Chapter 4 Four

• Tessa
• At the hotel room, I am still in my wedding gown. The room seems quiet, but in my mind, the cries of my little one fills the silence, her little feet and hands kicking, finding me. The heart ache was too much for me to bear and although I had promised to wait, I couldn’t.
• The day mother sent the driver to fetch me, the nun who nursed me at the convent promised to send pictures of my little one. I barely had time to process our separation as so many things were thrown my way with very little time to process.
• But every night and even now, the yearning grows, consuming every part of my being. My breast is sore and sensitive and full and aches in a way that runs beyond discomfort. I rubbed my belly where she was barely a week ago, the emptiness of it feeling like an unfinished breath. I am haunted by the thoughts of her need for me, my body and soul pulsing to have her in my arms.
• I quickly find my phone and my thumb hits the call button just as there is a knock on the door. Forgetting about the phone, I frowned, wondering who it could be. I dragged my feet to the door and peered through the hole on the door and my heart skipped a beat.
• Why is he here? What does he want with me? Those questions gnawed at me as I open the door. Without as much as a greeting, Abel strides past me, his demeanor oozing that of anger. Gobsmacked, I closed the door.
• “What do you want, Abel?” Abel inspects the room first, taking a quick peek at the bathroom and other areas before coming back to me. He studies me from head to toe and then ruffles his hands through his hair.
• “You’re still in your wedding gown, that could only mean Sorren isn’t here,” Abel says, still inspecting the room as though his brother would magically appeared.
• I roll my eyes at him. “Is there a reason why you’re here, Abel? Shouldn’t you be with your wife?” I spoke bitterly at him.
• Abel sighs heavily, as though visibly exhausted. “You know I don’t love her,” he says.
• The laugh that burst out of me wasn’t expected, but it couldn’t be helped. “Oh, this is gold,” I say amid my boisterous laughter. Abel stared at me, bemused at my reaction.
• “Abel, you married my sister!” I snapped, my voice going slightly above pitch. “I went away and-“ I stopped mid-way, suddenly realising how pointless and inappropriate this conversation was.
• “You cheated on me, Tessa! I saw the pictures of you and him!” He snaps
• “What pictures?” I yelled, panic cursing through my body at the thought that there were pictures of Sorren and I. “You know what? I don’t care what pictures you saw. You should leave, Abel, and stay the hell away from me,” I say, striding past him and opening the door for him to leave. Abel walks towards me as though aiming for the open door, but he grabs my cheeks and places a forceful kiss on my lips. I wiggle in the kiss, struggling to get out of his assertive hold.
• When Abel finally releases me, I am breathless. He stared at me with undiluted disdain and disgust that made my skin itch.
• “You don’t deserve to be happy, Tessa,” he says wickedly, wiping away evidence of me on his lips. “I hope my brother treats you bad. I hope you wake up every morning drowning in guilt and I hope it wears you down until you have no will to live,”
• “And who the hell do you think you are, spewing such nonsensical words at my wife?” Sorren’s angry yet calm voice came through from behind. Why is he here? Shouldn’t he be with his mistress in some crap hole?
• Mine and Abel’s gaze shifted to Sorren, who leaned against the door frame, his face void of any expression. “Why are you in my honeymoon suit with my wife?”
• “Sorren, it’s not what you think,” I quickly interjected, beyond confused as to why I saw the need to justify anything to him, afterall, he’d left me on the plane and took off with his mistress.
• “It’s exactly what you think, Sorren. Tessa and I were just kissing,” Abel states coldly and I slowly tilts my head in his direction. “How does it feel, seeing your wife with your brother?”
• “You’re one to talk, Abel. Or have you forgotten, you married her sister while she was away?” Sorren claps back and this makes Abel bite his words. His angry stare shifts from me to Soren and he rolls his eyes.
• At lost for words, Abel strides past me. But before he could make it to the door, Sorren grabs his hand. “Stay away from my wife, little brother, or I will knock you out into next month,” Sorren warns in a low growl.
• “Is that a threat, big brother?”
• “Call it whatever you want.” Both brothers exchange glares before Abel heaved out a sigh, shot me a deadly glare and slammed the door shut.
• Sorren looks at me with eyes full of disappointment, and for reasons beyond my understanding, I feel ashamed and feel the need to explain things to him.
• “He showed up unexpected –“
• “You’re leaking,” Sorren cuts in, leaving me flabbergasted. I tilt my head and twist my brows.
• “What?”
• “Your breast is flowing. Tessa, are you nursing?”
• My heart pounds in my chest at those words. Immediately, my gaze drops to my chest, horror reaping through my body at the sight of the wetness on my wedding dress. I cover my chest and force my weak legs backwards.
• “Tessa?” Sorren calls out worriedly. I quickly dash for the bathroom and strip, the sound of my rapid heartbeat reverberates in my stomach. Frantically, I grab as much tissue as needed and place them over my full sensitive breast. It hurts, painfully and aggressively.
• There’s a loud bang on the door and I gasp. “Tessa! Is everything okay in there? Let me in,” he bangs continuously.
• I dispose of the tissue soaked with breast milk in the toilet. “I’m okay! I’ll be out in a minute,” I yell back. Minutes later when I walk out of the bathroom, a bathrobe covers my body. I expect to find Sorren gone. But there he stands in the middle of the room, holding my phone up to me with an angry scowl on his face.
• “Who the hell is Sister Grace, Tessa? And why the fuck is she talking about your daughter? What the hell is going on?”