Lahat ng Kabanata ng Pregnant After The Contract Ended : Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

In a small, dark wooden booth near the hospital, the young nurse Elena was holding the telephone. Her hand was shaking so hard she almost dropped it. The air outside was cold, but she was sweating."I will tell you where she is," Elena had just said to the woman on the other end. "But first, we need to talk about the money."She waited for a second. She expected the woman to say yes immediately. But the silence on the other end of the phone was terrifying. It was a cold, heavy silence. It felt like a snake was crawling through the phone line.Then, the woman on the other side spoke. Her voice was like a sharp knife. "You are very brave to ask me for money, little girl. Tell me the location now, or you will regret ever picking up that phone."Elena’s heart skipped a beat. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Suddenly, Elena realized what she had done. She was a simple nurse. She was playing a game with the most powerful family in the country. These were people who could make someone disappear. Th

The Ashford mansion was very big and very cold. Outside, the rain was still falling. Inside, the lights were bright, but the air felt heavy. Evelyn Ashford sat on her velvet sofa. Her face was hard, like a statue. She looked at her daughter, Charlotte. Charlotte was walking back and forth on the expensive rug. She looked worried."Mother, why is the phone not working?" Charlotte asked. She looked at her cell phone again. "I have called the nurse five times. Every time, it says the number is blocked. Did she lie to us?"Evelyn gripped her tea cup. Her knuckles were white. "She didn't lie, Charlotte. She saw the boy. She saw Naomi. She described them perfectly. That boy has Lucas’s eyes. He is an Ashford. There is no doubt.""Then why did she block our number?" Charlotte cried out. She was frustrated.She should be helping us! If we don't have her, we don't know exactly which mountain they are on. The north is a very big place."Evelyn let out a slow, angry breath. "The nurse is a coward

The mountain was very quiet. It was too quiet. Usually, when I wake up, I hear the birds. I hear the wind playing with the leaves. But this morning, there was nothing. It was a heavy silence. It was the kind of quiet that makes you hold your breath. It was the kind of silence that tells you something is wrong.I sat up in my small bed. The stones of the house were cold. They felt like ice against my skin. The air was gray and thick. In this house, the night stays inside the walls even when the sun is up. I did not move for a long time. I just stayed still and listened.I listened for a car.I listened for a footstep.I listened for a voice.But there was nothing. Only the sound of my own heart beating fast in my chest. Thump. Thump. Thump.I turned my head. I looked at the spot next to me. Leo was there. He was sleeping very deeply. His tiny face was soft. His little hands were curled up like small flowers. He looked so peaceful. He did not know that his mother was afraid. He did not

The morning light was gray and weak. It crawled across the cold stone floor like a tired animal. I did not sleep. I did not close my eyes even for one minute. My eyelids felt heavy, like they were made of lead. My eyes felt dry and scratchy. But my brain was screaming at me to stay awake. It was telling me that if I closed my eyes, the world would move. If I blinked, the shadows would win.I stayed in the same spot on the bed. My back was against the rough stone wall. It was so cold it made my spine ache, but the pain helped me stay awake. I looked down at Leo. He was a small, soft bundle under the heavy wool blankets. His face was peaceful. He didn't know about the sounds I heard in the night. He didn't know about the shadow I saw at the window. He was just a baby, dreaming of milk and warm hugs."Maybe I am going crazy," I whispered. My voice sounded strange in the quiet room. It sounded thin and breakable, like old paper.I wanted to believe I was crazy. If I was crazy, it meant th

The Ashford mansion was full of light, but it felt like a cold place. Every room was perfect. The floors were made of white stone that shined like glass. The walls were covered in expensive paintings. But to Lucas, the house felt like a box. A very big, very expensive box where no one told the truth.Lucas stood in front of the tall mirror in his dressing room. He was putting on a black suit. His hands were moving slowly. He hated this suit. He hated the way it felt tight around his shoulders. He felt like he was dressing up to play a part in a movie.He reached into his pocket. His fingers touched the small, blue baby sock. It was soft and warm. It was the only thing in this whole house that felt real. He squeezed it in his hand for a moment.Where are you, Naomi? he thought. Are you cold? Is the baby okay?He didn't even know if the baby was a boy or a girl. He didn't know if the baby was healthy. He pictured Naomi in a small room somewhere, holding a child. In his mind, she was smi