I TOOK a deep breath as I stared at the suitcase in front of me. 

This is it, Bianca. No more backing out. 

Today, I finally decided to escape from Gideon. I couldn't allow myself to stay with him any longer. 

After what happened that night... five days ago... I suddenly found the courage to leave. 

I know how powerful Gideon is. I have all the reasons to be scared of him. But if I continued to be like this—scared, weak, and pathetic—I would lose my baby. 

I shut my eyes when I remembered how terrified I was that night... when I thought I already lost my baby. 

"If something happened to my baby, I would have fucking killed you, Gideon Henry." I angrily muttered to Gideon. The corner of my eyes were hot with unshed tears. 

I was lying on our king-sized bed after our doctor left. 

Of course. The powerful and ruthless Gideon Henry didn't drive me to the hospital. Instead, he called for a private doctor to come to his house. 

My hand protectively held onto my belly. The doctor told me I only had a minor bleeding earlier, and I have nothing to worry about because my baby is strong. When he asked me about what happened earlier, I told him I accidentally slipped on the staircase. 

"Really, Bianca?" Gideon retorted, giving me a sharp and cold look from the door of the room. "You really think you could kill me when you can't even hurt a damn fly?" 

I gritted my teeth as I matched his sharp eyes. "You don't know what I can do to protect this child."

"You really love my fucking brother that you're willing to kill just to protect his child?" he asked, his voice dripping with acid. 

"This is not about Charlie, Gideon."

"I told you not to say his fucking name in front of me." His jaw clenched. "If you really want to protect your baby, be a good wife to me." 

"Am I not still being a good wife to you?" I hissed. "I do everything you say. I quit my fucking job. I play my part as your loving and smitten wife in front of everyone."

"Then stay that way, Bianca." He stepped towards me and sat on the corner of the bed. His hand went to my face. This time... his touch was gentle, but his eyes... they were as cold as ice. 

"Continue acting like the loving wife that you are." He lifted my chin and met my eyes. "And stay the fuck out of my brother. Because the next time I see you two again, you don't want to imagine what I'd do."

I picked up my suitcase and headed to the door. I have already made up my mind. I'm leaving him. 

I couldn't continue being like this. I needed to be brave. I needed to stand up. In order to protect my baby. 

If I continued to stay with Gideon, who knows what else he could do next time. 

I couldn't imagine losing this baby inside me. No. I couldn't let that happen. Never. 

I placed my hand on my belly as I put my suitcase in the trunk of my car. 

I promise I'll give you a good life. I'll work hard for the two of us. 

Gideon was currently on a three-day business trip to Atlanta. With him away, this was my chance to escape this hellhole. 

Gideon... he's really confident that I would never escape from him. That I would continue to be the obedient, fearful wife that I was. 

You're wrong, Gideon. And thanks for underestimating me. I said sarcastically. 

I smirked as I entered the driver's seat of my car. 

For one last time, I glanced at the bungalow Mediterranean style house that became my prison for months. A bittersweet smile escaped my lips as I started the car. 

Thirty minutes later, I was already nearing the exit of Los Angeles. I was on my way to Texas, where my best friend Andrea lives. Gideon didn't know about her. 

But I knew I wouldn't stay long in Texas. I needed to go somewhere far. Where Gideon couldn't see me. If I needed to leave everything behind and start a new life on the other end of the globe, I'd do it. Just to get away with my devil of a husband. 

My thoughts got interrupted when my cell phone rang. I glanced at the gadget on the dashboard. I saw Amelia on the screen. I frowned. Why was she calling me? For a second, I hesitated on answering it. But I guessed this would be the last time I'll be hearing her voice. Unlike Gideon, his mother had been so good to me. 

"Amelia, hi..." I said, after putting on my earpiece. 

"B-bianca..." I frowned when I heard her sniff on the other line. She sounded as if she was on the verge of breaking down. 

"Amelia, what's wrong?" 

"W-we need to fly to Atlanta right now, Bianca. Prepare s-some things. I'll have s-someone pick you up at your home. He'll be there in thirty."

I swear... there was something wrong in her voice. She was like... panicking. And why do we need to fly to Atlanta? 

My lips parted with a sudden realization. Did Gideon find out about my escape? And now he's using Amelia to stop me? 

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. My heart started pounding inside my chest. 

I glanced at the screen on my phone. How did Gideon find out that I'm leaving? Did he put a tracking device on it? 

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. 

"A-Amelia, why are we going to Atlanta?" 

"M-Gideon..." Amelia muttered in a shaky low voice. "Gideon... he got into an accident, Bianca. T-the hospital called us. M-my son's in a critical condition."

"W-what?" I croaked. I accidentally hit the brake of the car in the middle of the road. 

My lips remained parted as Amelia's words kept on playing in my head. Gideon... there was an accident. And he's in critical condition. 

"Bianca... are you there?" 

"Y-yes… I…" 

My eyes widened when I saw a truck coming my way. I tried to step on the gas, but I realized it was too late. The next thing I knew, I saw my own blood before I lost my consciousness. 

