Bound By Fate, Torn By Lies

CHAPTER2

/ FREYA /

Three months later

To think I’ve been locked up for three whole months was something I never would have believed would happen to me. A knock came on my door and the maids let themselves in. I had grown accustomed to the disrespect now shown by the maids at the palace and the invasion of privacy. Not that it mattered anymore, after all, I was nothing but a dethroned Luna.

“ Your breakfast is ready, ma’am,” Sasha, the only maid that treated me with respect placed the tray of food in front of me. She smiled warmly as she presented it.

“ I almost forgot, I slipped in some chocolate,” she whispered into my ears as she secretly gave me the chocolate she had brought.

She was fond of this. Sneaking in snacks and other items to make my confinement a lot more tolerable.

“ Thank you,” I whispered, forcing a smile. I was genuinely grateful to her but I was too depressed to smile genuinely.

“ What are you doing, Sasha?” One of the maids questioned Sasha who sat on the bed with me.

“ Just handing her meal to her,” Sasha got up.

“ Ugh. You’re too nice to her,” another one said, rolling her eyeballs.

“ Am I?” Sasha feigned ignorance.

“ You even refer to her like she’s still the Luna,” the first one scoffed.

“ Even if she’s no longer the Luna, she was once holding that title so doesn’t she deserve that much respect?” I could tell from Sasha’s words that she was angry.

“ You’re too nice for your own good,” one of them poked her chest.

“ Just don’t forget that the person you’re acting all nice to is a murderer,” she stated bitterly.

“ I understand,” Sasha clenched her fist as she nodded her head. It was obvious that she was unhappy with how the others talked about me but if she sided with me or debated that I was innocent, she could get into big trouble.

“ We’re done cleaning, so we’ll leave you two. You want to stay behind a little bit, right?”

“ Just take out her food tray with you when you come out,” they instructed her before leaving. Once Sasha was sure they were gone, she sighed deeply before looking at me.

“ Are you alright?” She sat next to me, clasping my hands.

“ Yes. They didn’t exactly do anything to me,” I added.

“ I know but their words must have hurt you,” she was too compassionate. “ Don’t pay much heed to their words. There are still some of us that respect you and know deep down that you would never do something like that,” she said.

“ Thank you for believing in me,” I smiled. I don’t know why she’s being nice to me or sympathizing with me but what I do know is that her presence had made my life in confinement bearable.

As I took a bite from the food in front of me, I excused myself to the bathroom and suddenly, I felt my belly contract. It was sharp and sudden, sending jolts of pain through my already fragile body. I held on to the bathroom sink as panic gripped me, I tried to scream but the pain was such that nothing came out of my mouth no matter how hard I tried.

“ Maybe it was a false labor,” I convinced myself in my head but just like my body wanted to assure me that it wasn’t, my water broke and I let out a scream.

“ Ma’am!” Sasha screamed in panic as she burst open the bathroom door. Seeing me go into labor horrified her. She took me to the bed and put my meal aside before running for the door and calling for help.

As I lay there in pain, tears fell down my cheeks. I was two months early, the babies weren’t ready and I was afraid for them and for me.

A doctor and some nurses rushed in soon after, their faces concerned.

“ We need to take her to the hospital. The babies won’t be able to survive without certain facilities since they’ll be premature,” the doctor begged the guards. The guards who were just as confused went to fetch Zarek’s right-hand man.

“ She won’t need to go to the hospital,” he stated coldly. “ Just help her give birth to the babies, we’ll deal with the rest,” he didn’t even seem to care what might happen to me. The doctor looked pissed but couldn’t bring himself to challenge a direct order from Zarek.

“ I’ll appreciate if everyone leaves other than the nurses,” he said, his words laced with subtle anger.

“ We’ll leave you to do your work. Ask the guards in front of you need anything,” he said before walking out.

The doctor and the nurses assisted me to give birth to my babies. I did I was instructed while trying to endure the pain. I clung to the edge of the bed, my knuckles turning pale from clenching too long and my teeth gritted as I did my best to push.

Minutes later, a small, weak cry pierced the air. Their voices were so tiny that it sounded like a single child crying. I felt relieved seeing them even though they were obviously too small.

“ They are boys,” the doctor announced and though weak, I smiled satisfactorily.

Exhausted, I drifted in and out of consciousness. Everything was hazy, both the faces of the doctor and nurses. I felt a cold hand rest on my forehead briefly before it got up. It was a familiar figure but I wasn’t sure.

“ They are boys, Alpha Zarek,” I heard the doctor say.

“ And do you think they’ll survive?” I heard him ask the doctor. I wasn’t able to make out the doctor’s reply. Before I knew it, the doctor handed one of my babies to Zarek and cradling him in his arms, he said something to the doctor before leaving. Seeing him leave with my baby sparked a sense of protectiveness I’ve never felt before but my body was too weak to respond appropriately. I tried to reach out to him but my body was heavy.

“ My… my baby,” I muttered as he gradually faded from my sight.

Without a glance in my direction, Zarek walked out of my room with the baby in his arms.