Chapter 14
~Raven.
~~~~
Who am I?
I don't know anymore. Am I still the same Raven I was before I died or am I just a resentful ghost that lives for nothing but revenge.
When I didn't respond. Vance nodded, then he turned away from me. I wanted to reach for him yet my body wouldn't respond.
It was like I no longer had control over myself.
His jaw was taut and with the way he tapped his lap, I knew that he wanted nothing but to get out of here, still he stayed.
I wrapped my hands around myself, feeling utterly alone.
What should I do?
I didn't want to lose him, but I didn't know how to keep him either.
"Without revenge, he cannot be kept. He will die just like he did in our past life." That voice returned again, and when I raised my head, she was right there. My past self, or was it me? She was sitting in between us, blocking Vance from my view.
I closed my eyes, this isn't real. I told myself. Yet, when my eyes opened again, she was still there.
Unmoving.
A moment that felt like hours later, the door of the ICU opened and the doctors walked out. I sprang to my feet while Vance slowly rose. "How..."
"How is he?" Vance spoke for me, given that I couldn't get the sentences out.
"He is out of danger now. But we still need to monitor his vitals for any sign of danger." My knees trembled in relief.
"That's good. That's good." I repeated in a daze.
I hadn't lost him, Dad was still here.
Vance visibly relaxed. The doctor patted Vance's shoulder. "We will make sure to give him the best care. I assure you, once he pulls through this night, he will be completely out of danger."
"Can we see him?" Vance asked.
"Yes. But only one of you."
Vance turned towards me. "Go check on him." He turned around once he said this. I hesitated. Was he leaving?
"We almost lost him, Raven." She was here again, Her words forced me to let her take my hand and lead me to the ICU.
Right as I reached the door, I paused and glanced back, only to see Vance's tense shoulder as he walked away with the doctor.
"He will never understand us." Her distorted voice stated. "Let's finish what we started. Everything else will be fixed."
I held back my tears at her words. Maybe she was right.
After... After I make them pay, I will tell him everything, until then, I could only hope he wouldn't hate me too much.
I entered Dad's ward.
The sight of him motionless and hooked to different tubes made me unable to hold back my tears. I sat by the chair placed beside him, then I slipped my hand into his unmoving one.
"I almost lost you once again."
If only I hadn't asked about Vincent. If only I hadn't allowed myself to be lost in the happiness of that moment.
Eyes closed, I laid my head on his bed watching the rise and fall of his chest. The soft beeping of the heart rate machine, a relaxing melody to my ears.
When the time I could spend with him was over, I returned to the waiting room. Vance was nowhere to be found.
It must be that he no longer wanted to see me.
I sat on the cold bench, eyes closed, he only needed a moment from me. He will be back soon. I told myself.
My eyes opened to someone gently patting me awake. My eyes snapped open, thinking it was him. However, I couldn't help but be disappointed when Winter's bright face stared back at me.
"Did you sleep here all night?"
I cleaned the sweat dripping down my face. My eyes examine the area. "I didn't mean to." I responded when I didn't see Vance's large frame anywhere. "How long have you been here?" She was sitting right beside me.
"Not long. Vance texted me about your Dad last night. He told me to check up on you. But I had slept by then. I came as soon as I saw the text." She glanced around. "Where is he?"
"I don't know." My voice was quiet.
Winter raised a brow. "Did you guys have a misunderstanding?"
I wanted so badly to tell her what happened. However, the moment I opened my mouth, I snapped it.
She couldn't know. What if she reacts like Vance?
"Maybe he had something to do." Winter's optimistic voice pulled my attention back to her. "So, how is your Dad?"
"He's out of danger now." The doctor had been checking his vitals all night. I had been with them until I fell asleep.
Winter nodded, then she held my hand. "How exactly did it happen? I thought we had it all planned."
"I thought the same too, but I didn't expect how crazy Aurora was. She actually poisoned him."
"That bitch." She fumed.
"She is not our priority right now, Vincent is." I grimaced as pain shot through my back and neck. I had been too focused on searching for Vance that I failed to register the pain. "Have you found anything on him?"
"Yes." Winter's nosé flared as she responded. I knew she was still fuming. Dad was like a father to her too. During her teenage years, Winter had been wild. Her parents threw her out of the house countless times.
However, Dad was always there to take her in.
Everyone thought she was like that due to the wrong influence. Only I knew the twisted truth.