I woke up in an unfamiliar room. It took me a while before I could finally open my eyes and adjust to the blinding lights. 

"Bianca, you're awake."

I stopped when I heard a familiar voice beside me. I turned to my side and saw... Charlie. He was sitting on the couch near me. He looked like he just woke up with his slightly disheveled hair and creased long-sleeve shirt. 

What was he doing here? My lips parted when he stood up and went to me. 

I looked around the room. Everything was white. My heart started pounding. 

"W-where am I?" I asked, my lips trembling when I saw the IV tube on my arm. 

"You're in the hospital, Bianca."

Just like that, everything came back to me. I was finally escaping from Gideon. I was driving on the road when I received a call from Amelia... saying that Gideon had been in an accident. 

The news shocked me that I momentarily forgot I was in the middle of the road. Then... a truck. It was coming my way. The last thing u saw before I lost my consciousness... was my own blood.  

My hand automatically dropped to my belly. Tears formed in my eyes when I couldn't feel anything there. It felt empty. 

"M-my baby?" I looked at Charlie, who was now standing in front of me. "What happened to my baby?" 

"Bianca..." His voice was low. "I'm sorry." He sighed. "The baby... you lost him in the accident."

Charlie tried to touch my arm, but I swatted it away. 

"No!" I shut my eyes as tears escaped them. "Tell me my baby's fine. Tell me it's here." I clutched my empty belly. "No. I didn't lose my baby. It's still here!"

"Mrs. Henry, please calm down."

I didn't realize there was already a nurse inside my room. She touched my arm, but just like Charlie, I pushed her away. 

"No." I angrily shook my head as I rejected the truth. Tears continuously swelled in my eyes. "This isn't true. The doctor said my baby's strong. I didn't lose my baby! You're all lying!" 

"Bianca… please. You're still recovering." 

"No! No! Please tell me I didn't lose my baby!" I turned to Charlie but I failed to see his reaction. My eyes were too blurry with tears. 

"Bianca… I'm sorry."

I shut my eyes, but tears continuously fell from them. "I don't need your sorry. I want my baby! My baby..." I sobbed as reality slowly sank into me. My baby's now gone. I promised I'd protect my baby... but I failed to do it. 

"Bianca… please." I felt his arms on my shoulders. 

I shook my head. "Just… leave me alone, Charlie. I needed to be alone. Please…" My voice broke as I pleaded the last word. I shut my eyes and balled my hands into a fist. 

I heard a sigh. "Alright. We'll leave the room, Bianca. But please... press on the intercom if you need anything."

I didn't know how long I was crying until I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was welcomed again by Charlie. I noticed that his clothes were different now. 

He cleared his throat. "You need to eat, Bianca."

I had no idea how many hours had passed. I had only stopped crying when I felt like I couldn't cry anymore. 

I only glanced at the tray of food on the table. I didn't want to eat. I didn't even feel hungry. "I'm not hungry." 

Empty. That's what I've been feeling right now. There's a huge void inside me that couldn't be filled. 

He sighed. "You need to eat if you want to recover fast, Bianca."

I looked at him with dead eyes. "What if I don't want to recover?" 

I saw how his lips parted. "Don't say that, Bianca," he said in a gentle voice. "You already lost your baby. You can't lose yourself... You have to be strong."

"You don't know anything, Charlie," I cut him off. 

I didn't just lose my baby. I also had lost my will to live. Tears started to form in the corners of my eyes. I had already lost my father four months ago. And this time... it was my baby who was taken away from me. 

Why did I even survive this accident if the only thing that was keeping me alive was now taken away from me? 

"Bianca..."

I turned to him. His eyes... they were looking at me with concern.

"Why are you here, Charlie?" 

The last time I saw him... he was acting cold to me—No… despite the cold treatment, I still knew that he still cared. That night, when he saw my bruise, he showed his concern. 

Charlie cleared his throat. "Mom and Dad… they're in Atlanta right now. My mother asked me to take care of you."

I looked away. "I need you to get out, Charlie." 

Charlie being here was only making the pain worse. He's the living reminder of everything that I had lost. 

Every time I looked at him, I felt like my heart was breaking all over again. He was triggering different emotions in me. Pain. Longing. Guilt. Too much guilt. 

I couldn't… I couldn't even tell him the truth. That the baby I lost was also his. 

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I don't need you here, Charlie."

He clenched his jaw. "I know you don't want my presence, Bianca. But I'll stay here… until Gideon gets transferred here. You need someone to look after you."

"I don't need someone to look after me. I can handle myself."

I heard him sigh. "Don't be stubborn, Bianca. I'll stay here whether you like it or not. If you're not comfortable with my presence, I'm sorry. But you can't do anything about it. You married Gideon. My brother. That makes us... family."

I stilled. Gideon. He was in an accident and in critical condition. 

My head turned to Charlie. "H-how's Gideon?" 

"Gideon… fell into coma, Bianca."

"OH. I'm so sorry, Bianca." Amelia cried as she pulled me into a tight embrace. It was my third day in the hospital when Amelia and Darwin came. 

