Prologue

Jemimah

"Oh, God..." 

I clenched my fists as tight as I could while squeezing my eyes shut. The baby inside me kept moving as if it's trying to find its way out.

I thought I'd already gone too familiar with all kinds of pain, but this pain was fresh and unbearable. 

I didn't know how and where I got the child, no matter how stupid that sounded. All I got were blurry fragments of memory...

of a man with a body that was built to survive a thousand battles,

arms that could shelter me from the coldness of the night,

and a pair of penetrating golden eyes that were screaming nothing but unsaid promises.

A wolf's howl echoed in distance, urging me to open the window and let the cold winter air flooding in kiss my cheeks. It somehow eased my pain. The wind blew my long silky raven hair, revealing the scar between my neck and shoulder. Like the baby I was about to give birth to, I didn't know either where I got the scar.

Scary and abominable, this scar was another reminder of the atrocity that happened to me.

Another howl echoed, louder this time, as if the wolf wasn’t paying respect to the bloody moon, but was consoling me, telling me it felt my pain. 

No matter how much I hated what had happened to me, I just couldn’t feel anything but excitement to have my little bundle of joy in my arms anytime soon. This little baby, this innocent human being, born of a crime I refused to talk about, was my only strand of hope now.

I gasped when I felt another jolt of pain across my spine. My knees trembled as it gone worse, and all I could do was grit my teeth while holding firmly on the window frame. 

My dad rushed in. His eyes widened in shock when he saw blood gushing down my thighs down to my legs.

“Oh, goodness. Jem, you’re bleeding!”

“D—Dad.” I sobbed like the little girl he promised to protect at all cost. “I’m scared…”

His eyes turned soft, and for a moment, I had a glimpse of the father I used to know.

“It’s going to be alright, princess. Daddy’s here. Daddy’s here.”

His voice was a little raspy and his eyes twinkled with tears he immediately blinked away.

His words made my eyes sting even more. I smiled at him while biting my lower lip, wishing I could tell him I didn’t plan to break his heart. I never wanted to disappoint him nor bring disgrace on his name.

But all my words were trapped in my throat when my knees turned jelly after another wave of unbearable pain struck my entire body.

THE GLASS DOORS of the emergency room swung open as my Dad, Jackson Beaufort rushed in carrying me; bleeding and barely conscious. He was trembling in fear for me as I began to catch me breath. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead; my skin was already pale with all the blood I’d lost on our way to the hospital.

“Help! My daughter’s about to give birth!” My father cried.

Nurses ran towards us with a stretcher for me. Dad laid me down carefully then held my hand, his eyes were already red as if he’s about to burst into tears.

“Daddy’s here, Jem. You got nothing to be scared of,” he assured with a trembling voice.

My heart throbbed in fear as I looked at my father, but Dad just gave me a reassuring smile before he mouthed, “Daddy loves you, Jem. I’m here for you.”

I tried to say something, but I couldn't utter a word. That's when I saw my step-mom, Mara, standing by my father's side. She was smiling, a weird, evil smile.

That was the last thing I remembered before being knocked unconscious by another wave of pain. 

I could hardly remember what happened after that. I lingered between reality and the nightmare. I was back to that shady, gloomy forest, in the middle of nowhere, with no clothes shading my body. There, I saw lights, small lanterns of golden eyes, floating in the air and shimmering in the darkness. Those eyes were approaching me slowly, while I heard a voice whispering:

"Come back to me, Jem."

"Come back to ME!"

Then I woke up. My body felt weak and every muscle in it was just sore.

The first thing I saw was my father's face, but my insides twisted when I couldn’t explain the look on his eyes. 

“D—Dad?” I called in a weak voice.

He didn’t look at me. He remained seated on the black leather couch on the left side of the cream-painted room, right next to the door. His fists were balled tightly and his jaw was clenching in a dangerous way as if he’s about to tear someone apart.

I gulped to ease the dryness in my throat before I tried to sit. “Da—”

“Don’t call me that.” His piercing blue eyes reminded me of deadly waves that sunk a hundred ships.

My brows furrowed, completely unaware of where his anger was coming from. “Dad, I don—”

“I said don’t call me that!” he snarled, making me hold my breath as I shivered in fear. When Dad realized what he had done, he stood up, rubbed his palms on his face, then let out a heavy sigh. “Just don’t call me that way, Jem. I don’t think I can still take it…”

Confused and terrified, I pursed my lips for a moment. I blinked my tears away and tried to gather the remaining strength in my body before I spoke. “W—What’s going on?”

The door swung open and the irritating smirk on Mara’s face got my attention. “Your whore of a mother lied to Jackson. You ain’t a Beaufort, Jem, and this stupid show your mother had put up is over. That’s what’s going on.”

“W—What?” My heart almost skipped a beat as I turned to Dad. “S—She’s lying, right? That can’t be true.”

Dad squeezed his eyes shut as he took in enough air before he dropped the bomb that almost made me faint.

“You’re not my daughter, Jem. You’re someone else’s and… we found out about it after you needed a blood transfusion. Your mom and I had the same blood type but you…” He looked up and gulped.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t take this. I just can't." 

Dad rushed out after leaving those words that shattered me. That's impossible. It couldn't possibly true!

Mara looked at me with an insulting smirk before she walked towards the side of my bed to hand me the bills. “We paid it off. Consider us generous.” Then she left the room, slamming the door harshly behind her.

As soon as the door slammed shut, I burst into tears. My heart felt like it’s getting crushed into pieces, and the words my Dad mouthed before I entered the delivery room played inside my head as a painful reminder of how things changed in a blink of an eye.

How could life be this cruel? I was kidnapped, raped, called a whore by the entire town, and now this?

I wiped my tears when the door opened again, hoping it was Dad who would tell me they’re just messing with me. But when a middle-aged woman in scrub suit went in holding a baby wrapped in a blue sheet, I sniffed and bit my lower lip.

The nurse handed me the baby. I was scared at first, afraid I would break his tiny body, but the moment I had him in my arms, my tears rolled down my cheeks while a genuine smile was plastered on my face. “You’re so tiny.” I giggled while crying.

“And he is one brave boy,” the nurse commented that made me look up. I then noticed the sadness in the nurse’s eyes, as if she’s about to turn this day into a full-blow catastrophe. “Listen, Miss Beaufort. You’re gonna have to vacate the room by tomorrow morning. Your parents just paid until tonight so…” She exhaled heavily. “I’m so sorry. It’s hospital policy, unless you got some cash to pay for a few more nights?”

I didn’t know if I would laugh or cry. What did I do to deserve all these misfortunes? Was I a bad daughter? Was I selfish? Why did it feel like I was getting punished?

I tried my best not to cry harder in front of the nurse. Forcing a slight smile, I shook my head while swallowing the lump in my throat. “N—No. I… I don’t have enough.”

The woman’s eyes turned soft. “I’m really sorry.”

I just nodded in response then watched the nurse walk out of the room. When the door shut, I breathed out the breath I was holding then looked at the little bundle of joy in my arms with heavy tears trailing down my cheeks. “Hey…” My voice cracked. “Hey, little one…” My smile slowly faded. “It’s just you and me now…”

I burst into tears while hugging my poor baby, wondering what kind of life was waiting for the both of us now that I'd already disowned by my family. Was there a future I could give to him? Would I be able to send him to school? Would I become a great mom?

My eyes stared blankly at the white ceiling, wondering how I would start once we’re out of the hospital. I silently cried while begging heaven for a little mercy. When my baby started crying, I pulled myself back to reality and was about to nurse my son when I noticed something that made me scream on top of my lungs.

My baby’s eyes were a pair of gold…