ALINA'S POVShe watched as Micheal stared at her with an accusing gaze like she was indeed guilty.She couldn't help the tear that threatened to fall knowing that her husband,who was supposed to be on her side saw her as guilty."Micheal,I can explain.."She began by taking a step towards him"Then explain!explain Alina,explain why you had chosen to push my mother down no matter what she had done to you"He shouted,causing her to take a step back. From the corner of her eyes,she watched her mother-in-law's lips widen in a triumphant smile."Its not what it looks like"she defended.He scoffed,running a free hand through his hair in frustration ."What does it look like?Do you know the scene I saw when I returnd?When I walked through those doors?"he stated."My mother was on the floor,Alina.And unless you tell me she pushed herself down,which would be a complete and utter lie,which I wouldn't even believe,I would like you to explain"He informed her,giving her a disappointed look."Micheal
MICHEAL'S POVHe watched as a tear trickled down her cheek as an emotion akin to pain flickered through her eyes and made his heart constrict in his chest."Alina!speak up now!"He commanded.She wiped at the tears that had stained her cheeks."Is everything I heard here true?"He asked.She sniffed and raised her eyes back up to stare up at him in utter disbelief."And if I said yes, would you condemn me?Don't you even want to know why? Or what happened?Do you think so lowly of me that you see me as someone capable of such of a thing?"she stated."Are you not going to a knowledge the fact that you are the one wrong in all of this?who the hell lets another man into their matrimonial home?"he asked in disbelief.She threw up her hands and down in exasperation."For the last time,I didn't let him into our house.I was picking up something I ordered and we were just having a conversation until your mother came in and blew up everything into different proportions"she let out a frustrated sig
ALINA'S POV She plopped her head back on the pillow ,letting out a resigned sigh. His mother always had the worst timing.It should be because she had it out for her and was determined to never let them ever have their alone time .It was possible. She had already showed her dislike of her and this could have been her ploy all along. "Mum?Shouldn't you be going home now"Micheal said blocking the entrance to the door. "Yes I will but I need to tell you something before I leave.Its why I came here in the first place."Mrs Wheeler answered. "Am sorry mum but could you give me a few minutes,I'll be downstairs with you shortly"She stated. "Okay but..." She tried to peered through the entrance to the door,but Micheal blocked her view of the room. "Mum,please could you wait downstairs for me?"She stated. "Okay but don't let me wait too long" She said reluctantly. After watching her finally leave,he breathed a sigh of relief and closed the door behind him and turned the door knob be
MICHAEL'S POV "Shit!" He had messed up big time.He should have blocked her number but he had chucked that at the back of his mind after he had gotten home. Her incessant calls and text messages had irritated him but he had not had the heart to block them.Instead he thought he could handle them.After all,she would stop when she saw that he wasn't willing to reciprocate her fervour of excitement at her return.She had called his phone quite a number of times on his drive back to his house just after he had gotten the distress call from his mother about Alina.He was so focused on finding out what had happened that he had ignored everything else. The rest of the week flew by and she chose not to speak to him other than the basic pleasantries in the morning.He could still see the hurt in her eyes whenever their eyes met across the dinner table like it did now. The week had been quite busy for him and he had not been able to find time to explain who Paulina truly was in his life esp
ALINA'S POV Ever since their argument,they had stayed completely at a standstill.With him sneaking away every night to God knew where. Most nights for a week now,she had laid in bed trying to envision what it would have felt like if they had actually made love that day but unfortunately,fate had other plans in-store for them. She had been more hurt at the fact that he had hidden the fact that his ex was back and was trying to get him back.Didn't he see her as someone worthy of being told about such trival matters? On one hand she had his mother disapprovement of her and her son's marriage and on the other hand,the husband she was taking in all the abuse for,was hiding things from her and didn't even consider their marriage a real one.And that hurt more than she cared to admit. She had formed a routine during this past week to cope with everything. She woke up every day to an empty bed,brushed and showered then picked out an outfit from the numerous choices that Micheal had stocke
MICHAEL'S POV "What?"he asked in disbelief,his hand fisted on his laps in guilt. "Yes am calling your bluff."she answered settling back on her seat. "What are you saying?" She raised her hand to signal a waiter.A scrawny looking man clad in a black shirt with a white apron tied around his waist came running with a checkerboard and a pen in hand .He gave Michael a nod before turning to Paulina who looked like she was perfectly in her element with a smug smile playing on her lips. "Yes Ma'am?" The witer said as he raised his pen to his writing pad with his hands fidgeting as he compressed the ballpoint end to release the pen.He struggled for so long,it was pitiful.She gave him a knowing smile and reached for the pad and scribbled on for a few minutes before handing it back to the waiter who scampered out of there like one who was been chased. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at her. "Is there something going on?"He asked out of curiousity. She cleared her throat and stoo
