ALESSIA
Ramiro gripped the back of the sofa, clearly trying to steady himself.
He blinked rapidly, as if trying to process my words. “So, I have a child with Lia.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. Are you sure you’re the father?”
“Of course! There’s no one else!”
“Okay. If you say so.”
“Can you help me find her?”
“Sure. But I don’t know where she is. If you want, I can give you the addresses of all our relatives and the places she might go. But I have three conditions.”
I could sense that he was really in love with Lia, and the reaction on his face had given me an assurance that he could also be a good father. I just wished he could find my sister in no time. Obviously, Ramiro was a better man compared to his father.
Ramiro’s face lit up. “No problem. Whatever you want, I’ll agree to it.”
I smiled broadly. This was my chance to secure what I needed to get away from Claude’s presence.
“First, find a way for my son and me to leave the country as soon as possible. Second, don’t tell Claude about my plan. Third, let us stay at your house until we leave.”
“That’s all? I can do that. But you can’t leave just yet. Claude is going to file a case against Haven. Your testimony is crucial to strengthen the case and ensure she gets convicted.”
I shook my head firmly. “I can’t wait that long. Once I have my son, I want to leave immediately. Claude has money, and his family is influential. They can hire a lawyer to win the case even without me or my testimony.”
Ramiro scratched his head. “But it would be better if you were here. Your testimony carries more weight.”
I rubbed my temples, feeling the tension rise. It’s hard to negotiate with this man.
“Okay, here’s what we’ll do. While we’re waiting for our papers, I’ll cooperate with the lawyer. I’ll attend the court hearings if needed. But once our papers are ready, we’ll leave, even if the case isn’t resolved yet,” I clarified.
“That’s better.”
I couldn’t leave immediately, even though Claude brought Adrian to me the next day. The were some documents needed and that includes our passports, which took some time to process. As a result, Claude had time to visit us.
He would bring gifts when he visited, but I threw away the flowers that he gave me. I gave the cakes and other food to the maids in the mansion. Only Adrian accepted Claude’s gifts because they were toys.
I didn’t want to be fooled by Claude again. I had learned my lesson. It was enough that I gave him a chance for Adrian’s sake once. I didn’t want to repeat that mistake. It would be foolish to let myself be deceived again. I wasn’t crazy enough to let a man make a fool of me.
As I had expected, we didn’t finish Haven’s trial. All our documents got processed father than I thought, so three months after I made a deal with Ramiro, we were ready to leave. But along with our departure came an unexpected discovery.
My medical examination revealed I was twelve weeks pregnant. I hadn’t thought about it since I had no symptoms. Everything felt normal, except that I hadn’t had my period since staying with Ramiro.
Unlike when I was pregnant with Adrian, I had no signs of morning sickness. I didn’t feel dizzy or sleepy, nor did I have cravings.
I thought my baby was very considerate. Maybe the baby knew we weren’t in our own home and we were just staying with someone else, so it didn’t trouble me.
If not for the medical exam, I wouldn’t have believed I was pregnant. But, like with my first child, I would raise and care for this one alone. Fortunately, I still had my job and could write from anywhere.
I regretted leaving my bookshop. I had left the first one and now I had no choice but to leave the second one as well. I didn’t want to go to the Grand Artisan Pavilion, where the bookshop was. I worried Claude or his parents might see me there, and they might try to take Adrian away or interfere in my problems with Claude. That would make things more complicated. So I decided not to show up at the bookshop, even though I regretted it deeply, it was one of the heartbreaks that I had to endure.
I would focus on writing to support my children. Ramiro chose Hawaii for our destination so we could be near Pia, who we could get help from anytime.
Ramiro also gave me a substantial amount of money to cover our expenses while I waited for my salary. I knew that he didn’t have to do it, but he was insisting. He told me that I just had to think that he was doing this for my sister. His help was significant. Besides handling the paperwork and buying our tickets, the house we would live in also belonged to him. There would even be a car parked at the house, so our only concern would be our daily expenses.
If I had told him I was pregnant, he might have provided even more help. But I chose not to reveal my pregnancy, fearing that this news would reach Claude. I didn’t want my husband to chase after us. I no longer wanted to reconcile or be with him.
I was fed up with his bad behavior. He always made me cry and caused me so much stress already. I had enough.
It was better for us to go our separate ways. Claude could manage his own life, and I would take care of myself and my children. It will be difficult, but I sure could manage. It wasn’t just money I was in need of, but a peaceful life; I also valued tranquility. I wanted a life without chaos or conflict. Living with Claude, we were always disturbed by other people, which often led to our arguments.
Now that we were moving to a different place far from Claude, I hoped our lives would finally be peaceful. I prayed that no one would trouble us anymore.