Chapter2
1466 Words
“T-Tristan?! Tristan, please don’t hurt me!” My eyes shot open and locked with a dark-haired figure in front of me.
As my thoughts cleared, I registered the fact that I was neither dead nor lying on the ground in front of my company — Tristan’s company.
“Are you okay?” the man’s voice was soft, “You blacked out in front of my car, you were bleeding so I brought you to the hospital.”
“Thank you,” I breathed and tried to hop off the bed but he shook his head in disapproval and stood from where he was sitting on the bed. “I just need to—“
“You were in a horrible condition,” The man continued, “The doctor said the baby was in —“
“Baby?” I spluttered with a raised eyebrow.
The man’s forehead creased. “Yes, baby. You’re two weeks pregnant, the man was telling me…”
I tuned him out from there.
I was two weeks pregnant?
Two weeks pregnant for my husband? Or the man who chased me out of my hospital and then, slammed a baseball bat on my head to kill me?
I knew they were the same person, but I had lived with one for the past four years and I had faced the other one in the past four hours.
“Are you okay?” Forest green eyes locked with mine and I realized that I had scrambled off the bed.
“Stop” I breathed, as my eyes darted around the room, heart pounding in my chest.
“Hey,” The drop-dead gorgeous man spoke. “I’m not here to hurt you.”
“Stay away from me!” I shrieked as the scent of Tristan’s Aud perfume invaded my nostrils.
“Look I think you’re still suffering from a concussion, you hit your head.” A baritone voice filtered through my mind but I shook my head.
I was not imagining this. My husband had tried to kill and now, he sent this man to finish me off.
“I said stay away!” I spat and caught hold of a surgical scissor.
“I’m Kyle, Kyle Dell. Not Tristan.” The man pleaded and raised his hand in surrender.
“He sent you, didn’t he?” My stomach churned in disbelief, “He sent you to lie and kill me—”
“No, of course not!” Kyle lunged at me and a screech escaped my lips, a tug of war began and he disarmed me before we locked eyes.
My breath hitched and my knees almost buckled underneath me.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” His large palm pressed against my lips, shutting out any scream that tried to escape.
I shook my head as tears threatened to spill over. “I don’t know what that man did to you, but I promise that I do not wish you any harm, much less want to work for him,”
It took me a few seconds to register his words.
“Do you promise not to scream if I let you go?” He asked and I nodded.
He slowly released his grip and stepped back.
“What’s your name?”
“Marlene,” I whispered.
“A pretty name, for a pretty woman,” he complimented.
“Sorry about the whole… incident, I was just confused...”
He smiled, staring deeply at me. Before he could speak, a man wearing a white lab coat stepped in. A stethoscope was hung around his neck. “Hi there, are you related to this woman?” he asked.
Kyle locked eyes with me and then smirked. “She’s my wife.”
My jaw dropped. “Okay, from the looks of it, she didn’t suffer any major injuries, we will still wait for the x-ray results to be sure she didn’t fracture any bones or suffer from internal bleeding.”
He nodded, “Thank you.”
I stared at the doctor, eyes widened.
“Do well to take good care of her,” the doctor advised before leaving.
“So, where are your parents, family? There was no ID on you, nobody to contact.” Kyle broke through the silence
I sniffled, staring at him with teary orbs. “I have nowhere to go, I have no one to go to, and I don’t even know what I’ll do about this pregnancy,” I vented, easing the pressure off my chest.
He placed his large palm on my back and pulled me into a side hug.
It was comforting, I felt safe and secure for the first time in a while. I melted into his frame, allowing whatever was happening to happen.
The brown-haired man rubbed circles into my back. “I can take care of you,” he started. “Give you someone to belong to, a family.”
I broke away from his hold, “Y- you barely even know me.”
“And you need help, it’s obvious someone was trying to kill you,” he pressed on.
“My husband,” I gritted as memories of the past few hours flashed before my eyes. “I will make him pay,”
“Oh, you want to press charges against him?”
I raised my head, “press charges? I’m technically supposed to be dead anyway. Plus he... He took everything, I can’t even afford to fight him, no matter how desperately I want to.”
He was quiet for a while, then he spoke. “What if I help you?”
“Help me file a lawsuit? Jail isn’t even punishment enough for what that monster put me through.”
“No, help you get revenge.” He offered.
“And what’s in it for you?” I raised an eyebrow.
“You become my wife,” he replied
I froze. “Excuse me?”
“I want to marry you”
“But—”
“I’ll take care of the child like it was my own,” he interjected.
I felt like time had stopped, I stood there contemplating my next decision.
What better way to get my revenge against a monster like Tristan than to marry an apex predator?
“Yes,” I whispered. “I’ll marry you.”
That was five years ago.
Now, married to Kyle Dell with my five-year-old princess running around, I sighed for the millionth time at the mess in front of me.
I was fixing the last pin of the dress on the mannequin which kept falling off my breath when Kyle’s arms wrapped around my waist.
He rested his chin against my shoulder.
“Your designs are beautiful,” He reassured. “Everyone will love them,” He breathed brushed against my ears and my cheeks flushed.
“Thank you, baby.” I turned and kissed him.
The last five years have been the best years of my life. I'd become one of the most influential designers in the country.
My marriage to Kyle had been nothing but a blessing, I left all the nasty things in the past, the name, the identity, everything.
Layla died of cancer according to the doctor's report.
I was now Marlene Dell, a new woman, my daughter, Millie was the only good thing from my past.
“Are these the new designs you want to release at the event?”
“Yes, matter of fact, I’m done.”
Kyle was organizing a high school reunion party for his former classmates and he wanted me to showcase some of my new designs tonight.
He plants a kiss on my cheek, “Perfect, some guests have started arriving, shall we?”
I nodded and took his hand. We descended the stairs and joined the guests at the event hall.
I darted my eyes towards the entrance as people began trooping in. A woman walked up to us. “Oh my gosh Kyle, it’s so nice to finally see you!” She shrieked excitedly as she extended her hand.
Kyle shook her hand, “You too Daniella, this is Marlene, my wife.”
The woman squinted when she faced me. “You’re the owner of designs by Mal, right? I love your work.” She gushed and tackled me into a hug.
Before I could respond, my eyes landed on something in the distance, a man in a navy blue tuxedo. He looked oddly familiar.
I was about to ask Kyle who he was when he turned.
My breath hitched, my chest tightened and the hall spun.
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe and felt my heart fall into my stomach because who in their right mind allowed Tristan Ford into my home?!
- Writer