Her mother had been having an affair with her uncle. Winter had caught them in the act. Instead of remorse, her mother had threatened her and even made living at home hell for her.
In order to escape, she had no choice but to act that way.
Her parents later got a divorce. Unfortunately, Winter's Dad died a year after that.
"We still haven't found anything about him."
I glanced at the green light above the ICU exit. " Find Martha first. If we find her, Vincent will be easier to find. Also, we need more investigation on Flames Wing." I had a feeling that they might be connected to Vincent.
"My team is already working on all of that." A pause. "Raven."
"Yes?"
Are you okay?" I didn't look away from the green light.
"Yeah."
Her grip on my hand tightened like she wanted to argue. She sighed. "You look pale, Raven. You need to get some sleep and find something to eat."
"I will do that when Dad wakes up."
"Only someone who has a death wish would spew the shit you have just spewed." She tugged at my hand to pull me up. "Have you forgotten that you are pregnant? With the shock you have experienced, what do you think hunger will do to you? Do you want to end up in the ICU with your Dad? "
"Sitting here like a pathetic little girl won't help with anything." She was here again. "You need to eat so you can have the energy to make them pay."
She no longer sounded distorted. And I was starting to get used to her unusual presence.
I turned to Winter. "Take me home."
From the corner of my eyes, I saw her smile. Her distorted face turned her smile into an eerie sight that made the air on my back stand.
I knew I shouldn't be seeing her.
Yet, she no longer felt like a stranger anymore. It was as though she was a part of me I had long refused to know.
Maybe she could stay.
As long as I had her, I would no longer be alone.
~P-Lia~
Chapter 15
~Raven.
~~~~
He left me.
Of course he did.
I should have known, from the fact that he was nowhere to be found when I went home. He needs more time. I had told myself.
But now, it is as clear as day that he had left me. Without a word.
Three days. I hadn't seen him for three days now.
"Pumpkin. Why do you look so pale?" Dad's weak voice brought me out of my thoughts. My response came with a half hearted smile.
"It's nothing, Dad." I didn't mean to, yet my voice trembled. So this was how it felt like to be away from the man I love. Yes. I did love him, I thought I already knew I did.
However, right now. I realized that I didn't have an inkling of how much I love him. This feeling... Like I was submerged beneath a sea of water, unable to move, unable to breathe.
It was all too much to bear.
I just wanted my life back. A soft hand cups my cheeks and turns me to gaze into warm brown eyes that reminded me of the setting sun. "Is something bothering you?" Dad questioned again.
The lie was in my lips, yet it wouldn't come out.
So I resorted to leaning into his warmth, eyes closed. A moment, I just needed a moment with him and then... I will finish what I started.
Winter already told me what I needed to know. I was right to ask her to find Martha. It turns out that Martha and Vincent are indeed connected.
Not only that, they met every three days on the outskirt of the city. That was where I planned to find them. A shaky exhale left me.
It was about time I asked Dad the question that had been in my mind since I last spoke to Aurora. "Dad... Can you tell me what really happened with Vincent?"
There was silence for a moment, Dad neither took his hand from my cheek, nor responded.
"After he... After he killed your mother, I sent him to prison. But he had only spent a year in prison before we found out that he was unstable. No, he had gone mad. The doctor confirmed that it was a generic illness that affects the first child of the family."
My hand immediately covered my belly as if protecting it from Dad's words. "Madness?" I breathed, a new kind of fear crawling through me. What if my baby turns out like that?
Even though I had been trying to push away the fact that I was pregnant, I didn't actually hate my baby... I just... I felt like I didn't deserve the life growing within me. Not when I had been unable to protect it in my past life.
And almost lost it in this.
"Your baby will be alright, Pumpkin. The illness is only triggered when they are exposed to certain substances." He assured me, however, instead of being relieved, my other hand also covered my belly.
Dad sighed.
"Trust me, Raven. As long as they are not exposed to alcohol or drugs, they should be fine." He ruffled my hair, then smiled weakly. "Why do you think Vance doesn't drink?"
At the mention of him, my pulse halted, then staggered forward. Yeah. Vance doesn't drink. I nodded.
"Does that mean Vincent is just a mad man?"
Dad slowly sat up on the bed with a groan, I rushed forward to help him. "Not exactly mad, delusional, unstable and dangerous." He shook his head. "I don't know what would have happened if he had been let loose."
I almost told him what I found, but then, I held back. This was my problem to solve, not anyone else's.