ALINA'S POV The conversation had ran a bit longer before it ended with them promising to talk often over the phone whenever they could. It elevated her mood throughout the whole day and she couldn't wait to let Micheal know. So she had waited up for him to come in but he never did. She had woken up to an ache in her neck due to her sleeping position on the couch overlooking the entrance to the living room. And had checked the time on the clock before heading back upstairs to sleep in their room, hoping to see him when he got back the next morning. She awoke to see that the area beside her on the bed was still untouched.She wiped at her eyes to clear the fog of sleep and stared around the room in search of him,hoping to catch him coming out of the shower like he did on most mornings whenever he had slept in his home office but he was nowhere to be found.It was still.The quiet room mocked her.She dragged her feet out from under the covers and trudged downstairs downcast. She
MICHAEL'S POV "Micheal it was your mother" "What?"He asked with a confused frown. She stood on her hip,folding her arms to arch a brow at him. "That's not possible"he said letting out an awkward laugh. "Its possible Michael.It happened when you had collapsed that night.After we got home that morning.When we had gone into the kitchen to prepare something for you to have when you came to.She had clearly used that moment to delvuge to me that she would never let our marriage last.And in not so kind terms told me that I was a gold digger, out to get your money and that she wasn't going to let me have my way."she narrated,recalling every moment of the converstaion. His lips pursed as he stood in silence for a few minutes. "How could you accuse my mother for doing something so ghastly as to burn you?" He said with a deathly stare.She let out a resigned sigh because she knew the outcome that she had definitely expected.She was hurt that he didn't take her side but she unders
ALINA'S POVWaking up that morning had been relatively quiet and peaceful,apart from the fact that Micehal had to rush out that morning without even a passing greeting even while she had called for him from the kitchen. Her belly was growing bigger and her waist line had grown thicker as she felt the weight of her baby while parading around the house in comfy sweatpants before settling on the couch.Her mother was supposed to come help her out today. And her gynecologist had said she was doing extremely well taking care of herself and the baby.She let out a frustrated sigh as a repeat episode of her favourite series came on.The house was relatively lonely and quiet on most days just like they were now.The only solace she had was either reading to her baby or watching a tv show and whenever her mother was less busy she would come over to keep her company.She smiled at the sound of the doorbell and without hesitation padded briskly towards the door without looking at the intercom, un
MICHAEL'S POV.His bag slipped and fell from his hand as he froze in shock.She had on a sly smile."What?" he asked in disbelief."You heard me." She replied, giving him a sly smile."Yes we made a baby that night you came over at my place." She explained.Micheal padded towards the living to see Alina seated in the couch flickering across the TV channels smiling distractedly.He breathed out a sigh of relief. She was out of earshot and thankfully was so engrossed in the TV program that she couldn't have heard anything that had been said a few minutes ago.His hand reached out to clutch her arm and dragged her upwards towards his study. Giving Alina a forced smile when she sent a worried glance their way.Paulina protested all the way till they were safely in his office. "Why are you acting suspiciously?" She said wryly. "It's not like she had any say to what happens in this house, you're the head of the house." She stated matter of fact."What was the meaning of the rubbish stunt
ALINA'S POVShe had been shaken up after his mother's visit. But the past three months have been quiet and distant.Micheal had seemed more distant than normal. He had chosen to spend his days at work and he was rarely at home. Even when he was home he was distant, he only spent silent hours eating and once dinner was over he was leaving without so much as a word. She wished he would at least open up and let her know what was bothering him but he was sworn to silence. Everything had relatively stayed normal except her mother visited more often.She had chosen to come to terms with the fact that Alina was pregnant and there was nothing that could be done now.She still didn't like Micheal but she was careful not to be present whenever he got back from work.She was nestled on the couch watching a rerun of the show "housewives of Johannersburg" When the knock sounded on the door.She paused the show and headed to the intercom to see who was knocking.It was a unfamiliar face.She frowne