I thought I had already become numb from the past three days. But the moment I heard Amelia sobbed, hot liquid pooled in my eyes. 

"My poor grandchild."

I didn't know how long we stayed in each other's arms until we both calmed down. 

"I'm sorry it took us days before we visited you," Amelia apologized while holding my arms. 

I stared at her. She seemed five years older than the last time I saw her—at her own party a week ago. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Her porcelain skin was now dry and saggy. 

"How are you, Bianca?" she asked in a gentle voice. "Charlie told me you're not properly eating your meals."

"I don't have the appetite," I said in a weak voice. 

She grabbed my hand and gently pressed it. "The baby... Charlie said he looked just like you."

"C-Charlie?"

"Yes… Bianca." Amelia gave a gentle smile. "Charlie buried him in the family mausoleum."

I didn't know that. Charlie and I didn't chat the whole time he was here. He was just there… checking on me. Reminding me to eat. He didn't tell me that he saw my baby. That he was the one who arranged for his burial.

Another tear rolled down my cheek. My baby. I still couldn't accept that he was gone. I hadn't even seen him. I hadn't even got a chance to hold him in my arms. 

I'm so sorry, baby. 

"I'm sorry, Amelia," I turned to her, sobbing. "It was my fault." I shut my eyes. "If… if I didn't go out that day…"

I suddenly remembered Gideon's words to me. 

"Nothing will ever happen to your child if you stay to be a good wife to me."

I smiled bitterly. In the end, everything just boils down to me. It was my fault I lost my baby. 

If I hadn't gone out that day… If I hadn't answered Amelia's call… If I hadn't decided to leave Gideon…

I shook my head. No. If only I had been strong enough. If I had only stood up to him from the start. If only I hadn't gotten scared. If only I had decided to leave him earlier. None of this would have happened.

"Please, don't say that, Bianca. None of it was your fault." Amelia caressed my arm. "You didn't want any of this to happen."

Despite the tears in her eyes, she gave me a gentle smile. 

I looked at Amelia. She had always treated me with kindness. I remembered how she threw a dinner party when she learned I was pregnant. How she comforted me when my father died. Somehow, the old woman reminded me of my late mother. 

No matter how much I hate Gideon… I could never hate his mother. 

She'd been a perfect mother-in-law. It was just unfortunate that I was married to her other son. 

"Amelia... h-how's Gideon?" I finally managed to ask after a moment of silence. 

"H-he's still in the ICU, Bianca." Tears formed in Amelia's eyes. "Last night... his condition went stable. That's why the doctor gave us a signal to transfer him. B-but this morning... his brain stopped responding. The doctor couldn't tell if he's going to wake up anytime soon."

"I… I understand." I bit my lower lip and looked away. 

I stared at the window of my hospital room. Maybe… I shouldn't have asked Amelia. I didn't want her to see my lack of reaction to what she had just said. 

"I'm so sorry, Bianca." Amelia grabbed my arm and pulled me again in a hug. "I know... I know it must be so hard for you. You already lost your child. And now... Gideon."

I shut my eyes as I listened to her broken voice. Yes. I hated Gideon. No. I didn't just hate him. loathe him. He ruined my life. 

If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't have lost my baby.

If only Gideon had been good to me. If only he had treated me better. If only he hadn't appeared in my life…

But despite everything I felt for him, I never wished him dead. No matter how much I despise him, I never wanted him to end up in this situation. 

"Gideon..." I uttered his name as I stood in front of his unconscious body. 

Three days later, the doctor finally allowed me to leave my hospital room. I had decided to finally pay Gideon a visit in the ICU. 

From afar, no one would recognize that the man lying on the bed was Gideon Henry. 

He looked different from the powerful and formidable Gideon that I had been used to seeing for the past months. 

Half of his body was covered in bandages. His head was shaved. His face was swollen from different cuts and bruises. 

Aside from the IV fluid on his arm, different apparatuses were attached to his body. 

Amelia told me that Gideon was driving back to his hotel when his car crashed into another vehicle. Both of the vehicles were fast, so the collision was severe. Gideon's car was a total wreck. The doctor had told them that Gideon's chance of survival was slim.

"I hate you so much Gideon…" 

I muttered, the corner of my eyes burning with hot tears. 

"I hate you for everything you've done to me. For making me leave Charlie. For forcing me into marrying you. For making our marriage a hellhole. You've ruined my life, Gideon." 

I croaked as tears finally escaped my eyes. "If you didn't come into my life, I'm sure I'm living a happy life right now. With Charlie… and our baby." 

My voice broke. "But you suddenly came and ruined everything for me, Gideon. You've deprived me of happiness. God knows how much I hate you." I shut my eyes when I felt my lips were already trembling. I stopped, took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. 

"But you know what?" I said. I opened my eyes and looked at him again. "Despite the amount of hate I feel for you… I never… wished you to die. So you have to wake up, Gideon. You're one of the biggest assholes on this planet, right? You're cruel, selfish, cunning… You're evil. People like you don't die this early. So wake up, Gideon. Wake up for Amelia."