I looked up fast, staring in shock at my father, Evander Powell, the chairman of the Powell Group, who was now pushing through the crowd, his face pale.
He walked straight to Nielson’s side, his eyes passing over me with nothing but deep hate.
“What a shame to our family, Nielson. It is my fault for not teaching my daughter well, letting her do such awful things out of jealousy, vandalism and lies, making you and Katniss suffer.”
I looked at my father in silence. We were all his children, yet I would never get his love.
My mother also forced her way through the crowd, quickly walking to me. She grabbed me, soaked and messy and pulled me to my feet, almost dragging me away from the middle of the show hall.
We walked quietly for a long time. At an empty corner, my mother suddenly stopped and dropped to her knees with a loud thump.
“Heather, I beg you, please stop fighting, stop upsetting your sister and Nielson, okay?”
She looked up, her eyes full of begging.
The memory played again like a bad dream. They had done the same thing before, crying and begging me to marry into the Sanchez Family instead of my sister, to accept that child, for the family’s sake.
Now, my sister was back and they begged me to keep putting up with her.
My mother’s voice begged, “Your sister’s birthday is in three days. Nielson is going to hold the biggest birthday banquet to announce her return and place to the whole city. Are you trying to cause trouble now, to make our Powell Family a joke? I’m begging you, please?”
I looked down quietly at my mother kneeling in front of me, feeling only something ridiculous and sickening.
At that moment, a person walked quickly from the other end of the hallway; it was Helios Gutierrez.
He didn’t even look at my kneeling mother, but went straight to me and wrapped his arm tightly around my shoulders.
“Heather, don’t think about it, let’s go.” Like a rope saving me, I grabbed his sleeve tightly and nodded without a word.
Helios drove calmly, but my body felt worse and worse. I suddenly covered my mouth and retched a few times.
A detail I had ignored burst into my mind: my period was late and that drunk night with Nielson more than a month ago.
My hand moved without thinking to my still flat stomach, my eyes shrinking fast.
No, impossible, how could it be such bad timing…
“Heather? What’s wrong? You look awful. Is something else troubling you?” Helios noticed something was wrong, his voice full of worry.
I snapped back to myself.
“Helios,” my voice was dry and shaking, “Turn back. We’re not going to your place. Take me to the hospital, now, right away!”
He was right. Nielson and I had unexpectedly created a new life.
Helios frowned, looked at me with worry and asked softly, “Heather, what are you planning to do?”
“No.” I cut him off, my voice calm and without any feeling. Since I was ready to leave, this child couldn’t stay.
“Okay, I’ll set it up.”
Lying on the moving hospital bed, just as I was about to be pushed into the surgery room, my phone suddenly shook nonstop.
It was a message from Nielson. [Where are you?]
[What are you doing now?]
[Heather, I’m giving you one last chance.]
I ignored it, but unexpectedly, Nielson called the number directly. The ringtone kept ringing, as if he wouldn’t stop until he got what he wanted.
I quietly pressed the power button and the world became silent right away.
I handed the phone to Helios beside me, took a deep breath and said, “Go in.”
