More Trouble

"Where are you taking me to?" I asked, taking note of the different route he was driving.

He had come to bail me few minutes ago. I had spent thirty six hours in a holding cell. I'd had my morning sickness just this morning and it was a kind female cop that had helped me with a bucket.

I was itchy and unkempt but I didn't care about my physical looks, not when my heart was bruised. This emotional turmoil was too much for me.

"Is that the apology you should be rendering?" His tone was as I'd heard it the last time — unfriendly and hard.

"You want me to apologize to you after what you've done to me?" My voice shook badly with sadness and disbelief.

I blinked back tears. "Take me to my husband, let's go talk to him. You're the only one who can clear this air! You had sex with me."

"Shut up!" He bellowed.

His deep angry voice had me flinching as though he'd slapped me. 

"Someone — who was definitely not me — had sex with you and you didn't even know?! What are you? A child? How can a full grown ass woman like you not know when you're having sex?!" He seemed to be undergoing some turbulence of his own.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. I felt dumb. He was right. How could someone had slept with me and I would not be aware? 

Except...

I curled my lips in an angry sneer. "Nice try, mister. You might have drugged my drink and had your way with me. And now you're acting all innocent as though you actually are!" 

"And you want me to believe you were not paid to ruin my life?" He passed me an angry glance. "Tell me, who paid you to do this? It must be one of my competitors. I knew I should not have let you out of police net yet until you confess."

"Confess what?!" I yelled back, frustration and desolation clawing viciously inside. "You should be the one confessing, you mean snake!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Do not call me names, you psycho!"

"I'm not, you are the psycho!" I retorted.

"You really are. No wonder your husband, whoever he is, decided you were no good for him. If I was him, I'd have done the same."

His words were like bullets, they shot straight to my chest. They hurt and I bled, not physically but emotionally. 

"Fuck!" He hit his palm against the steering wheel.

My vision got blurry as tears fell. I didn't have the strength to argue anymore. I was tired and ill. This pregnancy, barely a month, was already sapping my strength. 

I'd not had anything to eat and honestly, I was not hungry. I had lost everything, including the man I loved. But it was cruel what he had done to me.

I trusted him with my inheritance. My family's legacy. He took them all and made me a stranger to my own wealth and property. 

The gate opened to reveal a gigantic mansion. As much as my house was big and luxurious, this was bigger and exuded enough wealth. 

But I was in no mood to appreciate its beauty and size. 

He opened the car and stepped out, strode towards the building without waiting for me.

I trudged behind him, wrapping my arms around me, feeling lost and overwhelmed. 

I stepped into the foyer and followed — from a distance though — into a very large living room. 

"Where is she?"

I heard a male voice asked.

This man — I didn't remember his name — turned and pointed at me. "There she is."

Another older man was beside him, he had kind eyes. He frowned as soon as he saw me. "What did you do to her, Jared?"

So that was his name. Jared. 

"I didn't do anything to her, uncle Pete." He mumbled angrily.

"She's crying." He pointed out.

I stood, unsure of my presence in this house and what it meant, not going close to either of them.

"That's crocodile tears. Some women are so manipulative with their tears and expression. She's ruining my life and acting like I'm the devil." His response was acrid.

Ignoring Jared, his uncle beckoned on me. "Come have a seat. Ignore my nephew."

Wordlessly, I moved forward and took a seat. "Please sir, I need you to help me beg your nephew to right the wrong he has done to me."

The man sat facing me, beside his nephew who was giving me the death glares. "What do you mean?"

"I...he..." Emotions clogged my throat, making it difficult for me to talk. 

"Relax yourself, uh..."

"Hailey. Hailey Baldwin." I provided, "Baldwin is my husband's name." I explained, trying to pull myself together.

"Calm yourself Hailey, we'll try to find a way to settle this dust, okay?" He seemed really nice and considerate.

I nodded, sniffling. "Okay sir."

"You can talk whenever you're ready." He said.

I took deep calming breaths that did very little to calm me. "I found him on the bed with me the morning after my birthday. We were naked. My h-husband caught us and now I'm here. Out of the house and..." I broke down into tears I couldn't control anymore.

None of them said anything. I tried to stop the tears but the more I tried, the more they fell. I was feeling so hopeless.

"You're pregnant, I presume?" Uncle Pete asked.

I nodded, using the back of my hand to wipe tears from my eyes that I was sure were now red and puffy. 

"Then for the sake of that child, you need to stop stressing yourself. You're stressed enough as it is." Uncle Pete gently advised.

"I just want him to go with me and explain things to my husband. I don't have a home, nowhere to go. No money to live on, talk more of taking care of this child." I patted my stomach gently.

Jared's eyes followed my hand, staring at my stomach for a short while before he raised his eyes to meet my gaze.

He sneered and looked away. He was probably angry I'd caught him staring.

"You..."

"What is going on here?" Uncle Pete's words were interrupted by a female voice.

For some reason, my heart jumped. A woman came out from one of the hallways. Our gaze met, she stared at me as though she was trying to recollect a memory, her brows were furrowed.

Recognition dawned and a scowl followed.

"You're the girl in the video who accused my son of raping and impregnating her." She accused hotly.

Her next action took the breath out of me.

She moved so swiftly to where I was, raised a hand and brought it down my face hard.