ESCAPE FROM THE BASTARD (FOUR)

For a God shake when Rafe said that it felt like pulling his own tongue out because he felt so weird. In fact he still doesn't think that he is now attached to a teenage girl like Lexie because of the presence of his baby in her womb. Wren told him yesterday that the insemination was successful. Alessia is now officially pregnant with his baby.

"I can't be pregnant. How could that be, when I've never been close to any man and I've always been here.”

Lexie asked in disbelief with a pale face. In her head was nesting all kinds of bad thoughts about her sudden pregnancy. Even though she was sure that all this time she had never done anything with any man. She didn't even have a boyfriend.

"It's a long story, but it's clear that I'm serious about what I say. And you shouldn't be surprised if the father of the baby you're carrying is me."

"You look older than me."

It felt like Rafe wanted to tear Lexie's presumptuous mouth. He knew they were quite apart in age, twenty years. But age is just a number. It meant nothing to them as long as they could mutually benefit each other.

"You owe me a lot. I've paid for your entire treatment."

"So what does that mean?"

Lexie's body stiffened. She didn't understand the bomb suddenly dropped on her lap. She thought doctor Wren was really good at giving her all the treatment to recover from her very weak condition last week.

“Yes I know you are shocked. But this is the reality. You're pregnant with my child now. And I take it as payment of your debts.

"But that's totally unfair. I never knew anything about this pregnancy. How could you force me to have your child?"

"Wren recommended you. He said you were the perfect candidate to pregnant my child."

Lexie's face paled. She could hardly believe his words, that the doctor Wren who always looked good in front of her would do such a heinous thing.

"Where's Doctor Wren? I haven't seen him today." Lexie said suddenly. “I will talk to him and prove that your words are a lie. I can't be pregnant with your child.”

Lexie's hand gripped the edge of the blanket so tightly that her fingers turned white. She felt sick with all the bad things that happened to her lately. She thought she would be able to have a better life after this, but she didn't.

"He's checking on another patient on the fifth floor, but he'll be here shortly to let you go home."

"Home? Where should I go, I don't even have a home to go back to." Lexie muttered under her breath.

But Rafe could still hear her muttering very quietly.

"You will come to my house. From now on you will stay at my house until my child is born.”

"Going back to your house? No. I still don't agree with this?"

Rafe looked at Lexie sharply. The last thing he wanted right now was to argue with a teenage girl who was pregnant.

"My baby is growing in your belly. You have no choice. You will still get pregnant."

"I can report you to the police for all this." Lexie exclaimed sarcastically. But actually her whole body was shaking with fear. She wouldn't have been able to report this stranger to the police if in fact she didn't even have money or anything.

"Are you sure? I could have put you in jail for owing me so much. Or the hospital could sue you in court because you couldn't pay for your treatment."

Lexie's eyes filled with tears. She felt unfair with life that was never on her side.

"You bad guys have taken advantage of a weak girl like me."

-00-

After that the atmosphere in the room became silent. Rafe chose to check his emails and do a few things on his cell phone. He would let Lexie cry as much as she wanted. He knew Lexie needed it. She was just shocked by what had just happened to her. Lexie will be fine after this. After all, he doesn't care if Lexie thinks of him as a pedophile jerk who likes underage women. And if Wren comes later, he will make him responsible for his actions for choosing an underage girl to bear his child.

"Good afternoon."

Suddenly the white door at the far right of the room opened and revealed the figure of Wren holding a stethoscope in his hand. The man smiled gently at Lexie and seemed to ignore Rafe's presence in the room.

"Doctor Wren." Lexie muttered weakly. Tears still welled up in her eyes. Her face was puffy and confused.

Wren changed his cheerful expression to sympathy. He knew that Rafe had done something to make Lexie cry.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you crying?"

"Is what he said true? I'm pregnant?" asked Lexie blankly.

Wren glanced over at Rafe, looking irritated that Rafe was still focused on his phone and had no sympathy for Lexie at all.

"You're pregnant. I'm sorry, Lexie."

"You're mean. You've been deceiving me all this time. I thought you were good enough to pay for my hospital treatment and you were willing to wait until I had the money to pay off my debts. But why you—”

Lexie's throat tightened. She couldn't say anything but sobs pitifully as she hugged her knees to her chest.

"Rafe Wilder is a friend of mine. You don't have to worry about your life. You will be safe as long as you are with him. He will protect you while you are pregnant."

"You didn't even tell me anything. So all the medical check-ups so far have been lies. You brought me to the laboratory many times not to do medical check-ups, but to implant something into my uterus?"

