I stayed in bed for the rest of the night. When the doctor came to examine me, she only spoke to Julien, so I couldn't tell why I felt more nauseous than feverish; and Julien wouldn't tell me anything.
The fever was gone by morning, though I was still throwing up, but Julien didn't let me out of bed. When I asked him if I had a disease? He just shrugged and said: "something of the sort", and that was all I got. No one even bothered to check up on me.
I was fed up and was ready to bust out of the room when Hailey suddenly opened the door, looking worried.
"Hailey? What is wrong? Did something happen?" I was right in front of her, searching her face for a clue. Why was she back? Did something bad happen with her lover? Or did Penny send her away?
"I'm sorry Gwen, but Arthur is gone." Gone?!
"What do you mean? G-Gone where?"
"No one knows, we've been searching for him all night!" My heart sank.
"That can't be possible, he was asleep the
"What are you doing here?" Martha was the first one to speak up. Everyone else, including myself was just staring at her. I wondered why she was back, but more importantly, I wondered if Julien still loved her. Trying to distract myself, I looked past Lola to the fray old woman in a habit, standing behind her. Who was she? "Don't flatter yourself, Martha, I'm not here for you." Lola said in a calm voice, looking directly at Julien. "If you're thinking you can salvage whatever remained of your relationship with Julien, it's too late now; he's married to a far better woman than you will ever be." At that, Lola's eyes rested on me and she frowned for a moment, but then her eyes darted back to Julien. "I think I understand your kind of love now, it was so easy for you to replace me and with a younger woman." "Replace you?!" Martha was getting angry and everyone knew that, but she bit her tongue and turned to Eden. "Honey, please take the other children to
Being pregnant was an excuse for everyone to dote on me; Julien, Frederick, Martha and even Arthur were all around me, making sure I was sitting comfortably and even breathing fresh air. It was a little tiring because they didn't let me lift a pin and it wasn't like I was due any time soon, I was just in my seventh month.But I did enjoy the attention...Hailey left the day after my birthday celebration but soon after, she sent me a letter, telling me that Penny was with child again. Of course I wanted to visit her and congratulate her in person but Julien wouldn't hear of it. Bandits weren't even his reason for refusing, he just thinks the carriage ride would be bad for the baby; which mother-in-law and Martha have tried to no avail to convince him otherwise.I had to beg Martha to come with me if it'll make Julien agree and to my delight, he accepted.It would have just been me and Martha but Arthur was crying nonstop about wanting to come along; Of cou
I woke up in an unfamiliar room, the walls and the furniture were nothing like the ones in Arana, so I knew for certain I wasn't home.The first thing I did was to feel my stomach, scared to find it flat and my baby gone; it was still big, yet I was scared the accident may have affected the baby.If I wasn't at Arana or at Penny's house? Where was I? And where's Martha and Arthur? Did the bandits harm them?I tried sitting up but I felt so weak! Why wasn't anyone around? Was I kidnapped?"Gwen!" I looked towards the door immediately, expecting to see Martha but I was staring at a beautiful redhead. How did she know my name? And she looked so worried for me."Don't worry, you're alright." She came over to sit next to me on the bed, rubbing the back of my palm affectionately. I kept staring at her, she looked so familiar but I couldn't remember how I knew her."Are you in pain? Do you need anything?""My baby?" I choked out. "Is m
After a whole month and still no sign of Julien, I knew Albert wasn't lying, I was stuck with him. I decided to take my mind off escaping and rather focus on my health and baby. After a few days, my baby kicked, making me sure that he was okay and my initial fears subsided.Albert made me sit with him at the dinner table each day like we were a couple and he'd often ask me how my baby was doing. I was bitter because I didn't want to be like that with him, I longed to hear Julien's voice again, I wanted him to ask me those questions. And Arthur... He must be so sad. I wanted to get back to my family, but I had no way of doing so.I spent nearly every minute of everyday in Albert's library, reading different books as they helped me escape from my reality. When I wasn't reading and I wasn't sleeping, I was talking to Alexa; she was really sweet and kind and she treated me like a sister.One of such evenings when we talked, she told me she would do anything fo
I looked down at the box, it might have all the answers I need, I just had to read all the letters and check for clues; anything at all that could prove that Albert was William's son.I spent the rest of the night reading each letter carefully; you could tell how much William loved his Jane from the words he used. And if Janette kept the letters and always went to them when she was alive, then she must have loved him too. Why didn't they end up together? Was it because of the pregnancy? Somehow, I doubted that such a thing could destroy their love, it felt too strong.By the wee hours of the morning, I had just one letter left and so far none of the other letters mentioned a baby. All I could find out was that Jane never wanted a simple life, rather she wanted a comfortable and respectable life with status and wealth; that was enough reason to blackmail a Duke, but I couldn't jump to conclusions yet. I also found out that William was a gardener and he always sent her d
I had more to say but I held my tongue as we approached a small shack, just next to the house. As we got closer, Albert's smile became bigger.Before we got reach the door, it opened to reveal an older man with rich black hair and a kind smile; his eyes were grey and soft."Who do we have here?" He asked, all smiles as all his attention was on Albert. You could see the love he had for Albert clearly in his eyes; father or not, William saw Albert as his son.Albert went forward to share a hearty hug with the older man, before he gestured for me to come closer, making William's eyes fall on me for the first time."Will, meet Gwendolyn...""You have a wife? And she is so heavily pregnant." William cut in, taking my hand and kissing the back of my palm. "Welcome, milady. Come in and I'll make tea for you." I smiled my thanks as I followed him into the shack. The interior wasn't at all as I imagined, it was warm and cozy, reminding me mama. I didn't kno
"Albert!" I called, trying to catch up to him. "Wait, please! You know the truth now, denying it won't help anyone. Why don't you read the letter and find out what your mother wanted to say to you?" He didn't stop, he just kept walking towards the house. "Albert? You need..." I stopped as I felt uneasy suddenly, my body felt like... I looked down as I felt something wet roll down my thighs. Is the baby coming? "My baby! Albert..." I couldn't bring myself to move. Luckily for me, Albert stopped then and turned around with a frown which quickly changed to a look of surprise as he rushed to me. "Is the baby coming?" "I think so, my water just broke." He wasted no time in picking me up and taking me into the house, all the while shouting for the midwives. I was placed on my bed as the midwives got ready to deliver my baby, Alexa was at my side and Albert looked out of place, as he looked like he was wondering if he should leave or stay. "S
Part Two: Alexa "I was the one who said papa shouldn't be alone, yet I've kept you here for so long. Is it so bad that I never want you to leave?" I laughed heartily at Gwen. "It's not so bad, even I wish I could stay more but it's really time I get going." I replied, setting down Elliott in the cradle beside his sleeping twin. "I suppose it is..." She trailed off, looking really sad. Who would have thought one crazy event would bring us so close to each other? I walked over to hold her shoulders. "You will do fine without me, Gwen. And of course I could visit sometimes to see my lovely nephews. You have given me so much even though we are not really related; this opportunity could change my life..." "Oh please, don't start that again. I told you already, we are sisters now so you don't have to feel any different. And you are right, I should let you create your own path in life. Who knows, you may send me a w