Chapter 32 Chapter 0032
•ANEIRA•
“Are you pregnant, Narra?” Rafael’s voice was calm, but his stare could’ve split me open.
For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. The man standing before me, the one who made me his maid after he got me pregnant, was now asking if I was pregnant.
“I’m not,” I answered. “Miss Amari assumed I was because I ran to the bathroom to vomit. I must have eaten something bad.”
I prayed he would believe me. That they would both just let me go before I would say things that would get me in trouble.
“Are you calling me a liar?” Amari scoffed.
“I’m not pregnant,” I repeated, forcing myself to meet her eyes. “My mother wouldn’t have allowed me to marry Rafael if I were pregnant.”
“She’s lying,” Amari snapped, pointing her finger at me. “You should move her to one of your clubs, Rafael. Let her scrub floors where she belongs because if your sister finds out she’s pregnant, she’ll think you’re the father. And you wouldn’t want that rumor spreading, would you?”
She snarled, but Rafael didn’t flinch. His gaze stayed locked on me, as if he were wondering if the baby Amari claimed I was carrying belonged to him.
He sighed before answering. “She’s not going anywhere, Amari. If Narra is pregnant, she’ll take care of it. She won’t bring another man’s child into my house as my wife."
My breath caught. ‘Another man’s child?’
Wife, he called me — the same wife he turned into a maid and ordered to obey his lover. The same wife he’d exiled to the housekeeper’s quarters, where the rooms were too small for two people.
“You can’t just let her get away with this, Rafael!” Amari’s voice rose. “She lied to you and tried to trap you. She’s mocking you in your own home. You should punish her!”
“Enough, Amari.” His tone hardened. “I won’t discuss this again. Narra stays. And if she is pregnant, she will handle it. Right, Narra?”
His eyes caught mine, and for a moment, I wanted to scream the truth and tell him the baby belonged to him, but I held back my words.
I swallowed my pride and whispered. “Yes.”
He nodded. “Good. Then, this conversation is over. We all have duties to attend to.”
He took Amari’s hand and walked upstairs to their bedroom.
I stood frozen for a second, and my stomach twisted. Then I turned and walked to the laundry room, hoping it would help to clear my mind.
When I finished preparing for work in the morning, I sat on the edge of the bed, picked up my cell phone, and called Noleen.
She was the only person who understood me and knew what to say when I felt as if the entire world was closing in on me.
My chest tightened every time I thought of the baby growing inside my womb.
They were mine, but the thought of bringing them into the world only for Rafael not to let me go after giving birth was something I couldn't handle.
So, I hoped Noleen would know what to say to me. She had all the answers to everything, and I needed her more than anything.
Luckily, she answered the call on the second ring.
"Hey, Neira," she said after answering. "How are you? I've been so worried about you and didn't know when to call. I didn't want to put you in trouble."
"I am pregnant, Noleen," my voice cracked, and I sniffed. "Rafael is the father and I don't know what to do. I made a deal with him that if he let me give him a child, he would let me go. But then he killed my father and Chris right in front of me. How am I supposed to move on from that and give him this baby?"
"Hey, it's okay," she answered. "This baby will save you from Rafael. You will use it to get away from him. Do you hear me?"
I stopped crying and wiped my tears. "He wants me to get rid of it because he thinks the baby is not his. Amari has gotten through his head that he can't even remember the times he made love to me."
"You must tell him the truth, Neira," she replied. "Don't let Amari take away the only chance for you to be free. This baby is your ticket to freedom. You won't have another chance if Rafael believes you're carrying another man's child."
"How do I tell him the truth when he's been trying to break me every chance he gets?" I scoffed. "He hates me, Noleen. If it were up to him, I'd be dead like my father."
"No, there's no need for you to say that. You're his wife, and now it's time you acted like one. Move out of the maids' rooms, and take your rightful place in his bedroom. If you want to be free from him, you must seduce him. Make him fall for you."
I swallowed, took a deep breath, and answered. "If the plan doesn't work, I will kill him."