Ch-3

Alora's POV

The entire room settled into another round of silence. Unlike the previous time, I actually seemed to have the upper hand here, and I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about it.

For the first couple of minutes, I was led to think that, somehow, the world had actually frozen over. Eliaz and Cynthia stood rooted to their spots, none of them moving. I stared at Eliaz and the only thing his handsome face betrayed was an unhealthy amount of shock. His eyebrows were knit together and his lips parted in a semi-circle, yet no words slid past.

Cynthia on the other hand, had her eyes trained on me, or more specifically, my belly. Whether she was just so shocked she had to confirm I was telling the truth, or she thought I was trying to pull her legs and she was trying to find some kind of loophole that would contradict my story, I wasn't exactly sure. If there was one thing I could bet my life on though, she hadn't seen the news coming. At all.

“What?” Eliaz finally mustered up the courage to speak. It was more of a gasp than anything else, but I'd heard him regardless. “What did you just say?”

Something about the way he stared at me didn't exactly sit right with me, so I kept quiet.

Was he going to get more angry if I answered his question? What if…..

“Alora.” The sound of my name on Eliaz’s lips was all it took to pull me out of my thoughts again. “Did you hear me? Tell me the truth. Dont lie. Are you really serious?”

“Yes.” My voice shook, but it didn't matter because I was telling the truth. As I confirmed my answer, I watched a flicker of doubt in Eliaz's eyes, so I did the right thing. “Here.”

From the back of my pocket, I pulled out a folded sheet of paper. It was a bit crumpled thanks to everything going on, but I was sure it was clear enough to be read by anyone.

Without thinking, I stretched the paper out for him to get a hold of. I meant it when I said I was going to tell him about it after I was back from the cemetery.

My heart leaped to my throat as Eliaz read through. Cynthia did too, and if there was anything I could deduce from their wide eyes, it was the fact that they had seen I wasn't lying.

“Alora,” Eliaz called out after a while. Unlike the last time, his voice was more softer and his hard glare had melted significantly. “I'm so sorry my love.”

“Eliaz….”

“I'm sorry.” Eliaz cut me off. “All of this was a prank. If I had known sooner, I wouldn't have taken it this far.”

I almost didn't believe it, but one smile from the handsome man in front of me was all it took for me to relax. I knew all that had happened couldn't be true. Eliaz was a prankster and just like he'd said, he had taken his prank a little bit too far.

“Are you sure?” My heart swelled with a little bit of hope. “You didn't mean it?”

“No, my love.” He shook his head slowly. “You don't need any of this, especially in this condition. I'm sorry, I had no idea. Please forgive me.”

“Come on.” He added and My smile widened at his words. Carefully, Eliaz helped me to my feet, before continuing. “Let's get you cleaned up so you can settle in again.”

Eliaz flashed me a wide smile, and that was all the assurance I needed. Perhaps, if I had known what he had planned for me, I wouldn't have returned his kind gesture.

*************

“You Really didn't have to do this.” I said with a smile as she dropped the plate in front of me. “This is too much.”

“Nonsense.” Cynthia waved me off with her hand. “Nothing is too much for you. You're pregnant and you need all the rest and nutrition you can get, especially in the early stages.”

“She's right, you know.” Eliaz waltzed in from the kitchen, an even brighter grin on his face. He had an apron wrapped around his waist and I just knew what he had been up to. “If you had told me earlier, I would have started whipping up meals for you right from your very first scan.”

Eliaz and Cynthia had woken me up for breakfast early this morning. Even though we had cleared out the misunderstanding the previous day, I was genuinely surprised that they had pulled up something as thoughtful as this.

“No, this is too much.” I shook my head slowly. ‘you really didn't have to. I can count about four of my favorite meals on the table.”

“We originally planned on making it six.” Eliaz said with a wide grin. “So eat up.”

As if to solidify Eliza's request, Cynthia set a tall glass next to me. It contained my favorite: orange juice and I couldn't help but smile.

Just as they settled into their seats, I dug into my meal. With each mouthful I took, I watched the duo stare at me. They barely touched their own servings, and just as I was about to ask why, something cut me off.

A sharp pain popped up in my lower belly, and I let out a shrill cry. The two were startled, but before they could react, I let out another shrill cry.

“Alora.” Eliaz was on his feet immediately. “Are you okay? What's wrong?”

“I…” The rest of my words hung in my throat as another wave of pain rolled over me. It was sharp and horrible, I found myself toppling to the ground. My hands wrapped around my stomach, but no matter how hard I pressed against it, it did nothing to alleviate the pain threatening to knock me out cold. “Please. Help.”

A wave of shock courses through me as something pooled around me. It took a while, but the moment its metallic scent hit my nose, I froze.

Blood. I was bleeding.

“Awww, she's bleeding.” Cynthia cooed beside me. I raised my head in time just to see a sly smirk on her face. “Can you see that Eliaz?”

“Please.” I couldn't breathe. “I need to go to the hospital….”

“No, you just need more juice.” Goosebumps raced down my spine at the sight of Eliza's evil grin. “Have some.”

The juice. They'd spiked my drink.

“What's going on?” I couldn't help but ask. I was in pain and they were just standing there? “Please, help..”

“Do you really think we'll do that?” He cut me off. “I knew you were stupid Alora, but I didn't expect you to be this dumb. How could you eat anything after what happened yesterday? Did you really believe it was a prank?”

His words echoed loudly in my head, and I just knew I'd made the biggest mistake of my life.

“In case you're wondering,” Cynthia spoke up. “We added a couple of pills to your drink. We're just helping you get rid of that monster in your belly.”

“Why?” My eyes glistened with tears, but I wasn't sure if they were from the pain I was in, or the betrayal tugging at my chest. “What did I do to deserve this? Please, just get me to the hospital….”

“You haven't signed this remember?” Eliaz pulled out a paper in front of me. “I want a divorce, all of your properties and I want it now!”

I could hear the anger in his voice and I just knew it was a lost cause trying to plead with him. Just like he'd said, he wasn't going to let me go unless I did as he asked.

Without a care in the world, Eliaz shoved a pen in my grip. I hung on to it for my dear life as I signed on the designated spot. I knew what I had signed up for, but I was out of options at this point.

The moment Eliaz pulled the papers out of my grip, I pressed my eyes shut, and it didn't take too long for the cold hands of unconsciousness to take hold of me.