Chapter 14
With that said Robert turned and made his way to the door. But I said something that dragged back his attention.
“So it’s okay for Scarlett to be pregnant with your child but not me?” I asked with painful tears that hurt my eyes streaming down my face.
“What did you just say?” He turned and asked, his brows knitting in sharply like he didn’t hear me correctly.
Trying to maintain a tough demeanour, I vigorously wiped the tears off my face and tried to blink away my tears.
I looked at him directly in the eyes. “I know everything. From how you got her pregnant and have been sleeping with her behind my back to your plans to get rid of me once your grandpa is no more and this contract marriage is over,” I scoffed in disbelief, that feeling of hurt and betrayal I felt when Scarlett told me all this creeping back into me. “I know you don’t love me like I love you, Robert but the last thing I expected you to do is betray me like this. All these years all I have done is stay true and faithful to you. I worked my ass off for you. I sacrificed my time, and my happiness and even refused to date any other man all these years because of you. Yet, this is how you repay me.”
His brows raised as he smirked in amusement and looked at me like I was putting on a show. He was taking me for granted and I hated he was doing that to me.
“I never asked you to do any of that for me,” he said with a shrug, his expression showing he didn’t care. “After all, it’s not like you’re doing it all for free. I’m paying you for your services. Before you signed this contract, I made it very clear to you that this is a loveless marriage so I expected you not to catch any feelings. I don’t love you, Lily. Even if you’re the only woman in the world, I’ll never still love you. Don’t you get that or would I rather drill it into your head until you finally understand? You mean absolutely nothing to me. I only agreed to this marriage to keep my grandpa happy and repay him for all the things he’s done for me. My heart belongs to Scarlett. She’s the reason I worked hard to become the man I am today. Now that we’re back together, I don’t want anything to get in between us. Soon, I will be marrying her and we will be starting a family together. So yes, you were right about everything you said.”
The pain laced in his words invaded my chest, tearing my heart to a million tiny pieces. Deep sobs racked my throat, making me feel like my air supply had been cut off. I held my chest with hopes of easing that pain but it did little to nothing to help.
I can’t believe I keep living in the delusion that he’ll be mine someday and I will be his. All these while, I have immersed myself in a love story that was never going to be written. I have remained faithful to him and helped him grow his company while he screwed around and planned his future with Scarlett. I’m just too good at messing up and being a fool for him.
Robert had seen me in my worst state. But he just stood there, doing nothing but stare at me with a mix of pity and disgust. I was suffering because of him. After my father’s demise and my mother’s illness, I don’t think I have felt like this before. But he didn’t care one bit.
I watched with eyes burning with tears as he made his way to the door, leaving me in my emotional wreck.
“Oh! and Lily…” Just when he reached the doorstep, he stopped and turned to say something else he seemed to have almost forgotten. “All your stuff is being taken to the family house. Those that can’t fit and are irrelevant will be sold off as well as this apartment to cover for the huge loss the company suffered today because of your mess up.”
I shuddered in shock at what he said. But before I could move my lips, he left and slammed the door shut.
I was so heartbroken and disoriented that even standing became difficult. My legs became jelly and threatened to give up underneath me. I managed to drag myself to sit on the bed which was the only property left in the room. I feared those men would come to carry it at any minute.
I can’t let Robert sell off my property and this apartment. He can punish me in some other ways for costing the company the million-dollar business deal but not by selling my stuff and this house. I have to do something to stop him. But my mind was so messed up I couldn’t think clearly in my state.
Robert’s heart was now made of stone, surely, begging him wasn’t an option. I couldn’t take him to court because one of the contract terms prohibited me from ever doing that as long as we were still married and I was receiving the financial benefits that came with the contract. My only option now was calling on his grandpa or Martin to intervene on my behalf. If Robert won’t listen to me, at least he’ll listen to one of them, especially his grandpa.
Just as I was about to take my phone to put a call through to Martin, it buzzed with a message. I opened it to see it was from Dr. Joe, the doctor handling my mother’s case in the hospital.
The message read;
“Hello Lily, hope you’re having a good time. I hope this message finds you well. I need to update you on your mother’s current condition.
Unfortunately, her body suddenly stopped responding to treatment. She is showing signs of severe dementia. Along with that, her blood pressure and sugar levels are rising quite drastically. We have taken her in for a CT scan to assess her brain and may need to adjust her treatment plan and monitor her closely. After the scan, we may need to give her something to calm her down.
My shift will be ending in a few minutes and I have a medical program to attend, so you can come around tomorrow afternoon so we can discuss this further. Please note all these will lead to an increase in the medical bills. Take care”
A flash of wild grief and panic ripped through me. Like a wrecking ball to a building, my world came crashing before me. I didn’t even know when my phone left my hand and almost crashed on the floor from the bed.
I don’t understand how any of this could have happened. Just last weekend, I had gone to see her. She was doing fine and responding to treatment. All she wanted was a grandchild. A baby from her only daughter. It’s been only two days. How could this happen? Just whenever I think there is light at the far end of the tunnel, something ends up blocking it.
My mother mattered to me more than anything else in this life. I can’t let anything happen to her. I have to get the money for the medical bills ready before visiting Doctor Joe tomorrow so they can start treatment as soon as possible. My payment from the contract marriage agreement was to come in tomorrow. But Robert threatened to withhold it if I didn’t do what he asked.
My heart drummed in my chest. Left without any option, I looked around for my phone, forgetting where I had dropped it. Finding it, I quickly searched through my contact list for the customer care line of a private hospital I had saved years back while looking for hospitals with the best facilities and expertise to admit my mother.
A soft feminine voice picked in one ring. “Hello, this is Lifeway clinic and diagnostics centre. How can we be of help to you?”
“Hello, I’m Lily Jones and I’d like to schedule an abortion appointment,” I said, swallowing a lump that formed in my throat.