“You still won't say, huh, girl? I'm going to keep whipping you until you decide to reveal who got you pregnant,” an old man yelled. He was staring furiously at the young lady who was kneeling before him with her head down and her blonde hair hung loosely around her head. Her belly was bulging out slightly, showing clearly that she was pregnant.
The old man held a cane in his hands which he had been using to whip the girl before him who refused to say a word nor shed a tear. Raising his cane for the umpteenth time, he descended it on her, whipping her harshly on her back and ignoring the gasps of the few people in the large hall of the mansion who watched the girl get beaten but refused to move and stop the old man.Izabelle Rossador only gritted her teeth in pain and let out a low groan, blinking back her tears. The old man kept whipping her until he grew tired and decided to pause a little. He was becoming more and more angry because she shed no tears and refused to scream the answer he wanted.“Izabelle Rossador, I'm asking you again. Who got you pregnant? If you don't tell me now, I swear I'm going to send you to your parents and forget that you are my granddaughter,” after saying this, he staggered backward, gritting his teeth and breathing heavily.A girl slightly younger than Izabelle stepped forward and held the man’s arms before turning sharply to glare at Izabelle and hollered.“What do you want, sister Izabelle? Just tell grandfather who got you pregnant already. Can't you see how stressed he is?” She again turned to the grandfather and whispered audibly.“Grandfather, don't bother. You know, sister Izabelle likes attending parties a lot and linking with rich men. I'm sure she got pregnant after having a one-night stand with one of those men. Don't trouble yourself trying to find answers from her. Sister Izabelle might not even know the father of her child.”“No Jasmine. I'm going to force the answer out of her. She must know who got her into this state. After I whip her more and more, she would say.”Grandfather Rossador patted the hair of the girl and stared at her with fatherly love. She was always so obedient and took care of him most even though she was just an adopted daughter of the family. She was a sensible kid who loved him unconditionally and was sure his favorite.He broke away from Jasmine’s hold and gripped his cane tightly before raising it, ready to descend it on her but his hands froze when he heard the forceful opening bang of the hall’s door causing the focus of the family members to shift to the door.A devilishly handsome man walked in followed by another and a lady behind them. The man at the front marched to where the grandfather was and took the cane from him, tossing it away.“Stop, Mr. Rossador. The baby is mine and it wouldn't end well if you end up harming it,” he declared.Gasps and murmurs filled the wide hall as the family members whispered amongst themselves in shock, wondering how things turned out that way. Izabelle stood up from the floor, her heart beating fast and her eyes widened as she stared at the man in front of her grandfather. The man she had come to love since she was a teenage girl. Behind the man was her cousin brother, Jared, and his wife, Kathie.“Ma..marcel?” She called.“Quiet.” Marcel shut her up. She opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it as she watched her grandfather and Marcel stare at each other.Who told Marcel that she was carrying his child? The only person she told the father of her child was Kathie and that only means that Kathie was the one who ratted her out to him. Marcel's looks were frightening and she almost couldn’t recognize him. He has that piercing gaze that could make anyone feel chills. He was her cousin’s close friend who treated her as nothing more than a loved little sister but the way he looks at her now, she couldn’t find the calmness and soft way he used to stare at her. Perhaps she had expected it.“Marcel Wilson?” she heard the loud voice of her grandfather call, his brows raising. “You are the baby's father?”“Yes, Mr. Rossador. I’m ready to take responsibility. We're going to get married.”Again, the hall was filled with murmurs from the family members and everyone’s eyes widened in surprise. Things had turned out even more interesting than they had expected.“Marcel,” Izabelle again turned but stopped her words from coming out when Marcel glared at her with that piercing gaze of his. She could hardly recognize him.“Fine then. You better take responsibility and get married to her before she gives birth. You two are going to get married within the next two months,” with that, the old man harrumphed and marched out of the hall followed by Jasmine who ran to coax the old man, and one after the other, the rest of the walked out until it was remaining just Izabelle and Marcel in the hall.Izabelle had her head down as she felt his angry eyes on her, boring holes in her face.“You think this is the best plan to pull? Well, I guess it worked,” he spat.She raised her head to look at him.“Wh..what?”