Monster's Runaway Bride

Heather Slaviss...

There comes a time in everyone's life when they have to face their fears. There comes a time when they have to stop hiding from the truth, a time to open their eyes and stop pretending like everything was going to be alright.

All sorts of thoughts invaded my mind as I looked down at the stick in my hands.

My shoulders shook, and my vision blurred as tears filled my eyes.

What am I going to do now?

A tug on the door made me jump, and I looked up to see the door knob being twisted and pulled from the outside.

"Heather?" He called out in a hard, demanding voice that sent cold chills down my back.

"Yes?" I answered in a small voice, not knowing if he could hear me.

"We leave in thirty minutes." He commanded through the door. 

"Get ready."

I didn't bother to give him an answer. Instead, I waited to hear his footsteps walk away from the door of the bathroom.

Looking down at the pregnancy test in my hands, I couldn't help but weep for the life growing inside of me.

What would he say when he finds out about the child?

I am sure he would be happy, just as any mafia man would be when they found out that they would have an heir soon.

He would expect a son, a son he would train to become as cruel and merciless as him. But if the baby was a daughter, then she would become what I have become. She would be turned into a made man's wife, and she would have to live her entire life in fear, wondering when would be the time she would be sold off to a monster.

The very thought terrified me. Shaking my head, I chased the train of thought away before I stood up. 

Opening the bathroom door, I peeked into the room to see that it was empty. I then rushed to my nightstand and shoved the test into the bottom drawer.

Turning to the bed, I saw the dress I had set out earlier and quickly changed into it.

The red fabric stuck to my body as a second skin, suffocating me. But I didn't have time to stand around and calm myself.

If Victor said that we would be leaving in thirty minutes, then it usually means "get out to the front before I come in there and drag you out."

So once I slipped my red heels on, I rushed out of our bedroom and made my way down the stairs.

Victor was waiting for me in the sitting room with his phone in his hand, reading something.

"I'm ready." I said as I looked at him, but as soon as his black eyes looked up at me, I quickly looked down.

I stood in silence with my eyes planted on the floor as I waited for him to say something. I could feel his eyes on me, roaming my body and checking to see if I was presentable enough for the dinner.

"Good," he commented in his rough voice before he stood up and walked out of the sitting room.

Following after his steps, I made sure to follow him from behind at a close distance as the women, especially the wives, were not allowed to walk next to the men and their husbands.

After Victor climbed into the back of a car in front of the house, I climbed in after him.

The driver of the car, a man I had seen around the house but never got to know, fired up the engine and pulled away from the house.

The entire ride to the house of the dinner was tense. 

Victor hadn't said a word or even glanced at me once since we got on the road, and that made me nervous even more.

If he doesn't say anything or look at his phone for a long period of time, then I know he was thinking. 

Those thoughts, whatever they may be, always made him get into a sour mood for a long time.

Should I tell him now? Or should I wait until we get back from dinner?

If I mention it now, then he will announce it to the family, which means I will be on full display for the rest of the day.

Shaking my head, I decided that it would be best if I told him later tonight.

The drive was an hour long, and soon we arrived at one of the mens houses. It was after I got out of the car that I realized that it was Victor's twin brothers' home.

Chad Borros, my husband's twin, and my brother-in-law are probably one of the worst made men in the family.

Resisting the urge to jump back into the car, I followed Victor into the mansion with my head bowed down.

"Victor!" Chad called out loud as he stretched both of his arms on either side of his body. 

"Hasn't it been forever since I saw you?"

One look up was all it took to see the multiple guards standing around the house with guns in their hands. I quickly looked down as I didn't want to grab any attention this fast.

"And isn't this my lovely sister-in-law?" Chad commented, forcing me to look up at him.

I tried not to tense up as he reached for my right hand and lifted it up to press his lips against my knuckles.

"You look lovely as always," he commented as he looked at me with his dark eyes.

"Thank you," I whispered before looking back down.

Chad stayed silent for a little while to look at me up and down, and then he turned his eyes to his twin brother.

"Well..." Chad breathed out. "I should go check on my WIFE," he commented before he slapped his brother on the shoulder and walked back into the house.

Victor looked a bit confused at his brother's whole demeanor. When he turned to look at me, I quickly looked down.

Victor didn't say a word as he turned back around and walked into the house. Keeping my head down, I followed after him but stopped when I slammed into his back.

Victor had stopped walking and I hadn't realized that because I was walking with my head down.

Quickly stepping back from him, I tried to apologize. But not a single word had left my lips before Victor grabbed my hand and pulled me to stand next to him.

He then slid his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. I let out a little gasp but didn't resist him.

Once he had his arm secured around my waist, he pulled me into the house.

The mansion was quiet, and I wasn't sure if we were the first ones to come. But as Victor led me to the back, and we walked near the stairs leading to the basement, I could hear some muffled voices, but that was all.

