Chapter 4
A kiss landed on Hektor’s lips.
It ignited something in him. Before Laria could pull away, he gripped her waist and deepened the kiss, hungry and desperate.
“Hektor, stop.” Laria whispered against his mouth, her voice a theatrical blend of desire and concern. “Yunifer’s right in the next
room.”
“Don’t worry about her,” he murmured, trailing kisses down her neck. “I made sure the doctor laced her meds with enough sedatives. Let’s go somewhere more comfortable.”
He swept Laria into his arms, carrying her like a bride.
Shaking with a mixture of pain and rage, I forced myself out of bed.
My abdomen screamed in protest with every movement, but I dragged myself across the cold hardwood floor on silent, bare feet.
Through the crack, I saw their bodies intertwined, sexing in the dim light.
Their moans and whispers became my nightmare’s soundtrack, echoing in my ears until dawn broke.
Hektor didn’t show his face for two days. When he finally appeared at my bedside, his eyes were carefully arranged into an expression of remorse.
“God, Yunifer, I’m so sorry I haven’t been around. The company’s been in absolute chaos.”
I stared yacantly past him, refusing to acknowledge his presence.
He dropped to one knee beside the bed, taking my limp hand in his.
“Baby, look at me,” he pleaded. “I know you’re hurting. But ending the pregnancy was for your own good. All I want in this world is for you to be healthy and whole.”
He paused, his voice softening. “Hey, it’s your birthday today. I brought someone who’s been missing you like crazy.”
He stood and stepped aside, revealing my mother standing in the doorway.
“Mom…” The word came out as a broken whisper as tears flooded my eyes.
She looked better than I’d seen her in years. No screaming, no vacant stares, no violent outbursts–just my mother, almost herself
again.
Seeing my tears, she rushed forward and gathered me in her arms, stroking my hair the way she used to before our world imploded.
Hektor discreetly wiped at his eyes. “I’ll let you two have some time together. Got some work waiting in my office.”
After he left, I decided to take my mother for a walk around the house.
We’d barely made it to the staircase when Laria appeared, dressed in nothing but a sheer silk nightgown that left little to the imagination–at two in the afternoon.
She took one look at my mother and wrinkled her nose in disgust before sweeping her contemptuous gaze over me.
Chapter 4
It was fascinating how completely she transformed when Hektor wasn’t around to witness it the sweet, vulnerable damsel instantly replaced by something venomous
Well if it isn’t the birthday girl, she drawled, leaning against the banister with practiced casualness
“Wanna know why your devoted hubby hasn’t been playing nursemaid these past couple days?”
I said nothing. In less than a week. Et be gone. Their sick games wouldn’t matter anymore.
My silence clearly irritated her With deliberate slowness, she pulled down the collar of her nightgown, revealing a constellation of fresh love bites across her collarbone
Then she held up her wrist, where a massive diamond bracelet caught the light
“Poor thing,” she cooed with mock sympathy. “He told me his biggest regret was not having the halls to marry me instead of settling for you. This hile two million dollar bracelet is just his latest apology gin.”
I tried to walk past her, but she grabbed my wrist, her nails digging into my skin.
“Look at yourself,” she hissed, dropping all pretense
“No career. A complete embarrassment to your father’s legacy. Nothing but a crazy mother to show for your pathetic life. How do you even get out of bed in the morning
My mother went rigid beside me. “Crazy” was the trigger word–the one that sent her spiraling back into darkness.
Before I could intervene, my mother lunged forward, shoving me aside and wrapping her hands around Laria’s throat.
“TM NOT CRAZY?” she screamed, her face contorted with rage.
I rushed toward them, but Laria was faster.
She grabbed a heavy crystal vase from the hallway table and brought it down on my mother’s head with sickening force.
The vase exploded into a thousand glittering shards across the marble floor.
Blood began pouring from the gash in my mother’s skull. Her eyes went wide with shock, then glassy, as her body crumpled
backward down the stairs.
“MOM!” My scream tore through the house as I dove to catch her, cradling her bleeding head in my lap.
Hektor came running, but before he could ask what happened, Laria collapsed into his arms, sobbing hysterically.
