Aria found it uncomfortable at the back compartment of an extravagant and expensive limousine. First, her abdomen was in pain. She doesn't know where to lie down but flat on her back. Aria held onto her abdomen, and cried. Who would be her companion now that no one's around that could help her?
Aria sniffed in her sobs, covering her mouth as she heard the car starting. She hissed, whispering, "You need to calm down, Aria. You need to calm down…"
…
Prince insisted to drive the Sedan to his mansion. He let the personal chauffeur to take care of the limousine and drive it on the way home. Prince stared at the headlights illuminating the way. The blood dried up, and his wounds were still open, caused by the punches and scraped of the late Avery De Leon.
Prince didn't know how to react. It kept on replaying in his head.
The wound in her arm, in her abdomen, and even in her forehead, two of the wounds were made by him.
Prince scrolled through his contacts, hitting up Bryce's number, and sighed, waiting for him to reply. Several rings appeared, and it doesn't happen. Prince did it again. Still, no response from the other end of the call. Prince turned off his phone, and tapped his nails through the steering wheel.
As he swerved to the highway, he wondered what happened.
"What happened, Bryce?"
…
As the limousine pulled to a stop, Aria closed her eyes. The pain was still tolerable, and this is the far she could go away from Bryce. She clasped her abdomen, reached out to push open the back hood of the car, and did it successfully. The chatter inside the car wasn't worth to listen of.
Aria swallowed, swung her legs out, and onto the vast and deserted highway she had never seen before. When the stoplight beeped, indicating the green light, Aria threw herself out of the car, letting it abandon her in the middle of the street. She nearly twisted her leg, but luckily, it didn't.
Aria turned to the limousine's direction, and it went away without even knowing a pregnant woman hopped along for a free ride. Aria pulled her feet, puffed her cheeks, and get up. Good thing she's on tights and even wore her black, leather jacket. She stood up, exhaling the icy air, and rubbed her fingers together.
Aria whispered, "Should we go where?"
She walked to the empty side street, into the same direction where the limousine had gone to, and hid behind the hood.
…
Prince went inside the mansion, and a solemn silence welcomed him. The maid opened up the lights the moment he reached the front staircase, calling out, "Do you want to grab some dinner?"
Anna saw the blood in his hands, and not even dare to ask a question anymore. Prince was at the bottom of the huge stairs, no one even hugged him to ask how his day was. Instead, the image of Avery's gruesome death replayed. Prince never developed a second thought to kill her.
Anna went away to the kitchen, and he's alone again.
With The Marriage Proposal done, will his life be the same again?
Prince chuckled silently. He stomped his dirty shoes to the staircase, leaving footmarks of Avery's blood.
He must be a psychopath, following the orders of his imprisoned father, not knowing that murdering his girlfriend would eventually save a seat beside him. Prince just didn't think about that, only seeing the revenge side.
As he reached the door towards his bedroom, Prince stood there, staring at his name etched on a golden plate.
PRINCE GOMEZ.
The son of Ian Gomez, a former legal adviser to the former president of the Vasteria, Tim Espino, and the one handling the business, alongside his job as the prosecutor in a Supreme Court. Did he deserve the title of an official law-seeker when he killed someone?
"No, you're not a clean prosecutor now, Prince." He nodded, convincing himself.
Before he went inside his bedroom to wash up, Prince called Bryce once again. This time, he answered.
"Bryce Fajardo. You answered."
Bryce Fajardo, a colleague of his, a prosecutor, who had the same title as him. The son of Nathan Fajardo, the former chief justice to the Vasteria's Department of Justice. It runs in the blood.
"Prince, how's it going?"
"Are you going to ask me that? Of course, I killed her. Why would I doubt?"
"I killed her, too, Prince. I just need to clean up the mess."
Prince doubted his words. He tilted his head to one side, testing if he'd say anything further.
"Good job, Bryce. Can we see each other tomorrow by lunch? I want to express the gratitude to you for executing the plan so well."
Bryce moved furniture at the other end of the line.
"Of course, it wouldn't be possible without you, Prince. Thank you."
Prince nodded.
"Alright, clean it up before someone sees that."
…
She sat on the cold bench while the cars zoomed past on each other in the highway. Aria had been away from the city for a very long time, and this is the only minute she had to see the beauty of Vasteria. Aria had never known who her parents were. She grew up with a woman named Tin.
But when she became 20 years old, Tin moved away to a farther province, and let her live her life.
Aria wanted to call her, saying she's in danger, and that Bryce wanted to kill her. But she forgot her phone from the house when Bryce tied her on the chair. Aria had lost her way back to the mountains, out of the polluted city, and onto the circle of people who stayed up all night.
Aria closed the gap between her knees, pulled out some gloves, and wore it. She rubbed them together as the first snow rained down softly in the wide street. Aria whispered, "What a time to sleep here under the snow."
She sighed, the tears streaming down her cheeks, and watched the snowfall.
…
Early morning came.
Aria trudged at the pavements when the snow stopped in the middle of the dawn. She walked with frozen legs, careful not to stumble, because if he did, she'll roll down and hurt the baby inside her abdomen. Aria felt a jab in her abdomen, and before she even knew it, someone bumped her shoulder, her hood falling off.
Aria fell back to the ground, the unfathomable pain made her cradle up.
She felt something hot in her knees. Aria wondered what it was…
But when she dabbed a little of her thighs, she felt slime.
It's blood…
The one who bumped her checked her face, and gasped.