-JOANNE-
I opened my eyes to see a white surface and the smell of flowers meeting my nose. My body felt like peace, and my mind was as bland as my thoughts.
I blinked rapidly before fully opening my eyes and taking in the white ceilings above my eyes.
“She’s awake” Hardy’s thick voice filled the air, and I quietly turned to meet him talking to another man.
I slowly started to sit up, only to be stopped by Hardy.
“Do not get up,” he said.
I ignored him and slowly sat up, taking in the room in front of my eyes.
I glanced at the door to see a plate above and the word VIP room written above it.
Suddenly, I noticed the IV attached to my hand, and the memory of feeling sick and throwing up came rushing back. I realized that I must have passed out, and I was in a hospital or some other kind of medical facility. The pieces of the puzzle were slowly coming together in my mind.
The man Hardy was talking to left the room, and Hardy walked up to me.
“What are you doing?” He spat. “I told you to not get up.”
“What happened?” I asked, clutching my stomach. I also recalled puking out blood.’
“You need to rest,” he pressed.
“What happened? Did I pass out?” I asked.
“You did-after throwing up blood and the entire food you ate. But you’ll be okay.”
Hardy’s reassurance that everything would be fine sounded almost too good to be true. Yet, despite my lingering doubts, his words brought a sense of solace that I found myself craving in that moment.
Perhaps it was the vulnerability of my situation or the lingering fog of confusion that made me accept his words as truth, or maybe it was simply a desperate desire for a sense of safety and comfort in a world that had become increasingly treacherous.
“Thank you.” My words were almost quiet.
“For what?” He sounded disgusted.
I decided to shake off my doubts and ignore my initial reaction. Asking weird questions might make me seem ungrateful or suspicious. Besides, niceness is something you don’t want to misunderstand. So I kept my thoughts to myself and just focused on how comforting Hardy’s words were, even if I wasn’t entirely sure I believed him.
But I asked anyway.
“Who was that man, and what was he saying?”
“He’s the hotel’s private doctor. He said you puking blood was a medicine’s side effect, and you’re to cut that off for a while,” Hardy elaborated.
I moved.
“And my baby?”
Hardy looked at me with a look of ornery and eyes of bewilderment.
“Is my baby okay?” I asked, ignoring his damn expression.
“It’s okay.” He pressed.
Hardy’s gaze was unrelenting, his eyes piercing into me as he maintained eye contact. But there was something unsettling in his expression.
It felt as though he was looking at me, but not truly seeing me. A faint chill crept down my spine as I tried to decipher the meaning behind his piercing stare.
Was there some hidden agenda, or was it all in my head? I couldn’t help but wonder, why was he looking at me like that?
“It is my child,” he corrected, walking up to the room’s couch and grabbing the bottled water there.
I let myself scoff, and I didn’t let my words out again.
I shouldn’t ever forget that Hardy wasn’t just greedy. He was a man who would never open doors to a slight misconception.
Fuckin asshole.
“Are you hungry?” He asked.
Okay. Hardy was caring; there was nothing scarier than that.
“Maybe”
I mumbled out of surprise.
His grim eyes flashed towards me, and he pinned me down with his harsh gaze.
My insides churned.
“Maybe? Yes or no, are those words you know?” He scoffed.
“I am.” I swallowed.
–
It was currently five a. m. with me wide awake.
Due to my health and the doctor’s recommendation, I had cut out my current pill, and a suite room was suddenly opened. Hardy and I had moved from that crappy, small room to a suite room that was big and wide enough for me to avoid Hardy.
I was walking around the dark suite room and helping myself with plates of mango slices when The lights went on, and I spun around to see Hardy, dressed in loose pants and a white T-shirt, which made me question a lot of things about my body and immediately start to react.
“Good morning?” I moved my gaze away from how the shirt he was wearing was straining the fabric thanks to his bulky chest.
“Why are you awake?” He asked.
“Slept the whole day.” I shoved another slice in my mouth.
He didn’t say much and just walked up to the fridge to grab a bottle of water.
Trying to steal back my gaze from his Adam’s apple and back to the other fruit in front of my eyes.
Hardy’s voice with my name dancing on it, ripped my attention back to him.
