Chapter 79 Chapter 79
"Mummmmmaaaaa!" Aurora shouted with the bang of the gun.
My heart dropped to my stomach.
She is scared.
She was terrified beyond anything a four-year-old should ever know, and the man standing in front of me didn't care. I couldn't believe this was the same man who once claimed he couldn't bear to see a single tear in her eyes.
"Have you gone crazy, Adrian!" I shouted at him, pulling from whatever little energy I had left in my trembling body. "Come to your senses! This isn't you!"
"This is me!" He snapped back "I am done pretending and waiting!"
My heart shivered as I stared into his eyes. There was not even an ounce of mercy to be seen in them.
"I never wanted her to live in the first place" he confessed "I tried to kill her multiple times when she was in your womb, but I was never successful."
My body froze out of shock.
"And I was the happiest when I got to know that she is dealing with a life-threatening disease."
His words felt so harsh and heavy that I stumbled back.
"It was a punishment for me to see her growing in front of my eyes. She reminded me of Lucien every single day"
Fresh tears appeared in my eyes. I didn't even try to stop them. My head was going dizzy and my vision was becoming blurry.
"Yes, I had more than enough money to save her back then, but I didn't want to," he spat.
I remember the day I found money on his card. At that time I couldn't understand why he didn't lend that to me. He just offered his home because he knew I would never accept it.
"But I never thought it would lead you back to Lucien," he spat in disgust, the name sounding like a curse on his tongue. "If I had known, I would have just paid for the surgery myself to keep you away from him."
"I never knew all these years I was living with a monster" my voice barely came out of my throat "At least, Lucien didn't pretend. He showed me what he was"
"Lucien! Lucien! Lucien!" he roared in irritation. "Enough! Just say yes to this marriage!"
"Mumma, please save me," Aurora cried, thrashing in the man's hold. Her scream felt like a blade right through my heart.
I was her only hope, her only safe place and here I was thinking about myself.
I told myself, 'He is not coming back'
My eyes closed as I thought about the day when I trusted Lucien once again, when I thought of giving him another chance.
~~ Flashback ~~
The heavy thud of the door echoed in the room and in Cynthia's ears when Adrian stepped out, leaving the room thick with the scent of his rage.
Cynthia felt a wave of nausea roll over her. She didn't want to marry him, not after seeing his real face. He was a monster and Cynthia was sure he would kill her children.
Her eyes moved around the room to find something when he eyes caught the sight of her phone that Adrian smashed against the wall when she tried to call Lucien.
Her breath became heavy and jagged as she slid off the edge of the bed. Her knees felt weak, but the adrenaline surging through her veins pushed her forward. She immediately rushed to the broken phone.
Her hands shook as they reached out for the fragments of the phone. The screen was cracked, the battery dislodged, and the SIM was lying in a corner.
She picked up the SIM, went to her drawer, and pulled out her old phone, which she had kept there when she used to live with Adrian of her own volition.
Without thinking much, she placed the SIM into the phone and switched it on. She held her breath as her heart hammered against her chest.
A small smile appeared on her lips and without wasting a second, she immediately dialed Lucien. She didn't even need to search for his number, it was already embedded in her memory.
Gladly, he picked up the call on the first ring.
"Cynthia?" Lucien’s voice was a low, desperate whisper that made her heart skip a beat. "Where are you?"
"Lucien, listen to me," she hissed, her eyes darting toward the locked door. "I don't have much time. Adrian has locked me in his house." Her voice broke
"That bastard!" Lucien roared "I... I am coming"
"He has Aurora. If you come charging in here, he’ll use her. We need to take every step cautiously. We have to be smarter than him."
"Cynthia, I can't just sit here idly while he has his hands on you and my daughter! I ..."
"Lucien, I am pregnant" She told him
Lucien felt silent.
He didn't know how to react.
A part of him wanted to weep with joy, but the overwhelming rage at his own failure to protect her drowned everything else out. He felt paralyzed by the weight of the news.
"Adrian is not what he shows, he is hiding a lot from us. I have seen a blue file in his study. I will bring it to the doctor, and be there on time. I can't call you again"
"Cynthia, wait, but—"
"Lucien, just don't break my trust this time," she pleaded with a trembling voice. "Come on time to rescue us. Please."
And she hung up. She met him in the changing room and then in the hospital to hand over the file on which Lucien worked while she herself looked for evidence that could expose Adrian and put him in jail so she could be free.
~~End of flashback~~
The sun started setting on the horizon but all I felt was Adrian's cold grip on my shoulder, his fingers were digging into my flesh.
The priest stood paralyzed, his eyes darting between the guard holding my daughter and the gun in Adrian’s hand.
"Say it, Cynthia," Adrian whispered, his patience thinning.
I looked at Aurora. My brave, beautiful girl was a mess, her tiny hands reaching for me as the guard held her back. Her cries were becoming hoarse, which sliced through my soul.
The realization hit me like a physical blow. Maybe... Maybe, I trusted Lucien more than I should have.
"Five seconds, Cynthia," Adrian growled, his thumb clicking the safety of the gun. "One... two..."
The desperation in Aurora's eyes broke me. I couldn't let her pay the price of my pride. My heart felt like it was turning to stone. I took a shuddering breath, "I am saying it, Adrian"
He smiled. I looked at my daughter for one last time to get the required strength as my body was already giving up.
"I..." My voice broke, "I... d—"
BANG!