Chapter 1

'Ch--- Charles," Elizabeth called the man in a pleading voice. "Pl---please," she continued begging.

Again, Charles forced her.

She couldn t do anything because her strength was nothing compared to his strength.

Though everything that was happening was not new at all. Charles was always expected to make love to her whenever he was under the influence of alcohol and she couldn t believe that she was in that situation.

But, she accepted it. Maybe, it was her fate.

Love making as what other call it but for her and charles, it was just a three letter word, SEX. Though they were married, they never had a chance to have a decent sex for that matter. Well, they had. But that was when Charles took her virginity.

It was the first and the last. She couldn t forget it because it caused her a lot of pain. She felt like she was being torn into two.

Elizabeth was hurt beyond words.

She wasn t just hurt physically because of the fact that it was her first time. That time, she felt that her heart was also bleeding inside. She felt the pain in her heart.

It was a pain that she would never forget in her entire life.

It was still all clear to her. All the memories of that night were so vivid to her.

Charles was on her top while he was thrusting with all his might and moved faster as he could. When he was about to reach his climax, Charles mentioned the name of his childhood sweetheart, Elaine Imperial.

Elizabeth felt like she was stabbed by a hundred knives as she felt the sharp pain inside her heart. In an instant, she felt like her world had crashed.

Well, who wouldn t feel that way? Who wouldn t feel that the world had shattered if her husband would be calling out another woman s name in the middle of their love making? Or, should she call it just sex between her and Charles?

She was hurt. She was in pain not just because of what she heard from Charles but also because of the physical hurt brought by the sudden shattering of her femininity.

It was gentle and yet heartbreaking.

That night, Charles was also under the influence of alcohol and the only difference was, the man treated her like a fragile object back then.

It was the first and the last time she had experienced that kind of moment every time that Charles would get inside her.

What a memorable night it was indeed!

She couldn t forget that night because her heart was deeply wounded that time and she was sure that it left a scar inside her heart.

Her husband, Charles, broke her heart into a thousand pieces. She begged and begged but Charles never paid attention to her pleas.

He continued to screw her.

After one hard thrust, finally, Charles fell next to her. She could even hear him panting.

Elizabeth could even hear their heartbeats as the man s body was just next to her. She could see as Charles shoulder went up and down because he was chasing his breath.

She just closed her eyes and let the tears flow from the corner of her eyes until she could feel the liquid reached her earlobe.

It was all she could do. Cry and suffer in silence.

Just after a few minutes, she already heard Charles snoring.

She slowly moved and distanced herself from Charles. Then, she slowly stepped down from their matrimonial bed.

While tears were still dripping down her eyes, Elizabeth slowly picked up each of the clothes that she was wearing earlier before Charles came inside their room and forced her to do what he wanted.

She went on the other side of the bed and covered Charles naked body.

She turned her back and then, she walked heading to the washroom to get a quick shower.

Elizabeth was hoping that the water could wash away all the emotions that were inside her heart.

"Good morning," she greeted Charles with a smile on her lips as soon as she saw the man enter the dining room. Charles only looked at her blankly. He didn t even bother to open his mouth to greet her back.

He pulled a chair and then sat down at the dining table.

Elizabeth just quietly pulled the chair next to Charles as she was trying to comfort herself.

"That s okay, Elizabeth. Your husband isn t in a good mood today. Probably, there are a lot of things going on at the office," she whispered silently to herself. This was her way to comfort herself every time that she received this cold treatment from her husband.

Since they started living together, Charles had never been nice to her. It was like she never existed at their house.

Elizabeth took a deep breath as she made herself busy devouring the food that their Nanny had prepared for them.

Just after a couple of minutes, she heard Charle s chair move as he got up.

"Are you already done?" She said though she knew that the man wouldn t pay attention to her. She wasn't mistaken. Charles didn t even give her a glance. "Please take care and I hope you have a nice day at work," she added as she bid goodbye. She still said those caring words while looking at the man who didn t even bother to look at her.

Charles just walked out of the room as if he didn t hear her. He left without looking at her nor a word.

She was used to the cold shoulder treatment that she was receiving from Charles. Charles never treated her nice. He never acted like he was a husband to her.

The way Charles acted, it was not new at all to her. It was part of her daily life since she lived on the same roof with Charles. Back then, her tears would flow down her cheek every time that Charles would ignore her but this time, she just shrugged her shoulders.

