It didn’t take long. My brother got here and it all went downhill from there.
I hoped Jace would have stepped out but he was still home.
"Jace Romano!!!" I heard my brother yell on top of his voice.
I ran downstairs to the living room and saw two guards restraining him from climbing up the stairs.
"Roberto please don’t make a scene." I said immediately our eyes met.
"Where the fuck is he?!" He thundered, ignoring me.
"You’ll get yourself killed!"
"I don’t give a damn. Where is he?"
"He’s not home," I lied.
Jace’s voice boomed from the balcony as he looked down on all of us like we were his subjects.
"I’m right here, Roberto." He said, almost like he was daring him to come up for a fight.
I shook my head vehemently, looking between both of them. I didn’t need this right now.
I watched in horror as my brother broke out of the hold of the guards that were holding him back and he charged towards Jace.
I ran after him as fast as I could and somehow managed to find myself standing between them. I put my hands out, trying to push them apart as much as possible.
"You’ve done enough to hurt my sister. She’s leaving you today!"
Jace chuckled. "Mira isn’t going anywhere. Especially because she’s carrying my child."
I turned to Jace so fast, I thought I would have whiplash. All of a sudden he cared about the child I was carrying?
"Why are you pretending to care all of a sudden? You did not give a shit before!" I rightly accused him.
He gave me a quick glance. "You’re carrying my baby. Isn’t it? You’re not going anywhere"
"You’re just a jerk who thinks he’s untouchable." Roberto spat out with so much venom in his tone.
"Take him out of here." Jace said, gesturing at the guards who stood behind us all this time.
"I’m not leaving without my sister."
"Mira, pack your bags. My debt has been paid and there’s no need for you to continue putting up with his bullshit."
"Two hundred thousand dollars? She’s worth more than that."
"She’s my wife regardless. And she belongs to me."
"My sister is not your property."
Their whole exchange was making me dizzy. I felt myself get weaker the more it went on.
"Stop it, both of you," I managed to say before my eyes closed.
I woke up in the hospital.
There was no way for me to know how long I had been out. All I remembered was the fact that my brother and my supposed husband were arguing and I lost my balance.
I sat up slowly, looking around the room.
I was surprised to see Donna Carmela seated there.
"Take it easy," she said softly.
"Where...where’s Jace? And my brother." I asked.
"Jace isn’t here." She answered solemnly.
The words hit my chest. And that was when I remembered.
"My baby," I gasped, placing my palm over my belly.
"The doctor says the baby’s fine. You just need to be on strict bed rest for now." She reassured me immediately.
I nodded, heaving a sigh of relief. I was grateful that I did not lose my pregnancy due to all this stress.
The nurse came in and checked my vitals, while the doctor told what I needed to avoid in the meantime. I listened with rapt attention.
My first ultrasound was booked for the next day.
Hours passed and there was still no sign of my husband.
"He’s not coming Mira," Donna Carmela said, noticing how my eyes kept going to the door, hoping for him to come in. Follow current novᴇls on N0veI.Fiɾe.net
"But why? Jace promised to protect me." I swallowed the lump in my throat. I didn’t want to cry.
She sighed. "His ego is larger than whatever he feels for you. You really have to let him go. For your own good."
"But I don’t even..."
Then and there I realized how stupid I was. I had fallen for a total stranger who saw me as nothing more than an object. I was such a fool for letting my emotions play me .
"You have to leave Mira,"
"Where do I go?" I asked her.
"Don’t worry about any of that. I’ll handle it. For the sake of your life and this baby, you just have to go as far as possible."
For the few days I stayed at the hospital, Jace came in to see me just once. Our interactions were awkward.
But before he left, I asked to feel his face. He was confused but he obliged my request. This was the last time I would see him in for what I correctly assumed would be a long time. I took in every feature of his, hoping that this child I was carrying would at least look a little bit like him.
I would see him again. I would give him his baby. But not anytime soon.
When he left, I let myself cry, mourning what should have been. This was it for me.
Donna arranged everything. On the day I was discharged, I stayed back in the hospital until midnight.
She sent a bag containing a passport, money and the contact of someone safe that would get me at the airport in the new country I was heading to.
With a hoodie and the small suitacase that came with me to the hospital, I exited the room, not without taking off the necklace that Jace had given me. This was a reminder of him and I did not need it with me for this journey. I needed to forget him. And even when I knew that was basically impossible, with me carrying his child, I still went ahead and put the necklace down in the middle of the bed.
I took a cab to the airport and boarded my flight.
"Goodbye Jace," I said as the plane took off.