Chapter Four: The Black Residence

Slowly, like coming out of a fog, I woke up in a place I didn't recognize. The room around me was fancy, like something out of a movie.

The walls were dark wood, the furniture looked expensive, and everything seemed just right. The air even smelled rich, like leather and polished wood.

One side of the room was all glass, showing off a beautiful garden with a pool. It was so pretty, it almost took my mind off the confusion. But then, I heard a voice—a man's voice—asking how I was feeling.

Turning, I saw him, standing there looking concerned. He was well-dressed, tall, and had a kind face. But I couldn't place him. Have I met him before?

"I'm not sure," I answered honestly, feeling a bit shaky. "But thank you for helping me."

He gave a small smile, making me feel a bit better. "You're safe now," he assured me gently.

His words calmed me down a bit. Even though I still had a ton of questions, I felt relieved

knowing I wasn't alone anymore. In this fancy place, with this stranger, I felt strangely safe.

I still felt a little weak so I ended up drifting back into unconsciousness. I couldn't tell how much time had passed but by the time I opened my eyes, I was alone in the room with him.

My throat felt dry and I had to rub it with my hands to soothe the discomfort. My legs were a bit wobbly but I was able to carry my weight.

"Where am I?" I muttered to myself. Suddenly the memories came back, I remember seeing a man, extremely handsome.

Was I dreaming? I swiveled my head around as I scanned the room with my eyes. After I discovered Aiden he was cheating on me, I left the house.

The car, the river, the strange man. It all came rushing back, and I could feel a dull ache hammering inside my head.

I was still there wondering what to do when the door suddenly creeked open. A woman who look like she was middle aged wearing a maids uniform walked in.

"Oh you're finally awake honey that's nice," she said. Her voice was warm, like that of a mother's.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am Maria, I'm the maid in charge here."

I raised an eyebrow, "where exactly is… here?" I questioned again.

"Welcome to the black residence," she said with a huge smile.

It still wasn't quite sure what she meant, but then I suddenly remember the man that I saw earlier. "There was a man, he had black hair…"

"Oh, you must be talking about Liam, he just left but I think he'll be back shortly."

She grabbed a bowl and a wet cloth and began massaging my legs. "I'm glad you're finally awake," she said, moving upwards towards my knee.

"How long was I out?"

"Hmm, several hours, I don't know the exact figure, I didn't count."

I felt a sharp pain radiating from my leg and I flinched. "Ouch!" I let out, inching away from her.

"Oh I'm sorry, this must be one of the places where you sustained injury."

"My baby!" I shrieked when it suddenly occurred to me that I was pregnant. That's what I wanted to tell Aiden before I caught him cheating.

My hands instinctively found their place against my stomach. She reached out and grabbed my hand gently, "it's okay, the doctor confirmed that your baby is still alright."

My heart was already beating a little faster and I was trying to steady my breathing. Next she grabbed my arms and began pressing the cloth against it.

"Darling, if I may ask, what happened to you?"

I tightened my jaw, "the man I trusted the most, betrayed me."

I didn't even realise when my vision became blurry as tears filled my eyes. It was like I was feeling the pain all over again.

But I promised myself I was not going to cry anymore, I'm not going to waste another tear on Aiden. So I wiped my tears with my hands and then sniffled.

I swallowed the lump that was forming at the back of my throat, "but I'm going to make him pay for everything." I finished.

Maria didn't seem to have anything more to add, she just continued massaging me. Finally she wrung the cloth and got up.

"That would be all for now, you should get some more rest."

My stomach grumbled in protest. "I think I need food," I said with a shy smile.

"Well you woke up right in time because dinner is about to be served, come join us in a few minutes. I'm sure Liam would be there too."

Liam… what a beautiful name.

Maria left the room shutting the door gently behind her while I got all my feet and roamed about.

I was bored and there was nothing for me to do so I began to check out all the portraits and figurines that were left in the room.

They looked very much expensive and without doubt I could tell that the owner of this house was rich.

I found some clothes folded and kept just by the corner with a note on top that read, "you can freshen up and change into these."

A small smile formed at the corner of my lips and I appreciated the gesture. I made a mental note to thank Liam when I see him.

I headed into the bathroom and turned on the shower. This sting of the warm water against my skin made me wince, but it didn't stop me from having my bath.

It only reminded me of how much I needed to hate Aiden for everything that he'd put me through. I lathered the soap as the water cascaded over me.

When I was done showering I tied the towel around my chest and stood before the mirror. I open the cabinet and retrieved a pair of scissors that was kept there, lying against some hair products.

I stared at my reflection with nothing but contempt. One thing Aiden seemed to love about me was my hair, he often compliment me and talk about how long and beautiful my hair was.

I was precisely why I wanted to cut it. I didn't want to keep moving around with anything that would even remotely remind me of him or his preferences.

I ran my fingers through my damp hair, and tightened my grip on the scissors. "Good riddance," I said in a low voice as I cut my hair.

The segment which I'd already cut out fell to the ground right by my feet. I gazed at the new version of myself, shaking my head to let the lose hairs fall off.

The only part of him that was still bond to me was this baby growing inside me. I couldn't do anything to harm the innocent child, but there was no way he was going to find out that he had a baby.

I was going to raise this child on my own away from him and his toxic family. He didn't deserve my child, they don't deserve my baby.

I changed into the new set of clothes that Liam had left out for me and then made my way downstairs for dinner.

As I was descending the staircase I saw him see that at the dining table. He was much more handsome than I even remembered, he had thick long black hair and a jawline that looked like it was sharp enough to cut through steel.

His full eyebrows framed his diamond shaped face. He was wearing a black shirt and brown trousers.

When he raised his eyes to look at me, I felt like my heart skipped a beat. I cleared my throat and forced myself to speak.

"Good evening," I greeted.

His eyes roamed my body from head to toe and it made my cheeks flush. "Good evening," he replied. "Have a seat," he added, gesturing to one of the seats beside him with his hands.

I took hesitant steps forward before settling down on the seat.

"Did you do something with your hair?" He asked.

"I cut it."

He nodded, "I think short hair suits you," he complimented me and I could feel the butterflies in my stomach fluttering.

"Thank you for rescuing me," I stated.

His lips broke into a thin smile, "don't mention it."

"Also, thank you for leaving those clothes out for me. The ones I was wearing were already filthy."

He reached out and touched my hand, sending an electrifying current through me. "You don't need to thank me for everything, it's okay."

Maria walked up to the table with a tray filled with food. "Who is hungry?" She asked in a playful manner.

She began to dish some of the rice into his plate and then to mine. "Have you two started to get along? She had a lot of questions earlier," she stated.

Liam quirked his eyebrows, "oh did she?" His voice dragged.

After Maria was done serving the food she picked up the tray and then left.

Liam made eye contact with me, "so, shoot."

"Huh?" I asked, looking at him with a mouthful of rice.

"What were your questions?"

I continues chewing and I swallowed, then I grabbed orange juice and took a huge gulp. "Nothing much, I've figured out most of it."

"So have you figured out who tried to kill you?"

Immediately he uttered those words a chill ran down my spine. "What?"

"Don't tell me you didn't know somebody was trying to kill you?"

"I mean I know a man ran over me, but then…" I trailed off.

Liam was making sense, is they weren't trying to kill me why did that man intentionally throw me into the river?

"You do not recall being thrown into a river?" Liam's voice rang.

"I know, I just thought that…" I didn't even know what to say.

Liam shifted on his seat, "Somebody is trying to kill you, your life is in danger."

My chest tightened and my heart skipped a beat almost instantly.