“Don’t act so innocent, Izabelle. I never expected this from you. Drugging me, making me sleep with you, getting pregnant, it was all your plan. Do you really have to do all of this just to make me yours?”Izabelle’s eyes glittered in tears. She could bear all of the whippings from her grandfather but not these hurtful words from him. She had done no such thing as he was accusing her of. That night at a birthday party of a friend, she had found him drunk and had helped him to a room but just when they got there, he started kissing her neck and pleaded with her to have sex with him. How could she say no when he was the man she has fantasies about? Even if she knew it was one time, she gave her virginity to him that night.The morning when they woke up, he couldn’t remember the details clearly and apologized, asking her to forget about the previous night. Well, what did she expect?After two weeks, she found out that she was pregnant and decided to hide it till she couldn’t anymore. She made sure no one suspected her and only told Kathie about it and who the father of her child was. Not until this morning when her grandfather noticed her bulging stomach which she had worn a big shirt to hide.“I didn’t do anything. That night..”“I guess I have to compliment you on your awesome plan. You really want to be my wife so bad? Fine. I’m going to get married to you, right? I’m going to take responsibility for the baby in your womb. You win but just to let you know, it’s never going to be the same between us anymore.” Marcel turned his back and walked away from her.She stared at his back like a whole different person. He has never raised his voice like this at her. He seemed to have changed overnight. It was never her intention to pin him down to herself with a baby. It was never her wish to force him into getting married to her. Her tears flowed freely as all the pains from her grandfather’s whipping occurred to her. She now felt the pain.Running to her room, she gathered her necessary belongings and left the Rossador family’s ancestral mansion without anyone’s notice. She doesn't desire to get married to someone who doesn’t love her or someone who thinks so badly of her and so, that day was the last she had in the mansion and perhaps the city.~FIVE YEARS LATER~“6th best celebrity photographer in the world,” Izabelle smiled to herself as she read that aloud from her phone. She was given an Award as the sixth best photographer in the world and the award ceremony was being held in Russia. Too bad she couldn't travel there due to some emergencies. It's been five years already and she finally achieved her goal as one of the best celebrity photographers in the world. She was one of the most sought out people that only a handful of people could get access to. That's how far she has come these past few years. It wasn't easy but she strived so hard to win. As if something flashed in her head, Izabelle’s jaw dropped as she gaped at the time in her phone and quickly sprang out of the couch and ran to the room to grab her bag. “Oh damn. I totally forgot it's time.”Running like a mad woman in her apartment, she picked up her small bag, wore her shoes, and dashed out of the house not bothering to lock the door properly. She would be
Izabelle’s eyes shone as a new ray of hope seemed to be in front of her. She stared at Doctor Zach in anticipation, waiting for him to say the prevention of another heart repair surgery. “Little Rosie would always have to be cheerful always. She shouldn't cry so hard again. Rosie shouldn't have any shocks or sadness. If she gets any shocks that lead her to the hospital, I'm sorry but she might have to get another surgery. These are Rosie’s medical reports. You should show them to the doctor in the United States when you get there,” the doctor instructed, handing over a file containing little Rosie’s medical report. “Thank you so much, doctor. I have to leave now. I have a flight in less than an hour,” standing up from her seat, she shakes hands with the doctor before walking out of the office with a grim expression on her face. “Mommy,” Little Rosie ran to her side just as she saw her coming out of the office. Izabelle’s mood changed as she saw the little bundle of joy running to he
Little Rosie stepped backward just as she turned around to see the person who spoke to her. There were four-built men who were staring down at her with a smirk on their lips. She stepped backward and her eyes widened when she saw them move towards her. “Wh..who are you, people?” Her mother had told her not to talk to strangers. Especially bad-dressed strangers like these men who were dressed in a manner that made her scared. Their trousers were ripped in different parts and their shirts looked too big for their body. Two had haircuts that seemed too ridiculous to her and the other two had a scarf around their head. Their eyes were dark and they seemed somewhat drunk. Surely they were looking like everything her mother asked her to stay away from. “We’re your friends. We have good intentions so don’t be scared, kid. Oh, are you looking for your mother?” One of the men asked. Little Rosie on hearing her mother stood still. Do they perhaps know her mother? How else do they know that sh
