Chapter 14

I thought about what to tell Vivienne when I went to meet her. Something that would not end up with my head on a plate.

I constantly fidgeted with my hands as Tony drove me to work.

"Are you alright, ma'am?" Tony asked, looking at me through the mirror.

I got startled out of my thoughts. "Uh.. Yes.. Just ready for a wonderful day." I said with fake cheeriness.

He didn't push further.

I guess he knew I wasn't in the mood.

Yes, I was scared of her. Who wasn't?

Everyone knew how ruthless she was, and she wasn't exactly "motherly" the first time she spoke to me.

"Miss Elara!" Excited voices greeted me as I hugged the children.

I was always happy when I saw their smiling faces. It made all the trouble worth it.

After greeting the children, I went straight to my office, and before I could sit, Beth barged in with documents.

"Elara, I just need you to sign these papers today, and you can be on your way." She said, holding a bunch of files.

"Where are you off to in a hurry anyway? You usually spend a longer time at work." She asked, dropping them.

I sat down and opened them. "Well, I have a very important lunch, and I really do not want to be late, so I am trying my best to be quick." I signed in the places I needed to.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" I asked, looking up.

"Yes. Since the anonymous donation, we have received a massive increase in donations and requests to enter charity events and even have some of the children make appearances at fundraisers."

"Is this really all because of an anonymous donor?" I asked.

"It's possible, but whatever their intent was, this has definitely helped us. I wish I knew who they were so I could give them a big kiss." Beth said.

"Right." I laughed.

By 12, I was already out of the office and on my way to the restaurant Vivienne had said we would be meeting at.

I sat anxiously waiting for her to walk in. I had drunk three glasses of water already and had been tapping my nails on the table for half an hour. If it wasn't obvious already, I was nervous.

Finally, she came in at exactly 1 pm, and I stood up immediately I saw her.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Rooke." I said as she sat down.

She waved me dismissively with her hand as she beckoned to the waiter.

Well, that wasn't rude.

"Sit." She finally said.

I watched her every movement. She didn't seem to be in a hurry at all.

She asked the waiter to open a bottle of red wine, then she sipped from her glass casually.

Was I invincible or something? My back was hurting from how straight I was sitting.

"So," she finally started.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"I'm waiting."

For? I looked at her, confused.

"The news of your pregnancy. You are pregnant, right?"

I cleared my throat. "N..no, ma'am. I am not yet pregnant."

She gave a sarcastic laugh. "You're joking." She raised a brow. "You mean to tell me you have still not been able to get Cassian to sleep with you? Up until now?"

Well, this was embarrassing.

"Ma'am, he has been occupied with.. Celeste. They are always together. I barely get to talk to him, much less get him to..." I trailed off.

"You know what I hear? Excuses." She tapped her nails on the table as her eyes narrowed at me.

"You are a full-grown ass woman. Do you need me to teach you how to seduce him? Are you that dumb?"

I bit the inside of my cheek, not saying anything.

She let out a sigh. "Do you even share a room?"

I shook my head.

 "Have you seen him without his mask?"

"No, ma'am, I have not."

"So what exactly are you useful for?"

She leaned forward, digging her nails into my palm as I winced.

"Let's get one thing straight. I sent you to that house to be my spy. You're there solely for my use, nothing else. Don't think you aren't disposable because I can just as easily find another candidate that would be willing to do anything to replace you. Make yourself useful, or I will find other ways to persuade you." She removed her nails, and I withdrew my arm, the crescent marks now visible on my skin.

"I... I'll try my best."

"Your best better be good enough. You have three months. I need you to get pregnant within these three months. Is that clear? Three months go by so quickly, so don't think you have time."

I nodded, terrified as she finally stood up, giving me a terrifying smile, and left.

"Fuck." I cursed as I nursed my palm, which was hurting like crazy.

With the way she was digging into my skin, I'm surprised she didn't make me bleed seriously.

I sighed as I finally left the restaurant, still nursing my injured hand. This was so going to leave a mark.

Terrified about my encounter with Vivienne, while getting a band-aid for my wound, I ended up getting pregnancy vitamins too. I had no idea why. I was seriously scared of her threats, and I knew she wouldn't mind going after the children.

As I stood outside the pharmacy with the drugs in my hand, I almost laughed.

What exactly was I doing? Was this supposed to make me get Cassian to sleep with me sooner or what?

Did Vivienne succeed in bullying me to get pregnant? Wow.

I hurriedly dumped the drugs in my bag as I got into the car.

I just wanted to go home.

As if my phone heard my thoughts, it chose that moment to ring.

I fished it out of my bag and looked at the Caller ID.

My Father?

I considered not picking up. I was in no mood for whatever he was planning, but I knew if I didn't, he would find a way to hold it against me.

"Hello?"

"Elara, we need to see you. Come home, now."