I layed over there, listening to the man I loved for five years. The man I thought loved me, was a monster, who couldn't even spare his own child. I couldn't move, couldn't speak. The medication still haunted me until I couldn't hear anything.

When I opened my eyes, I wanted to run away from the castle I thought was my home, but was a graveyard for my baby. I tried to get up only to be held by Edan.

He stood by my side, saying in a soft voice, “Honey, your body is too weak to move. Keep laying for sometime.”

I turned to look at Edan. His eyes were swollen red. A hint of guilt and regret?

No, it was a feign act of remorse and grief as he held my hands, his voice trembling while whispering my name in a low voice, “Ramona…”

“You couldn't save my child! He was not breathing when he came out of my womb.” I said, my tone indifferent. Edan was taken aback with my response.

He hesitated for a long while before he finally managed to speak, “H-How do you know, Ramona?”

‘That’s because I heard you, Edan. I heard what you planned to tell me after killing our child monstrously,’

“I had a feeling,” I said, my voice still distant.

The lines of curve from Edan’s forehead loosened as he leaned closer to me, saying, “The child… he was too weak, Ramona. Doctors did their best, but they couldn't save him. Maybe, God has given him only that much time to live.”

‘No, it wasn't God’s will, Edan. It's you who wrote his fate before he came to my womb. You planned this eight months ago. Have a little shame to blame God for it. It's not God, it's you who killed my child,’

I cursed him in my mind, but said nothing.

After a moment, I raised my head from my stomach to look straight into his eyes. I smiled faintly as I said, “It's okay, what's taken is already taken. Let's not talk about him. We can have another child later, can’t we, Edan?”

I saw a moment of uncertainty in his eyes as he quickly moved his gaze off my eyes. While avoiding eye contact with me, he said, “You are right, Ramona. You are still young, and can have as many kids as you want.”

“Are you sure, Edan?” I asked, “Will you let me?”

Edan’s eyes flickered. He looked up at me with anxiety written all over his face.

“Why are you talking like this, Ramona? Why wouldn’t I let you. I too loved our child as much as you did. I didn't take you to the hospital because I didn't want to take the risk. You know everything about my profession, Ramona. How can you doubt my intention?”

He said, his voice laced with sincerity. But, only I knew his words were as hollow as the love he pretended to have for me.

He then came near me and supported me to sit while leaning over his shoulder as he pushed a tablet inside my mouth, saying, “You should take painkillers. It will reduce your pain and let you sleep comfortably.”

‘You just killed my child and now you won't even let me be a mother in future. Why was I so blind to see how cruel you were, Edan?’ I thought, staring at his desperate eyes.

After making sure, I gulped the medicine and didn't throw up, he smiled in satisfaction.

“Good girl,” He appreciated me for being obedient to him, “Now, take your rest, Romana and don't think too much. Everything will be alright. We will come through this together.”

After throwing out these words, showing how concerned he was about my health, he stood up, saying,

“Ramona, I have a few things to handle. I’m going to punish those who stopped me from taking you to the hospital. It's because of them that we lost our child. Just wait for me, Ramona! I’ll be back after avenging our child.”

Another lie!

We both knew how my child died. He was the murderer himself and now he was in a hurry to see the child for whom he strangled his own blood.

He waited for my response, maybe waiting for my approval, but I looked up into his eyes and asked, “Where is my child, Edan?”

“Wh-What? What do you mean, Ramona?” He asked nervously. I could see the panic in his eyes.

“I want to see his body, Edan,” I said, my voice trembling, “I want to see what he looked like. I want to… hold him in my lap for one time.”

His Adam’apple moved up and down. For a moment, I couldn't understand the expression he wore. But, his eyes were moist. However, the next words coming out from his lips were like a reminder to me of his lies and deception,

“I ordered my men to bury him already. I didn't want you to look at him and feel sad, Ramona. I love you so much and I can't see you crying, remembering how distorted our son looked.”

I clenched my fists in anger. Was killing his own child not enough for him that he had the audacity of insulting my dead son like that?

‘You killed my child and now you don't want me to even have a look at him, Edan. You are such a liar. I heard Doctor saying how beautiful my baby was!’

The truth was he didn't want me to look at the scars on his body and discover his monstrous act. That was why he didn't even let me have a look at him.

Hesitantly, he walked closer to me, and leaned closer to my cheeks to place a kiss. But, I layed down, not letting him touch my cheeks.

“I’m feeling tired, Edan. I want to sleep now.” I said. He smiled and immediately added, “You should take a rest then. I’ll soon be back to take care of you.”

After throwing out these words, he left our room. But, we both knew he wasn't coming back any sooner.

Soon my phone buzzed with several notifications. It was Lyra who was posting pictures with her son on a social media app.

One of the pictures caught my attention. In the picture, Lyra was holding the baby in her womb while a hand rested on her shoulder.

It was Edan’s hands. I could recognise the watch he was wearing in the picture. It was the limited edition watch that I gifted him on our anniversary. The caption of the picture read

[I just gave birth to a healthy baby! All thanks to this guardian angel who always accompanied me to the regular checkup and has taken care of me during these nine months.]

I scrolled down to look at her older posts that I never bothered to spare a glance before. Almost all her posts were the updates of her maternal checkup, carrying pictures with Edan.

He had accompanied her throughout her pregnancy. He took her to the hospital regularly, prepared nutritious dishes for her, and fulfilled her midnight cravings. He did everything a father of an unborn child would do for his baby’s Mom.

But, for me, he did nothing!

Despite my continuous begging to do a maternal checkup in the clinic, he insisted not to go out of the castle. He scared me by mentioning his rivals lurking behind to hurt our child.

He said if they got to know he was becoming a father, they would come for his son. So, he wanted to keep it a secret.

