SONIA’S POV
I'm filled with horror as I stare at the visible two lines on the pregnancy kit indicating that I am indeed pregnant. Oh no. Christ! No no! What have I gotten myself into? It has only been a week since the entire fiasco with Shaun and… I can’t even bring myself to mention her name. And then there’s also my encounter with the stranger who I haven’t been able to get out of my mind till this day. But that won’t be a problem anymore from henceforth. I stupidly went and got myself pregnant for a stupid mad who wants nothing to do with me. Screaming, I throw the kit in my hand across the room in frustration, anger or shame… I don’t even know which emotion to put ahead of the other as I just let the tears stream down my face. My phone rings somewhere outside the bathroom but I ignore it. The one person who has called me relentlessly through the week has been Jessica. Whatever she has to say, she can shove it right up her ass and if she still has anything left to say after that, then she can shove the rest up Shaun’s ass as well. I keep ignoring my ringing phone until it begins to ring for the fifth time. Jessica has never called more than twice in a row. Multiple times a day? Yes, but never this much. I sigh, pick my sorry self up from the floor and exit my bathroom. Quickly grabbing my phone from the bed, I let out a frustrated breath on seeing my Father’s name on the screen. “Yes, Father,” I start as soon as I pick his call but he’s way ahead of me as he rambles incoherent words into his speaker that I have to briefly get my phone away from my ear or risk losing my hearing. If I sigh any further today, I might just faint. “Good morning to you to, father,” “Good morning, Sonia?” He asks unbelievably. “Do you even know what the time is? Are you still in bed?” No I’m not. I just lost track of time due to unforeseen circumstances, but I’m not telling him that. “I don’t live under your roof anymore, Father. What I do or don’t shouldn’t concern you.” Knowing him, I picture a muscle in his jaw twitch. He doesn’t like when I talk back at him but the strain in our relationship is all his fault. He couldn’t even wait for a year to pass to mourn my Mum properly before remarrying exactly two month after. And ever since then, he has gone through three more wives, with his current one being the fourth. I might act unbothered by his actions but it really does bother me every minute it crosses my mind. “Well I hope you’ve had enough of your independency because that’s about to end.” I don’t miss the slyness of his tone. My heart flops. “What’s that supposed to mean?” “I’m giving you 30 minutes to get out of bed and get your ass down here. The clocks ticking.” “Look, today’s not a good time…” But I keep mute because then I would only be talking to myself since he ended the call as soon as he was done speaking. I quickly sprint into the bathroom to get my shit together and in record time, I’m in my car, headed for my Father’s mansion. Through the duration of the ride, I can’t help but try to understand what he meant by ‘hope I’ve had enough of my independency.’ Is he making me come back to the house because I can’t and won’t be doing that. Not especially now that I’ve got a huge problem brewing in my belly. I know that’s a harsh thing to say but the only other solution is to get rid of it before my father finds out else I’ll be screwed. Arriving the mansion, I park in my usual spot and make my way inside and straight to his office. My heart is thundering in my ears as I grab the door handle and pull it open but stop in my track when I see two men in black suit, undoubtedly men of our world – standing right in front of me. I step aside, making way for them to pass before walking into my father’s office. “Oh great, you’re here. And just in time.” He says, looking away from his expensive wrist watch. Pulling a seat out, I get right into it. “What am I doing here, Father?” “Recognize the men who just stepped out of here?” I squint my eyes. “Uh no. Am I supposed to?” “Those fine men were sent by Mr. Sandoval.” A shiver passes through me on hearing that sacred name. My father is one of Mr. Sandoval’s subordinates and Mr. Sandoval is the biggest mafia crime lord in Mexico, feared and respected by all. It’s nothing new for his men to troop in and out of here every day but if my father is asking me about them specifically then something else must be going on. “What did they want?” I bring myself to ask, even though I fear that I may not like the answer. “You.” He states so abruptly that his word makes me freeze in my seat. “What do you mean by he wants me? Isn’t he married?” My