We spoke for a while longer, then I walked out. At least this conversation with him had confirmed one thing.
Dad never did what Aurora said he did. My shoulder relaxed at the thought. His words came to me again, making me glance down.
The little baby bump sticking out of my gown made me hug myself. I was starting to show, but I haven't even done one good thing for my baby.
What kind of mother am I?
"Raven!" Winter was by my side now.
"Is everything ready?"
"Yeah." Her eyes were bloodshot. "Those rats! I can't believe they almost ruined my base just to prevent me from finding them."
I reached out and patted her hand. "None of this would have happened if I hadn't asked for your help." Two days ago, she found some lead on Flames Wing, but before she could investigate further, her system was breached and her company's database almost collapsed.
If it weren't for her team's quick response and her luck, she might be bankrupt by now.
Winter glared at me. "Were you the one who breached my database? Don't get on my nerves, I’ve already had enough of your apologies these past few days."
"Sorry."
"Will you stop saying that and follow me?" She snapped, already dragging me towards the exit. I couldn't help but smile.
What would I do without her by my side? She had been the one keeping me sane these last few days since Vance left.
My smile fell when I thought of him. He wasn't even in his own house, that shows how far he was willing to go to avoid me.
Winter is unable to track him since he left everything at home. The maids working at his house hadn't seen him either.
" -- cops?"
"Huh?" Winter gave me a glare.
"I said, do you want me to send the rest of the evidence to the cops?"
"Y-yeah." We found evidence that Vincent was the one who created Flames Wing, a secret assassin organization. This evidence should be enough to convict him.
And Martha for faking her death, and Elio for funding them. It took us more than two hours to arrive at the location. A sprawling villa surrounded by huge trees.
If anyone saw this place, they would think it belongs to normal people, not killers. The cops were already there and prepared to take action.
"Mrs Knight." The female cop who helped with Aurora's case greeted.
I offered her a smile. "Thank you for coming."
"No, I should thank you for your help. We have spent years searching for their base. If it weren't for you and your friend, we never would have found this place."
We both glanced towards it. "I hope you capture them all." My voice was quiet.
"My company almost ran down because of them. Just wait until I get my hands on those pieces of shit."
The cop chucked. "Well, we will try our best." Her expression grew serious. "This might not go well as planned. We don't know how armed these men currently are. I will need you to stay as far from here as you can."
"Thought you had never asked." Winter left without hesitation. I chuckled, sent a glance at the house and walked away too.
As much as I would like to storm in and find Vincent, I wasn't suicidal. These men were trained assassins and I was pregnant.
I had only taken a step forward when my phone rang. I picked it without a second thought. "Hello, Ray. Did you miss me?" I didn't need to ask twice to know who it was. Every hair on my body stood on edge, skin crawling with dead.
~P-Lia~
Chapter 16
~Raven.
~~~~
I have had this feeling before.
A strange premonition that everything in my life is about to go terribly wrong. It had been the same one I had on the day I lost Vance in my past life.
My hand clutched my phone until my knuckles whitened. There was only one person who called me by that nickname. "Elio."
His chuckle shot a tremor through me. "I thought you wouldn't recognize my voice." A pause. "But then, you have spent the past years chasing after me. I am your obsession. Why would you suddenly let go?"
"Shut it!" I snapped. "I don't have the time for your pathetic words, what do you want?"
He didn't speak.
"Does the prison guard give you time for this? Well, I am hanging up, unlike you, I don't have time on my hand."
"Prison guard?" Another chuckle. "And who told you and I am in prison?" I went still, completely still.
Oh my God.
"Y-You--"
"Did you think that flimsy prison could hold me?" His voice was dangerously low. It took everything in me for my knees not to buckle.
"H-How?" How did he escape? I thought I had him, that I had already gotten him out of my way.
"We need to speak. I will send the address to you."
"Like hell I will go anywhere you are!" I snapped.
"You don't have a choice. Unless, you want to find my Uncle's cold body lying in front of your hours."
Uncle?
I gulped. Since when did he- I almost dropped my phone when it clicked. "V-Vance?" My feet moved forward. "What did you do to him?"
"You will see. You have thirty minutes. If I don't see you by then..." He left the rest of his words hanging.
Tears stung my eyes. "If you touch him, I will-" he hung up before I could say more. "Oh my God." How could this happen? Didn't Vance leave? How could he...? Everything in front of me blurred and I staggered back.
