Chapter 6 - The Fake Baby

'He's your ex-husband. You must reject him!'

'I can't! He's already dumped you. Have you forgotten about Natalia? How they cheated on you behind your back?'

'But your baby is his child. You have to fight for him.

'You still love him, don't you?'

A debate was going on inside my head, between my logic fighting with my desolate desires.

It was hard to forgive the cruel thing Mattheo had done. Even if I die, I will never forget the affair he had with me.

It was my passion. But what about this baby?

Mattheo will take it, even claiming it is his child with Natalia. If I persuade him now, will he change his mind?

I should give it a try.

“Mattheo. We need to talk.” His heavy body bearing down on me from above, I tried my best to keep him away from me. For the sake of our eyes meeting.

“I'll forgive all your mistakes,” I said, hurriedly. My energy was almost spent supporting his two hands that were already trying to strip me of my underwear.

“I'll forget all your mistakes, as long as you come back to be my husband.” I waited to see how he would react to my first words.

His face was still. His expression was flat. I felt no sensation of anger after I said everything I wanted. I assumed this was a good signal. It's better to continue what I'm saying so he can think about it.

“I want to repeat my love for you again,” I said, not blinking, waiting for him to react. “Let's restart our household. I'll forget all about your infidelity. Just leave Natalia alone. In exchange, I'll raise this baby for you-”

Slap!

A late pain fell on my lips, preceding the drops of blood that flowed from the corner of my tongue. It was bitten off by an unexpectedly hard slap.

“Did you forget your position?” Mattheo dropped his cold gaze on me. The lustful sweat on his neck, still dripping and warm. A sign of his passion still swirling above me.

But, in the blink of an eye, he turned as brutal as the Mafia. His hand slapped my face mercilessly with all his might. No words were spoken. But I knew what he meant.

“You are my slave, my whore, my puppet,” he said in a very poignant tone. “What right do you have to order me to leave Natalia? Don't you know how precious she is to me?”

My body was dumped by him. The bite marks on my neck still hurt, and the drops of sweat that fell on my chest still lingered warm. But the owner had picked up her body and walked away.

It felt like a piece of trash.

Used, enjoyed, adored. But after being satisfied, dumped, and thrown away.

That's how I felt in this room. Lying in front of the door, with tattered clothes, kiss marks everywhere. However, there was no partner.

“Mattheo. I've been calling for you. What are you doing here while Natalia is looking for you?”

I was still in the same position when my ears picked up a familiar middle-aged woman's voice. 

Mattheo was approaching his mother, who had almost walked into this room and caught the two of us.

That seemed to be the reason why he left me alone. He didn't want her to know he was still keeping me in his house.

“You've divorced Belle, haven't you?” asked Ragen, my former mother-in-law. Her sharp voice was still the same as when she threw millions of dollars at me. Just to get me to stay away from her son.

“Of course. I've even sent her to a mental hospital,” Mattheo said, his lie sounding brighter than any light in the room.

“She's an crazy woman, Mom. You'd better not go near her. My thing with her is over. So, let's not talk about it anymore,” he said. I listened silently to his words, which were so persuasive in persuading his mother.

That sentence was like a double-edged sword. Telling his mother not to look for me again. At the same time, it threatened me:

'That I can't get out of here. If I insist, his mother will expose everything. And I'll be doomed if I disobey him.'

That's what he wanted to say with that sentence.

“Very well.” Madame Ragen looked satisfied after hearing her son's testimony. In her hands, there were luxurious groceries. Even the servants who escorted her were not enough to carry her various shopping bags.

“These are the baby clothes I prepared for your child. I heard that Natalia is pregnant. Is it okay if your mother prepares for your baby first?”

Madame Ragen took the trouble to buy a lot of baby supplies for Natalia, who wasn't even pregnant. Watching his mother get conned, his son looked at her with a fake smile.

From behind the crack in the door that separated us, only I knew the truth. Mattheo lied to his mother. In reality, it was me who was pregnant here.

'What will happen if Ragen finds out Natalia lied about her pregnancy? Will I take the blame?' I thought listlessly. The answer, of course, was predictable.

Given Natalia's cruelty, they won't hesitate to make me the scapegoat for their plans. Before that happens, I need to get out of here. Now that I know there's no future for me and Mattheo, I want nothing to do with him.

Drrrr - drrrr - ddrrrr

“Huh? What's that sound?” Ragen was astonished by her voice, reacting to the vibrating sound that echoed in this room.

It's my cell phone! Luckily, I had turned on the notification. I gripped my cell phone tightly and ran to the corner of the room, looking for a place to hide. 

Sure enough, Madame Ragen came into this room to check something. Her breathing turned heavy when she could only find scraps of my clothes on the floor.

Behind a large vase of dangling flowers, that's where I hid myself. I held my breath as I saw Ragen wandering around looking for something. At that moment, our eyes met.

“Who's there?” Ragen called out to me.

For God's sake. I could only pray silently, hoping that Ragen didn't walk over here. She should at least not witness my body, half-naked with tattered clothes, hiding in his son's room so suspiciously.

I can already guess. If Ragen found me, Matthias would just have to play innocent and blame it on me. He'll claim not to have noticed me, and I'll be blamed for everything. I could already see it.

“Mother. Natalia is calling you.”

Mattheo, tapped his mother on the shoulder just before she managed to find me. Ragen was easily distracted and quickly walked out of the room.

Just so, there were only two of us left in this vast, silent room. My eyes, looking at the five steps between us. Anyone looking at Mattheo's body would know he had almost raped a woman.

He sees me. Sitting behind this vase of flowers, cowering, not unlike a frightened cat being tortured by its master.

“Did you hear that, Belle?” His voice echoed. He said my name, but to my ears, it was like a chain dangling at my feet.

“My mom found out,” he continued. His smile didn't let go, but his eyes shifted away from me as if disgusted by my form.

“After this, don't expect you to be able to pry that secret out. One word out of your mouth and your freedom is at stake.”

What those cruel lips were referring to was my pregnancy. He deliberately baited his mother into talking about Natalia's fake pregnancy.

It was a threat. Once Ragen found out Natalia was pregnant, no one would believe the truth anymore. That I was the one carrying his baby, and not Natalia.