War of A Rose

War of a Rose • Chapter 49

Chapter Forty-eight
Rosaelia

It was difficult to keep track of the days, let alone the time. It was ironic how I didn't know the time, yet time was the only thing I truly possessed. Hours upon hours passed within the confines of this room, and the routine remained unchanged. I would lean against the cold wall, waiting for the next man to enter and subject me to his desires. I would lie on the hard floor, waiting for Chiara to arrive and help me up from the pool of vomit I had become. Her touch, however brief, provided a fleeting sense of comfort as she cleaned me up, preparing me for yet another day.

There was no clock in this room, no indication of the passing hours. Yet, like clockwork, the same sequence of events would unfold day after day, without fail, at the same time.

And the only thing that proved to my mind that I was not stuck in the same day was the changing of my body.

Chiara pulled the loose dress over my head, trying to position her eyes anywhere but my stomach, "Polina will be here soon." I embraced the cool rag as she glided it across my skin. Closing my eyes, I pulled in a deep breath. That was another part of this cycle.

The door creaked open but I kept my eyes closed. The coolness of the wet rag disappeared and was replaced with the cold dainty fingers of the person standing behind me. "I've got your pills." I could hear the swish of them moving in the cup as she moved to stand in front of me. Her voice was soft in my ears. It always was. Despite the circumstances of her being here.

"She's exhausted." Chiara responded in my absence.

"I am sorry." Maybe she was. Maybe she wasn't. At the end of the day it didn't prove any difference. It didn't change the reason why she was here.

I opened my eyes, took the paper cup from her and dryly swallowed the two pills. Her big brown eyes traveled down my battered body until they landed on what they were searching for. Like always, her blonde hair was pulled back into a bun on the top of her head. The first time I saw her I thought I was dreaming. When I realized why she was here, I thought it was some cruel joke being played on me by my father. She looked so similar to the blonde I had called my best friend. So similar to the blonde who's life I had stolen from her. But it was not her and the reason of why she was here made me feel more guilty than what I thought possible.

I looked down at my rounded stomach with an empty gaze. Liliana lost her ability to have children because of me. And I was reminded of that every time her look-a-like walked in here to examine my pregnant body.

I remained glued to the floor as she stretched her measuring band across my stomach. "From what I can tell, you're measurements are perfect for the ninth trimester." Trimester. The only word that gave me some insight of how long I had been here for and the only thing that kept me sane. My gaze drifted to the small broken mirror in the corner of the room. The only thing that had kept me from taking one of the jagged shards and ripping my skin open was the word trimester. The first time Polina used that word, I was prepared to kill myself. But then I heard her tell me that I was already in my second trimester when she examined me for the first time.

The only thing that kept me here was the realization that this was not a product of my endless rapes. This was the last piece of hope I had. The last piece of Alessio and I would never jeopardize losing it. My baby. I would never jeopardize losing my baby.

"I will tell your father that if he wants a healthy heir he needs to let you rest for the remainder of your pregnancy." Polina's expression was soft as she finished listening to my baby's heart beat. Thankfully, the rapes had stopped during my second trimester, but other assaults' to my body did not. I was sure I would lose this baby every time a new man entered this room, but each time I was wrong. If this baby was just made of me, I have no doubt they would have been lost, but I wasn't the only one responsible for their existence. He or she had Alessio's blood in them and he would never give up and so far his child wouldn't either.