"Raven, what's wrong?" Winter steadied me. I grabbed her hand, the tears I had kept in since Vance left, trailing down my cheeks.
"I thought he left me." I sobbed. "I-i thought-"
Winter quickly held my shoulder, panic making way to her face. "What are you talking about, Raven? You are scaring me."
"E-Elio is out of prison and h-he has Vance." I hiccupped.
"What?!" She tried to hide it, but I could see that the information disturbed her. She was silent for a while, just watching me sob. Then as if being snapped out of it, Winter pulled me into her embrace. "He will be fine. I promise."
I was about to nod, when she appeared. My past self. She had only been appearing whenever I was alone.
"We have to find him!" Her voice was frantic, the resentment in her eyes giving way to fear. "We can't let him die again." The burns on her body had grown worse, as though she had been recently burned.
For a minute or two, I couldn't take my eyes off her. Everything around me disappeared, I could feel her fear, her pain and even her need for revenge.
Winter's lips moved besides me but I couldn't hear what she said. I felt my own lips move in response to her words. Then my body moved and I was led to the car. Winter said something else, then she was gone.
A sharp ping from my phone made me glance down. My tears stopped once I saw the message the unknown number had sent to me. An address.
I sprang to my feet as soon as I saw it, I was in the car the next moment, turning it on. Winter's frantic screams did nothing to stop me as I sped off.
"If he dies, they all must die too." She was seated beside me now, handing me a gun. I glance at the metal, a bitter feeling brewing within me.
She was the one who asked me to purchase it two nights ago and I was glad I listened to her. I grabbed it and hid it inside the pocket of the shorts I wore beneath my dress.
Cold air whipped my hair around as I sped through the deserted road, not caring if I was going too fast or too slow, the only thing on my mind was getting to him.
The sun was already setting, giving way to the stars. The sky would darken in a while.
Soon, I was slowing down in front of an old factory. A cold, rotten hand touched my cheek. "Clean your tears, they don't deserve it."
I wiped away my tears with the back of my hand. My eyes didn't leave hers. For the first time since she appeared, there were tears in her eyes.
"Don't lose him like I did." She pleaded.
I couldn't respond, so I nodded then pushed the car door open without hesitation. A distance from me, I could see Elio's frame, I examined the place but Vance was nowhere to be found.
My eyes narrowed. What if I had been tricked?
No!
I had to make sure that Vance wasn't here. A slow breath rushed out of my lungs. Shoulders squared, hand grazing the gun hidden beneath my dress, I marched over to him.
"You really came." He didn't hide the mirth in his voice, cold eyes sizing me up.
"Where is Vance?"
Elio raised a brow. "What? Can't wait to see your lover?"
I was a moment away from pulling out my gun and putting a hole through his head, thankfully, I held back. Because, the next moment, a familiar face stepped out. "Vance!" I called, almost running into his arms.
The man who I assumed was Vance stepped out fully. It wasn't Vance. I took a step back, pupils dilated when I saw the other half of his face.
A shudder ran through me and I would have turned around and ran if she hadn't appeared. "Don't be scared." Her once resentful voice was warm and soothing.
"You are Reya's girl." Vincent stated, scanning me. Hearing him say my mother's name made my whole body tremble.
How dare he? He killed her and now he had the guts to speak about her? My feet moved as I found myself lunging for him. Before I could do that, something heavy hit me from behind.
"ARGHHH!" I cried as a sharp pain pierced the back of my head. My body dropped to the floor with a loud thump.
Right before I lost consciousness, I saw Thalia smiling down at me, her facade finally off. "Fucking bitch." She spat.
~P-Lia~
Chapter 17
~Raven.
~~~~
I never thought I would be back here again, not when I had spent so long preventing this.
The tears won't fall.
Even the words that had gathered at the tips of my tongue won't leave my lips.
"We need to get out of here." My past self was screaming, she had been muttering the words over and over again since we woke up in this hellhole we had died.
Time here was a blur, there was no way to know if I had spent a day or more. No one had been here either, not Vincent or Elio or even the bitch who knocked me out.
I was curled up in a ball by the wall facing the bed. My hands won't stop trembling. All this time, I had my hand on my belly.
They haven't given me a drop of water.
"Why aren't you doing anything?" She demanded, pacing the cramped place. A resigned breath made it ways out of me, shoulders dropping. "Say something! We have been stuck here for so long."
Her body was trembling more than mine, and it was obvious she couldn't handle being stuck here.
