Chapter 2

Gina’s POV

He gripped my neck, pinning me to the wall harshly, my breath choked in my throat, and I coughed harshly. “What… are you… doing?” I asked him, my hand frantically shaking, trying to release myself from him.

“How dare you?” He thundered, his eyes blaring while his brows were raised in a questioning manner and his voice shaking from anger.

“Mr Penelope.” Miss Branny screamed, which made him release me swiftly, causing me to fall to the ground. I gasped in and out trying to catch my breath.

“How dare you Gina?” He ruffled his hands into his hair in frustration. My tears welled up as I stood up weakly.

“Do you really think you have the right to be here?” I shouted back, my eyes closing as I forcefully opened it trying to regain consciousness.

My tears were dropping rapidly, “You abandoned us, you abandoned her at the last minute. I called you Christian, I sent you tons of messages and all you could do was put the blame on me. You killed her, you asked me to terminate the baby.” He was still glaring at me, his eyes wide as though all this was a shock to him.

I wasn't going to buy into it.

“You don’t deserve to call her your child. You are nothing but a bastard and a liar.” He tried getting close to me when someone winced at the door.

I hadn’t even noticed Celine was standing there all along. He rushed to her quickly, helping her to balance herself as he gently rubbed his hands on her face.

I scoffed out in tears at how he treated her; he had never treated me this way, not since Celine returned back.

I blamed myself for turning a blind eye to his obsession with her and leaving everything behind to chase him.

“It hurts.” She said, her eyelid raised painfully while tears dropped slowly from her eyes. He carried her up in his arms.

“Call a doctor for me, quick.” He said placing her on the bed. He looked at me for a while. But I just turned to Miss Branny, her eyes were filled with worries for me.

“Can I sign the discharge paperwork, and do I need to have anyone do that?” I was weak, very weak internally. But staying even a minute more with this scumbag and his mistress would drive me insane.

“No, you don’t.” She handed me the paperwork and I signed it. I was leaving the hospital when Christian grabbed my wrist gently.

“Wait, Gina…” I stared at the wrist that he was holding. I felt nauseous from his holding and felt like punching him in the face because that was the same hand he had used to strangle me earlier and the same hand he used to carry his mistress.

“Let go of me,” I said calmly, my voice low. He slowly let go of my wrist, “You both are not only shameless but you are the worst scumbag and mistress I’ve ever seen.” I spat, walking out on him.

I needed to divorce this scumbag.

But I couldn't ask for divorce yet because there were a lot of things I needed to put in place before I would finally leave him for good.

I got outside the hospital flagging down a cab. In no time, I was already at the mansion. One that was filled with pain and sorrow. I breathed in and walked inside after paying the driver.

As I got inside, the house was silent and empty. All the maids had gone on a holiday two months ago and none had resumed.

I do everything all by myself and since Christian doesn’t bother coming home at night but rather stay at his reserved hotel room. I was already used to being alone so I wasn’t surprised at the silence anymore.

I headed to the shower before going to my wardrobe. I realized now that I didn’t have many clothes that were to my taste; every dress I owned was what Christians only approved of. Sometimes, while trying to please him, I’d buy lingerie to make him look at me, but it always resulted in sex without any emotions.

I picked out one night's wear and put it on. As I stepped outside the dressing room, Everything felt off, and I started feeling dizzy almost immediately. A sharp pain twisted in my chest, and I stumbled toward the bathroom.

“Not again,” I whispered, clutching the sink for support.

I gagged violently, blood spilling from my mouth as the room spun around me. My knees gave out, and the last thing I remembered was the cold tile floor pressing against my cheek as everything went black.

When I woke up, I was in my room, still in the same clothes I had changed to after bathing. The dried blood on my shirt made my stomach churn, and I still felt weak and shaky. How did I get here?

I pushed myself off the bed, wincing at the ache in my body. The faint smell of food wafted through the air. I walked to the door, holding onto the wall for support, and made my way downstairs.

