Chapter 2: Fight or flight

Ana's pov:

"How could you?!" My voice cracked from hurt and anger.

I didn't know what I expected from them, perhaps to look guilty at least, but they weren't even shaken by my entrance and anger.

"Oh, you're back," Jenny yawned, stretching out lazily on the couch. "How was your night? Rough, I assume. I could hear you all the way from my room, moaning all night long." 

Her spiteful face. Her wicked eyes. She wasn't even sorry.

Anger and hurt exploded in my chest and all I could see was red as I matched up to her and slapped her hard across the face.

She screamed loudly and her mother, my stepmother, rose from the recliner, enraged. 

She glared angrily at my father. "Are you not going to do anything?! She just slapped Jenny!"

Once more, I was shocked by what happened next. My father raised his hand and smacked me hard on my cheek.

I crumbled to the floor, pain flaring in my cheek.

"If you ever lay a hand on Jenny again, you'll have me to deal with!" He roared.

I cradled my cheek and looked at him with so much shock and revulsion. 

"The only reason you're still in this house is because you have no place else to go," he continued, his eyes dark and angry. "You're as useless to me as your own mother is."

Pain cracked my heart in two.

How could he say that?

My mother had loved him with all her heart, trusted him, lifted him from a little garage boy to the ceo of Motech, her family company at the time. And when he had all that he wanted, he kicked her to the curb and married Olivia, my stepmom.

Even now, she was currently fighting for her life in the ICU, I had no doubt that she still loved him with all her heart.

"What's going on?", A new voice demanded.

Liam, my little brother sauntered into the living room, his eyes widening in alarm when he saw me on the floor.

He rushed over to me immediately and glared at my father. "You hit her?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" He screamed, shoving my father so hard that he stumbled back.

Jenny and Olivia started screaming and almost immediately, my father's bodyguards stormed into the room and began beating Liam up.

"Stop!" I screamed at them. "Stop it! Have you gone mad?! He's just a child!"

They didn't stop until he was swollen and purple, barely breathing on the ground.

My stomach churned. My heart hurt. I knelt down beside him, crying softly.

"That will teach him," Olivia huffed, settling back on the recliner and sipping her wine.

I glared at her with so much hate and vengeance but she only smiled at me.

"C'mon, honey. Smile. It will do wonders for that ugly face of yours."

I let out an enraged scream but she only shrugged. "This is what's going to happen now, sweetie. You're going to sign this document–" she tapped the document on the table beside her, "handing over your shares and Liam's and cease from taking part in anything concerning the company. It's only fair after you've disrespected the company name by fucking one of our investors."

Anger and wrath curdled my blood. "I won't! And I didn't do that! I was drugged. Jenny–"

"You can't prove any of that sweetie. Now do as I say or we will stop paying for your mother's treatment and Liam's school fees."

That got to me.

I looked at Liam who was struggling to sit back up, his eyes black and swollen, his lip split. He was shaking his head, shocked that I was even considering it.

If I didn't sign it, my mother was as good as dead and Liam wouldn't have an education. And there was every possibility that they could take the shares by force if I proved stubborn.

"I'll sign it," I whispered.

"Good choice, sweetheart," she grinned like a canary.

I signed the documents and the next thing I knew, the guards were matching back into the living room.

They took Liam and I by the arm and dragged us out of my mother's mansion, throwing us out on the streets along with our belongings.

Jenny smirked beside her mother and dusted her hands off like she had just gotten rid of the trash.

"And never step foot here again if you value your life and the life of your mother's," she called out before sashaying back inside.

My lungs burned, my heart ached and my skin had scraped on the asphalt. 

I could only imagine how much worse Liam felt.

"C'mon," I said, helping him up. "Let's go."

"Where?" He wheezed.

"Anywhere. Anywhere, just not here."

Nine months later: 

France had been my home for nine months now. I had placed Liam in a boarding school and my father and stepmother had remained true to their words at least. They paid Liam's school fees on time. During the holidays, he stayed with a family friend that was loyal to my mother.

I was living in a studio apartment in Paris at the moment and as I rose from bed and stretched, a delicious aroma made its way to my nostrils.