I would have consoled her, but even I needed to be consoled, so I kept my mouth shut. To be honest, I was beginning to regret my abrupt decision to come here.
I wasn't even sure if I would see Vance or not.
The loud thud against the cemented floor made me sit up, spine straight and ready for whatever was coming. The door was pulled open with a grating screech, all the hair on my back stood as they walked in.
Elio looked worse than the last time I saw him, Martha didn't look good either. I was on my feet now, backing myself into the wall, eyeing them warily. "Where is Vance?" I demanded, trying and failing to sound strong. Vincent didn't respond, the air thick with tension. "Where is he?" I screamed, cold sweat covering my hairline.
"Hmm, you are not quite like your mother. She was... Softer."
"I don't care what you think about my Mom, Bring Vance to me." My voice cracked at the end.
Vincent didn't speak for a moment too long, eyes examining me. " Well, we had him. But now we don't." The breath of relief that left me was nothing like I had ever felt before.
My knees buckled and I would have slipped to the floor if it weren't for these beasts in front of me. I knew they weren't going to let me go, yet, the thought of dying by their hands one more time made my inside boil.
"Are you going to kill me? Or will you keep here, torture me, and finally burn me to death?"
Vincent seemed taken aback by my words, the burnt half of his face twitching ever slightly. It was an expression I always saw on Vance, however, this only sent a shiver of disgust through me.
He was nothing compared to the man I love.
"It's good that you know how you will end up." Thalia sneered.
My fist dug into my skin, the urge to hug myself so strong that I had to bite my lips to stop myself. "You almost killed my Dad, you almost ruined me, and you even hurt Vance. All because of what?"
It was about time I broke him out of his derision.
Vincent's expression morphed into fury. "Your Dad took everything from me. He turned me into this." The man shoved a hand at himself, bloodshot eyes blazing with resentment and anger.
"Is that what you believe?" My gaze moved to those behind him too. "Martha, you should know better don't you? Your man killed my mother and got himself imprisoned."
"What the hell are you talking about? Your Dad framed him!" Martha sneered. " Vincent would never kill anyone."
I wanted to believe she knew nothing about it, I really wanted to. But after seeing how much malice the woman had in her past life. And the calm look in her eyes, it all just clicked.
She knew.
It didn't occur to me that I was biting myself too hard until I tasted blood. My gaze returned to Elio who frowned and Thalia who was just glaring at me. They didn't know.
My heart raced.
I could use this to my advantage. Disorient them and finally make use of the gun in my pocket. Thankfully, they didn't find it.
"Elio." I took a step forward. "Your Dad is unstable. He is on the edge of a breakdown." He was just like Vance, he never took alcohol. "Why don't you take alcohol? You can't tell me it's because you don't like it, right?"
Elio's pupils dilate, his eyes moving to his Mom. She shook her head, making her turn to me with a sneer. "You think you can drive a wedge between us with your words? " A scoff. "I am not foolish. Your Father ruined mine and my parents' life."
I couldn't help but pity him, his whole life has been built on a lie that never existed. His father was unstable and his mother would rather believe what was never hers belonged to her.
"Think of it, Elio, your Dad must have shown signs of disability on some days. Vance doesn't take alcohol and you don't either. Why do you think that is?" I paused, hand trailing over the cold metal in my cloth. "Your family has an illness. A mental illness. According to the doctors, it can be triggered by drugs and alcohol. It causes delirium and hallucinations." Tears spilled down my cheeks. "Your Dad k-killed my Mom, that was why he was sent to prison. And the fire that turned him into this was merely an accident."
"Don't listen to her, she's just trying to turn us against each other." Martha stepped forward, pupils dilated.
"Martha knows the truth." I revealed.
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!!" Vincent screamed from the side, his walking stick fell off his hand with a soft clank and he dropped to the floor, hand holding his head. "It's not real, it's not real." He chanted, curling up in a ball.
Elio staggered forward. "D-Dad." Then he turned to Martha. "M-Mom, what is wrong with Dad?"
Martha jerked her head towards me, veins bulging in her throat. "You bitch, what the fuck are you trying to do?"
"I am just letting them know the truth you refuse to tell them." I retorted. "How could you be such a horrible mother, Martha. You ruined your children's life." Maybe it was the fact that I had a life growing inside me too, I just couldn't imagine being like this to my own child.
SMACK!