voice quivers which only makes him to laugh. “Of course he is. But that doesn’t mean he has no other powerful friends that are looking to get married.” “What are you saying?” “What I’m saying, little one, is that, Anthony Romano has shown an interest in marrying you. And I’ve said yes to his proposal.” “What? You can’t just let that happen.” I scramble up from my chair, my heart thudding. “I don’t agree.” “If it were up to you, he would’ve asked you, wouldn’t he? But it isn’t up to you and as your father, I say you will get married to him. Now get out of my office.” “I don’t even know the man.” I mutter, already feeling defeated. “When has that ever been a problem in our world?” “Father, you can’t do this to me.” “I can and I will, Sonia.” He yells at me, standing up as well. “You are my daughter and I have made this decision in your best interest,” My best interests, my ass. He only cares about money, saving his company and being one of the people with direct access to Javier Sandoval. In other words, more power. No wonder his wives keep leaving him. The only person I blame is my mother for not taking me with her. “Now what you’re going to do is call that rich boyfriend of yours, break up with him, and get ready for this new change. We deserve it…” My father pauses on seeing the shock written on my face. “What, you didn’t think I was going to let you leave my home without keeping an eye on you, did you?” I’m tempted to ask why he let me date Shaun if he knew we were together but I don’t because I already know why. Shaun is a rich business man and my being affiliated with someone of his status means it’s a business opportunity to him. I should’ve known. “But enough of that already. As long as you weren’t foolish enough to lose your virginity, everything should go as planned.” I can only stare in horror as he takes his seat once more. How could I forget about the sacredness of virginity in our world? Except I did and not only did I give it away, I got a souvenir along with it. Shit. I assume my seat once more so I don’t faint when I say my next words. “Well I can’t marry him since I’m… pregnant.” The silence in the room after my revelation is deafening. I watch as my father’s face morphs from shock to disgust. “I hope you’re just saying that to get yourself out of this situation and not because you actually mean it.” “You can hope all you want,” I stand and grab my coat and purse. “No sane man in our world wants another man’s used goods, father.” It hurt to refer to my situation in such manner but sadly, that is how it often is around here. I’m already at the door, about to leave when his quiet and venomous words stop me in my track. “You’re an embarrassment of a child, Sonia. Unfortunately for you, you’re not my only child and perhaps you forget that,” He spits. “I can’t kill you but what I can do is pull your inheritance and cut of your funds. You have yourself to blame for this.” I leave his office not just angry but disappointed that my own father could use such hurtful words at me and threaten to pull my inheritance and money. But the very next morning, I discovered that my father wasn’t just bluffing and throwing threats to calm his ego. An empty bank account and termination of inheritance email were staring right back at me, crowning me a broke and pregnant woman.SONIA’S POVThe quiet grunt sounds that come out of Anthony are the only indicator that shows he feels the brutal stinging of the needle piercing his skin. More and more of his blood even coats my hand now, and originally, I’d want to puke, but Anthony seems to understand this as he has been bringing up small talk, probably as a means to distract me. “Good job, my darling.” My belly dips at his comment, but I don’t take my eyes away from what I’m doing as I’m eager not to mess things up. “Now take the needle underneath that one and pull.” “How many times do I have to do it?” I whisper.“As many times as you feel is fine.” So I do it five times and nothing more. Anthony examines my work with the mirror he’d been using to guide me, as I dip cotton wool in spirit and proceed to clean the area. By the time we’re done and I’ve gathered the first aid back in its box, the time on the wall reads 4:23 a.m., and when I see Anthony’s eyes are on the clock as well, I already know what he’s g