I didn't know the extent of this dinner until we walked down the stairs, and he pushed open the doors to the basement.

When I say the basement doesn't look like a basement at all, I am not kidding. It looked like a ballroom in a five-star hotel.

There were people everywhere and I saw some members of the family around. I wasn't sure if the main boss was there or not, but I wished he wasn't. 

Because wherever the main boss goes, trouble always seems to follow.

Victor pulled me around the room as he greeted some of his brothers from the family. By the time he let me join the other wives, my feet were hurting, and my dress was choking the life out of me.

As soon as I joined the young wives, I could feel the depression choking me even more than the dress was.

Each of the women looked devastated, emotionally beaten, and down. None of them had any physical wounds or swollen and bruised skin. But that doesn't mean they haven't been hurt.

I glanced at the table where the old wives were collected, and I wondered how they could just gather around and talk about their latest bags or their designer clothing. While we, the young wives and their children, are standing around without knowing how to get accustomed to this life.

"How are you, Heather?" Julia- Chad's wife- asked me.I glanced at her expecting her to look sad, but she didn't have that devastation and fear in her eyes. In fact, I could go as far as to say that her skin was glowing.

"I'm okay," I answered, realizing that the younger wives were looking at me with pity.

They all look at each other with pity. But since I was the newest addition to their sad lives, they looked at me with more pity. It sickened me that my baby would be a part of this life too.

"Are you sure?" Julia asked, but I nodded my head.

No, I wasn't fine. I took a glance at the men, and I couldn't help but gulp big.Looking back at the younger woman, I could see that they, too, were afraid. They were afraid the men would ask for them. They were afraid the older wives- the mother-in-law- would come to torment them. And they were afraid of the life they were forced to lead. And so am I.

The young wives didn't have a chance to talk any further as dinner was about to be served. It meant that we would have to return to our husbands.With a final look at the younger wives, I turned around and made my way to my husband.

The husbands took a seat first, followed by the old wives. I made sure not to look at any of them as I didn't want to lock eyes with the woman who had once called herself my mother.

Once the older wives took their seats next to their husbands, who used to be the man in charge before they handed their authority down to our husbands, the young wives took their seats.

The food was served, and the men returned to their conversations. None of them talked about business as it was not allowed for the woman to listen in.

I was silent the whole time, and so were the young wives. The old wives would once in a while involve themselves in the conversation, but I never dared.

I didn't dare look up from my plate. Not because I was enjoying the food. It looked good. But taking a single bite made me want to rip my stomach out.

The rest of the dinner went without a hitch. The men enjoyed their night, and nothing bad happened. Which meant that we, the young wives, could be at ease for at least the night as there was nothing to upset our husbands. They would be in a good mood to want to hurt us, right?

Once it was past one in the morning, the men started to leave. They took their wives one by one until the old wives and some of the young ones were all gone.

Once most of the people cleared out, the brothers of the family all gathered in Chad's office, leaving us alone for a few minutes.

Victor didn't take long to come back. And once he did, he grabbed his coat and walked out of the mansion.

The drive back was just as long as it was earlier. It was quiet, tense, and uncomfortable.Victor had his hand on his knee, tapping his fingers to a rhythm, while I was still thinking about the life growing in my belly and how I was going to tell my husband.

When the car stopped in front of our house, Victor walked out first, and I followed. He did make sure to wait for me, and he didn't walk in front of me like he always does. Instead, he walked slowly, making sure that he was matching my pace while looking around the outside of the house.

Once we were in, he made it first to the bathroom, and I decided to wait for my turn at the edge of the bed.

My eyes landed on the bottom drawer of my nightstand, and I wanted to reach out and grab the test. But something stopped me.

Instead, I waited for him.When the door of the bathroom slammed open, I let out a yelp and stood up.

Turning to the bathroom, I watched him as he walked out of the shower with only a towel hanging from his narrow waist. All the tattoos, scars, and the gun he had in his hand intimidated me. Always have, always will. So I turned around, giving him my back and pretending like I was just taking off the single bracelet on my right wrist. I let out a soft gasp when I felt his left arm slide around my waist. Victor pulled me back to him before I felt his lips press against the side of my neck.

My shoulders tensed up, and I clenched my hands as hard as I could. His right hand came up to my shoulders and gently squeezed the tense muscles.

"Wait." I whispered.

Victor didn't pull away, but he stopped the movements of his hands and the soft kisses he was leaving on my skin.

"I... I have a really bad headache." I whispered as tears filled my eyes. 

"Can... Can we not ... do this. Just for tonight."

Victor didn't pull away.

I had never said no to Victor before. Not even on our wedding night. My mother had warned me against it.

But at this very moment, it was as if I could feel the baby in my belly. And it sickened me.

"Please." I whispered.

Victor pressed his lips to my neck again, and I felt like breaking down. But after placing a single kiss, he pulled away.

"Sleep." he commanded, before he walked away and left the room after he grabbed his clothes.