I grinned hard and wide while my stomach grumbled.

Tylor was at it again. It was getting dark outside so I guessed he was back from work.

 The man should be working at a five star cuisine, but here he was, making dinner.

We had been classmates since grade school and when he heard about what my father and stepmother did, he stuck by my side through it all and helped in enrolling Liam into a decent boarding school and my move abroad.

We have been roommates for months now and he was quickly becoming thr best friend I have ever had. While I worked different ships to support myself and pay for my college tuition, he supported me in anyway he could.

I had to stop work and school and stay home and rest because I was expecting to deliver in a few weeks.

Yes, deliver. The not so innocent one night stand from nine months ago had gotten me pregnant and I had to live with it. 

I rubbed my stomach tenderly, gasping softly when I felt a kick in my abdomen. 

I knew I'd love and cherish my baby with all my heart. Even though I didn't plan for it, she was going to receive all the love I could give.

I rolled out of bed and padded all the way to the kitchen.

Tylor grinned hard when he saw me, his eyes twinkling with something close to affection. He had brown hair, a ripped body and a handsome face with a friendly smile.

"Hey, how do you feel?"

"Lethargic," I yawned. "How long was I asleep?"

"Almost six hours."

I groaned. "I'm sorry. I know I should be pulling my own weight and helping out–"

"What?" He cut me off, dropping the spoon he had been using to stir and coming to my side, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Ana, no. Don't start with that. Take all the time you need, okay?"

I worried my lip and his eyes dropped to the giant bulge on my stomach, bigger that two beach balls.

His eyes softened as he placed a hand on my stomach, his thumb stroking my skin softly. "You have life growing inside you. God, I'm so excited, Ana. You have no idea."

I smiled at the fact. Tylor has always been there for me and he was as excited about this baby as much as I was.

"That makes two of us," I whispered. "Although sometimes I worry that I won't be enough..."

"I'm going to take care of you," he said softly, taking my hand. "I'm going to take care of the both of you. I never want you to feel like you're going to be left alone in this."

My eyes burned. Tears pricked my eyes. "Thanks, Tylor."

"You know, sometimes I think about your baby calling my dada." He said quietly.

I stilled. "Tylor... We talked about this."

He looked downcast. "I know, I know... I just thought you reconsidered."

"I didn't." I said firmly. "I appreciate you. I appreciate what you've done for me, Tylor. I really do. But I'm not ready for a relationship. Not right now." Maybe not ever, is what I don't tell him.

He swallowed. "You're right. I don't want to pressure you. Maybe I'll just settle for the uncle title," his grin came back on, "you're so lucky, you know that?" He cooed at my belly. "You're going to have a hot uncle."

I snorted, trying to hold in my laughter.

"Your child is lucky to have you as a mother, Ana." He said, going back to the food he was cooking. "What about the father? Any luck finding him?"

I shook my head. It was like he had vanished in thin air. He wasn't back at the hotel. There was no record of him ever even staying there, no credit card records either. I was well and truly on my own in this.

"He's an asshole, you know that?" Tylor scoffed, anger blazing in his eyes. "He could at least pretend to care about the girl he basically assaulted."

"He didn't assault me."

"You were drugged."

"He didn't know that." I countered. "Maybe he has his reasons for not wanting to be found. Anyway. What are you cooking?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

"Mac and cheese," he grinned excitedly, going to the fridge and searching for something in it but coming up short. "Oh shit." He deadpanned.

"What?"

"We're out of cheese."

I stood up immediately. "I'll get some at the market."

"I'm coming with you," he offered, turning off the gas.

I shot him down quickly. "No, Ty. You stay here, you've done enough already. I won't be long. I promise."

"The market is noisy and crowded. I just want you to be safe."

"I am. Who's going to hurt me, really? Especially in a crowded place where everyone can see me."

He didn't look convinced but he dropped it when he saw I wouldn't budge.

I needed the fresh air and alone time. I had been doing nothing more than sleeping for hours, I really needed a walk to exercise and sort my thoughts out.

"I'll be back in ten minutes," I called out, pulling my coat on and leaving through the door.