SONIA’S POV“You are one hell of a woman,” He mutters. “Me?” I scoff. “You’re the one who keeps making things difficult, Anthony. I’m trying to show you that I care here, but you keep pushing me away. Jesus!”He gets up on his feet to turn on the heater, but he doesn’t come back, creating enough space in between us as his hands remain in his pants pocket and he stares at me from the distance. I almost laugh. As if that can keep me away. “You’re probably going to go into a state of shock any time from now. That’s why you think you’re cold.” I take two steps further, and when he doesn’t move away, I take more gentle steps towards him. “I said it’s not my blood, Sonia.”“Okay, then let me see!” gahhh!I feel so insanely frustrated that I so badly want to tell him to go fuck himself and then be out of his office and back on my bed, but I bite down on my bottom lip to physically stop from blurting it out.His eyes immediately drop down to where my teeth are digging firmly into my flesh
SONIA’S POVIt takes me a minute to realize the sound of a door being shut came from my room. As soon as my brain registers it, I scramble up from my bed with as much strength as I can muster. Anthony is back home.And I’m not even scared of the fact that it might not actually have been him who came in here, but I know it’s not a bugler. Call it whatever you may, but I always feel Anthony whenever he’s in the vicinity. I don’t know what to call it, but it sure is a really bold observation on my part for someone who doesn’t give a lot of fucks about me. As I walk out of my room, re-tying my clothing around me, I try to figure out if that is even true. He’d been in my room minutes ago, after all. Maybe grandpa told him how worried I was, and he came in to check if I was doing fine… only to find me asleep. Should I feel bad for falling asleep when there was a possibility of his life being at stake? I do, actually. Even though he might not necessarily mind considering my pregnancy. I
ANTHONY’S POVIt’s not until 3 a.m. that I walk into the familiar comfort of my home, my system filled with more alcohol than I’ve consumed in a while. I’m not drunk, though, considering I was the one who drove myself back home – at least not drunk enough. But isn’t that what every drunk or high person always says?Now would be a good time to laugh at my self-made joke, but I’m still too bereft to feel anything other than the pounding ache behind my eyes. The day had taken an unexpected turn, and by unexpected, I mean bad. A very bad turn. After Dexter had lost it, triggering his gun that was aimed at my heart, my life flashed right before my eyes. In that moment, my head hadn’t been in the ongoing deal that would become null and void when I died, nor was it in the fact that I’d be leaving my multi-billion dollar company in the hands of another, carrying on my legacy, since Taylor didn’t know the first thing about how to run a company. My friend thrived better in the underworld sy
SONIA’S POVThe last time I felt this uneasy, distressing feeling was on the night I got back to Shaun’s apartment to pack my things after I caught him cheating on me with my ex-best friend, Jessica. It seems like such a long time now since that happened. And since then, in the time frame of about six months, there’s no denying that a lot has changed in my life. I moved over to another city, got married to a wealthy man, started working, made new friends… and even fell in love again. Although my feelings might possibly be one-sided, for all I know, it feels good knowing that I still have room in my heart to feel things for someone other than Shaun.Yes, I experienced my fair share of distressing moments with my ex, but none of them come close to what I feel now, standing in this sitting room, a pounding heart in my mouth over the fact that I don’t know what’s become of Anthony. Is he alive? Is he dead?What is happening?I called grandpa after I arrived, to let him know I had gott
SONIA’S POVBACK TO THE PRESENT TIMEI must say, Anthony’s grandpa must have definitely been quite the catch in his youthful days. Decades later, and there’s no denying the fact that he’s still got it. Charm? Top notch.Height? Swoon worthy for an 80 year old man.Looks? I see why Anthony looks like he was carved out of some Greek world. The Romano genetics are insane.If you think I’m lying, wait till you see the trail of gawking women Grandpa Alistair’s been leaving in his wake. One even asked if we were a couple. While she must have meant well, the other woman beside her looked at me like I was some gold digger. And it didn’t help that I had nodded vigorously to their question, winding our arms together as we took a walk in the park. If what’s going on with me and Anthony was real, I would say that he’s got some serious competition headed his way… but none of it is real.“What are you thinking about, my dear?” Grandpa adjusts our arms so that mine are on his biceps. “Oh, I’m jus