After sinking her little baby teeth in the arms of the bad man who held her tightly, Little Rosie freed herself from his hold and ran to the direction that they were coming from. Her little foot took her forward as she desperately ran from the men. Unfortunately, her feet were too little to take her that far as the men quickly caught up with her and carried her In their arms causing her to cry out and her tears streamed out more. She kicked and struggled in their arms, using her nails to scratch their skin and biting them in different parts of their bodies causing them to shriek and let her go for the second time. This time, she put every effort into her speed and ran with all of her strength with the hope of getting away from the child traffickers. She didn't run too far from them before her soft little body crashed into something hard or someone hard who seemed to be walking in that direction causing her to wince in pain. Rosie’s eyes raised to stare at the person she thought was
Izabelle’s eyes widened as her eyes met with Marcel’s. They both stared at each other in shock and it was as if time stopped for them. Their eyes remained glued and their mouths fell open in shock. Izabelle was the first to remove her gaze from him and swallowed before looking at the cheerful face of her daughter and then at Marcel. “Daddy is so cool, Mommy. He beat up those bad men to a pulp. They ran away,” Little Rosie giggled, bringing her mother’s attention back to her.“What bad men?”“They tried to take me away but Daddy saved me. He’s so cool, isn’t he?” Hearing that some bad men tried to take her daughter away, Izabelle dropped her carefully on the floor and inspected her body for any possible injury. Her eyes fell on little Rosie’s bruised wrist. “See, you’re hurt. Why did you move when I asked you not to?”“Sorry, Mommy. I was stubborn. Rosie won’t disobey you anymore,” she batted her eyes at her mother knowing fully well that she won’t remain angry at her when she gives
Little Rosie immediately closed the storybook she was starting to read and glared at her so-called godmother. Hmph. No wonder she was giving her all these storybooks that might take her weeks if not months to finish. She wants her forgiveness. “Is that why you gave me these books? Because you want me to forgive you? That's so artless, Aunt Ruby,” Rosie scoffed. “Ahh…no. That's not true,” Ruby scratched her head and started driving.”I bought the books because I knew you loved books. You know, it's my responsibility as your godmother.”“I don't believe you one bit, aunt. That's what you always say. Every time you do the same thing and buy me gifts. I don't want them. You can take your books back.”“No..no, I swear this is going to be the last time. The story books are for you. What will happen to them if you don't take them? Please forgive me one last time. I promise it won't happen again,” pleaded Ruby as she kept her eyes on the road but her sole attention was on the cute little prin
“Ohh, Izabelle. Your daughter is getting scarier every passing day,” Ruby lamented. “Only to you,” Izabelle flicked Little Rosie on her forehead causing her to flinch and frown.They laughed. “Sorry Sie Sie, it was a slip of the tongue, hmm? I won’t take your mummy anywhere, okay?”“En.”Ruby swallowed and turned to Izabelle. She felt scared to ask her what she wanted to ask. If she did, the little girl was going to get angry. Ahh, such an obstacle to their friendship. They would always have to get Rosie sleeping if they want to do something or go somewhere. She mustered up her courage and asked. “Where should I take you guys? Would you like to spend some time in my apartment?” “No. You can just drop us at a hotel. I don’t want to bother you. Besides, I know you’re with your parents nowadays.”“It’s fine. I can stay because of you. You’re my bestie after all. I’m not bothered at all.”“It’s okay. We’ll just spend the night at a hotel. You’ve done enough for me already and I’m so gr
“Wowwww, this place is so pretty, Mommy. Is it a palace? Like the ones in those Disney books? Are there princesses inside?” Little Rosie exclaimed with her mouth wide open as she climbed down the car and stared at the white building in front of her. The building was so huge and beautiful that she resisted the urge to run into it immediately. “It's not a palace, Sie Sie and there are no princesses inside either. It's just a normal family house.” They were standing before a huge mansion with the name ‘Rossaddor’s Residence’ written in gold at the top of the wall. This place was just as she remembered it to be. It was the same after all these years. Nothing has changed. The cold walls, the piercing atmosphere, and the graveyard silence of the mansion. Nothing changed at all. Perhaps the people in it never changed and that was the reason why nothing changed in the Rosaddor’s Mansion. She could still remember her memories here. They used to be fulfilling. Her silent days here until ever