Chapter 84 Lines of Love and Hate
Natalie’s POV
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked furiously as the pain became more frequent.
“So, that guy, Lucas, isn’t your fiance?” Rafael asked, his smile growing bigger with every word he uttered.
He stared at my belly and continued, “And this is my child. So, were they twins, or did you never have an abortion in the first place?”
I gritted my teeth and said, “First of all, I don’t have to explain anything to you. Second, who the hell told you that Lucas is my fiance?”
“Daniel told me so,” he jumped in, cutting me off.
We turned our gazes towards Daniel, who was staring at us from afar with his fiancee. When we looked at him, he smiled and raised his glass of wine. I understood now; he told Rafael that to keep him away.
I looked back at Rafael and said, “That doesn’t change anything,” then started walking away from him.
He held my arm and asked, “Why, Natalie? I love you!”
I gave a small, bitter smile and replied, “Love alone isn’t enough, Rafael. I realized that too late.”
He insisted, “Maybe one of the children died, but I’m still the father…”
I pulled my hand from his and said through gritted teeth, “The biological father, and nothing more.”
He held my waist and pleaded, “Please, Nat. Why do you hate me so suddenly? What did I do to make you hate me this much?”
I was embarrassed as I saw some people looking at us. I didn’t want anyone to know that Rafael was the father.
“Let go of me. I despise your touch. Please just leave and go back where you came from. Just forget me,” I finished my sentence with a moan.
“Nat? What’s wrong?” he asked with concern as I bent forward in pain, holding my lower abdomen.
“I think I’m giving birth,” I said in panic.
He tensed up and froze in place.
Suddenly, I heard Maya’s voice as she asked, “Natalie, dear. What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know!”
“She’s giving birth! Take her to the hospital, now!” Maya instructed urgently.
I was lifted between solid arms, and from the scent, I knew who it was. How addicted to that scent I once was.
“Don’t be scared, I’m taking you to the hospital,” Rafael mumbled.
“I’m fine. I can go myself. Put me down,” I said, struggling in his embrace.
“We’ll follow you in our car,” said Daniel to Rafael.
I shouted, “Put me down!”
But when he put me down, it was in the back seat of his car. “You drive, Jack, and I’ll stay with her in the back seat,” he ordered.
As if my child was irritated and annoyed by the noise outside, the pain suddenly stopped, and he started kicking gently.
Rafael noticed the wave of movements in my belly and asked in shock, “Why is your stomach moving like this? Is that the child?”
I rolled my eyes and tried to push him away. “Get off me. Why are you so close? Don’t cross my personal boundaries!”
“Personal boundaries? I’m the one who put the child in you!” he mocked.
I pushed away his bold hand and sniffed. “That was when I was your little wifey, your stupid doll. But now I’m free. We’re divorced, have you forgotten?”
He laughed as if I had said a joke. Why does he keep acting so strangely? I frowned and asked, “Did I say something funny?”
“He didn’t sign the divorce papers!” said Jack, staring at us with amusement from the rearview mirror.
“Stop the car!” I said angrily.
Jack didn’t respond.
Rafael frowned, and I insisted, “Stop the damn car!”
“Didn’t you notice, my lovely wife, that your tongue has become very dirty lately? It needs taming!” he said with a grin. Before I could guess his intention, he pressed his lips to mine.
I struggled in his embrace, trying to untangle myself. But the more I tried, the deeper his kiss became. When I attempted to speak and curse him, he took advantage of the moment and slipped his tongue into my mouth.
After a moment, the car stopped and Jack said, “Sorry for interrupting, but we’re at the hospital.”
I didn’t wait for another second and rushed out of the car, hearing Rafael’s steps following me.
I shouted at him when I reached the hospital door, “Back off! Stay away of me.”
He paused, his eyes filled with a mixture of hurt and determination. “Natalie, please, let me help you,” he pleaded, taking a cautious step forward.
“I don’t need your help,” I snapped, clutching my abdomen as a sudden wave of pain hit me. “I can do this on my own.”
Just then, a nurse noticed my distress and hurried over with a wheelchair. “Ma’am, are you in labor?” she asked, her voice calm and professional.
I nodded, struggling to catch my breath. “Yes, I think so.”
“Let’s get you inside,” she said, helping me into the wheelchair. As she began to wheel me through the hospital doors, I glanced back at Rafael, who stood frozen, his face a mask of helplessness and sadness.
“I’ll be here, Nat,” he called out. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I wanted to tell him to leave, to get out of my life for good, but the words caught in my throat.
In the examination room, Freda, my doctor, smiled as she examined my belly with an ultrasound machine and asked, “Are you still not wanting to know the child’s gender?”
Before I could reply, there was a series of urgent knocks on the door.
She frowned and went to open it. A nurse, breathing heavily, said, “Doctor, we’re struggling with her husband outside. He’s causing a huge commotion.” Then she looked at me and continued, “Please let him in; the other patients are complaining.”
I raised my face and stared off to the side, pretending not to understand what she was saying, as she spoke in French.
Freda said, “Just call security!”
“God! I tried, security tried. The man made one call, and it’s as if he owns the hospital. No one dares to say a word to him.”
I knew how stubborn he was.
I said, “Tell him to enter, but he must stay at the back of the room and not come near me…”RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only
Before I could finish my words, he poked his head in and chuckled with happiness, “Okay, I promise!”
“Crazy!” I mumbled under my breath.