MICHEAL'S POVA FEW DAYS BEFORE..."Paulina what are you doing here? In my bed?" He asked panicked as he looked under the covers to find that she was wearing nothing underneath.He quickly closed it,wrapping the bedsheets around him sarong style as he jumped out of the bed trying to get some distance away from her. She had on a satisfied smile and he could clearly recognize that smile from all the times they had made love in the past. He chastised himself inwardly for being unable to erase that part of his past and memory."You're the one in my bed " She clarified.His eyes darted around the room and his eyes widened in recognition."How did I get here?" He asked in disbelief."I brought you here. You needed a place to sleep because you were drunk and I couldn't let you drive home like that. So I offered to bring you to my room, and it's a small apartment, I don't have a guest room at the moment. "She stated sitting up and letting the duvet slid down her breasts without the least bit
ALINA'S POV"No! No! Please, somebody help me! Please! "She cried as she fought and scratched whenever she had the opportunity to. But she wasn't strong enough. She felt powerless and helpless. "Felix stop! Please am begging you" she pleaded, her eyes streaming down with a pool of tears. She felt her body loose all its energy as he inserted himself into her. She was numb to the pain now as he begun to move. She was at the brink of giving up when she heard a voice. His voice guiding her back."Alina, am here. No one is going to hurt you,I promise. Am here now" She heard him speak softly as he shook her slightly until the scene before her had begun to change. The disgusting smile of Felix atop her slowly disappeared and she found herself lying on the bare ground staring into nothingness.She finally opened her eyes to find Micheal's face towering over hers. His forehead were creased in worry as he stared intensely into her eyes. He gave her a warm smile and lifted her up in his arms
MICHAEL'S POVHe heard her sharp intake of breath as her shoulders slumped at his reponse. He couldn't let her see the pain in his eyes as he felt it in his heart.So masking his facial expression,he walked away leaving her sitting there still in shock over his reveleation. Once he was secluded in the confines of his room,he paced the room restlessly.He ran a frustrated hand through his hair.How could he tell her that every morning,she was the first person that he wanted to see.She was the one that kept him awake thinking about all the times they could made love and whenever he woke up he craved for her.But he couldn't let her know.His diagnosis had come back even worse.He had just returned from visiting the hospital. FLASHBACK"Am sorry man,but it looks like your health is detoriating faster.And all attempts to treat this the non-surgical way is not working."Jefferey said ,his tone turning solemn as he showed him his brain scans on the monitor."So what do I do?"He asked,unsure o
ALINA'S POV "Please turn this car around"she interjected firmly."No."He answered sternly. "What?"She grimaced in pain."Until I know for sure that that baby in your belly isn't mine,I cannot let you subject an innocent child to those terrible conditions"She gasped in surprise."Excuse me.I decide how I live and where I live.This is kidnapping!"She retorted in a pathetic attempt to reason with him.He scoffed and swerved the wheel towards the other side of the road pulling up on the gravel road leading up to the estate."Micheal,I don't want to live with you!"She cried."Well,unfortunately for you,you have no choice."he addressed,pulling up in front of his gate.Frantic and alarmed,she struggled to open the car door but it was locked."Don't be dramatic Alina.I know you're just pretending to act tough but you truly want to live in my mansion.Besides I took care of you better than any lover that you had "He commented,pressing the button that automatically pulled the gates open.She
MICHEAL'S POV"So what do you do for a living?"Michelle probed.Dinner started out quietly.After Alina had cut herself with the knife unconsciously,Her mother had taken over the kitchen and had finished up the meal instead. The meal was definitely delicious which reinforced the idea about where Alina had gotten her talent for cooking."Micheal?" he looked up to find curious glances directed at him.His smile faded quickly."Yes, ma'am"he responded."I asked you a question,what do you do?"She repeated.His spine straightened as he gave her a proud smile."I run a company ma'am"he answered. She arched a brow up at him."Is that all?she asked,Alina's hand reached out to cover hers."Mum,I think that's enough of the questions.Let's just eat and enjoy this wonderful meal that you made" She stated,staring back at her mother with pleading eyes."I haven't satisfied my curiousity yet,baby.I still have a lot of questions that you need to answer young mister"she said,pointing at him."Okay.Am
ALINA'S POV "Alina,you didn't tell me you were pregnant"She watched the horror that was evident on her mother's face."Mum..."she called trying to reach out to her but she moved away from her."Where is your wedding ring for goodness sake?!"she cried."In all this time that I've been here,I haven't seen even a single photo of the both of you.Did you lie to me Alina?"She directed,her eyes were tear-glazed.She opened her mouth to speak but no words came through.She didn't know what she would say.She didn't know how she was going to explain her dynamic with Micheal or tell her how she had been raped while under her husband's roof.Her mother had just come back from the hospital,so she knew that now wasn't the right time to explain everything to her."Alina,why didn't you tell me?"she questioned She plastered on a fake smile she had rehearsed over the years ."Mum,everything is fine"she assured."Micheal loves me and I love him.We're happy together and he takes good care of me.Yes, I a