“NOELLE,” Lucero’s voice filtered through her foggy brain. Noelle squinted, struggling to open her eyes. Groaning, she turned to her side, bringing her knees to her chest.
“I’m not dead,” she whispered, tears clinging to her lashes.
“No. You’re not dead. And I’m not going to let you die either.”
Noelle turned sharply, pushing down against the pain that reverberated in her skull.
“What do you mean? It’s not your choice to make, Lulu. It was mine! I’d rather be dead than have Sergio humiliate and kill me slowly. Because he will. Don’t think for one moment he won’t. Now that he has the people on his side, he can do whatever he wants.”
“What about your brother? Surely he wouldn’t let Sergio get away with it.”
“You think he can do anything? The entire hacienda is against me, Lulu! If they want me dead, they will find a way to frame it as an accident and Cisco won’t be able to do anything about it. It might injure his pride, but he won’t be able to retaliate without direct proof.”
“No. There has to be another way,” Lucero continued. “Think about Raf. How could you even think that killing yourself was the answer?”
“It’s because I’m thinking about him, Lulu,” Noelle sighed as she dragged herself into a sitting position.
Lucero frowned.
“If I’m dead, Sergio will have taken his revenge and he won’t bother with Raf again.”
“You wanted to sacrifice yourself so Sergio wouldn’t go after him…” Lucero trailed off, realizing Noelle’s intention.
Noelle gave her a tight smile.
“Even in death it seems I am unlucky,” she laughed dryly. “But what happened, anyway? One moment I was about to pull the trigger, the next I heard your voice and then everything went black.”
“I’m not sure either.” Lucero shook her head. “All I know is that you’re safe,” she said as she took a seat next to Noelle, throwing her arms around her shoulders. “I’m so happy you’re safe,” she whispered.
Noelle squeezed her hand, unable to reply.
She hadn’t wanted to die either—not when she knew that Raf was still out there somewhere in the world. Yet she couldn’t not die either, because she knew what the repercussions would be—repercussions that were probably put into motion in this very moment.
“I have to make sure he’s far away from his place,” she suddenly said. Rising from the bed, she took a step towards the door.
Her knees buckled, her arms shooting out to hold onto the bed frame for balance.
“Noelle?” Lulu came by her side. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing… Just a little spell.”
“Are you sure?”
“Why?” Noelle frowned.
“It’s not the first time this happened. In fact, how many times in the past few months have you felt a little weak? How many times has your stomach been bothering you at the most unexpected times?”
Noelle blinked.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I think you’re smart enough to understand what I’m trying to say.”
“Lulu…”
“When was the last time you had your monthlies?”
Noelle opened her mouth to speak, then faltered.
“I… I don’t remember,” she swallowed painfully. “You don’t think—”
Lucero nodded.
“But we can’t be sure, right? I’ve been under a lot of stress. It could be that too.”
“It could, but it’s not the most likely.”
Noelle bit her lip in uncertainty.
“It can’t be, Lulu. It simply can’t…” her voice wobbled as she slowly sank back onto her bed. “This is the worst thing that could happen,” she whispered, her eyes glossy. “If Sergio finds out…”
She took deep, measured breaths.
“If he finds out, we’re back to ground zero, Lulu. He’ll have my weakness. And you can bet he’s going to exploit it to the fullest.”
“Noelle…” Lucero reached out to touch her hand. “Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it is just a spell,” she added hopefully.
“Or maybe you’re right, and I haven’t only doomed myself. I also…” she trailed off, her lips trembling as she brought her hand to her stomach. “My God, Lulu. Thank you! If you hadn’t stopped me, I would have killed myself and my baby. Thank you. Thank you,” she repeated, launching herself at Lucero and hugging her tightly.
“We’ll find a way out of this,” Lucero whispered. “But we need to know for sure.”
“You’re right,” Noelle sighed as she leaned back.
Her body shook as she brought her knees to her chest, making herself smaller. There were so many things to consider. She hadn’t even fully internalized what her fate would be after she’d defied Sergio so blatantly, let alone what the fate of a baby would be.
There was also Raf, and she couldn’t stop herself from constantly thinking about him and whether he’d made it out of the hacienda safely.
