Lahat ng Kabanata ng After Three Years: She Wakes Up: Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

The crisp morning air mixed with the scent of the forest and the swaying of the horse beneath me was almost enough to help me forget that we had unexpected company on this ride. Allison and Josh did their best to keep my spirits high and my heart full, but the sting of my cheek in the shape of Mavis’ hand mixed with the annoyingly chattering sound of gossip reminded me that we were not alone. “We’ll never catch our quarry if we aren’t quieter,” Connor eventually spoke up, clearly as annoyed as I was. “This is a hunt, not a social hour.” “Connie, don’t be such a stick in the mud,” Trillium pouted, her husky voice curled around the edges like a 1940’s movie star–all breath and high-pitched syllables. “Mavey and I are catching up. We can always catch some stupid rabbit or turkey or whatever later.” “It’s quail,” Connor corrects, pointing to his own copy of the list, “and wild boar, neither of which will come anywhere near us unless we are much quieter.”“But Connie…” my shoulders bunch

Oh god no. Not after everything. It can't end like this.From the moment I realized a little life was growing inside of me, regardless of the pain and heartache the baby’s father had caused me, I wanted it. This baby was the one thing I had left of my marriage that was worth keeping--a little spark of light in the darkness of my failure. But I knew what this pain meant–I had felt it once before.But maybe I was wrong. Maybe there was still a way...I couldn't move my head to check for the tale-tale signs of loss so I reached down with my unbroken left arm and touched the point of warmth between my legs, letting the moisture color my fingertips before bringing them to my tear-filled eyes. They were red. A moan of agony mingled with my sobs of pain as the horror of the moment was confirmed. Even if I wasn’t dying, my baby may already be past hope. No. My baby couldn’t be gone. I won't give up that easily. I refuse.“Help,” I gargled, reaching out to where Trillium stood, hovering

Everyone looked at me with varying degrees of quiet shock.For Misha, Mavis, Trillium and Josh, this was unbelievable news, completely unknown. Here I was, bleeding out, and suddenly I was pregnant too? I'm sure it felt a little too convenient. It's what I would have thought in their place. And in the case of Josh, my friend who wouldn't think anything bad about me but didn't have all the details of my divorce, he might still be wondering why I didn't say something earlier. How could I explain to them and to everyone else that both hiding the truth and telling it now were for the safety of my child?Allison and Connor knew the truth, and my reasons for keeping the matter closed. They knew my fears–That if Misha knew the truth about having a legitimate heir on the way, he’d never grant me the divorce and let me keep the child. Misha would use every penny of money and every ounce of influence the Carter family had to keep me tied to him forever–either by taking the child from me compl

[Misha]The door to the penthouse closed behind me with a gentle click as I entered for the first time in ten days.“Ariana?”She should be home. Where else would she have to go?And yet–why did the house feel so cold?“Ari? Where are you?"But she didn’t respond. She's probably with that Allison chick. I've never liked her. She's such a bad influence. I don't come home for a week, and she's playing games.I’m too tired for this bullshit. I just spent the last week with Mavis, tending to her wounds, cooking all her meals, and giving her the comfort she needed to make up for Ariana’s terrible behavior.Where the hell is she? I can’t wait around for her all morning. She’s coming with me to Mavis’ house to apologize. Because of her, my assistant needed to rest in the hospital overnight. The trauma of that incident threw Mavis into a full-fledged panic attack. The stress alone could have been enough to make her miscarry. All because my wife was feeling so petty that she tried to steal

[Ariana]The SUV stopped in front of an elegant house at the end of a long private drive and for a moment I held my breath, stunned. I didn’t know houses like this existed within San Francisco where for 5 million dollars you could buy a 150 year old townhouse with a shaky foundation and a postage stamp sized yard. This place, on the other hand, had acreage. It was the kind of property one only inherits if they’re very wealthy or purchases if they're insanely lucky with the money of a god.How much money did HMG have? “Where am I?” I wondered aloud, unable to hide my shock as I gazed up at the main house, which looked like something out of Architectural Digest. “Does this property belong to HMG?” The driver, who was directing staff to put my luggage in “guest suite #3” turned towards me, his black hair shining in the morning sunlight. “Yes, Miss.”It was a simple answer, almost blunt, although not unkind. He had the gentle, almost sweet aura of someone accustomed to caring for others