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Chapter 3

Eloise Brooke 

I fondled my fingers, my heart hammering against my ribcage as I waited in the living room for Lucas.

When I came home last night, he had already gone to bed, so I had to sleep in the living room as the door to the guest room was already locked. 

I rose to my feet, cold seeping through my body as his footsteps echoed down the staircase.

Then he showed up, fully clothed in a charcoal suit. 

"Goo... good morning Lucas."

His cold eyes met mine as he stood in front of me.

"Have you packed your things now?" 

"Lucas---"

"Why did you go to my Mom last night? Were you hoping she'd save you?" He scoffed, tucking his hand inside his pocket, a briefcase held in the other one.

I dragged in a heavy breath, blinking my eyes to fight back my tears. 

"Anyway... That's your problem... You need to leave before Rose gets here." 

My eyes widened.

"She is moving in." He finalised.

"I sent five million to your account... That should be enough to start a new life." He said, turning to leave.

I held his hand. "Lucas..."

He paused, looking back at me. For a second, I searched his eyes for affection... For pity. Maybe he still felt something, and yes, I saw something. But neither of things that I wanted. Instead, what I saw were hate and disgust.

Still, I didn't give up. I couldn't. This wasn't about me anymore, but my unborn child. I couldn't allow myself to end up on the street. We can't.

"Can we not do this, please? If not for anything, but for our unborn child. We already lost one before."

He yanked my hand off, dragging his fingers through his hair. "What's the big deal in taking this out too, Eloise? You lost the first one, and you still got pregnant again in less than two years..." He placed a hand on my shoulder. "When you remarry, you can still have children. You are fertile enough." A smirk curled at the corner of his lips.

"Lucas, please---"

"Make sure you leave before Rose gets here. Consider yourself dead if she calls and tell me that you gave her problem," He glared at before leaving.

I crashed to the ground, whimpering. Is this really the end for me? 

The pain in my heart wasn't as much as when I lost my parents. 

I had never wished so desperately all my life for time to stop ticking. Even if I couldn't turn back the hands of time, I wanted it to at least be stuck in this time for a long time if not forever. By that, Rose won't ever show up and I won't have to leave, but it didn't happen. 

Because my nightmare came haunting me the moment Rose walked in through the entrance door with her belongings.

She paused the moment she saw me.

"You still haven't left?" She scoffed. "Lucas said you'd left already. Why you are still here?" She snarled, her voice laced with rage.

"Rose..." For a second, I thought of begging her. To save me. To let me stay here. I wanted to whine to her, and who knows... She might take pity on me, but the words got stuck in my throat. For some reason, I couldn't say them to her.

She squatted in front of me, her lips curled in a smug smik. "How does it feel, Eloise? To lose everything?"

My brows furrowed.

"Your family... Lucas... And his mother. How does it feel?"

"Ro...se..." My voice cracked.

"To me, it feels good... Watching you suffer like you made me suffer feels so good. You deserve everything that's happening to you!" She laughed at me mockingly.

I clenched my fingers tightly into a ball, but I was too weak to react. What was the point of it, actually?

Without a word, I dragged myself to my room to pack my things and really leave.

My hands trembled as I folded my clothes into my suitcase, and halfway through, I heard screams from outside, accompanied by the sound of footsteps.

I ignored it and continued to fold my clothes, then the scream came on again. This time, louder and more intense than the previous one, so I was forced to drop the cloth.

However, the cold empty hallway welcomed me as I stepped out of the room. No one was there. Nothing seemed to be wrong.

"Maybe I heard wrong." I whispered, dragging my feet back into the room, but paused as what sounded like a fire alarm came from downstairs.

Rose and all the maids were outside, screaming, as I looked out through my window. The only word they kept chanting was 'fire!'.

The pungent smell of smoke caught my attention, and I grabbed my phone from the bed, dashing out of the room, but I was forced to pause along the hallway that has been covered by smoke.

"Wh...what is going on?" My legs weakened, but I didn't give in. I forced them to move. As fast as they could. Eyes squinted, hand covering my nose, head bumping into the air, and the next minute, I stood along the staircase. However, I froze at the horrifying sight that welcomed me. The house was on fire.

For seconds, I stood there, confused. Getting through the raging fire without getting burned wasn't possible. 

My hands trembled as they unlocked my phone, the only words that echoed in my mind was 'Call Lucas'. And I did. Thankfully, he picked on the first ring.

"Rose, are you ok? I've called the firefighters. I'm on my way to you now. Please be safe." 

My heart sank, and my grip around the phone loosened, but not enough to slip off my grip. Has he ever cared about me for a bit, even if it's not about love? 

Still, I begged. "Please save me, Lucas... Save our child, please." I cried out, climbing the staircase while pressing my phone to my ear, trying to save myself from the first that was already charging towards me. Yes, running inside in this situation wasn't the best thing I could do, but maybe... Just maybe, I would be able to find a solution. Maybe I could save myself and my baby before the firefighters would get here.

"Lucas... Are you there? Please get me out of here. Don't let me die, please" I screamed terrifically on the phone, but he never replied... Until the call ended with a beep, and it was then I knew that I was alone in this.

My chest contracted tightly, my breath shallow. The smoke was stuffy. I couldn't keep my eyes open.

I should've left... When Lucas asked me to leave, I shouldn't have stayed back. Perhaps this would've been avoided if I had just left with my baby.

My room was already filled with smoke by the time I got back inside. I was hoping I could jump through the window, but the first crawling up the wall of my windows made me step back. I couldn't get through either.

There was only one thing I could think of... To give up and wait for death.

I wasn't just losing a child this time, but my life too.

I crashed to the ground, whimpering. "I don't want to die. I don't want, please." 

But my voice was swallowed by my tears. It was swallowed by my muffled breath, and just like that, my eyes went close as darkness came looming over.

'If I get another chance to live, I will make them all pay for this. I will make sure I always choose myself first'

But I knew it was just wishful thinking. Something that could never come true.

But as the thought of my parents and my first lost child crossed my mind, I found myself smiling and seeing hope even in the face of pain. At least I could get to see them again. We could reunite again, without ever being apart from each other. 

It was the only thing that comforted me to accept the cruel fate that was designed for me...