The sight I saw in the kitchen stilled me in my tracks, Celine was the first to notice me while Christian was busy cooking.

“Well, look who’s finally awake.” She smiled brightly, almost too fake but sweetly, she nudged Christian slightly.

He turned back swiftly, staring at me, his expression was slightly different and unreadable. “Hey, are you okay?” His voice was soft and almost full of concern.

I ignored them both and went to the fridge to grab a cold bottle of water. I wasn’t in the mood for his fake care and their smug smiles. I took a sip and turned to head back upstairs.

“Gina, you don’t look good, are you sure you are okay?” He said, attempting to block my way.

“I’m good,” I said, brushing him off and walking away, but he started following me, saying words that I was not even listening to.

“Gina stop.” We finally got to the bedroom; he slowly let go of the door, letting it close with just the two of us inside.

“Gina, what exactly is going on? You still owe me an explanation, why the hell will you terminate our baby without my permission?” He grumbled.

I turned to face him, my anger bubbling to the surface. “Oh, don’t act like you care, Christian. You made it very clear how you felt about this baby. Don’t come in here pretending to give a damn now. Besides, it was her life or mine. ”

“What are you even talking about?” He snapped, his frustration evident. “I never said I didn’t want the baby. I didn’t text you, and I sure as hell didn’t tell you to do this!”

“Really?” I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “You’re going to stand there and deny it? After everything you said, after ignoring me for hours while you played house with Celine?”

Christian groaned, running a hand through his hair. “Gina, I didn’t get any texts from you. I didn’t even see your calls. Look.”

He pulled out his phone and held it out to me. “There’s nothing here. No missed calls, no messages. Nothing.”

I stared at the phone, but I didn’t move to take it. “How convenient,” I said, my voice flat.

“This is ridiculous,” He muttered. “Maybe you didn’t even send them. Maybe you’re just making all of this up in your head.”

My chest tightened at his words, the accusation hanging heavy in the air. “You think I’m lying?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Christian’s face softened for a moment, but he didn’t back down. “I’m saying something’s not adding up. Let’s figure it out together. Show me your phone.”

I grabbed my phone from my bag and unlocked it, scrolling through my call logs. My heart sank. The calls were gone. I switched to my texts, my hands trembling, but they were wiped clean too.

“Wow, just great Christian! Now you even went as far as clearing off my own messages just to make me look like a liar?”

He stepped closer, his voice rising. “You’re being impossible! I didn’t do anything to your phone, and I didn’t tell you to terminate the baby. Why the hell would I ever say that?”

I was too tired to argue anymore. “You know what, Christian? Believe whatever you want. I don’t care anymore.”

Before he could respond, another sharp pain shot through my chest. I clutched my chest, doubling over slightly.

“Gina, stop this,” Christian said, his voice cold. “You’re fine. Stop pretending.” I blinked away the tears that were threatening to fall.

“You really think…”

I was interrupted by Celine’s scream from downstairs which made him panic and left me all alone.

My eyes burned, I sat on the edge of the bed as tears bubbled up in my eyes. I thought of everything I had done over the years chasing after someone I thought I could spend the rest of my life with.

After recovering myself, I stood up and went back downstairs. I saw that the tables were already set.

Celine was sitting down opposite him in my position and her little thumb was wrapped with a plaster, probably a little cut.

I remember the time I got hurt while trying to cut carrots and Christian could only complain about how I whine over small issues that don't have to be exaggerated.

I went to sit down at the other side without uttering a word while I picked out what I wanted to eat.

Christian’s voice calling my name broke the silence in the dining room, making everything awkward, and eased up a bit. “Gina.”

“Yes,” I said, not caring about what he had to say, but what he said next shocked me.

“I have a very important dinner tomorrow night, and I’m expected to bring a partner there; you should prepare because you are going to follow me.”

“What!”