BETROTHED TO THE BILLIONAIRE

Valerie’s POVProperty belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

The sight of her cold feet almost sends me spiraling to the floor as I let out a loud gasp with my hands flying to my mouth.

She is no longer the woman I came here to visit yesterday. She is pale white and gone.

This is when it suddenly dawns on me.

When I heard Celina telling Ryan over the phone that his Mother was dead, I almost laughed out loud because I wasn’t shocked like Ryan was. It felt like a joke.

How could she be dead? We saw her yesterday, she was getting better than ever before, then how could she be dead today?

The added information about the attack on the hospital is enough to make me believe as well as the sight before me.

She didn’t die a natural death. She didn’t die due to complications from the surgery. She didn’t die as a result of the fake cancer diagnosis.

She was killed.

I begin to go down slowly as I continue to watch her from where I stand. The sight of her feet is doing unimaginable things to my reasoning.

She shouldn’t be dead. That bastard should take her place. She is too good to be dead.

She is the reason why I am still here after all. She is the reason why my path even crossed paths with her son.

Ryan has refused to come in here. She was carried out of the room she was in yesterday immediately she was confirmed dead. Ryan couldn’t come here with me but I wanted to see for myself that this is all a joke but now it isn’t.

A low sob escapes my mouth, making me realize how surreal this is.

The nurse is saying something to me but I can’t hear her. My head is spinning and my heart is in pain.

The sobs turn into a loud wail until someone picks me up from the ground. Without seeing who it was, I turn around and embrace him until his familiar cologne fans my nostril and I begin to cry all over again.

I am crying for many reasons.

Because she is dead and she doesn’t deserve it. Because she is dead and didn’t get to see her grandchild like she has always wanted. Because she died when we thought she wouldn’t anymore. Because she is dead and that monster is still out there roaming freely on the streets.

And finally, because of Ryan.

The pain he must be feeling right now would be unexplainable. He loves her. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have agreed to marry me in the first place.

He doesn’t even know who his real father is yet and the only person he shares a bond with is gone now.

His blood.

I know how much they both mean to each other. I know how much she loves to talk about him and his childhood. I know how much she craves to see him happy and with kids running around the house. And I know how much she means to Ryan.

The bond between them is unbreakable even in death. And that monster will pay for this.

“Let’s go”, he grabs my hand and we begin to move out. Close to the exit, the nurse stops us and he lets go of my hand.

Because of the tears still streaming down my eyes and because I don’t want to look him in the eyes to see how pained he is, I continue to watch my feet, trying to absorb everything.

“One of the cleaners saw this note in her room after the incidents.” I hear her say to Ryan as he moves closer to take the note from her.

“Thank you”, I hear him say back to her before coming back to meet me. With his arms around my shoulder, we take the exit out.

Just like Celina said, the hospital is in a mess. There are policemen everywhere and most of the patients are panicking but we haven’t seen Celina since we arrived this morning.

We couldn’t come last night because of the distance and how late it was. Ryan couldn’t sleep in bed either. He kept tossing and turning while I tried to assure him that it could be a mistake or something.

“Sit”, he commands with a tone full of authority when we get to the reception. I do as he says and watch him from my peripheral view. He sits calmly next to me.

We sit in silence for a while until he opens up the note to start reading. This is when I use my hand to stop him from reading the note and finally look him straight in the eyes.

If this note was truly written by her, Ryan needs to take his time and needs to let it sink in that she is truly gone.

“Will you read it for me then?” he demands all of a sudden, making me drop my jaws open.

With shaky hands, I take the note from him and open it. I am supposed to read it out but I can’t. There is a big lump stuck in my throat stopping me from making any sound as I stare with open eyes at the first sentence.

HE IS NOT YOUR FATHER, RYAN! I LIED.

I knew all along but coming from his Mother, this is huge. I don’t want him to break down, definitely not here so I believe this is not the right time for this and the right place.

I am more than curious to read the remaining content of the note. I want to know more about this note and all that it entails. I want to know if there is more in here that we know nothing about, concerning their relationship but I need to put Ryan first.

He might break down if I start reading it out for him to hear. Besides, I feel he should be the one to read it himself, not me.

“Ryan”, I call slowly, as I begin to fold the note back and open his hand to put it in. “I don’t think we should do this here.”

My tears are dried but my eyes are already itching for more. I never thought I would react this way to her death. It was something we were expecting months ago until something unexpected happened and we realized she was not going to die since the diagnosis was fake.

It hits me so hard.

This is why I am being careful with him. He isn’t saying or doing anything yet. I don’t even know if he believes that she is dead just like I wanted him to disbelieve the story Celina fed us last night.

He needs to let it out. He can’t keep doing this. Acting all strong and great like nothing seems to be missing.

She is not to be seen again. She is gone for life and the earlier he realizes that, the better. His calm composure bothers me a lot and I hope he won’t do something rash at the end of the day when it dawns on him.

“You want me to read it myself?” He grits his teeth and I nod. He averts his gaze away from me and opens the note again but this time turning it to the empty back, probably for him not to see the content yet.

Suddenly, my gaze falls on something at the back which is supposed to be empty.

Is this the continuation or what?

Ryan does not notice it as he grips it harder while I squint my eyes to catch the word.

SHE IS COMING!

The writing is totally different from the one she used for the note itself. It is so tiny and rough unlike the well-written one in the front.

I release his grip from the note and open it widely for him to see too.

SHE IS COMING! SHE IS COMING FOR ME!

Our eyes lock as curiosity and confusion fill me up while rage crosses his expression. A cold shiver runs down my spine as something hits me.

I gasp and blurt out quickly. “Anita?”

“Celina?”

We both speak our minds at the same time about the suspect we have in mind and who exactly she was talking about.

The only person she must be referring to will be Anita.

“It is Anita!” I say in a loud voice as I stand up quickly in panic.

“It is Celina”, he opposes me with the same tone as we stare at each other, unsure of what next is about to happen to either of us or someone else who means so much to us.

No one is safe yet!