Her heart got used to the pain and she couldn t cry any tears anymore. It was as if she already got tired of thinking about him and how their relationship would work out.

She couldn t demand anything or say anything to the man because she knew no matter what she would do, he wouldn t be paying any attention to her.

That was the truth. She was suffering in silence because of Charles but since he was her husband, she chose to stay by his side no matter what just like what they said during their wedding.

For better or worse.

Though she was emotionally exhausted, she still chose to show care to her husband. It wouldn t make any sense if she would meet his bad mood with her in a bad mood, if she did that, it would just ignite the fire and their relationship might get ruined.

It s better that she was being ignored than for the man to leave her.

She was in deep thought when all of a sudden, she felt a hand on her shoulders.

She smiled bitterly. She didn t know what to say.

"My dear, you are so kind. I hope you won't lose hope. I know that one day, he would realise how much you have loved him and cared for him. I hope you won't get sick of him. I know that someday, the two of you will be okay," her Nanny s voice brought her back to her senses.

The woman rubbed her back as if she was comforting her from the cold treatment that she was getting from her husband.

Elizabeth held Nanny Maria's hand as she lifted her head and met Nanny Maria's eyes. She could see how much she cared for her by looking into her eyes.

"I will patiently wait for him, Nanny Maria. I will just stay by his side as long as I can. I know it s been hard but I am already here. All I need to do is to be patient until he realizes that I exist in his life and I am someone that he could defend on," she whispered and smiled at the old woman.

"By the way, Nanny Maria, could you accompany me to my obstetrics gynaecology?" She added and she bit her lower lips when she realized what she had said. She knew her Nanny and she might be thinking something else.

She was right. She saw how Nanny Maria's eyes went wide open after she heard what she just said.

Elizabeth shook her head and continued speaking.

"Nanny," she uttered. "Please, don t be excited. I am not pregnant like what you are thinking now," she giggled.

"Silly, What do you think of me?" She said while she shook her head. Nanny Maria looked into her eyes. "I have been with you since you were small, do you think I don t know what s happening to you? I know you very well. You can t hide anything from me," she added.

"Well, I am just going to confirm it because I am not sure yet. I am just two days late but I wanted to check," she said and then she shrugged her shoulders as she got up from her chair.

"What time are we leaving?" Nanny Maria asked her.

"After an hour? I am just going to visit the garden," she replied and then she came out of the dining room.

She walked straight to the main door and then she turned to the left side just near the main door where her small garden was

She loved to plant.

She even collected cacti and roses. Though, her garden was already filled with different flowering plants.

Elizabeth and her Nanny Maria were very happy to hear the good news.

She was so happy to know that for the third time, she got pregnant again.

Nanny Maria was rubbing her back while she was sobbing.

She couldn t help but feel emotional after hearing the news. She couldn t hide the happiness that she felt at the moment.

"Congratulations, dear. For the third time, you have a life inside you. So, take care and you must be extra careful," Dr. Lynette said to her. She was her doctor and at the same time she was like a mother to her. She s her mother s best friend. Her son was her childhood friend too.

"Thank you, Doctor," she replied as she took the tissue that the woman handed to her so she could wipe her tears.

"Again, please don t stress yourself. You have to do everything that I wanted you to do. Drink your vitamins regularly and you have to make sure you are eating healthy food," the doctor instructed her.

"Yes, Doc. I will always remember everything that you said," she replied and smiled at the woman.

They already came out of the room when she saw a couple approaching. The man was holding the bag and the wrist of the woman that had a big baby bump already.

All of a sudden, jealousy struck her inside. She couldn t explain by envious overwhelmed her. The woman was lucky to have this man, she said inside her mind. Out of the blue, she wished that Charles was on her side. How she wished that her husband was there with her and celebrating the milestone in their relationship.

How she wished she was with her and saw him jump in joy because finally, for the third time around, they would have a chance to be parents.

Elizabeth couldn t help but feel the pinch inside her heart because of these thoughts that were popping inside her head.

She took a deep breath.

"Be strong for the sake of your baby. I know it s hard but your baby needs you and you have to be brave because of the life inside you. Whatever you feel, your baby will get affected so you have to be always positive though I know how it is so hard for you," her Nanny Maria whispered, that gave her the courage.