“We were supposed to go out today,” he began.
His voice was low, and his eyes controlled my irises.
“And?” I pressed.
“But you were just discharged. So we’ll break out of that plan for now.”
“Plan?” I was entirely clueless.
“This fundraiser is happening. We were supposed to go.”
“We can still go. I’m perfectly fine. Feeling nauseous is perfectly fine during pregnancy,” I said. Assuring.
“Have you gotten pregnant before?” He scoffed.
“Well, thank you; this is my first experience.” I didn’t let my tone override the sarcasm.
Hardy immediately looked offended. He gazed at me without saying anything-a quiet gaze that yet said so much.
I hit him right where I wanted him.
“You have your darn ways with words.” He scoffed, taking a seat in front of me, and suddenly the round table keeping us at a distance became small.
“I didn’t mean it like that. Being nauseated is perfectly normal in pregnancy, as the doctor said. The blood with my puke was a side effect. I feel great,” I shrugged.
“Well, we cannot risk that. You will stay in here and rest,” he said. “We’ll skip that.”
I smiled.
And I let the smile linger.
Caring Hardy was new. And I would be a liar if I said I hated it.
“You’re awfully nice-
He threw his brows up, already offended by my noticing.
“I thought I didn’t matter to you,” I scoffed, immediately shoving another mango slice in my mouth.
“You still don’t.” He made it clear.
I tried not to show it, but it did hurt.
I shrugged slightly and muttered a gentle “same.”
A cunning smile crept up his face, and he looked at me up and down silently.
“What?” I slammed him when he wouldn’t stop looking.
“You only matter till you deliver the baby.”
“Same old story.” I scoffed, rolling my eyes.
“Well, I just wanted to be clear on that. That would be the only reason you matter to me-the only reason I’ll ask about your health, the only reason I’ll show that I care-
“Great, fine.” I interrupted. “I know you-I know you don’t have a single bone of humanity in you.” I was suddenly getting pissed.
How could I feel sympathy for this man when he felt this way towards me?
Why would he continue on this darn part he’s setting for me? And then he still goes on to tell me he doesn’t care about me.
What did I expect? Every day is the same old thing.
I couldn’t wait to get the baby out of me. In any way.
“Glad you’re catching on. Nobody means anything to me.” He got on his feet.
I really didn’t want to say anything. But I couldn’t keep it to myself.
I really had to, because I knew if I didn’t say. I’d regret it a hundredfold.
“Well, don’t you think it’s time to grow up?” I stopped him from walking away.
I knew what I would get. I knew I would get on his angry side. But I didn’t want to stop. I wanted him to at least hear the bigger and bitter truth.
He turned to look at me again.
“Fine. Lisa died; maybe one person was responsible for her death. But that doesn’t give you rights; it never has and never will give you the right to treat people like shit. Thousands of people had gone through grief. I did too, but it didn’t mean you don’t have a life or you don’t have the right to want to be nice. You treat people wrong. You’re angry, and you’re taking out your anger at the rest of the people around you.” I was talking too much, and he watched me quietly without moving a single muscle on his face.
“Lisa’s dead. And she’s never coming back. Even if you do catch the culprit, At the end of the day, because you do not know how to act human, you’re going to be alone for the rest of your life. And hopefully, if I do have this baby, I hope they don’t turn into someone as emotionless as you. Your reason for getting me pregnant is just as menacing as your attitude. Start being nice and stop acting like everyone is against you.”
Hardy narrowed his eyes at me, and for the first time, I didn’t feel like disappearing thanks to his piercing gaze.
This time, I was glad I let out every darn word on my system.
“Leave Lisa’s name out of your mouth,” he warned.
I glowered at me.
“She’s not coming back,” I reminded him.
Hardy’s demeanor transformed into a maelstrom of rage, and he swiftly closed the distance between us, seizing me by the neck with a vice-like grip.
The last morsel of mango slipped from my fingers, and as my breath caught in my throat, I realized with a defiant clarity that I had already lived long enough.
If he chose to end my life at the moment, I would embrace it, unyielding and unbowed.
“You do not speak to me like that.
He growled.
“I’ll be glad to die in your hands then.”.
–
*