Chapter 84: 84 ~ Mira
It had been a few months.
Time had conveniently rolled by so fast.
I had settled in just fine here in Greece. Donna sent me to the household of an old friend of hers and her family. They had been so hospitable and kind.
Santorini was such a breath of fresh air. This place was perfect.
Too bad I could not fully enjoy it because I couldn’t go to a lot of places.
I had heard that Jace was actively searching for me.
And even though I was so mad at him for everything he put me through, a part of me wanted him to find me and take me back so we could live a normal life. But even I knew that was never going to be possible.
~
I knock on my door that morning as I lay in bed jolted me out of my thoughts.
I went to the huge mahogany door and pulled it open.
"Mrs Ria?"
She was standing dear with a concerned look on her face. She doted on me so much, it felt like she was my mother.
"You slept in again?" She asked, searching my face for signs of stress.
"I could barely sleep last night." I said with a rueful smile.
Her own smile dropped. "What happened dear?"
That night, I tossed and turned in bed. I just felt so much discomfort all of a sudden. I explained this to her.
"That’s odd."
"I’m fine now though." I assured her and she nodded before telling me that breakfast was ready.
~
I spoke to my brother every once in a while. And today was one of those days that I called him.
For safety reasons, he did not know exactly where I was. I made sure to always call from a private number as well. It’s not that I couldn’t trust him. I just didn’t need any more drama in my condition.
He picked up on the first ring fully aware it was me calling.
"Hey Roberto," I said.
"Hey sis, how are you doing?"
"Why do you sound out of breath? Are you alright?" I questioned.
"I was working out."
"Oh okay. How are you?"
"I’m great. Are you good?"
"I’m perfectly fine."
"You should be. Especially now that you’re away from that jerk." He said in an angry mumble. What a way to switch moods.
I sighed. There was no way both of them would ever get along.
"He’s still my husband and the father of my unborn child you know." I reminded him.
"Yeah whatever, fuck him!"
I snickered. "That’s exactly how I got pregnant."
"Mira! Eww!"
I laughed so hard.
"I did not need that description."
I laughed even more at how irritated he sounded.
"I heard Jace got shot two days ago." He said out of nowhere.
My blood ran cold.
"Shot? By whom?"
"I have no idea. He was at the club, someone opened fire at him. Asides him and two others, there was no casualties. But the club was shut down for the night. And now the media is speculating there’s something shady about him because this is not the first time this is happening."
I listened with rapt attention as Roberto doled out all the details. No wonder I felt the way I did. It was because of him.
I placed my palm over my growing belly. This child was already connected to its father. Too bad its father didn’t want him.
"Roberto?"
"Hmm,"
"I want to ask for a favor."
"If it’s what I think it is, the answer is no."
I shut my eyes and sighed. "Please."
"I said no. I am not going anywhere."
"I just need to be sure he’s okay." I insisted. There was no way I could call him but I just needed to know if he was fine.
"Are you in love with him or something?"
His question silenced me.
Roberto took my silence for an answer.
"What the fuck, Mira? Was he that good in bed?" He exploded the next minute.
"Roberto! Don’t speak to me like that." I cautioned him.
"I’m being fucking for real. How can you be so attached to someone who forced you to marry him under a week? You need to speak to a therapist. You are not okay."
He was so fucking judgemental.
My voice went up a notch. "All this wouldn’t have happened if you did not run off with his money in the first place!"
"Enough with the blame game. At some point, it was you who wanted to stay with him. Every time I wanted to get you out of there, you insisted on staying. You went ahead and got pregnant. This is on you."
Roberto’s words were harsh. They sounded like the truth but that wasn’t entirely it. But the tears stung my eyes as he spoke. Damn pregnancy hormones!
I hung up, unable to say anything else.
That was enough for today.
~
I could barely concentrate after that. All I wanted to do was speak to him. I just wanted to know if he was fine.
I knew I would probably be sabotaging my hidden location but I just wanted to be sure that he was okay.
Ria asked me if I was okay because I was distracted during dinner.
"I’m fine." I assured her.
When I got into bed that night, once again I could not sleep. So I did the most foolish thing even after my firm resolve to not contact him until after the baby is born.
I sent him a text.
’Hi Jace. I heard about what happened. I hope you’re getting better. Please be careful out there.’
I shut my eyes pressed send before I could let myself change my mind.
I managed to get some sleep afterwards.
By the time I woke up in the morning, the message I’d sent the previous night was long forgotten.
I had a doctor’s appointment so I got ready.
One of Ria’s helps, brought me a fruit salad since I said I wasn’t so eager for a heavy breakfast. My gynaecologist had advised that fruits become a constant part of my diet so that was what I was doing.
I was doing everything right so my child would come out healthy with no defects. I wanted him/her to be a chunk of beautiful healthiness.
I wrapped my head with a scarf and wore a pair of sunglasses. This was how I dressed up whenever I stepped out these days. It was an odd way to live but it was for the best.
I didn’t want Jace showing up and bundling me back to New York. That would be chaotic.
~
The cab I took stopped me in front of the hospital. I got out and walked straight to my gynaecologist’s office.
I said a quick hello to his front desk officer on the way. I knocked on the door and as soon as he asked me to, I went in.
"Hello Miss Valente,"
"Hi doctor."
I stuck to my maiden name to avoid any problems. It was still quite risk as I knew whomever was searching for me would know this fact but it was too late to change it now. It would look suspicious in fact.
I laid down and as the nurse came in and handled my ultrasound.
"Everything looks great mama. Baby’s heartbeat is strong."
I grinned. "Wonderful. I can’t wait to meet my baby,"
"Five months to go I guess," She said with the same enthusiasm.
One thing I loved about this place was how kind the staff were. They had their patients’ wellbeing at heart and would do anything to make sure they’re alright.
"Phew, that’s a long time." I mentioned.
"Time flies these days you know,"
"Indeed."
They went ahead to check my vitals.
"Your blood pressure is quite high."
"It is?" My smile dropped.
Pre-eclampsia was one of my greatest fears. It had claimed several lives and more than anything, I wanted to avoid any possible complications.
"Have you been sleeping well?"
"For the past few days, not really." I admitted.
"We have to work on that."
I nodded and listened as she doled out some instructions.
I couldn’t believe I was already in my second trimester. I was counting down the months with so much anticipation.
Several times I had pictured what my child would look like. Maybe it would have my eyes, Jace’s nose, his straight or my curly hair. I could only imagine.
By the end of my doctor’s visit, I had another cab waiting for me.
But as I slipped into the back of the vehicle, I could not fight off the feeling of being watched.
I turned back a few times and scanned my surroundings but there was nothing or anyone suspicious I could spot.
Picking up my phone, I decided to distract myself by scrolling through social media.
I decided I was overthinking it. I was simply just paranoid. Anyone in my shoes would be too right?
Right...