“Please, Doctor! I can’t keep this child. I can’t be a mother. I just can’t! Please book me an operation room right now. It is my right! I need to get rid of this…this….”
“Have you discussed with your partner about this? Miss Beaufort, this is a tremendously serious situation that you and—”
“He doesn’t want the baby either.” She cut him off.
The doctor was taken aback by this, but he kept his professionalism and continued.
“I understand. The law allows full right for you to make a decision, of course. But I really need to recommend against your decision to have an abortion. Your body is too weak to undergo any operation right now. Your blood pressure is completely off, and also your heart rate. I am still waiting for your blood result, but even with a preliminary checkup, I could not, with my good conscient, authorize you to go through with the operation. You are in an extremely weak stage.”
Before he could finish, Cara turned to leave without hesitation, trembling.
She heard the doctor sigh. She wished she could see his expression, but she knew full well she could not.
Cara Beaufort was blind.
Since one year ago, on that one fateful day, the day that changed the course of her life forever, that one day a great fire broke out in her family’s manor, in that one hellish day, Cara’s family perished, and she could barely escape. Cara didn’t know if she should thank fate or condemned it as she woke up a woman who had lost everything—she lost her beloved parents, her doting brothers, her fortune, and even her eyesight.
She had suffered blunt force trauma to her head, consequently causing a loss of vision. She underwent surgery and went through extensive rehabilitation. The doctor said there was a possibility that her vision would return, but he couldn’t promise anything. She still needed to have faith.
If someone would tell her the situation she was in right now, Cara would not believe it. She had everything a girl could ever dream of. Being the only daughter of the Beaufort empire, the largest hotel chain in UK and Europe, she grew up in luxury hotels, dined with celebrities, was invited to all the parties, and was pampered beyond imagination. Nevertheless, her parents were determined not to have her become some useless spoiled brat. They were her very first great teachers, her CEO father teaching her every little thing about the business, and her talented lawyer of a mother read to her philosophies and business ethics since the age of five instead of a normal kid’s bedtime story.
Cara aced every class, was celebrated by every school she attended, and was the class president of her university. But at the age of 21, right after graduation, when she was so ready to grab the world by the tail—her life tragically changed forever.
Now, from grace to grass, she’s poor and blind, even too weak to get an abort her baby.
The baby that she even doesn’t know who his father is.
*****
“Where is she? I told you not to let her out of your sight!” Frank scolded his girlfriend for letting Cara getaway. He overheard her call a hospital to book an appointment for consulting regarding her pregnancy and discussed options if she didn’t want to keep a baby. He couldn’t possibly let his golden goose get away that easily.
“Oh, please, it’s not like that bitch could run away. She is blind. Helloooo, it’s common sense, Frank. Besides, the hospital is not that big. We just have to hurry.” His girlfriend, Jenny, retorted. And she was right. They found Cara walking with a walking stick to feel her way on the hospital corridor. Distraught clearly evident on her face, but that was not the point of Frank’s worry. He rushed in and grabbed her arm a little too harshly. Cara grasped, but as she was about to scream, he stopped her.
“If you utter a word, I will stab you right now, and don’t test my patience.” Frank threatened her. Cara gritted her teeth. She couldn’t believe she used to trust this man. She couldn’t believe she used to trust him enough to once agree to be his girlfriend.
Frank Bassett hadn’t started out to be this prude, violent man when he entered her life. He was helpful and considerate to her the time she needed someone. Everything he said and his every action was every bit a gentleman—at least, that was what he wanted her to believe. He entered her life when she lost everything, and she was gullible enough to believe him. And maybe because he was Mateo’s son. Being the son of the man who was her father’s private secretary and the man who saved her life made her trust him with everything she had.
Not enough trust, kindness, and good were enough for a greedy man. He dumped her as soon as he found out she didn’t have a single penny to her name. Cara’s father had the same flaw—his trust in his business partners led to his daughter’s eventual poverty when everything was signed off in their names.
“What are you doing? Don’t tell me you’ve already aborted the baby!” Once they were in the car, Frank yelled at her. Cara was shaken by the question. She trembled with fear, but she quickly shook her head.
