An alliance formed
1103 Words
Sabrina’s POV
His words struck confusion in my brain. The deeply-rooted kind.
A father-figure? For my child? My lips parted, but no sound came. For a moment, all I could hear was the steady beep of the monitor by my bedside.
“You can’t just say something like that”.
“I just did. You’ve seen the truth, Sabrina. Your husband hasn’t even walked through that door. Not once. Four days, and not even a phone call. Funny part, I had a nurse tell him you were in the hospital”
“Maybe—” I bit down on the word maybe. Because maybe what? Maybe he cared? Maybe he was busy? No, I didn't even believe that lie anymore.
Tyrone’s eyes, blue, piercing and almost inhuman, didn’t blink. “You think I don’t know Philip Anton? He’s not coming. And even if he does, it will not be for you. He has already chosen where his loyalty lies. With your sister, Freya.”
The image of Freya’s smug little smile rose like bile in my throat. I turned my face away, but Tyrone leaned closer.
“I can protect you,” he said. “I can give your child what Philip never will, security and the sense of actually belonging. My name carries weight, Sabrina. My presence alone can shield you from everything he’ll eventually throw your way when he decides he wants his little plaything back.”
“And what exactly do you want in return?”
That was the question, wasn’t it? No man like Tyrone offered charity. Not when his reputation was built on winning cases and devouring his opponents whole.
He chuckled, it was deep and had a certain vibrato to it. “Loyalty. Nothing more, nothing less. Stand with me and you’ll never have to crawl again.”
I laughed bitterly, though it hurt my head. “You’re asking me to trade one cage for another.”
He tilted his head, studying me like I was a puzzle only he could solve. “No. I am offering you the keys. What you do with them is completely up to you.”
I wanted to say something, but my brain went into thought-mode. For the first time since I had woken, I realized how truly, utterly alone I was. My husband hadn’t come. My sister hadn’t come. My mother-in-law hadn’t come. But this man, this stranger, he had sat here. Four days waiting here.
It terrified me.
And yet… It tempted me.
“Do you even know what you’re saying?” I asked. “Fathering another man’s child isn’t a promise you can toss out casually, let alone when that man is someone you harbour a vendetta toward.”
He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms as though weighing a chessboard only he could see. “I know exactly what I’m saying.” His blue eyes burned into mine. “There will be no sweeter satisfaction, no more beautiful, vengeful blue, than the look on Philip’s face when he hears you are with me, and that the child in your belly would have the Sterling name.”
He continued. “When your baby is born, I will take responsibility. Entirely. I don't really give two f***s about marriage so, you could marry me and still be free to do whatever you want, date whomever you want. At the end of the day, I get my next heir, my revenge, and you get to be the girlfriend, fiancee or wife of Tyrone Sterling. You choose.”
Mmn, so I would be the weapon he would wield against Philip.
"What if you decide to toss me away after that?"
"I am a man of my word, if you need eighty legal documents for assurance, I'll make it happen."
Ah.
“You think I should just….agree though? Just like that?”
He shrugged slightly. “Do you think your husband will suddenly walk in here, flowers in hand, begging for forgiveness? Do you think your mother-in-law, who has made it clear she doesn't like you, will cradle you like a daughter? Or your sister, whose womb carries your husband’s second betrayal, will care for your child or you, since you need close supervision till your bruises officially heal?”
"I—"
“No one is coming for you, Sabrina ,” he said flatly. “Not Philip. Not his family. Not Freya. And in the meantime…” His gaze dropped briefly to the bandage on my leg. “You were hit by my car. My responsibility, on live date. The least I can do is ensure you don’t crumble while they celebrate your ruin. Before I get to celebrate theirs.”
Everything about him screamed power, danger and control. And yet, under it all, his proposal had a strange logic.
_____
The air outside was tainted with the faint scent of gasoline and rain.
Someone's car must've leaked.
Tyrone’s arm was firm against mine, his body steady as he led me out of the hospital doors.
“Easy,” he murmured as his chauffeur opened the car door with a bow. A sleek black machine waited like a beast, it looked shiny-modest for those who didn't know the real worth of cars, but I could tell that even both my kidneys wouldn't suffice for the price.
One step closer turned to two and my fingers brushed against the car's door.
“Sabrina!”
The voice made me freeze, then turn.
Philip.
He was there, panting heavily as if he had run all the way here.
“What the hell are you doing,” he spat, his gaze averting from me to Tyrone, “entering that car with him?”
"Phillip Anton," Tyrone chuckled, easing me into his car seat. "Sit tight, and no matter what happens, don't intervene."
I nodded like an obedient little puppy as he patted my head and slightly adjusted my leg for more comfort.
"What are you doing with my wife, Sterlibg?!" Philip yelled.
"Your wife?" Tyrone c****d his head to the side. "Did you come to see her when she was lying in that hospital bed? Or....are you coming now because you heard that she was going home with a certain Sterling ?"
Phillip's eyes widened, but he blinked it away.
"Step aside, she's coming with me."
"No, I'm not," the words spewed from my mouth before I could make sense of it.
"Yes. You. Are." He moved to grab me but Tyrone pulled a handgun from his lapel. "Touch her Anton, and it'll be the last time you use that hand."
- Writer
