Chapter 38: The Care (2)

                                    

                                          
"Oh." His mouth hung open, realising why Lorena had mentioned Alma earlier on.
"Anyway, to survive after we lost everything, I had to be married off." He felt her hands on him tremble, her voice thinning out. He pulled his arms away and covered her hands with his instead. She looked at their hands joined together, then up into his eyes.
"Go on." He urged, squeezing her hands gently.
"Yeah, I was pretty young then, so I had no say in anything. I got married to Hector, and just as you may guess, it was a nightmare. He was all kinds of abusive to me---" Her voice broke, and he immediately wrapped her in his arms.
"You don't have to keep going if you don't want to." He whispered, rocking her gently.
"No, I have to tell you. You deserve to hear the truth," She paused, gathering herself before she continued.
 "Anyway, I got pregnant and gave birth to my sweet girl about three years ago. I decided to leave for the sake of my child, and Hector became murderous. I don't know how he knew about my plans, but he told me he would set us all on fire before we escaped him. I tried --" She cried, the memories still too painful.
His grip on her tightened as he pictured the bastard's face. The things he would give up to be able to be in a room with that man. He gave her a reassuring squeeze, and she continued.
"Yeah, so I tried to return home with my child, but I was sent back. My family owed our existence to him, after all. That was when I decided to let go of any thought of escaping and direct all my energy to my baby. Still, it wasn't enough for Hector. He hated me in the same twisted way he loved me. He was obsessed with me returning his love because he knew if it were not for my family's situation, I would never be married to him. When he finally realised I could never love him, he decided to kill me." She shuddered, and he stroked her head gently to calm her down.
"He left our baby with a neighbour one day and forced me to drive in his car with him. He was on a bridge speeding dangerously. I begged him to stop. I begged Hector to slow down." Her voice had become hollow and faint, and her body vibrated uncontrollably.
"You can stop now, Ariana. I believe you."
"No," She shook her head violently. She needed to let this out finally. The only person who knew her story in detail was Markris's mum. Even Lorena herself only knew bits. "I need to say it out so that bastards hold on me will be gone forever."
"Okay, baby." He nodded, holding on to her. He would give her all the time she needed to get herself together. His job was to listen, and he vowed to do whatever she wanted.
Finally, she began to tremble less, and she decided to continue. "The car fell off the bridge, and Hector died instantly. I, however, went into a coma. By the time I woke up, a whole month had passed. The doctors told me a generous woman sponsored my treatment after witnessing the incident first-hand. She turned out to be Markris's mother." She finished off and nudged him a little. He released her from his hold, and she sat up straight.
"Wow,"  He inhaled deeply and turned his head to her side. "How did you survive all of that?" He was suddenly seeing her in a different light. No other person could have survived as much as she did and still emerged this strong.
"Mrs Sapphire. She played a huge role in making me the woman I am today. That's why I couldn't turn her down when she asked for my help to protect her son. I'm sorry for hurting you in the process." She looked into his eyes, and their gaze held for a while.
"Nah, fuck that. You've been through enough. But..." He squinted, and she drew closer.
"What?"
"Your child. Did you ever look for her?" He grabbed her hand, stroking it gently.