So many issues, and she did not have one solution.
The only thing that she knew was the fact that Sergio would not let her be. He would torture her in order to pay back for everything she’d done to him. Every single blow to his ego would be a tenfold blow to her, to Lucero and now… to her unborn baby.
Somehow, she knew she was carrying Raf’s child, just as she knew she was in such a precarious situation. At any other time she would have rejoiced at having his baby—at giving birth to a little part of him. But given her dire circumstances, she was scared.
She was utterly afraid.
Before, Raf had been her weakness—the only way Sergio could control her.
If she was pregnant, Sergio could finally bring her to her knees.
“I can bribe one of the workers. Have him buy a few tests the next time he goes into the city for supplies,” Lucero suddenly suggested.
Noelle blinked, bringing herself back from her musings.
“That’s a good idea. If there’s any chance that I’m pregnant, I need to do everything in my power to escape, Lulu. I can’t allow Sergio to find out or he’ll not only kill me, but he’ll kill my baby too.”
“We’ll get through this,” Lucero whispered, hugging Noelle in an attempt to comfort her.
By the end of the week, Lucero managed to bribe one of the workers to bring some pregnancy tests from the city. She’d lied that they were for her, saying that she was worried about her employment in case she was expecting. The man had believed her.
Lucero brought the tests to Noelle, waiting for her to go to the bathroom and take them.
“I’m scared, Lulu,” Noelle whispered as she exited the bathroom. They had to wait a few minutes for the results.
“Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it.” Lucero gave her a comforting smile. “One way or another, we’ll leave this place.”
“That was supposed to be my line.” Noelle smiled sadly. All along she’d been the one who always took the initiative. Yet now she could barely find any strength within her—now when she was scared to death of the future and of what might have happened to her Raf.
Lucero complemented her perfectly. She’d sensed Noelle’s weakness and she’d taken charge, being both comforting and assertive. Noelle didn’t know what she would have done without her by her side.
“You’ve done enough,” Lucero replied. “Let me worry about things now, alright?”
“I got you into this mess, Lulu, and you’re still trying to fix things for me.”
“I was in this mess long before you came along, Noelle. But back then I didn’t have the courage to question the status quo. I didn’t dare dream of a different future. Even after Nicholas left, I never even thought of escaping for myself. Until you came along, I would have never thought of rebelling.”
Noelle’s eyes widened as she looked in awe at her friend.
“I’ve gotten a taste of independence—a taste of what my life could be like on the outside. I don’t want to die here, Noelle. I don’t want you to die here. So no matter what it takes, we’ll make it out of the hacienda.”
“When you say it like that, I can’t not believe you,” Noelle chuckled.
They both shared a smile, conviction shining bright in both their gazes.
Noelle felt a wave of confidence wash through her as she watched her friend. Lucero was right. They weren’t going to die there.
Sergio wouldn’t win.
And despite feeling as though her very soul was on the verge of collapsing under the weight of her worries and sorrows, she needed to push through. Now, more than ever, she needed to be strong.
The time came for her to check the tests. She’d taken three of them, just to be sure.
“So?” Lucero asked from behind.
Noelle closed her eyes, her heart beating loudly in her chest.
“What is it?” Her friend repeated, coming to her side.
Noelle couldn’t talk.
Maybe one test could have been faulty. But what were the chances that all three were? Slim to none.
She was pregnant.
“Pregnant,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “I’m pregnant, Lulu.”
Her legs were shaky and she barely kept herself upright. Her breath came in short spurts as she felt the walls of the bathroom close in on her. Slowly, her vision started to fade to the point that she could barely see anything.
“Noelle!” Lucero cried out as Noelle swayed on her feet, about to collapse.
Lucero was quick to grab her, barely able to hold her from falling.
They both sank to the floor. Noelle wailed while Lucero held onto her, doing her best to lend her some strength in that trying moment.
“God, Lulu, Sergio can’t find out about this. He can never find out. We need to leave before I start showing, otherwise…” she trailed off, hiccups racking her body.
“I know,” Lucero whispered. “And we will. We’ll find a way to leave this place. I promise you. Sergio won’t harm your child. He won’t,” she said with such conviction, that Noelle couldn’t help but believe her.
