Flip the Coin [BL]-Chapter 400. Serena Lawrence

I sit in front of the mirror and brush my long hair, trying to ignore the constant noise from the construction site our mansion has become.

I have lost weight, and my skin looks bad.

The Botox has worn off, leaving behind more creases than before.

I wanted to sell one of the cars, the gold coins, the jewelry, or the decorations, but Eddie didn’t allow it.

I put the brush down and stand up.

I walk out of the bedroom and try to ignore the looks the construction workers give me and the uneasiness I feel whenever their eyes wander up and down my body.

I enter the dining room and find Eddie sitting there, typing away on his laptop.

We ignore each other, as we are still fighting over our money situation.

He told me that the company had no money to pay me, so I was fired.

Now, we have a big company, a big mansion, and cars, but barely enough to eat.

I look into the refrigerator and close it again after taking out bread, cheese, and milk.

I make myself bread before making porridge for Eddie.

I wordlessly put the bowl behind his laptop and sit at the other end of the long table.

Eddie takes the bowl and eats, and so the breakfast passes in silence... with the exception of the construction noises.

"Get ready. Today there will be a party you have to accompany me to," he says when we have both finished eating.

This would be the first time I would go with him.

"As your secretary?" I scoff.

After getting ’fired,’ I was not allowed to take on another job because if word got out, what would the Lawrence family think?

Eddie finally looks up.

"I know you think I am crazy, but just be a bit more patient. Everything will pay off."

"I want these people gone." I point to the noise upstairs.

Eddie shakes his head with a smile as if he knows more than I do, this damn superiority he often displays.

As if I were the dumb woman not seeing the obvious.

I take my plate and throw it on the ground beside the feet of the dark-clothed man.

"None of these LITTLE TRICKS or SHORTCUTS will help us!" I yell.

Eddie jumps up and hurries to the door that leads out of the dining room, as if to make sure that nobody is near and witnessed his wife’s breakdown.

WHO WOULD BE NEAR?

WE HAVE NO ATTENDANTS, ONLY CONSTRUCTION WORKERS TAKING OUR MANSION APART, AND THEY WILL SURELY NOT BE ABLE TO HEAR US!

"You have to calm down," he implores me after closing the door behind him.

"I made an appointment with the fertility expert."

Hearing that, I swallow down the tirade of curses I was about to spout.

"Really? Dr. Dahlia?" I ask him with hope.

He nods proudly, and I cover my mouth not to yell in excitement.

I have begged him for us to visit her, but he refused until now because he feared that the news would get out about our problems in that regard; instead, he served me special teas and medications, gave me injections, or invited healers.

"When is the party?" I ask with a smile.

***************

"Remember the names I told you," Eddie says before we step out of the car.

I assure him that I remember the most important people, and when Eddie comes to my side, he again holds onto my waist—something he hasn’t done in a long time.

We enter the hotel on top of a hill, with a view all over the city.

Everything is golden; this is a place where important people gather, and I suppress the inferiority I feel for a moment.

We greet people, and I only catch a breather when I go to the toilet.

Inside the toilet cabin, I take a deep breath and gather my nerves.

That’s when I hear someone coming in and occupying the cabin beside me. This person seems to be eating. And the dialing tone told me that she was calling someone.

The call seems to get connected, and the woman in the adjoining cabin speaks.

"How are you, baby?"

"Steve and Kenny are still AWAKE!" A little girl yells indignantly through the phone.

"Hmm, they should be in bed. And you as well."

"NO! You said I could stay up longer."

"Okay, okay. Go show me the disobedient little babies."

"Mrs. Howard, they aren’t listening! How is the party?" An older woman yells in the background.

Mrs. Howard.

The Howard family was also on the list of the important names and at the top of said list.

"Let them sneak around; just make sure they don’t run away or something. The party is boring," the woman answers while chewing.

"Here is Baby Steven, and here is little Baby," the girl says, and the woman hums happily.

"I AM NOT A Baby!" A little boy yells back.

"Okay. Everyone behave!!! I have checked in, so now go to sleep, my babies." She laughs and hangs up heartlessly.

The door of her stall opens, and seeing the opportunity, I get ready and flush the toilet to open the door as well.

But I only see the bathroom door closing; Mrs. Howard has already left.

I wash my hands and take a few breaths.

She sounded nice, and it would be good to befriend her.

I dry my hands and walk out of the door.

When I return to the hall, I find my husband speaking animatedly with another man who has his arm around a breathtakingly beautiful woman.

The masked man stands not far away, his eyes fixated on the woman, but he is not really HERE, so I ignore it.

I approach them, and Eddie introduces us.

"My dear, let me introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Howard."

**************

I stop accompanying Eddie to these parties but often think about the beautiful and funny woman.

One night, the phone rings, and I wake up to it.

Eddie’s voice sounds so grave that I turn on the light and take his hand.

The moment he hangs up, he looks at me excitedly.

"Mrs. Howard is dead!"

