Silence hung between them for a few seconds. Kendrick stared down at her, his eyes flaring. And Hailey did not back down. She stared back at him with an equal glare. Then her last words. Her last words seemed to have had an effect on him. His fists loosened and his angry expression slowly dissipated. "Don't you ever dare endanger this baby's life." He pointed at her bump and with one last warning look, he turned around to head to the study room. He didn't even glance in the maid's direction who had been standing there for quite a while now with a tray in her hands and looking scared out of her skin. And Hailey's knees could no longer support her. Her back hit the wall and she slid down slowly until she was sitting on the floor. Kendrick, this evil man... The heartache returned and she covered her face and sobbed. He really did destroy Rob's company and it was her fault— all her fault. Now, what was Rob's family going to do? They'd always considered her bad for him, maybe they ha
"Hailey." Kendrick stared up at her. "Where did you put your drugs?" No answer. She only stared back at him with empty eyes. Then he cursed and went to the other bedside table. He also checked it and found it empty. And he returned to her side with his phone in his hand. He probably wanted to call the physician. But Hailey wasn't sick. How could she be sick when she was feeling nothing at the moment? "I told you not to miss your drugs." And his commands were the last thing she wanted to follow. Kendrick began dialing a number, and for once, he gave her a helpless look. The phone hadn't started ringing yet when he stepped forward to touch her forehead again. But his feet seemed to have stepped on something and he paused. He seemed to have stepped on the bags. Hailey's ears didn't fail her. That was definitely the sound of the bags under the bed. And she shut her eyes tightly and cursed inside her heart. Kendrick went down and reached under the bed with his hand, his face still
Whenever she thought the feeling would go away, whenever she thought she'd be numbed to it once again, she only had to see his face to be reminded of that. And unfortunately for her, he'd allowed the Butler and the maids to roam free in the house once more. He'd practically planted them as spies. They would make sure she took those horrible drugs. He kept forcing her to take them. Not a minute late, not a pill would be missed.Hailey knew more than anything that she wasn't sick. She just wanted to be left alone by him. She never wanted to see him or have anything to do with him. As long as she didn't see him, she'd have even a bit of peace. But Kendrick never left her alone. He never left her side whenever he was home. He had even resorted to forcing her to stay in the study room with him. And it would be silence. None of them would speak a word— most truthfully, Hailey wouldn't say a word. All his questions were unanswered, and his commands fell on deaf ears. She would only sit
But how could Hailey do that... She also knew that things could be undone. But it was hard to come to terms with them soon. She answered the call, praying that whoever it was would speak up immediately. She couldn't spend her thoughts on speculating who it was. Her brain was overworked lately. She couldn't entertain any mind-straining thoughts. She put the phone on her ear and without waiting for that person to speak, she murmured, "Hello."And there was silence from the other end. The only thing that reassured her that that person was there was the even breathing that reached her ears. "Hailey..." Then a voice came, and Hailey's head buzzed with noises. Several thoughts came to her at once. Several assumptions. Several imaginations. She didn't even know when she sprang to her feet. And the phone almost fell from her hands. Was she having hallucinations?"Hailey, are you there?"When the voice came again, Hailey became a hundred percent sure that it was real. She wasn't hallucin
The tiny movements came from her stomach just in sync with her rapid thoughts. And Hailey cuddled her bump with both hands to curb the movements. She was already in enough discomfort, the last thing she wanted was having to deal with the movements. With her home slippers still on her feet, she tossed her phone inside her shirt's pocket. It was a long shirt that extended down her knees. And without caring to have a glimpse into the mirror, her hair was surely messy, she waded out of the bedroom and hurried down the hallway. Her car keys. She needed her car keys. That was the first thought that came to her mind. But her car keys were with the bodyguard. How was she sure she would be able to retrieve it? There was no way that Rick was going to give her the keys. The bodyguards wouldn't allow her out of the front door. Then something clicked in her head as if a voice inside her was speaking. Or was it her instincts? It was telling her to stop in the study room. And Hailey didn't was
The words echoed in Hailey's head and her hands reached for the aprons rack. She had to leave this house immediately. And one after the other, she dropped each apron on the flame. Hailey coughed rapidly as the smoke of burning silk rose in the air. But she didn't stop dropping the aprons until there was none left in her hands. She also reached for the rags and dropped them all in the now roaring flame. The flame rose and touched the cabinets, the kitchen was engulfed in heavy smoke. Hailey's chest ached from coughing so hard. The smoke seeped through her nose, weakening her body, and she quickly covered her mouth then staggered out of the kitchen and took in long drags of the fresh air. Hailey hurried far away from the kitchen's direction. The smoke had already made its way to the dining area. And she stopped in the living room, concealing herself behind one of the heavy curtains, and her heart drumming frantically. It didn't take long before a scream came from the kitchen di
"Hailey," Kara called out to her. "Please don't tell me you changed your mind. Sonya has suffered while searching for her contact. I'll send you her contact Hailey. I know you'll do the right thing."Do the right thing? Hailey frowned. She still couldn't get a hang of whatever was going on. She didn't know where she was or where she was headed."It's alright, Kara." She finally managed a reply. "Send me the contact, I'll take a look at it.""Great!" Kara exclaimed. "I'll do that right now, Hailey. Don't keep your eyes off your phone.""O– Okay." Hailey could only reply with that. And her confused gaze returned to the road. Why was she driving at such high speed? And where the hell was she? Driving at this time of the day and in this cramped up car wasn't good for her. It wasn't good for—Her baby. Hailey dropped the phone and her eyes strayed down to her stomach. The tiny movements never stopped. And now, she could feel it moving nonstop. It was uncomfortable. Kendrick wasn't going
He jabbed at the elevator's button and paced, the three words echoing in his senses again and again. Fire! Hailey! Trapped! This was a lie. It couldn't be. This was a dream. How could there be a fire? Where did it come from? And what kind of a big joke was the Butler playing on him?Hailey wouldn't be trapped! She couldn't be! She must be alright. She had to be alright. He cursed out loudly and punched the damned doors. He'd be damned if anything happened to her. If even a hair on her body was hurt. If even a hair—He'd be so damned!The elevator reached the parking lot and the doors slid open. Kendrick sprinted out. The bodyguards were on standby, they had the car ready. The expression on their faces showed that they were already aware. And he didn't wait for the driver to open the door. He waited for no one to approach him. He grabbed the car keys from the driver's hands and zoomed out of the company.On the road, those three words kept echoing. His eyes fixed ahead, his h