“No… no… I just did some health checks. The… t-the baby is still healthy,” even though Cara felt half-corpse, she was surprised that that was the fact.
“Good.” She could hear Frank say that with sinister satisfaction.
“Don’t you dare abort that baby! Because of that baby, he is so going to give us so much money.”
Cara knew full well that by ‘us,’ Frank didn’t include her. But who is ‘he’?
*****
“What did you just say?” Adrien asked. His voice was low and menacing. He looked out of the window of his office, distracting himself from Frank’s words. The guy used to work for him, and now he betrayed him bitterly.
He could hear his two bodyguards taking a deep breath. They must have been as shocked as he was. Even his dog could feel the tension in the air when it growled at Frank Bassett. Adrien’s tall, muscular frame turned in the direction of the blackmailers. He looked at their face one by one. Frank was determined, his girlfriend avoided his gaze and shuddered when he met her eyes, and that woman standing behind them just stared into blank space. He remembered her. It was dark when they met, but he remembered her.
She was one of the women he had slept with in the past. And he was told that she was pregnant with his child.
“Y-You…you heard me right. In exchange for us not telling the press, you will need to transfer us one million pounds….” Shakily, Frank repeated his rehearsed threat.
“How do I know that baby is mine?” Adrien’s voice was as calm as a volcano before an eruption.
Being the only legitimate heir to Castillon’s enormous wealth, he was used to multiple blackmails, threats, and betrayals. But this time was different. He swore to himself never to have a child. This man crossed the line.
“W-we have photos of you two together, making out in a hotel room. And if you don’t believe me, you can wait until that child is born and do a DNA test, but by that time, the damage will already be done. Who do you think the media and the public are going to believe? A billionaire playboy or a helpless blind girl?” After getting over his initial timidness, Frank gained more confidence that he will have that money. He knew Adrien’s weakness. The Castillon family valued reputation against all else.
Adrien ran fingers through the soft fur of his dog, thinking. The people in the room was waiting for his decision and he was in no rush to deliver any verdict. They came into his house and they must behave on his terms. He didn’t care if they waited until they rot.
Besides, there was nothing for him to pay much attention about. After all that he had been through in his life, nothing could surprise him anymore. And this was no different. Just something annoying he had to deal with. But he just loathed cleaning up the mess.
He paced around the luxurious space of his office. His slow footsteps were the only sounds in the room. It was until he met eyes with his bodyguard and Adrien suddenly turned to meet Frank’s eyes.
“Fine….” He did the most unexpected. He gave Frank the sweetest smile.
Then he gave out an order—the word as sharp and brutal as a gunshot.
“Thomas. Hendrick. Leave the blind girl to me. But for these two bastards, teach them a lesson.” Frank and his girlfriend could not prepare for what came next when they were punched to a pulp. They screamed their loudest, but the room was soundproof.
Cara could hear screams, and Frank pleaded for his life, the sounds of hard objects against flash and Frank’s painful howl. She was violently shaken with fear. Cara had her back against the wall. She didn’t know where to go.
*Thud thud thud*
Heavy footsteps got louder and louder as someone was approaching.
Then that someone stopped in front of her. She was shaking uncontrollably with the sounds of the screams not far from her. This man in front of her might do the same. Then she felt something touched her face… that man was caressing her face? He was so gentle that the feeling confused her. It was as if he was comforting her, asking her if she was alright with his touch. Maybe he could help her get out of here. The business with Frank was not something she wanted to be a part of anyway. Maybe the stranger knew she was innocent. Cara opened her mouth to ask the stranger for help. He was her hope… her way out…
“Help me please. I want n-nothing… I-I w-want nothing to do with this.” She stammered. The stranger was silent. She could feel his breathing, he was so close to her face, studying her. Cara’s heart was beating fast in anticipation. Her mind filled with foolish fantasy about freedom from his reply.
Instead, she heard the stranger whisper words in her ears that made her blood ran cold.
“Go abort that baby, you bloody gold digger, or I will cut that baby out of your womb myself.”