I sit there in shock for a bit, unable to believe it, while Eddie can’t stop talking.

"Mr. Howard tried to suppress the news, but I heard it first! This is an opening! If I help him during this difficult time, the Howard family will surely work with us! Ha! That stuck-up man never answered my calls!"

I start to cry, feeling bad for the poor children...

...and for myself.

**************

Eddie has come home drunk every once in a while over the last few months, although I finally manage to get pregnant.

He always speaks about Mr. Howard and how much closer they have gotten.

I ask about the children, but Eddie only knows that Mr. Howard hates one of his sons.

One evening, I open the door to police officers.

They say they need to speak to Eddie; they don’t want to tell me anything, just that it is about the company.

I tell them that I don’t know where he is, and they wait with me for him in absolute silence.

When he comes home, he sends me out and talks with the officers for some time.

They leave but luckily don’t take Eddie with them.

************

"You are doing well." Eddie put the needle into my arm.

"Mhm." I stroke my belly, where a life starts to grow.

"Who told you to be anemic while being pregnant?" He grins at me while I notice the dark-clothed man in the corner of my eye. Although he is not there.

I fall asleep, and later I am awakened by a loud noise.

I stand up and hear Eddie screaming and cursing.

"What do you mean I shouldn’t interfere with your family??" He yells as I step down the corridor.

"That child had a moldy cast around his wrist! I just took him to the hospital to get that thing removed!!"

"What? I didn’t break into your house! I introduced myself as your friend to the caretaker!"

"ACQUAINTANCES? ACQUAINTANCES???"

I reach the corner and see Eddie on the phone while throwing stuff and kicking against the wall.

"ARE YOU THREATENING ME?"

Then he falls silent for a few long minutes, listening to the voice on the other side, and after a few moments, he throws the phone against the wall.

I flinch.

"Eddie?" I ask him.

He looks at me, and his face lights up.

"My dear. I am sorry; how is the baby?"

"She or he is good. Was that Mr. Howard?"

"Yes. I tried to help the son he hates so much today, but the moment he heard of it, he chastised me. Can you imagine?"

"How horrible. Should we call someone? Child services?" I ask while holding onto my belly.

"No, we regrettably can’t make them our enemies anymore." He kisses the top of my head before leading me to the dining room.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good," I repeat.

"Take a look at this. Which of these looks better to you to invest in?" He lays out the newspaper, the part about stocks.

"Why are you asking me this?" I look at him in surprise.

"Just go after your feeling..." He taps on the paper.

"Eddie, I have no idea about stocks." I try to stand up, but he shoves me back into my seat and laughs.

"Take a look, my dear." His hands don’t move away from my shoulders, and his grip tightens.

I’m scared.

I am so scared that I point to a random stock.

He kisses the top of my head.

"Very good! I will try to go with these; don’t worry, we will prove ourselves!"

***************

Eddie came home with a big smile and roses in his hand.

He said the misunderstanding with the police was clarified, and that the company earned quite a bit.

He told me that we proved ourselves.

And then he puts the stocks in front of my face and forces me to choose again.

I am scared.

I am scared for the baby.

***************

The night before the appointment to reveal the child’s gender, I had a dream.

No, it wasn’t a dream; it was so vivid that I know it was a warning.

I saw a little boy in a dark room, a collar around his neck.

People entering and leaving his cell, always communicating with him through sign language.

They were just short scenes, but I knew intuitively that this was my child.

Something is going to happen; I am scared.

I go to the doctor’s appointment alone because Eddie has work to do.

I feel miserable when the doctor tells me the chances are high for my kid to be a boy.

When I come home, the living room is in a state of chaos, and Eddie is in the midst of it, kneeling as if he were praying.

"Eddie?" I ask quietly.

He stands up and looks at me furiously.

"We lost so, SO much money."

I stroke my belly, not wanting him near me.

He calms down a bit seeing my reaction and forces a smile on his face.

"And? A boy or a girl?" he asks me.

"A girl," I lie instinctively.

************************

I call the only person I know after the death of my parents: my old hair stylist.

The moment she takes my call, I start crying.

I tell her that I need her.

I tell her that I need to escape.

***********************

Eddie seems suspicious.

He still lets me choose stocks; sometimes I am wrong, sometimes right. He lets me choose between high-risk stocks and invests a large amount of money in them.

When I am right, he is nice and friendly; when I am wrong, he is cold and nasty. When the stocks are stagnant, he ignores me.

One night, he throws the phone bill at me, asking who I am calling constantly.

I tell him it is my friend, my old hairstylist.

"Are you trying to run away?" He asks.

I shake my head.

"Are you scared of me?"

I freeze.

"Is that why you don’t sleep with me anymore?" He seems angry again.

"I told you, the doctor told me we have to be careful because of the baby."

"Yes, the baby." He looks at my belly with loving eyes.

"We can’t risk something happening to her."

He leaves the room while mumbling something, but I can still hear it.

"My delayed scientific achievement..."