Chapter 68 Chapter 68
Third Person POV
Throughout the entire day, Cynthia remained locked inside the room.
Aurora asked for her mother multiple times but Adrian told her that she is ill and she needs rest. The child, desperate to see her mother, even for a moment, had patiently waited, trying her best to be a "good girl" as Adrian had instructed, but still, he didn't let her have a single glimpse of her mother.
Adrian took her to the park to drain her energy, but the usual spark in Aurora’s eyes was gone. She didn't run to the swings or chase the butterflies; she just sat on the bench, silently watching the other kids play.
She was sad for her mother and wanted to be with her. She pleaded with Adrian, promising that she would be quiet and would not disturb her mother, but Adrian didn't open the door, even for the child.
In the evening, Adrian tried to feed Aurora but she refused to have anything. He was done with her tantrums for the day so he forced her to sleep on an empty stomach, leaving her to sob herself to sleep.
He wanted to sleep too but the silence from Cynthia's room didn't let him. He was sure she hadn't escaped. First, she didn't have the energy second she will never leave Aurora alone with him.
Though he thought to check on her in the morning, he just couldn't stop himself anymore.
Slowly, he opened the door to the room. He was expecting to find Cynthia in a mess, crying in a disheveled room, but instead, she was sitting on the bed silently with all her things in their respective places.
Her knees were folded to her chest, and her right cheek was resting on her folded arms while her long hair flowed down her right shoulder and onto the white sheets.
She looked pale, weak, and broken. Adrian just wanted the last one.
Adrian closed the door and stepped inside. Cynthia, who already knew of his presence and intense gaze, slowly lifted her face to meet his eyes.
The silence in the room was so deep and haunting that the sound of Adrian's bare feet echoed as he stepped toward her.
Cynthia was the first one to break the silence by asking, "Where is Aurora?"
"She is in my room, sleeping," Adrian replied, his voice devoid of the warmth he usually faked.
"I want to see her" Cynthia said.
"Not until you accept my offer" Adrian sat at the edge of the bed.
Cynthia swallowed hard. Her eyes were dry.
She hadn't eaten or drunk anything in twenty-four hours, and the pregnancy had already forced her to vomit twice. Her body was beginning to shut down. Adrian could clearly see that.
"Don't punish yourself like that, Cynthia" His hand reached out for her cheek and this time she didn't pull back "I can't see you like this."
"Then let me go" Cynthia whispered.
Adrian's fingers curled but he took a deep breath to keep his anger in check. It wasn't new for him.
"When you lived in that apartment, separate from me, I hated every inch of distance between us," he sounded like an obsessed psycho "I looked after Aurora just to stay close to you, to see you every day. Now that you are here, I can't let you go and I am ready to do anything to keep you with me."
Cynthia sighed and leaned back. Adrian's hand dropped to his side. A long silence spread between them.
"We can keep a small private ceremony if you want. I have always dreamt of seeing you walking down the aisle, dressed in a white wedding gown for me"
"It will be my death gown" Cynthia stated.
Adrian inhaled a sharp breath. He was trying not to snap but Cynthia was not leaving a chance to make him lose his control.
"Cynthia, it’s better if you don't force my hand," Adrian added in his chillingly calm voice. "Because if you continue to resist, it won't just be you who suffers. Aurora will have to pay the price for her mother's stubbornness as well."
Cynthia’s eyes stung with unshed tears. She looked at the man she once called her best friend and realized she had never known him at all. He was looking at her like a trophy, and Aurora as a leverage, as a reward to win over Lucien.
"Why can't you see my love for you?" Adrian held her elbow.
"Love" A soft chuckle passed Cynthia's lips. "If this is what we call love, then I don't want to be loved. Lucien left me with nothing and you want to snatch away the only thing I have."
"Do not compare me with him" his hold on the elbow became painfully tight "He let you go because he was weak. I am holding on because I am strong enough to do what is necessary. I have been the one picking up his mess for years, Cynthia. I am the one who kept you alive!"
"You didn't keep me alive, Adrian," she whispered, "you just waited for the right moment. Your help was never selfless. You never looked after Aurora because you wanted to. You had a motive behind it."
"But at least I took care of her even after knowing her father ruined my entire life"
She suddenly fell silent as Adrian was not wrong here.
"For you, I let go of my dream job, my home, my everything. Lucien even tried to kill me in that accident when I was finally coming to stay with you, to win Aurora's custody and claim you as mine. I drifted in a coma for weeks, lost in the dark, and you are still questioning my love for you?"
She swallowed hard.
"What has Lucien ever given to you except trauma and loneliness?"
Her eyes closed as realization hit her hard. The back of her eyes was burning. Adrian could see how her lower lip trembled and how she tried to keep her breathing stable. He knew he was hitting right at the nail.
Cynthia hated herself for being like that.
"Cynthia" Adrian called her softly and placed his palms over hers.
My eyes opened slowly, meeting his.
"I know my way of approaching is wrong but that's the only way I can see to get you, to keep you with myself, safe. I just want you and I am ready to fight the world for you. Please say yes to the wedding. I swear I will keep you and Aurora happy"
He smiled, but that smile didn't feel genuine. She couldn't see Adrian as she had before. His eyes were sharp, like a hunter waiting for his prey to stop struggling.
"And if I say no?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
"You don't want me to bring out my dark side, do you?"
Cynthia’s breath caught in her throat at the seriousness of his words. She was terrified for Aurora; the child would be traumatized for life if she ever saw this side of her "AD."
The silence stretched so deep that she could hear the sound of her own heartbeat.
She had fought her entire life to make things go the way she wanted, but it seemed like nothing was in her control anymore. At this moment, all she wanted was her baby's safety, especially with a monster like Alister out there waiting to attack.
At that moment, she felt it wiser to seek shelter under one monster than to turn another one against her.
She licked her dry lips and inhaled sharply before forcing the words out of her mouth.
"Fine. I will marry you."