05
Privacy nave
My days in the guest room became my haven. It wasn’t much, but the me something I hadn’t felt. in a long time: freedom. With the door closed, I could do things no one knew about. I stretched my legs, practiced walking, and even looked up self–defense moves online. Each step was shaky, unsteady, but it was mine. At night, I felt determined. During the day, I played the part everyone expected–weak, helpless, incapable.
It wasn’t hard to keep up the act. Amber was always hovering, helping me with meals, showers, and whatever she could. I let her. I pretended to be the fragile woman she and everyone else thought I was.
One evening, Amber was helping me shower. Her voice had that smug edge I was starting to hate.
“You know,” she started, adjusting the water, “Jester and I shower together all the time.” She looked at me, clearly fishing for a reaction. I kept my face blank, saying nothing. That didn’t stop her. “He’s so sweet, always making sure I’m comfortable. He even washes my hair and…wait, do you want me to elaborate on that?”
I stared at the tiles, letting her words slide off me. My chest ached, but it wasn’t as sharp as it used to be. Maybe I was moving on. Maybe what Jester and I had didn’t matter as much anymore.
Amber’s voice turned bitter, her smugness slipping into venom. “He’ll never look at you the way he looks at me,” she hissed. I didn’t respond. And that alone felt like a small, quiet victory.
When my birthday came, it was clear no one cared. There was supposed to be a small party that Jester had reluctantly agreed to. But as I sat in my room, I heard Amber’s voice whining from the living room.
“I can’t do all this!” she complained. “I’m pregnant, Jester.”
My hand rested on my stomach as an uninvited thought crept in: If Jester knew I was pregnant too, would he care? Would he treat me differently? Would he stay?
Jester’s voice broke through my thoughts. “Then we’ll cancel the party. I’ll call everyone and tell them it’ll just be
Mauve and me tonight.”
My heart sank.
From the living room, Amber laughed. “Thank you, darling,” she purred,
That evening, the door to my room burst open, and Amber stormed in with fury imprinted across her face. M
heart raced, but I forced myself to stay calm, grateful I’d hidden the exercise mat earlier,
“You should have just died,” Amber spat. “Do you know how much easier things would be if you weren’t here? If Jester didn’t have to pretend to care about you?”
I stared at her, keeping my face blank, giving her nothing.
Amber stepped closer and whispered cruelly. “I tampered with your brakes,” she admitted, “You were supposed to die that day. But you didn’t! How come Jester still keeps you in that useless state of yours!”
My stomach churned, my pulse pounding in my ears. But I refused to react. I just stared at her, letting my silence speak louder than any words ever could. But, God! This very bitch was the reason why I almost lost my life? I was
close to losing it. I wanted to stand up and confront her, or at least, slap her
The door opened again, and Jester walked in, his eyes darting between us, confusion written all over his face. “What’s going on here?” he demanded.
Amber’s expression shifted instantly She turned to him, all sweetness and innocence “I was just checking Luna Mauve. But she’s staring at me like I’m a bad person.”
your
attitude
Jester’s eyes hardened as he looked at me. “Stop this, Maivel Amber’s pregnant. She doesn’t need Why are you making her life harder? If there’s a bad person here, it’s you. No wonder you got in an accident. That’s your karma!”
Jester shook his head. “I can’t deal with this right now,” he muttered, giving me a cold look before turning to Amber. “Let’s go. You don’t need this stress.
He walked out of the room without another word, leaving the door slightly ajar. My nerves were trembling, but ! stayed silent, keeping my expression blank.
Amber lingered, dropping the moment Jester was gone. She stepped closer and said, “You should’ve stayed in that car. Life would’ve been so much easier if you weren’t here”
Before I could react, she lashed out, hitting me in the stomach. Pain flared, sharp and overwhelming, but I stayed frozen, my body betraying me. She stepped back with a mocking smile on her face.
“Jester doesn’t care about you. He never did,” she sneered. “You’re just a problem he has to deal with, and I’ll make sure he doesn’t have to for long.
Laughing, she walked out, closing the door behind her. The sound echoed in the silence, but I was already curled over, clutching my stomach. The pain was unbearable, and tears spilled down my face despite my best efforts to hold them back.
I reached for the landline on the nightstand. My hands shook as I dialed Dr. Helen’s number. “Dr. Helen… please…
I need help. It’s bad. Please come quickly.” I said, my words breaking as the pain grew worse,
time.
I collapsed back onto the floor, the phone still in my hand, and closed my eyes, praying she would get here in
“Mauves, you have to stay awake!”
Before I could respond, the darkness pulled me away and I slipped into unconsciousness.
‘If I lose this child, I’ll reject Jester as mate.‘ I swore bitterly to myself, just before the darkness claimed me fully.
