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But then he grinned because he thought that the flowers and cake he had just given to her house could have already reached her. The collage of images that Jude was in charge of getting from the studio, which featured all of their high school memories, pictures of Lena’s parents, and pictures from their prom night, were guaranteed to make Lena the happiest. So Kellen could go and dig a hole for himself.
Ryan laughed. He always liked to make fun of Kellen. That stubborn bull would always get jealous and angry first, and then he would give Lena all of his attention.
It was funny and sweet.
Ryan was still attempting to get in touch with Lena as he left the study.
But when he got to the door, he stumbled and stopped when his foot hit something that had been carelessly thrown on the floor. He grimaced and looked away from the phone screen.
There were a lot of images that appeared like they were spread face down.
Ryan looked around to check whether a maid or someone else was in charge of things, but he couldn’t find anyone. He bent down to pick one up and was halfway through turning it over to look at it when he saw his very old and sleepy maid Agnes go by out of the corner of his eye.
Ryan’s heart raced as surprise, horror, and uncertainty raced through his thoughts as he snapped his face up. He thought his eyes had actually burnt from seeing the picture of him and Lena kissing. There were also pictures of Lena with another guy, conversing in a restaurant or standing on the side of the road. Ryan remembered that it was Derek.
What did all of them mean?
Did someone come inside his house?
He ran to the front door and saw that it was open. Someone was definitely here. He saw that the tub where he normally kept his extra key was a little out of position as he walked outside.
He frowned. He thought he had merely shown Lena the backup key. Was she here?
Without wasting any time, he went out onto the street and looked far to the left and right. But she wasn’t there. He had the cursed pictures in one hand, which he had picked up in anger, and he was dialing Lena’s phone with the other hand. This time, though, it wasn’t to wish her a happy birthday.
******
Someone, somewhere, was quite happy at that moment. Her laughing boomed throughout the room, and her joy was well masked behind the walls as she tipped her head back and drank some champagne.
She stooped over and peered closely at the chessboard, and her long hair swung. With thin, well-groomed fingertips, she brutally swept the queen off the board and then, very carefully, grasped the king. She smiled lazily before kissing the king on the lips.
“Now, Kellen,” a voice like honey said, “You’re mine.”
******
There was no cab in sight, but even if there had been, nothing would have changed for Lena. In short, she had no other place to go, at least not for the night. It was too far to walk to even the motels. After she got married, the few friends she still talked to reside outside of the city.
Lena didn’t know what time it was or where she was going. Her existence had no purpose; it was the work of fate, and treachery and distrust had already set her on the path to death. Her heart hurt so much that it felt like the night sky was hazy.
It had stopped raining a time ago.
Her clothing was partially dry from the rain that had fallen earlier. The chilly wind on her skin, which was a little moist, would have made her tremble in pain, but at some point, she stopped feeling anything. Lena didn’t see anything around her. She merely walked with the luggage behind her, holding it loosely with her hand. The kid in her belly was still someone she could go forward for. She knew she had to stay alive for the baby to develop inside her. That was her only hope, the one light in her dark world, and she was going to cling to it with all her strength.
People needed a reason to live, and Lena didn’t have many left.
A streetlight behind her made a creepy shadow of her on the street at night.
Two men suddenly came out of a dark alley, staggering. Lena was startled as she heard their abrupt, slurry shouts. It was clear that the hooligans were drunk.
To their lusty gaze, she was just a piece of meat that chance had thrown in their way.
Lena didn’t realize she was in trouble until they lurched close to her and fell over each other when they came to a stop and stared at her.
She was afraid as she took a few steps back. When she turned around to escape, someone grabbed her wrist hard. Lena shrieked at the man and tried to break away. The other man was going to jump on her, but at the last second, she pulled her hand free with all her effort. The man holding her wrist reeled forward from the rapid pull. She pushed the suitcase in front of her, making a quick barrier that the other man fell over. It was a good thing they were drunk; their motions were already shaky enough.
Lena dashed across the street without wasting a second. She didn’t want to take a chance and see how long she could resist those idiots. She kept looking over her shoulder to see if they were following her when she turned her head back.
It was funny how harsh and unfair fate can be at times.
Lena didn’t see the automobile speeding down the street. She heard the insane screeches of tires and saw spotlights coming at her from the corner of her eye. It all occurred so quickly that the automobile impacted the front of her body with a lot of force before she could even turn to face it or try to get out of the way.
Suddenly, she was rolling, with her body hanging in the air for a second before hitting the cold, hard pavement. The impact was so strong that it shook her bones. She heard the screeching of tires backing away from her and a pair of footfalls running away into the distance, but that was it. The ringing in her ears drowned out all other sounds. As the spotlights swiftly faded away, her peripheral vision hurt. It seemed like no one wanted to go into trouble.
She started to feel like something was tearing apart within her tummy, and it made her moan in pain. The pain didn’t stop, and it didn’t slow down; it only became worse and worse, stabbing, twisting, and ripping her whole body apart. Her hands were trembling, but she was able to reach her tummy and hold the skin where her kid was lying. She prayed her kid would remain, even if it seemed impossible. She was so sleepy that she thought of a lullaby. Maybe if she sang to her baby, it would settle down. But she couldn’t; her voice could only let out whimpers of anguish that raced through her whole lower abdomen. It was like getting stabbed over and over again without mercy.
“A—Kellen…” Lena said as her vision started to fade. “Please, our baby!” She begged over and over again, but no one listened. She had never felt so powerless before.
It was hard for her to breathe; her heartbeats were erratic, and her mouth was dry. He had told her that he would always protect her and that pain would never come near her. He was very eager to make her happy beyond her wildest dreams. He had stated everything in his lovely, deep voice, even the vows he made at his wedding. What happened to all of that? He forgot so much!