Beatrix opened her bleary eyes slowly after a while, focusing on Alexander sitting at her bedside. There was a police officer too at the foot of the bed on high alert.
“Alexander!” she croaked with surprise. The doctor came forward to check on her.
“Please, can you step out, officer? I need to check how the baby is doing,” said the doctor. The officer reluctantly left the room, and the doctor started talking to the sonographer present. Thankfully, no one gave him a thought, considering him to be the father of the baby. Seeing his only opportunity, Alexander leaned towards Beatrix.
“Why did you do such a thing, Beatrix?” he scolded her.
“I’ll do it again if you don’t marry me, Alexander. I’ll give my verdict against you and send you to prison.” Alexander gaped at her, unable to understand whether she did this on purpose to trap him or something else! It didn’t look like she did this to kill herself. He looked at the bandaged wrist and wondered how much she had harmed herself. How was it she suffered minor blood loss?
“Is that what this was all about?” he asked her with horror.
“Yes, took you long enough to understand. I wouldn’t have died at all with dad’s trusted nurse around, but the police don’t know that. I’ll blame you for driving me to the edge and promoting my suicide.”
“You’ll suffer because of this, Beatrix,” he seethed with anger.
“Maybe. So what have you decided? Will you marry me or suffer?” she asked impatiently.
“I will marry you,” he blurted out on seeing the nurse approach them. There wasn’t any other way out for him.
“Mr. Van Every, will you step out for a moment, please?” she asked with a smile. Alexander nodded and walked out in a dazed state. He still couldn’t believe that Beatrix had bluffed everyone and staged the entire thing so effortlessly. How could she harm herself, risking her pregnancy just to get at him? Was she crazy?
“What happened, bro? Did you get to talk to her?” asked Ashton, who had been waiting for him outside. Alexander sighed and sat down beside him, all the energy draining out of his body.
“Bro, you’re killing me. Tell me what happened inside. Did she talk to you?” asked Ashton, nudging him with his elbow to bring him out of his daze.
“She staged this just to force me to marry her. It was all planned meticulously with the help of uncle Desmond’s trusted nurse.” Ashton’s eyes went wide with surprise, not having thought of this angle at all.
“Is she mentally unstable? Who takes such a risk? She has a baby to think of. So, did you agree to marry such a sick woman?”
“Yes, what choice did I have? She threatened to give her verdict against me. It was so sudden and I had only a second to give her my final decision,” said Alexander, covering his face brokenly. How did he always land up in these situations with Beatrix? Now it seemed he could never get rid of the scheming woman. He was stuck to her for life. He felt agitated and claustrophobic and wanted to run away from her, as far as his legs could carry him.
The cops arrived after the doctors ensured that both the mother and baby were stable. Alexander and Ashton sat outside like lifeless corpses, devoid of energy, wanting to escape the melodrama. After fifteen minutes, the cops emerged, but Alexander didn’t want to interact with them. Officer Owen approached him with a smile on his face and they stood up reluctantly to get it over and done with.
“Congratulations, Mr. Van Every! Your fiancee has blamed her pregnant hormones and her father’s death to cause her violent behaviour. She has promised to consult a specialist for her condition. The case is dismissed, but we will definitely keep track just to ensure that there’s no repeat. Thank you for your cooperation.”
“Thank you for taking out time for us. I will definitely ensure that she consults a psychologist. Good day to you, officer,” said Alexander, eager to get rid of him.
“Good day to you too,” said the officer, leaving in a rush. It was late in the night and Beatrix was fast asleep, after all the drama she caused. Alexander and Ashton spent the night in the hospital waiting room just as the doctor requested them to. If everything went well, they would release her the next day.
Alexander drove Beatrix to his parents’ house the next day after getting her discharged from the hospital. She insisted on staying at his parents’ place with him. Alexander didn’t argue, but he knew he wouldn’t sleep with her on the same bed even if he agreed to marry her. His mom arranged a caregiver for her and after she settled down, Alexander left for work.
For the rest of the day, Alexander was in a foul mood, blasting everyone at the drop of a hat. He hated his shitty life and felt restless. After insulting Eva, he hadn’t met her even once, and now he could never keep his promise to her. He could never get out of Beatrix’s clutches without destroying himself and his life. He was glad, therefore, when an opportunity came up for him to leave NYC for a few days. Without a second thought, he left for a work tour to London.
Bellevue Hospital, NYC
After duty, Eva gaped at seeing Maxwell waiting in the hospital waiting area for her. After that last meet-up, she hadn’t found the time to catch up with him. She had, in fact, completely forgotten about him. Her mind was mostly engaged in the news articles on Alexander and his alleged involvement with Beatrix’s suicide attempt.
Did Alexander really provoke her to commit suicide? Will he be arrested? Will he land up in prison? These were the questions echoing in her mind all the time. They were all she and Alyssa discussed at home. With Alexander not accepting anyone’s calls, they were anxious about him.
“Maxwell? What are you doing here?” she asked with surprise.
“What could I do? You just disappeared from my life. Are you free to go out to dinner with me now?” asked Maxwell hopefully.
“Not tonight. I’m not in the mood,” she said, walking out. Maxwell followed her out, not giving up at all.
“Why? Does it have anything to do with Alexander?” Eva whirled around and scowled at him.
“Please stop bringing him up all the time.”
“I just thought that it would help you know he has agreed to marry Rotterdam just to save his as*.” Maxwell laughed while Eva glared at him.
“I don’t believe you.” Maxwell took out a magazine clipping from his pocket and thrust it into her hands, all the laughter leaving his face.
“Check for yourself then.” Eva stared at the article published recently in a popular celebrity magazine. Eva stared with disbelief at the photograph of Alexander and Beatrix together, but what stunned her was that Beatrix looked pregnant in the picture! Below it was a caption that made her head reel!
Heiress to the Rotterdams empire is all set to marry the father of her baby!
The article explained how Beatrix and Alexander announced their forthcoming wedding. It also mentioned them gearing up to welcome their first baby together!
Eva stood, numb with shock. Did Alexander lie to her? How can he have a baby with Beatrix when he claimed never to have touched her? Unable to think anymore, her head swooned, and she clasped onto Maxwell’s arm to steady herself. All her dreams were now shattered! All her hopes crumbled to dust. It was clear now that they really were getting married.
“So will you move on now and have dinner with me?” Eva didn’t reply, her throat felt too choked up to answer him. Maxwell steered her towards his car and helped her inside. While she sat staring at the article, he drove her to a restaurant nearby.
“How could he break his promises to me? He said he loved me. He wanted me to wait for him,” she said with tears in her eyes that threatened to overflow. Maxwell sighed, realizing how deep her feelings went for the undeserving man. “I have loved him for the last twelve years of my life. I’m still waiting for him, but for how long? Why did he give me hope only to dash it completely? I can’t believe they are expecting their first child when he confessed his feelings for me. Why did he have to play with me?” The tears fell from her eyes while Maxwell looked ill at ease.
“I will advise you to move on, Eva. I know it sounds harsh, but they have already announced the wedding and pregnancy publicly this morning on her social media. It is official now.” Eva wiped her eyes and crumpled the article and threw it on the dashboard.
“You’re right, Maxwell. Can you please drop me home? I’ve lost my appetite.”
“No, Coco. I won’t let you starve yourself because of an insensitive man. You will have dinner with me and enjoy your life,” said Maxwell with determination. If the need arose, he would take her out every day to ensure that she ate her meals on time.
Maxwell swore to help her get over this. He would give her the happiness she deserved and marry her, not out of pity or revenge, but because she was a pure soul and he liked her.