My head snapped to the side with the sting. "You bitch! You are just like your mother, ruining everything for me!" She screeched, her hand coming to wrap around my hair.
My eyes widened as she shoved me to the floor, making me fall with a loud thud. "Let go of me!" I attempted pushing her hand away, however, her grip was surprisingly strong. Too strong.
Vincent was still writhing on the floor while Elio stood there like he was in shock.
"Fight back, Raven. We didn't come this far to end up dying like this." My past self encouraged, fortunately her word edged me on, a groan tore out at me as I summoned my strength and shoved Martha with all my might.
She crashed into the bed. I jerked to my feet, ran for the door and pulled out my gun. Thalia was busy tending to Elio to have my time.
"Catch her! Don't let her get away!" Martha commanded sharply just as I yanked the door open to two men standing guard. I didn't waste time pulling the trigger.
It went out with a deafening bang. Before the first man could recover, I had shot the next one.
I didn't wait to see what had become of them as my whole body was shaking extremely. A sharp pain pierced through my stomach and I winced.
"No! No! Please." I pleaded, not stopping even when I caught sight of a group of doctors ahead. They tried to stop me, but I had my gun pointed at them. " Move and I will put a hole right through your head." My voice was cold, and my eyes were focused. "You!" I pointed to one of them. "Lead me to the exit. And you two. There are two men at the back, I s-shot them."
They immediately left, leaving me with the one I asked to take me to the exit. He began to lead me to the exit. However, before I could reach anywhere, someone lunged for me. From behind I tried to run, but he yanked me back and grabbed me by the neck.
The doctor was quick to pull the gun from my hand. "No!" I tried to reach it, however the grip on me was strong.
"You are just like your mother." Spittle flew out of Vincent's neck as he roared.
"L-let go of m-me." I fought against him weakly, tears rolling down my cheeks when my struggles ended up being worth nothing.
I could feel my life draining out of me. Was this is?
No matter what I do, was I bound to end the same way I did in my past life?
~P-Lia~
Chapter 18
~Raven.
~~~~
Was this how Mom felt when Vincent pushed her?
My hand was on my stomach protectively. How horrible it must be to think you would be losing your baby before even knowing it. This must be how Mum felt when Vincent pushed her down the stairs.
Why?
Just why did we have to die by his hands?
Why couldn't I just live a happy life with the man I love?
I thought a new chance could change everything, that knowing how it would turn out meant I was a step ahead.
Oh, how wrong I was. Now, I was never going to see Vance or Dad again. Eyes closed, I stopped struggling. No one told me that being strangled to death would hurt this much.
"Dad, no!" A familiar voice screamed right after a loud shot rang through the place, warm blood splattered across my face and I dropped to the floor, gulping in air like my life depended on it.
"Miss Rave." Through the haze of my near death, I saw a familiar face rushing towards me.
I went still. "A-Alfred?"
His lips curled into a kind smile. "Raven!" My whole body froze when I heard Vance call me. My eyes searched frantically for him. "You are okay. You are okay" Warm arms embraced me as he chanted the words, the familiar sweetness of his cologne mixed with blood.
I scanned him from head to toe and cupped his cheeks. "Vance." He gripped my hand on his cheek. "It's really you!"
Vance nodded frantically, blue green orbs examining me for injuries. "It is really me. It is." He hugged me again, burying his head in the crook of my neck, while I laid my head on his chest. Sobbing.
"I thought I had lost you. I thought... "
"No, don't say it, please." There was chaos around us as the sound of sirens pierced the air. I didn't look, I didn't want to. All I wanted was to curl in his arms and just stay there forever.
I pulled back to look into his eyes, fearing I would never see him again. "I love you, Vance. I don't know how it happened or when, I just want you to know that I love you so much, it hurts."
Vance froze, beautiful eyes searching mine as though he couldn't believe I had just said it. "Y-You really do?"
I nodded.
A smile tugged at his lips. "This isn't the ideal place to say this. But, I love you too, Raven Knight. I always have. At first, I thought it was just guilt. But, now I know that it's not. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and." He placed a hand on my stomach. "And our baby."
"Oh, Vance. You don't know how long I have wanted to tell you everything. I-"
"Don't say more please." He kissed my head and just.... Held me there, until the chaos around us disappeared.
"Miss Rave, Mr Cobalt." Alfred prime and proper voice pulled us out of the moment. I glanced at him, my heart settling when I saw his face.
