Céline was in deep thoughts. She would be a mother soon. She wouldn’t want her child to think of her as the thief she was going to be after taking the money Damien had giving to her.
Yes. He gifted it to her and that meant she could use it. Yet, her mind rejected the option. Where else could she find legit money to pay off John and within the hour; because John wasn’t happy at all, making him wait would only get him riled up.
She would just have to call that bank officer and make use of that money. But she would work hard and pay it back, somehow.
Elizabeth returned shortly after Mrs Culhane and Damien had left the room. She brought a plate of baked rice and chicken for Céline with a fresh jug of water.
Céline snapped out of her thoughts and watched as her aunt placed the meal on the bedside table.
“You should eat, you look pale.”
Céline only nodded and moved closer to the edge of the bed so she could reach the food. She was tired of everyone saying she looked pale. She was tired of the pain she felt. And every time Damien refused to even look into her eyes it broke her bits by bits.
She placed the food in her mouth and munched on like she was eating tasteless leaves. Her tongue refused to work yet she liked it that way.
What was the point anyway? -Her life was slowly losing balance. The only reason she was still breathing was because of the life in her stomach. She couldn’t harm herself knowing fully well her child depended on her.
“Céline, what are you thinking about?” There was a slight frown on her aunt’s face.
“And don’t tell me it’s nothing. I heard you talking on the phone as I was leaving the room. Was that the detective?”
Céline felt a lump rise deep within her throat and it became too painful to swallow the morsel of food in her mouth. She couldn’t keep on lying to everyone? If not anything her child deserved a better mother.
“Aunt… There is no detective,” she whispered.
Elizabeth raised her brows, but said nothing, allowing Céline to continue.
“I contacted John…” A lone tear dropped from her eyes and she quickly wiped it. She wouldn’t be weak. She would be strong for her child and for herself.
Elizabeth blinked as she tried to put the pieces together.
“Your old boyfriend, John? How will he help you find your parent’s killers?”
Céline gulped, swallowing the lump that was threatening to steal her voice.
“John is… John is a criminal now…”
Elizabeth’s eyes brightened up in shock as Céline spoke.
“I always thought that there was something not right with that boy… His obsession with red ribbons…” She mumbled under her breath.
“And pregnant-” And then Elizabeth realised it too. Her eyes became as large as saucers as she froze.
“Céline, John is the serial killer!” She squeaked, cupping her hands to her mouth.
Céline swallowed another lump and nodded her head in agreement. “He is.”
“All those women… Oh my God!” Elizabeth started shaking as she realised what Céline had done.
“You went to him– oh my God!” She whimpered.
Céline remained quiet struggling with her own inner battles, allowing her aunt to take in the information.
Céline had known John was the serial killer from the very first kill. It was easy for her because she knew him too well. And then she made a stupid decision, now she knows, she should have never have gone to him.
“We need to go to the police!” Elizabeth finally said.
“No! We can’t do that!” Céline screamed.
“He will come after me. He will come after you. He is too unstable and we can’t trust the police to stop him.”
“He is too- you know he is too unstable, yet you went to him? Céline, you are smarter than this!”
Céline bit down on her teeth, trying to stop the tears that threatened to fall. She had been stupid.
“I thought I could convince him to help me…” The tears eventually fell and she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand.
“You thought? Céline, he is a criminal. A psychopath! Why would he help you? What would he gain from it! Are your parents’ killers pregnant women?”
Céline’s lips trembled as she swallowed the cries that wanted to pour out of her like a waterfall.
“What makes you think he will let you go once this is over?”
As her aunt asked her the question, John’s last words came back to her and she shuddered in fear. She was pregnant now. John would not want to have sex with her, he would want to kill her and rip her child off her womb.
Elizabeth got up from her sitting position and started pacing with her hands on her aching waist. “I warned you Céline. I told you to let all of these plans for revenge go… I told you to let the past remain in the past but you refused to listen. Now look where we have found ourselves!”
“I am- I- I am sorry aunt. But I- had to find out… I had to heal… My parents- they- they did nothing wrong… I want to know. I want to know who took them away from me.” Céline sobbed into her hands.
She couldn’t keep the tears from falling anymore. The lump in her throat had grown too large, her heart was aching from every angle. She couldn’t let go.
Elizabeth took one look at her niece and she felt the same pain. She wanted to know why her sister was so brutally taken away from her too. Even if she was too scared to dig into the past herself, she wanted to know.
She moved back to the edge of the bed and embraced Céline, allowing her to cry out her pain. She rubbed circles on her back, encouraging her to let it all out.
“How much did he request for?” She asked Céline.
“Twenty million dollars…”
Elizabeth heaved a sigh. Twenty million dollars was roughly the amount she had if she pulled in all her savings. They could fix this and hope John stayed away.
“Clean your tears Céline. We will get through this.” She pulled Céline up and wiped her tears for her.
“I have up to that if we join in all my sayings…” She started saying but Céline stopped her.
“No, aunt… No! We won’t do that.”
Céline knew the savings her aunt was talking about. In about a year or two, her aunt was going to retire. That money was supposed to be for her upkeep not to clean up a mess Céline had made for herself.
“Your mother was my younger sister and I loved her more than anything in this world. When Ben died, she became the only light in my world. Until those people took her away from me.” She held Céline’s hands and squeezed them lightly.
“More than anything I want to see who ever was responsible for bringing us so much pain, pay. I want them to pay for their crimes…”
“Besides, that money was yours all along. I am old… what would I do with so much money?” She shrugged her shoulders, a sad smile growing on her lips.
“Aunt, you are not old. You are a miracle.” Céline said, hugging her aunt.
A relief washed over her. Now, she could face her child without shame. She would never be called a gold-digger.
“I promise to take good care of you aunt…” She whispered on her aunt’s shoulder.
Elizabeth pulled Céline away from her shoulder, so she was looking into her eyes. “I don’t want that. I want something else in return…”
“Anything you want aunt. It’s already yours!” Céline stated, wiping the remaining tears from her flushed cheeks.
“I want you to tell Damien about your pregnancy.”
“Aunt but-” Elizabeth raised her left hand, silencing Céline.
“No ‘buts’ Céline. Let him decide if he wants to save this marriage or not. It is a decision you need to make to together and not alone.”
“But aunt, he isn’t even talking to me… How do I tell him a thing like that?”
“He is your husband Céline and I had accepted this marriage not because of your stubbornness, but because I saw the love in his eyes. He loves you. He will listen.”
Céline sniffed but she said nothing. Damien did love her. If he didn’t he would have hurt her maybe even physically, but he didn’t. He could have told the whole world about what she did to him, but he didn’t. Somehow, he protected her dignity.
“Now, there is no much time left, I’ll make the necessary arrangements, you can call your bank officer to start preparing for the transfer as well.”
Getting up, Céline passed her laptop to her aunt while she picked up the paper Damien had given to her and dialed the bank officer’s number.