8: A Hand Of Mercy

Elara’s POV 

“Don't you dare die on mama, Vee.” 

Red swollen eyes, dried nose, and parched throat, I wiped tears off my cheeks and tossed the tissue in the pile. 

The nasty mess hit the top of what had already formed a castle and rolled down. I pulled the last piece from the box. 

Not finding my phone, I had yet to hear from Alice to know how my baby was fairing. Most of me wished to storm out to the clinic regardless if it was midnight, but the other would rather stay safe for Violet, especially after the incident. 

The landline rang on the center table, snapping my mind completely. I dashed for it, knocking down every item on my way. 

“Lilian!” 

Evelyn’s voice vibrated from the speaker, causing me to burst into tears. From being mere colleagues, we became fast friends. 

“What happened? I've been trying to reach you all day.” She groaned. “The boss is really mad at you for being absent…” She stopped on hearing my soft sniffles. “Are you okay?” 

“No.” I cried as if waiting for my turn to speak. “I'm not, Evie.” 

“Oh, my god.” She gasped. “What's the problem… Where are you?” She hastily switched. 

“You can't come, Evie…”

“Just tell me, damn it.” She snapped, panicking. “Of course you're at home…”

“Getting into police drama will only worsen things,” I informed her and blew my nose. “I'm too devastated to come save your ass.” 

She hissed and laughed. “For real though, what's wrong?” 

“It's Violet. She fell from a height in school…” I paused when she screamed. If anyone was unfortunately to be beside her, he'd have a burst eardrum. “Her surgery costs a fortune.”

“Jeez!” She groaned. “Oh, no. This is bad.” She continued to lament. “How much?” 

“Eighty-five hundred.” 

The loud silence that followed was deep enough to drown me. What was I expecting? She was equally broke ass like me, only that she didn't have a three-year-old money sucker boring holes in her pocket. 

“We'll figure something out, hun.” Her tone was frail. “How’s my baby now?” 

I puffed. “In her angel’s hands. I have no idea.” I raked my hand through my messy hair. 

“Listen, hun,” she assumed the role of a caring mother. “First, you'll come to work tomorrow to explain things to the boss. I'm sure he'll understand.” she quickly added. “Then we can pick things up from there.” 

I nodded as if she could see me. “Thanks, Evie.” I resumed sobbing. 

“Come off it.” She sighed. “Anything for my two favorite persons.” 

The call ended, leaving me to face my reality, alone. I wasn't sure what to do next, but Evelyn’s subtle reassurance somehow put my heart at ease. Crumbling in a heap beside my pile of used tissues, I crashed out for the night. 

* * * *

“Watch it, bitch!” 

Avoiding being run over by just a few inches, my heart sank. The driver zoomed off, not before cussing me out and creating a scene. 

Head bowed, I crossed the pedestrian lane and walked into the company’s premises. It was a small parastatal, with a grumpy owner. 

“Hun,” Evelyn’s sweet voice beamed as she rushed out of the front desk to hug me. 

We remained in our warmth for a minute. When she pulled away, I was quick to see the sadness she tried to hide beneath her layers of fake smile. 

“Evie?” I called firmly. “What is it?” 

She rolled her eyes and hunched her back with a loud sigh. “I'm sorry…”

“What is it?” Again, I demanded. 

Without a word, she picked up the white envelope from her desk and held onto it, hesitating to hand it over. 

“Honestly, I tried to talk him out and…”

I snatched it from her and peeled off the seal. My hands were suddenly trembling. A series of ugly scenarios played in my head. Dear Lord. 

My eyes ran through the body of the letter, reading a thousand words in a second. 

What the fuck?!!!

“If we make him understand, he will revoke this. He's human, I believe.” 

“Is he?” I scoffed. 

White with rage, I stormed into his office while Evelyn called after me. Ignoring her, I barged into his meeting with the company’s top clients. 

“Miss Lilian, leave my office.” His grumpy tone warned. 

“You can't just fire me…”

“I just did.” He shrugged, unbothered. “No form of incompetence will be tolerated.” 

“I’ve sacrificed so much for this company.” I didn't back down. “My daughter…”

“Leave!” He slammed his palm on the table in dismissal. “Don't make me involve the security.”

Broke, in debt, with a terribly sick daughter, and now, jobless! My ruined life flashed before my eyes. 