"Alfred." I reached for him, but a sharp jolt in my stomach made me wince.
"Raven, what's wrong?"
"My baby." I cried. Vance was quick to pick me up, he carried me to the medic outside the hospital. As they were tending to me. Elio, Martha, Thalia and a bleeding Vincent were being carried out.
Vance was about to walk away when I reached for him. " I will be right back." He offered me a reassuring smile. Then he walked over to where Elio was being taken away despite his struggles.
The next thing I knew, Vance threw a punch at Elio, making the younger man stagger back. "You fucking asshole!" Vance roared, swinging his fist again. Elio dropped to the floor without fighting back, which was unlike him.
The cops tried hard to pull the two of them apart.
"If anything happens to Raven or the baby, I will kill you." He spat, then turned around and began walking over to me. Tears stung my eyes when I saw how disheveled Vance himself was.
His clothes were dirty, dried blood cracked his neck and cheek, and bruises lined up his face and neck. "You need to stay put ma'am." The medic tending to me gently pushed me back into the stroller when I tried to stand.
"Raven. Fuck! What did they do to you?" Winter was by my side now. My attempt to smile must have looked ugly because Winter grimaced. Her expression morphed into pure anger.
Just when I thought she would stay by my side, she actually ran over to where Thalia, Martha and the doctors were being loaded into a van.
The next month, a sharp slap rang across the space. Then another one. "That's for touching my friend you bitches."
"How dare you touch me? Do you know who I am?" Thalia screeched. I was starting to suspect that the cops didn't mind them getting hurt, because they allowed the slap before pulling an angry Winter away.
"Hey." Vance's eyes were soft white he slipped his warm hand into mine. "You will be okay. Both you and our baby. I promise."
"She and the baby are stable. The pain she felt was due to shock." The female medic offered. "We will need to take her to the hospital for more check ups."
Vance didn't take his eye off me. "I will stay with her." And like that, I was taken to the hospital where the doctors did more check ups. I was told to rest more and drink more water.
They also suggested that I stay at the hospital for monitoring, because of my throat and the weakness I was experiencing. I didn't refuse, after all, my baby was my biggest priority.
"Are you feeling better?" It had been three days since that incident, my throat had grown sore, so I avoided speaking as much as I could.
I nodded. Then looked pointedly at him.
Vance chuckled. " I am fine, Love." I could see that he wasn't.
"Y-You."
"I will speak, okay." He took my hand in his, thumb grazing it. "I went to see... Him." His throat tightened. "He has gotten worse than the last time." Their hearing was set for a week to now, Dad and Vance had made it possible.
I still wasn't at ease, but since I had decided to hand them over to the law, I had no other choice. At first, I really did want to kill them all by myself, but after seeing Vincent and Elio that way, I stupidly couldn't bring myself to do it anymore.
My past self no longer came out. I guess she was angry at me. Strange, I actually missed having her around. After all, she was my only connection to the life I once lived.
I rubbed Vance's hand back. " I-know."
Vance laid his head on my thigh. " I know I shouldn't pity him, not after everything he did to you. I am sorry."
My hand curled into his hair. "H-He is... Your brother... You don't need to... F-feel sad about it." I had gone past being frustrated about my inability to speak properly for now.
He kissed my bare stomach. "Thank you, Love." The nickname and the sensation his lips brought made my cheeks heat up.
Shamelessly, I patted his back. "U-um V-Vance, can you get me cold water." The room was unexpectedly too hot, so I had pulled my gown down to reveal, maybe too much skin. But that still wasn't enough.
Vance glanced at my exposed chest, eyes glazing over. One thing I had come to learn about him recently was that he seemed to like looking at my collarbone and chest, maybe a little too much.
The clearing of my throat made me smile. Now that I think of it, both the night we had our baby and that one night we spent together in my past life. He was quite passionate.
A blush made its way to my cheeks and I couldn't help smiling like a fool. "Cut it out Raven, what are you even thinking?" I patted my cheeks, then rubbed my stomach. "My little star, you must not be as naughty as Mummy when you grow up, okay?"
As if understanding what I had said, my stomach rumbled.
A chuckle made me snap my head up. Vance was looking at me with so much softness that my heart did a sharp thump, I quickly glanced down. The sound of his booming laughter sent jolts of joy into my heart.
I found myself laughing alongside him. Finally realizing that, after all the hell we had been through these past months.
He was still here .
And everything might just be okay from now on.
~P-Lia~
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