Chapter 8

Solana had no idea how she made it through the night. It felt like she had been transported back to the night her parents died. It was only when the first rays of morning sunlight streamed through the window that she felt a spark of life return to her body.

That was when Solana noticed the bedsheets beneath her were torn because she had been gripping them too hard. Not only that, but her arms and palms were also covered in bloody marks from her nails digging in.

Isaiah had people watching her around the clock. Everything in her routine was tailored to pregnancy care, with three nutritious meals delivered to her room at scheduled times.

They had even confiscated her phone. The staff who brought her meals would drop off the food and leave immediately, never speaking a word to her.

Solana was frantic with worry. She could not contact Sarah, and her phone and essential documents remained locked away in her confiscated bag.

A week before the wedding, Isaiah had a staff member, Harvey Clarke, deliver a wedding dress to Solana to try on. Yet, he still refused to let her leave the room. She knew this might be her only chance, so she tried speaking to Harvey.

"Ms. Summers, Mr. Jeffries is currently out of the country. Everything's being handled by Mr. Slater. I'm sorry, but I can't pass along any messages."

Solana was surprised to hear that Isaiah was out of the country. Their wedding was in just a few days, and there was no way Cedric would let him leave now. Besides, it had already been three days since she'd last returned to Jeffries Manor.

Why hadn't Cedric checked in on her?

After answering her question, Harvey stepped aside to make a phone call, briefly reporting the situation. Once he was done, he handed the phone to Solana, gesturing for her to take the call.

Assuming it was Isaiah, Solana immediately began apologizing for her mistakes. She was running out of time. In just seven days, she needed to catch her flight overseas and escape this place before then.

However, the voice on the other end wasn't Isaiah's; it was his assistant, Jacob Slater.

He said, "Ms. Summers, before Mr. Jeffries left, he instructed me that if you acknowledged your mistakes, I should inform you that he'll return to the Jeffries Manor early on the wedding day to pick you up and fulfill his promise to marry you."

Solana couldn't care less about the wedding. She just wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible. She pressed further, "Where is he? Can I speak with him on the phone just once?"

There was a pause on the other end before he replied apologetically, "Mr. Jeffries said that if you asked, I should tell you honestly that Ms. Hill's depression has worsened due to the stress you caused, so Mr. Jeffries took Ms. Hill overseas for a change of scenery."

He continued, "Mr. Jeffries also instructed me to tell you that he informed those at Jeffries Manor that he's taking you on an early honeymoon abroad because your pregnancy is making it increasingly difficult for you to get around.

"Mr. Jeffries emphasized repeatedly that when you return to Jeffries Manor that day, you'd better stick to that version of the story, or he wouldn't mind confining you again and keeping you in the mansion until you give birth."

A sharp pain shot through Solana's chest. It was as if a blade had pierced straight through her heart. However, she quickly shoved aside that crushing feeling she once knew so well.

She had to think of a way out.

Solana had considered faking stomach pain. Since she was supposedly pregnant, the people guarding her wouldn't want to risk anything happening to her. However, if she did that and a doctor examined her, they would discover that she had already miscarried.

If Isaiah found out, he might lock her up for even longer in his rage. She couldn't take that risk, so she could only continue waiting.

Over the past few days, she had been very compliant. Eventually, the people watching her started to let their guard down. With Isaiah's approval, she was allowed to walk freely within the mansion.

The day before the wedding, a large team of staff arrived to prepare for the ceremony. Solana played along and then told Jacob she wanted her backpack returned so she could use her phone to invite Sarah to the wedding.

Jacob returned her bag and personally watched her dial Sarah's number before stepping outside. She seized the opportunity to hide her essential documents under the layers of her wedding dress.

Learning that Sarah had already handled the relevant procedures for her after she had been unable to reach her, Solana felt relieved. She then asked Sarah to help her contact a lawyer to transfer the multimillion-dollar luxury home that Isaiah had given her as a wedding gift into Alyssa's name.

After hanging up, Solana glanced toward the doorway. Jacob had given her some privacy and hadn't immediately confiscated her phone again.

Then, she opened her WhatsApp, skimming through the unread messages, but she didn't bother replying to any of them. After that, she checked her Facebook and went straight to Alyssa's profile.

Alyssa had just uploaded many photos, all of which were intimate vacation shots of her and Isaiah abroad, accompanied by extremely suggestive captions.

Solana knew these photos were set to be visible only to her, specifically designed to provoke her. She looked down and smiled softly, taking screenshots of each one.

Then, she bundled them together with previously saved images and the photo of her abortion procedure slip, scheduling them all to be sent to Isaiah's email. The send time was set for when her flight was scheduled to take off.

Solana looked up toward the window. After a full day of dress fittings and rehearsing various wedding ceremony procedures, it was now completely dark outside. Once everything was settled, she handed her phone to Jacob without being asked.

Just then, the phone rang. Solana nervously glanced at the screen, her heart pounding hard. She had just discussed with Sarah that she would be picked up and brought back to Jeffries Manor early the next morning, and that would be her best chance to escape.

When she saw Isaiah's name on the screen, her panicked heart finally settled.

Isaiah's voice came through, sounding much gentler than usual. "Sol, be good and wait for me to pick you up tomorrow morning."

"Okay."

After hanging up, Solana followed Jacob back to Jeffries Manor, waiting for Isaiah to get her early the next morning.

Dawn was just breaking when the people at Jeffries Manor began bustling about. Taking advantage of the dim light, Solana quietly changed into a servant's uniform and slipped out through the back door. Sarah was already waiting in the car at the end of the street.

Solana hurried toward the corner. Before getting in the car, she turned back for one last look at the mansion. From this moment on, she would be free.

In this life, Isaiah would be erased from her world. So, she bade goodbye to everything here. And goodbye, Isaiah.