Wren gets really annoyed that Rafe isn't helping him at all when Lexie keeps bombarding him with all sorts of vile accusations. But he deserves it. He had forced a girl to become a mother without telling her honestly.

"This is only temporary. You will be free once you give birth to Rafe's baby. Didn't you say that you have no place to live and no one. Rafe will give you a place to live."

"But I don't want to be a mother yet. I'm going to go find a job and start a new life. I don't know the guy anyway."

"I already told you who I am."

Rafe suddenly stood up and moved closer to Lexie's gurney.

"I will guarantee your life as long as you bear my child. And after you give birth to my baby, I will compensate you. You will live well while under my responsibility."

Lexie daydreams, sadly lamenting her terrible fate. Ever since her mother kicked her out, she had lost her entire life.

"Why did you pick me? You can hire a surrogate or use the bitches out there."

"I only want virgin women. You're a virgin."

Lexie's cheeks were flushed red, embarrassed and angry at the same time. She had never discussed such intimate matters with a man. In fact, she considered it quite taboo to talk about.

"You won't suffer any damage. You'll remain a virgin until you deliver the baby because we're going to have a cesarean section."

She didn't expect that her life had even been arranged to such detail. From the beginning she was planned to be a vessel.

"I'm not your doll, sir. I refuse to bear your child. I want to abort this baby."

Rafe's jaw tightened. He was done with all this trouble.

"Dare you hurt my son, I will make you rot in hell."

Before all this argument gets any worse and Rafe shows his monstrous side, Wren takes steps to calm Lexie's hysteria.

"Please, this won't hurt you at all. I'll always be with you as long as you're pregnant."

Wren gave Lexie a genuine smile that touched Lexie's heart. He was in a dilemma. He didn't know what he was going to do at this point.

"You guys come out. Give me time to think."

"No. You must be just making excuses to hurt my baby. While we're leaving you, you're going to find a way to kill my son and run away from me."

Wren grabbed Rafe's shoulder as he watched Lexie's eyes get teary and she looked scared.

"Please, don't be rude to her. Lexie needs time. She's not going anywhere and she's not going to hurt herself."

"I'm not going to take that risk." Rafe exclaimed sarcastically.

"Trust me. She won't harm your baby at all."

Rafe thought about Wren's words for a long time before he stepped out of Lexie's treatment room and slammed the door behind him.

Heny grimaced, feeling guilty for Rafe's rude behavior. But he convinced Lexie once again that Rafe was actually a good man.

"We'll give you some time to cool off. But trust me I couldn't have done all this if it cost you. You'll have a new, better life while with him. Please, think about my words."

Lexie's silence made Wren frustrated. He couldn't last much longer in Lexie's treatment room, and he then came out to give Lexie some time to think.

-00-

The door in her treatment room closed gently. Lexie refuses to look at Wren and his fake disappointment face for putting her in this situation. Wren had clearly lied to her fatally. All the goodness is fake. In reality she will only be sacrificed to his friend who is rich, but has a scary face.

Lexie's body shuddered with fear every time she remembered Rafe Wilder's savage face. The man was not the typical gentle man. Even he didn't hesitate to show his anger in front of her when she refused to bear his baby. Rafe had terrible impulsive actions. She couldn't hide the fact that she was scared the first time she saw the man appear in her room. Then now she became even more scared because she would stay with him as long as she was pregnant with his baby.

Oh no! I don't want this baby.

With tears streaming from her eyes, Lexie looked down to stare at her belly hidden under the plain blue pajamas she was wearing. She couldn't feel anything in there yet. She honestly wanted to deny Rafe's words about the baby growing in her belly. Maybe he's lying. There was no baby in her belly at all. Rafe was probably plotting something against her. Kidnapping? Or maybe she'll be sold off to become a bitch in the slum clubs on the edge of town.

The thought of all that made Lexie's stomach churn and she felt nauseous. The urge from her stomach created a bitter taste at the base of her throat. She stuffed her mouth quickly then tried to calm herself by taking as many breaths as possible until she felt calm and she could think clearly.

When she was lamenting her very sad life, the corner of her eye glanced at the IV needle stuck in the back of her hand. The infusion needle was still flowing the vitamins her body needed. But after being treated for more than a week in this hospital, she feels her body is getting better and she feels stronger now to escape. She didn't need the IV fluids anymore.

