CHAPTER SIX
I was numb at first, unfeeling, and suddenly trapped in a state of mental nothingness.
Then anger set in. I had all this free time on my hands while lying on that hospital bed, and I was completely filled with rage.
How on earth many people pass through this world without hatred in their hearts is beyond me.
I refused to believe this sort of thing only happened to people like me, it must be a general consensus.
Our marriage arrangements were unusual for sure but he'd promised me, for at least the years when we'll have our children, no one else would be in our beds. He promised to give this an honest trial.
But then, even if he wanted to hurt me, couldn't he have done this with a – you know what? Now that I think about it, it wouldn't have been.
Male, female, or a freaking alien, seeing Micah cheat on me broke something in me, and as I lay on that hospital bed after having my neck rearranged from falling at an odd angle, all I could feel was pure wrath.
I'd done everything that was asked of me and the only pleasure I took out of my life ended up nearly killing me.
And the man who was supposed to keep the family name afloat as the ‘Family First’ chant dictated was a cheating, trifling, lying excuse of a man who couldn't even be brave enough to say who he truly was.
Our families were quite backward in a way, but he could have told me finding out in that way made all the terrible sex we had hurt differently.
No wonder he was always heading towards my ass instead of my nearly dry cunt all the time. He never tried to make me happy, I chased after him like a fool because I was trying to have it all. Family first my foot.
To think he was going to inherit all of my father's hard work and his generation before him, just for marrying me. To think, even though his own family had near to nothing when my father took him in, I was still a child running around the house and getting home-schooled for a bit.
He would have gone from a normal man to one of the most important men in society, and all he had to do was be honest with me.
It wasn't a love marriage; I would have understood his desire to be with a man, and we'd even use medical means to get the child we needed, but he instead decided to deceive me with no remorse.
With this knowledge now, I didn't know what the hell I was going to do or what would happen with all the plans Papa had for me.
Only one thing was clear however, my father had questions to answer.
Maybe our family business was used for money laundering or something equally bad because there was no justification for the hatred I got the other night.
When the doors opened sharply, I looked up to see my stepmom rush into the room with tears in her eyes, followed by my father with his signature solemn look.
“Oh baby girl, look at you,” My stepmom gushed as she looked me over with concern while my father looked indifferent.
He wasn't happy one bit, but he wasn't about to yell at his bedridden daughter who nearly lost her life and found out about her fiancé being gay while also dealing with the knowledge that her guard had gotten shot, and there was no knowledge of the whereabouts of her best friend.
Hence, he came to my bedside, drew a chair close by, and sat down, taking my hand in his.
“We'll get through this together, okay?” He finally said with a sad tone which did nothing to quell my anger.
“Father, what do we do?” I drilled the question before I got a chance to stop myself.
I'd never doubted my father's integrity but I couldn't get those hateful eyes out of my mind.
“We'll wait out the public outcry for some time –” he began but I cut him off immediately.
“No, I mean what does the Ivanov family do? What's our business about?”
He frowned at my question, fidgeting a bit before clearing his throat.
“I think you may have a concussion, my sweet child,” he said with a passive look.
“No, I don't have a concussion. I have questions. Questions that need answers because I can't fathom any of this. Why do the people hate us so much? Why do they want me dead? Why did the people in that club throw me at the gunmen without so much as a second thought with hatred in their eyes? Why does my surname invite such hatred from normal people?”
“Carla…” My stepmom warned but I shook my head.
“I've done everything you've asked of me, played the dutiful daughter, kept myself away from the public, I never gave you a single gray hair. So why is this happening to me? Why did Micah deceive me like that? Why can't I just go out for one night in the entire week without getting targeted? I deserve answers! What does the Ivanov family do?!” I screamed out loud, frustration coating my veins amid the rising sound of a heartbeat monitor.
“What's happening?!” A doctor yelled as the doors opened fiercely.
They ran in and began to do whatever they needed to do to get me stabilized.
Meanwhile, my father walked out of the room, a strange look on his face.
When I got discharged from the hospital, I was brought back home by a healthier-looking Bertram.
“It was just a scratch Miss, nothing a little rest couldn't fix,” he replied with a smile to my concern.
He was a sturdy block of protection and if my father wasn't so classist, we would have been good friends.
He led me into the house, and I walked past my father, who acted like I'd turned into a ghost or something, focusing on the files before him.
It hurt more that the second I wasn't doing exactly as he commanded, I was no longer his beloved daughter.
My stepmom got up to follow me, but he literally growled at her, and she sat her ass down immediately.
I'd never been scared of my father before, so I never really understood why she acted like that around him, but maybe those strangers staring at me with hatred knew something I didn't know.
“Here's your phone Miss, I got it from the police after they'd secured the place and apprehended the gunmen,” Bertram said, handing me my phone.
“Thank you so much, Beth. You saved my life, and I don't even know how to show my gratitude.”
“I'm just doing my job,” he replied with a small smile, a rare incident.
“Oh please, my father intended for you to be a glorified babysitter, not catching bullets and saving me from gunmen; there's no way that's in your CV. But still, I'm grateful.”
He nodded and patted my shoulder.
“Get well soon, Miss; let me know if you need anything,” he said, bowed his head, and left me standing in the middle of my large room with my heart in my throat.
I immediately called Vivi, and she was hysterical at first; she'd been terrified for my safety as no clear information had been given about my whereabouts, but speaking to her then, she made me feel some streak of rebellion.
I'd not expected my father's reaction or lack of assurance, something that quelled that feeling inside me.
Hence, I wanted to do something I'd never done before, anything at all that showed him I was done being his perfect little girl.
“Vivi?” I called, pausing her nervous rambling.
“Yea?”
“Drive over to the estate gate, I want to go out,” I told her.
“To where? You just almost got killed!”
“Then make sure you find somewhere. I won't be the only ransom-worthy patron there, but please, take me out of this goddamn house.”
“Fine, get ready. Wear something… sexy,” she replied, a shy level of excitement in her tone.