Yet not a few minutes later and the door to the apartment burst open. Sergio strode forward, a sick smile on his face as he stopped a few feet away from where Noelle and Lucero were sitting on the ground.
Noelle’s eyes widened in shock as she scrambled to put herself together, moving to cover the existence of the pregnancy tests. But it was too late. Going by the satisfied expression on Sergio’s face, he already knew.
“What do we have here?” He took a drag of his cigarette as he perused Noelle from head to toe. “It seems that my luck hasn’t left me after all.
“What are you doing here, Sergio?” Noelle leveled him with her stare, showing him she wasn’t scared of him.
“Someone whispered something very interesting into my ear,” he said, puffing his cigarette towards her. His gaze moved past her into the bathroom as he inclined his head. “What are you hiding there?”
“Hiding? It’s a bathroom, Sergio. I’m not sure what you store in your bathroom, but mine is a very regular one.” She shrugged.
“Is that so?” he asked, his smile strained. “I wouldn’t happen to find a pregnancy test now, would I?”
Noelle’s eyes widened.
“Of course not,” she replied. “What are you talking about, Sergio? Where would I even get a pregnancy test from? We’re in the middle of nowhere,” she said casually.
Sergio smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“David!” he called out.
Right at that moment, the worker Lucero had asked to buy the pregnancy test came forward.
“Why don’t you repeat what you told me this morning.”
“She gave me a lot of money to buy a few pregnancy tests,” he said, pointing to Lucero who was currently behind Noelle, doing her best to shield the tests with her body.
Put on the spot, Lucero reacted quickly.
“That is correct. I needed them for myself,” she lied.
“Is that so?” Sergio raised a brow at her. “And who did you fuck to get pregnant? Who would dare to lay a hand on you when you’re fucking cursed?”
Lucero blinked furiously, her cheeks red.
“There was someone,” she stammered.
“I’m sure there was,” Sergio gave a dry laugh.
Before Noelle could stop him, he pushed her aside as he forced his way inside the bathroom. Moving Lucero out of the way, he picked up one of the tests, his lips curling up in satisfaction when he saw the result.
“Pregnant,” he chuckled.
“Y-yes.” Lucero bit her lip.
“So you’re going to keep this up? That you’re the one who’s pregnant and not my adulterous wife?”
Lucero nodded effusively, and Noelle’s heart warmed for her friend.
Sergio’s gaze swung to Noelle as he narrowed his eyes at her.
“Yes, Lucero is right.” Noelle straightened her back.
“Hm,” Sergio took another drag of his cigarette before he stepped in front of Noelle, blowing the smoke in her face. “Then you won’t mind me doing this then,” he said in a low voice. Noelle didn’t realize what he meant until she felt a searing pain in her stomach.
He’d… He’d…
“Agh,” she cried out, jumping out of his reach.
Looking down, she noticed a hole in her dress, the edge of the material engulfed by small flames. Her eyes widening, she quickly brought her hand to her stomach, patting the material to put the fire out.
Sergio had put his cigarette out onto her stomach, burning through her dress and damaging her skin.
“Still nothing?” Sergio asked, amused.
Noelle shook her head.
“You’re a sadistic bastard,” she spit out.
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “If that’s the version you want to stick with then Lucero will have to come with me so she can give me the name of the man who impregnated her. She will need to be punished, too, of course. You know it’s forbidden for any man to touch the women under my roof without express consent,” he said pointedly.
Noelle shivered as she realized he meant Raf—that he was going to hurt him too if he found him.
He didn’t give her time to reply as he grabbed Lucero’s arm, dragging her out of the bathroom.
Before she could stop herself, Noelle threw herself forward, wrenching her friend from him.
“Leave her alone!” she said through gritted teeth.
Sergio raised his hand, and Noelle immediately shrunk back, her hands going around her stomach.
The blow didn’t come, but Sergio’s laughter echoed in the room as he mocked her defensive stance.
“I see I was right.” He smirked.
Noelle’s eyes were misted with tears as she tried to think of a lie—anything to get his attention off of her.
But as she opened her mouth to speak, he simply strode out of the room, a perpetual smile on his face.
It was at that moment that Noelle realized she was caught—truly, truly caught.