Lexie did so without hesitation. Only a determination and a hard breath to harden her weak heart. Lexie pulled the IV needle hard, causing her to squeal softly as she felt a painful sting on the back of her hand as the IV needle slipped from her wrinkled skin. Lexie's eyes watered as the pain was so bad. She even had to stuff her mouth with a pillow to muffle the muffled screams she was trying to get out of the stabbing pain in the back of her hand. She had always hated needles. She thought her fear of needles had lessened as she grew older, but she didn't. She was still horrified and she needed some time to get over the pain and blood running down the back of her hand.

Lexien carelessly wiped the blood with her blanket. Then she got out of bed and trotted over to the cupboard in the corner for a pair of jeans and a thick maroon sweeter. She was really grateful that Wren gave her a set of those clothes to wear when she got out of this hospital. She snatched the clothes from the hanger and put them on quickly while occasionally turning warily toward the door. She was afraid that someone would suddenly enter and catch her trying to escape. But if she wasn’t mistaken, the nurses wouldn't be in her room until another two hours or so to deliver lunch. And the IV fluid that was currently dripping on the floor had just been changed an hour ago, so the nurses shouldn't have had any reason to come into her room at this time.

Five minutes later Lexie was wearing all her new clothes, and she was observing her appearance in the mirror. Her face was still a little pale, but it was better than a week ago, when she had just woken up after passing out. Now she could see a faint blush on her cheeks. The dark circles under her eyes had almost disappeared. Her thin cheeks had turned chubby. And her lips which were previously pale and chapped, now looked fresh and bright pink. She was now sure that her appearance was quite good. People wouldn't know that she was a patient on the run.

Slowly, Lexie opened the door to her treatment room. She poked her head through the gap in the door she had created. Her two eyes carefully scanned the conditions outside her very quiet treatment room. People seemed to have gone to their respective rooms to take some rest before lunch time. The nurses were nowhere to be seen in the hallway. Dimly Lexie only heard the noise of the nurses talking at the nurse station. This seems like the perfect time to run away.

Lexie stepped out of her treatment room. She was worried about her feet wrapped in a sandal instead she wore shoes to protect her feet from the cold at the end of autumn. But there's no time to steal a shoe now. She needed to get out of this hospital as fast as she could to get as far away from Rafe and Wren as possible.

Lexie's breath was blowing hard behind the collar of the sweeter that she stretched to cover her chin. She walked around the hallway of her treatment room. Her hesitated for a moment because she had to pass through the nurse station before she could reach the elevator. She was afraid that one of the nurses would recognize her and thwart her entire escape plan. But from the hallway on the left she saw three women who had just come out of a first-class treatment room. The three of them walked past her, and kept on conversing without paying her any heed. She quickly followed the three women and followed them with a downturned face as she passed the nurse station.

None of the nurses paid attention to her. They were too busy gossiping about an actor who had just been caught having an affair. She kept her pace constant until she got into the elevator, and then she leaned back with relief in the farthest corner of the elevator. The three women she had followed were still busy chatting without noticing her presence in the elevator.

That's good, she thought happily. Right now she didn't need anyone to recognize her. All she needed now was to escape as far as possible from this hospital and devise a new plan to move on with her life.

Arriving at the lobby, everything seemed easier for her. No one recognized her there and no one noticed her. Lexie walked straight towards the exit of the hospital. A doorman greeted her and opened the door for her. She didn't return the man's warm greeting and just kept walking without looking back at all. No one should be allowed to see her and recognize her within a radius of two kilometers because she would be safer that way.

Her body immediately shivered as soon as she stepped foot in the hospital parking lot. A cold wind blew fiercely and fiercely around her frail body. Now she felt her body so small and weak. She was even worried that the wind might blow her body away. But she kept going and walking. Her arms hugged her tightly. She almost wanted to run back into the warm lobby for some cozy warmth. She rejected the idea and continued walking across the wide hospital grounds until she reached the outside of the hospital grounds, and she began to walk slowly along the busy sidewalk.

It was times like these that she felt so vulnerable and alone. She had never had a close friend who could help her at times like this. She rarely builds closeness with them because she doesn't have time to hang out at school any longer. Her mother always told her to come home immediately after all formal activities were over. Although sometimes she wants to stay longer at school to gossip with her friends about the popular boys at their school. Or they can talk about their cruel teacher or the teacher who always makes them sleepy in class. Whatever it was, Lexie felt really sad now that she didn't have a single memory of any of those things. And what's worse she has no place to stay for today. At least she needed a place to stay that was free for a few days before she found a job.

Feeling tired, Lexie stopped her steps in front of a shop that had a bench in front of it. She plopped down on the bench languidly, and then she buried her face in her palms to cry.