CHAPTER 1

"...The day I ruined my wife? How do I know when was the day I ruined her? Well..."

Outside. Very close to where Brandon had left his car, the feeling of guilt began to assault him once again. Never in his life would he have imagined being able to hand over a woman to do whatever they wanted with her while treating her as just another tool.

Wanting to forget that feeling of guilt, Brandon took his cell phone out of his pants pocket to call the person who would be most interested in knowing what was going on in the office of the doctor he had paid enough to forget about his ethics for a moment.

After some thought and putting past events behind him, Brandon dialed the number of the person who must have been waiting to know.

 "Grandpa?" Brandon asked immediately.

"Yes, Brandon, is everything ready?”

Brandon sighed heavily. "Call my mother and tell her that... tell her that everything is ready. It's done, she should be pregnant after today. "Said Brandon as he hung up the phone.”

He felt the worst, he felt he had done enough, he was causing the worst damage just to stay in the position he was.

An impulse made him look inside the hospital. She was still there and that had been the last time she would see her life as it was because after that, nothing would be like before.

Seeing so much movement inside, the guards at the door moving around, the doctors running as they shouted for her to stop. Spurred on by those screams, Brandon continued on his way until he could enter the hospital and realize that the name they were shouting was his wife's. He must have thought about it, she was going to end up revealing who she really was. 

He should have thought about it, she was going to end up bringing out who she really was. And of course she wasn't going to let them play with her like he intended to do. Crystal was smarter and wasn’t going to allow anyone do whatever they wanted with her. Her grandfather had been the first one, there was not going to be a second one. That was what she thought.

"Miss, Miss Crystal!” The women inside continued to shout.

It only took Brandon entering the hospital to be the one to catch the woman who seemed disoriented with only one thought on her mind. Get out of there before it was too late.

The surprise was such when she collided with Brandon's chest as if to finish waking up from that nightmare only to realize that this was her reality.

"Did you think you could make fun of me?” asked Brandon very close to her.

"Let go of me!” she demanded as an unruly tear peeked out.

“What more do you want? What more do you want, Crystal? I've given you everything, I tied my life to you! And that never made me happy.”

"Let go of me right now!” Crystal struggled. 

"You have taken everything from me, Crystal, you have taken my life from me and now, why not do the same with you? You owe me.”

And with no more claims to make, Brandon carried her in his arms with the sole intention of handing her over to the people in charge of the procedure that was going to be carried out.

"Put me down, Brandon! Put me down!”

Tighter he clutched her to his chest with the intention of not letting her go for any reason. She was going to get pregnant whether she wanted to or not, he swore to himself. That was all he could care about. The doctor and nurse were able to guide Brandon to the room where the procedure would take place.

Annoyed with everything, Brandon pulled Crystal down from his arms as soon as they were inside the room.

Furious, Crystal knocked over the tool table wanting to get his attention, wanting to tell him that she might be weak at that moment but hell lived in her too, and if he didn’t allow her to go, he was going to regret every single of his left days.

 "What are you trying to do with this?” Crystal raised her voice with tears of rage coming out of her eyes.

Brandon smiled. "No more than you demanded.”

"I didn't read that damn agreement!”

"And you think I believe you?”

"You're going to regret it, Brandon, I swear you are, you're going to wish you never brought me here, I swear.”

"Do you think I care when you've made me regret even my own birth?”

"I hate you, I hate you, Brandon.”

"No more than I do, dear Crystal.”

"I hope it's not later when you realize what I'm telling you, I hope it's not later than it already is when you know that I was playing this damn game too.”

And for a moment, seeing in Crystal's face only disappointment, he did not avoid believing in her words. She did not avoid thinking what would become of him if what he said were true.

Once again the conversation she had had with Sebastian, made him doubt everything he was thinking. She was not good as she wanted to pretend, she was bad, she was ambitious as any other woman. 

"I hope it's not too late when my hell starts to make you regret it.” Said Brandon, leaving the room. "The sooner the better for you, don't you think so? Give me a son and you will be enjoying the riches that can be lost if I do not deliver that 25% that we agreed on the shares.”

In this way, Brandon knew he was leaving, having handed over his own wife as if it were an experiment.

Even if Crystal drew strength from where she did not even think she had it, she knew it was impossible to win that war. She was nothing more than an instrument and now, it was time to see it that way.

Once again the door of the room opened. The doctor and her nurse had arrived.

Things could not stay like that, she had lost the battle but not the war. She had lost that one time, it was not her will to keep losing as many battles as he wanted to start.

She was not willing to let him go like that, without letting him know that she was not an instrument. Even if she lost, to her last moment she was going to make him regret ever having met her.

Immediately, leaving the doctor and nurse to enter, Crystal came out once more.

"Miss!” The woman shouted, thinking she would do the same as she had done a moment ago.

Barefoot, caring little for the wound on her foot that had not completely healed yet, she walked down the hallway being followed by the women themselves.

"Miss!” They shouted, making Brandon turn around at once.

This time it was not her intention to run away as she had declared herself the loser of the first battle, and it was okay, it was okay to be the submissive of the story for a moment, it was okay to do it,  to do what he wished, it was okay because it was going to be enjoyable to dig hell for him.

"Don't you understand that you've lost?” Brandon asked as he watched her walk up to him.

And without saying anything, without having more to claim, without having how to defend herself and of course, without wanting to do it anymore, because even if she had a thousand proofs with which to prove her truth, she was no longer willing to do it.  

It only took the blink of an eye for Brandon to see Crystal raise her right hand with so much hatred, so much impotence to finally feel it stamped on his right cheek.

"I'm not your birthing machine, make it clear, asshole!” Said Crystal just before she felt the women grab her one from each side to guide her back to the living room.

Brandon put his hand to his cheek and then looked down at her. The smirk was painted on his face. She was too naïve if she thought that blow would make him regret what he was doing to her.

"It's too late, innocent darling!” Brandon raised his voice as he saw her being carried away from him.

She could be strong, for the first time Crystal was proving she was strong in front of him and for the first time, Brandon felt he wasn't fighting the wall. The game was getting more and more fun. It would be a pleasure to keep playing.