“It would only worsen things.” Evelyn scolded. “When he's less irritated, we can…”

My mind was out of my body. I dragged my suddenly heavy fert along, letting Evelyn rant without an audience. I managed to board a taxi without getting killed. I gave him my address. I wasn't about to go to the hospital in such a state. Maybe baking Violet’s favorite snacks would make me feel worthy of being her mama. Just maybe. 

The car pulled over once we arrived. I paid with the last cash on me. Instead of baking or cooking a storm, I slouched on the couch, broken. 

Slowly slipping into depression, my soul jumped out of my skin when I heard the steady footsteps of someone on the porch and the door creaked open. Spinning to see who it was, blood dried out of my veins…

His deadly eyes and stern jaws trapped me on the spot. 

Not again!

Drop-dead sexy in a black sleeveless shirt, giving off his biceps, and a pair of tight ripped jeans that cladded his fine muscular limbs, and highlighted the curve of his dick, Marco stood tall in my small home. 

“Poor mother to a three-year-old and beautifully jobless.” The side of his jaws twitched in a smirk. 

It took everything in me not to melt away like ice. 

He knows… He knows about my child! How?!

“Your journalism doesn't faze me,” I tried to be composed even though I could hear my loud heartthrobs. “What are you doing here?” 

“You both live a shitty life.” He hissed. “Dear Nathaniel failed after all.” 

Boiling with rage, my muscles went rigid. Being criticized, especially by the monster who put me in this mess for a start, I was livid. 

How dare he mock me in my damn face?! Who the heck does he think he is?!

“You have no right…”

“A hundred thousand dollars.” He flicked his lighter and pulled out a cigar. Disregarding my blaring gaze to put it away, he dragged and puffed thick white smoke in my direction. 

My ears stood firm, with goosebumps creeping beneath my clothes. “What's in return?” 

He gave a half smile and strolled the rest of the distance until he was a few feet away from me. 

“You're smart, which is why I don't trust you.” He dusts off ash from his cigar tip. “I own you for as long as I want.” 

My hands balled into fists beside me. I was this close to hauling myself at him and slapping out whatever gave him the guts to think he'd ruin me all over again. 

“And you're dumb.” I bluffed. “It irks me.”

The life in his once piercing eyes was now replaced by gross darkness. I was pushing my boundaries. 

“A million? A hundred?” He took another step. “Name your price, Elara.”

“I'm not for sale, Mr. Marco.” 

He cackled as if I made a joke. “Of course, you're not. You. Are. Mine.” He resumed striding towards me. “Shamelessly fucking another is sinful and bearing a bastard, is a death wish.” 

My throat dried up. 

“Plans changed. You won't get a penny.” 

“Get out!” 

“You'll have to come with me.” He shrugged. “And fuck, I'd love to drag you by your hair.”  

Seeing a nasty smile spread across his lips, I got more infuriated. 

“Go douse on whiskey and drugs and sluts!” My petite frame trembled. “I'm not your damn property, Marco!” 

Tilting his head to the side, he paused. “Fucking say my name, Elara.” 

His breezy tone stroked my warm skin, plunging me into the depths of his wildness. 

Elara, focus!

“Leave!”

My feeble voice broke and my scattered mind both longed to slap him to his senses and wished to feel his touch, his chiseled chest against mine, and the feel of his monster in my vanity. 

The tender feeling of his calloused hand stroking my cheek stiffened me. He was too close for my own good. 

“Stop…” 

“Are you sure about that?” He mocked me. Cupping my chin, his thumb caressed my parched lips. “I'll fuck you till you pop my babies. I bet Nathaniel wouldn't mind.” 

Marco had mentioned Nathaniel a million times, but this made me cringe. The whole world knew what happened to my betrothed. It took Florida by storm.

My lips quivered beneath his touch and my breathing was labored. “You’re pathetic!” I pushed his chest, losing my fragile mind. 

Grasping my waist, he twirled me and slapped my ass against him, his bulge stroked the small of my back. 

My mouth parted when he wrapped his hand around my throat, slowly tightening his grip, and choking me to submission. 

When he reached down, his breath warmly kissed my skin. The edge of his lips stroked as he echoed his dare. “No one touches mine.” 

Nuzzling around the spot he had marked me, his sleek tongue swiped, tasting my sweat, while his canine grazed my soft skin. 

He was a walking red flag and I was doomed to get the slightest attention from this obsessed beast. 

“If it takes me burning the world to break you,” his heart beat against my back. “I will, mio cioccolato bianco.” ‘my white chocolate.’

The door suddenly opened, causing me to jolt out of his grip. 

Wide-eyed, Evelyn stood by the door, jaws dropped.