reach for the food. It wasn't in my reach, the chain just happened to stop, right before I could drag it closer.

He sat there without saying a word, looking at me with so much disgust. It was obvious on his face like a lady wearing a makeover.

"Jav–," my words were cut shut by a kick to the stomach. "Arrrrrggggh."

I flung myself back in protection, wondering what just happened.

"What did I do to you again, Javier? I said all I'm supposed to say normally." The desire to get an explanation of his recent action burned me from inside out.

He towered over me and I scampered back in terror, my tears were running freely by now. I held the affected spot, still massaging it, in order to reduce the pain.

His dark brown eyes had all sorts of evil things spelt in them. Before I could say another word, various punches and slaps rained on me.

I tried to fight back, that was all Santo Del Vecchio had always taught me—to always fight back-but fighting back with Javier only earned me more beatings.

After a while, he stopped to catch his breath. He ran his hands over his hair and lowered himself to my level.

"I would kill that thing inside of you, I swear to God," he seethed.

"I do-n-don't understand," I choked on my tears, still trying to figure out if I could hide myself from him in the walls.

"You are pregnant Marianna and as far as I can remember, I've never touched you."

For a moment, the world stopped spinning for my sake. My inner self beamed with so much happiness but I dared never to show it.

"Pregnant?" I feigned innocence, trying to cover up my happiness. "I can't be pregnant."

"You are 3 months pregnant Maria. He's dead and I'll make sure to kill that thing sprouting inside you. You shouldn't be allowed to have any of his memories left."

With that, he stormed away, locking me once again in the same position. I sat with my back against the wall, ignoring the burning sensation on my skin, crying silently. Just this time, they were tears of happiness, tears of hope and gladness.

I had found another reason to live, another way to make sure Alceo lived on forever.

That could only explain the constant throw ups and weight loss and different mood swings.

I was 3 months gone, could it mean that 3 months have already passed by or I have been pregnant before the last intercourse between Alceo and I?

I pushed myself away from the wall and tried to stretch harder for the food. My right wrist was burning badly from the amount of stretch I was doing.

Finally I got the food and munched on it quietly. The new revelation brought a smile upon my face as I ate. Alceo will definitely live on and I would make sure of that.

But first of all, I needed to get out of Javier's captivity. With that a new hope and a plan of how to escape started forming in my head.