But it was only a facade. The truth was he couldn't care any less about my child. During the nine months of pregnancy, he wouldn't have stayed with me more than a few weeks.

Be it the heavy vomiting or the morning sickness, or the false pain, I suffered all alone. I had no one to be taken care of while he was doing everything himself for Lyra.

She had posted a picture of a man’s back, cooking healthy porridge for her. I recognised him at one glance. It was Edan. She also wrote a caption.

[I could hire a cook, but he insisted on doing everything for me personally. My baby is going to have the best Godfather in the world.]

I couldn't remember the last time Edan had done anything as extravagant as this for me. Oh, well I remember. Never!

I shut the phone off and threw it aside. After a long hour, I hear a knock at the door of my room.

“Mrs Knight, can I come in?”

It was our butler’s voice.

“Come in,” I said, sitting up on the bed. He walked inside.

His expression filled with guilt as he said in a low voice, “Mrs Knight, Mr Knight called me and said he had to leave for an urgent trip. He can't return for a week. In the meantime, I’ll be taking care of you.”

“And yeah! Mr Knight said that he was really apologetic to leave you in this condition,” he added these words of his own.

It wasn't the first time I was listening to him saying this. He had delivered the same message several times during this year of my marriage. That was why he seemed disheartened saying those lines. Even he was tired of pretending his boss cared about me.

“Alright Robin, you can leave now.” I asked him to leave and laid down on my bed. My phone again buzzed with a notification. It was again Lyra’s post.

[He left all his work aside and insisted on taking care of me during my postpartum period. My baby and I, we both are so lucky to have him by my side. My guardian angel!]

During the next two weeks, I didn't receive a call or message from him. Robin kept telling me that his boss called him and reminded him to prepare nutritious meals for me along with giving me medicine on time.

But, I knew he was lying just to ease my heart. He didn't know that I no longer cared about Edan’s care or love.

In the meantime, Lyra kept posting pictures with Edan taking care of her and the baby. Every picture was a clear depiction of a happy family of three.

I was done with looking at how happy they were after my child’s death. So, I blocked Lyra’s number and decided not to think about them.

Just when I thought about moving on, my phone rang. It was Edan's call. He looked desperate as he kept calling me despite my ignorance to receive it. He usually didn't call back if I missed a call from him. But, this time he called me five times before I finally picked up.

“Ramona…” he called my name, his voice laced with panic and anxiety, “Thank God! You picked it up.”

"What happened, Edan?" I asked, my voice showing no emotions at all.

"Nothing..." He continued, "Christian, my biggest rival of all time, the only enemy I hate so much... I heard he is after you, Ramona. He wants to use you in some way. I don't know how but he wants to. I called you to be wary of him, okay?”

“If he ever tries to contact you, just let me know. And, please don't listen to him no matter what he tells you."

"Okay," I said, not that I was going to obey him. He took a sigh of relief, and then made himself sound as if he really cared about me, saying,

"Ramona, I know I should have been with you at this moment. But, I'm stuck with some urgent work. I'll be back soon. Please take care of yourself, okay?"

"It's okay, Edan," I said, "Take your time and don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."

After throwing out these words, I hung up. As soon as I hung up the call, my phone rang again. This time from an unknown number. I recalled what Edan told me as I instantly picked up the call.

"Hello, who is this?" I asked,

"I'm sure your husband would have given you a million reasons not to talk to me but I'll give you only one to talk," a deep male magnetic voice sounded from the other end, each word carrying the weight of millions, forcing me to listen more.

"Are you Christian Williams?" I asked, my voice laced with suspicion and anxiety.

"Yes," he replied, "I'm the one who knows what you don't."

"What do you want from me, Christian?" I asked.

"Want something from you? Nothing! I just want to give you something." He replied, his tone mysterious but sounded sincere.

"I know what you have lost and that nothing can compare to it. But, what I know might give a direction to your life. Do you want to take a risk and meet me?"

He asked in a deep magnetic voice. He had something in his tone that was sending shivers down my spine but I agreed to our meeting.

***

The time and location that Christian shared on my phone led me to a very extravagant auction, running in a very luxurious hotel. An act of showing off your wealth and power. Having been raised in a well known Mafia family, I was completely aware of these cultures.

In the name of charity, undercover agents and people involved in illegal business gathered in these kinds of events to share some information or meet some people who they couldn't meet in broad daylight.

After coming out of the cab, I asked the chauffeur to leave. I was standing nervously near the main entrance, because I knew entry to these kinds of events needed special invitation but I was empty handed.

The guards were staring at me as if I was a trespasser. I could feel their eyes scanning me from head to toe, sizing me up. I knew I had to think fast, or I'd be turned away at the door.

Just as I was about to come up with a plan, a sleek black car pulled up beside me. The window rolled down, revealing a familiar face - Edan. The chauffeur opened the door for him. He came out, holding Lyra’s hands affectionately.

Lyra smiled at the faces staring at them with adoration. She had held her baby in her arms, and a dozen guards dressed in black and laced with weapons followed them.

Seeing such a high class security after Lyra forced me to think how Edan kept telling me to stay inside the castle for my security but didn't bother to keep any guards for me and here he was, arranging dozens of guards for his beloved.

I was still standing at the entrance, listening to the sneers and whispers of the guards while Edan walked past me with his ‘family’. I was standing so close to him but his gaze was too occupied staring at Lyra to even notice my presence.

However, his ignorance had no effect on me. My heart was already dead. I didn't feel hurt anymore. I was about to turn and leave, thinking it was a bad idea to trust somebody on a phone call, that someone called me from behind.

I turned back only to find a man dressed in a well tailored grey suit.

"Need a ride?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

I raised an eyebrow, surprised by his sudden appearance before I said, "I think I need more than a ride, Mr. Williams?"