FOUR. THE BAD MAN
1269 Words
She had cried so long and so much. People passed by in front of her, one after another, but no one cared about her. They ignored her and left her to cry alone until her eyes were red and swollen and her nose was stuffy. All of that was a bad combination in the midst of freezing cold weather. She could barely breathe through her nose. Her mouth opened and closed like she was a fish deprived of water. But in her case, she was deprived of oxygen. In addition, her sweater could not protect her body from the freezing cold air that pierced her bones. She shivered pitifully in the cold in front of the shop.
Riley wiped the remnants of her tears roughly, then got up from the bench to continue the journey to the east. To be honest, she wasn't too sure of the direction she was taking. But she would just walk and walk until she found an idea about her life.
But sometimes plans don't go the way we expected. It happened to Riley when she had walked about five hundred meters from where she was sobbing in front of a shop. Suddenly, the sound of a long horn startled her, who was walking dreamily. The car horn was aimed at her. Logan Hatcher jumped out of the driver's seat to grab her arm roughly. He pulled her hand forcefully to get into his car.
Riley's eyes widened. Her thoughts were interrupted and replaced by intense panic when Logan began to force her into his car.
"You hurt me."
"Don't fight or scream," he whispered hoarsely in her ear.
Riley shuddered in horror and fear. Even without Logan needing to threaten her, she still wouldn't be able to fight back and scream because she didn't have the strength to do that. She was just silent as Logan crammed her into his car like she was a sack of potatoes. The people passing by on the sidewalks just stared at her disinterestedly. They must have thought that she and Logan were lovers in conflict.
After the passenger door slammed violently, Riley saw Logan rushing around the car, then climbed into the car so fast that the interior of the car shook slightly as Logan plopped himself onto the soft car seat.
"Please take me to the hospital."
Logan looked at Riley sarcastically. He didn't expect that this girl could still show such an arrogant expression after what she did. Or maybe she was just pretending to be arrogant to cover up her fears.
“You think they will accept you again after what you did? Even Wren won't accept you as his patient anymore," Logan said sarcastically.
"Please, let me go. I will work to pay off my debts. I don't want to carry your baby."
"Too bad, you can't back down. The baby is already implanted in your womb. You just have to wait until next month to have that little bulge on your stomach.”
Riley gulped nervously. Her heart skipped a beat at the way Logan looked at her and stared at the flat stomach beneath the sweater she was wearing. She felt naked under Logan's intense gaze. And what's even scarier is that she will be kidnapped by that man.
"This is just the beginning. We don't know yet whether this baby will survive or not. I could have a miscarriage next month."
"Then we'll make sure you don't miscarry."
Logan stepped hard on the gas, causing their bodies to jerk backwards and then jerk forward. Riley's head almost hit the dashboard of the car when the car started speeding down the busy streets of New York. Logan ignored Riley's terrified look and her pale face that looked absolutely ridiculous as her hands gripped the dashboard of the car tightly to keep her body jerking forward.
“From now on you will live under my supervision. Don't try to run away."
"I'm too young to get pregnant."
Tears welled up in Riley's eyes. Pain crept up her chest painfully. She didn't know what her life would be like after she gave birth to the damn baby, and she was just a tool to produce offspring.
"I don't want to get pregnant. I want to find a job and build my life slowly.”
“You can think of this as a job. There will be proper compensation for you as the mother of my child. And after you give birth, I'll give you a nice apartment and a job for you to start a new life. You don't have to worry."
The words that escaped Logan's lips sounded tantalizing. But this was not the time to feel grateful for the new job she had gotten. She didn't even expect to have a job as a pregnant woman. It sounded ridiculous and pathetic. People would think of her as a b***h.
"Don't cry. I won’t hurt you. I'm sorry if I scared you at the hospital."
Riley turned around in surprise. She didn't expect Logan to apologize to her. She thought Logan Hatcher was just a heartless and cruel man.
“Wren rebuked me. And I realized that my attitude had gone too far. I just can't be too patient with a girl."
"What's your occupation?" Riley asked hoarsely.
"I own an auto company and a few casinos."
"Why don't you get married?"
"Because I don't want to have a wife. Too complicated."
"Why do you want children?"
"Isn't it obvious? I need an heir to all my companies and my wealth.”
"You want a baby boy then?"
Riley tried to wipe her tears with the tissue that Logan had just offered. She was even surprised, once again, that Logan could be such a gentleman behind his cold face.
"A son would be good to inherit my entire wealth."
“What if I give birth to a baby girl? You're going to throw her away?"
When the traffic light turned red, Logan took the opportunity to turn to Riley and stared at her puffy face intensely.
"I'm not that vile. If you give birth to a baby girl, I will still love her. After all, she is my daughter."
“But girls can't live up to your expectations. You need a boy."
“I admit it's true. Girls will make it difficult for me, of course. I always have to protect her from the assholes out there who could potentially hurt her. But it doesn't matter to me. My daughter will be a sweet daughter."
“What if your daughter becomes like me?”
Logan's brow furrowed. He didn't like how Riley turned this conversation into a conversation related to her life.
“My daughter will get great affection from me, her father. She will live well in a big and comfortable house. And my daughter will not be kicked out of her house. So she couldn't possibly be like you."
The words were clear and sharp, spoken with determination and without hesitation. Riley was jealous of the good fortune her baby would get. The baby would certainly be luckier than it mother, who was only used as a vessel instead of being a beloved wife. And she didn't want to be this man's wife after all. She had her own criteria for men who would become her lover or husband. But after all the hassle about the baby, she wasn't sure she could find a man who met her standards.
"Why are you just silent? What got you kicked out of your house?”
"None of your business," Riley retorted.
- Writer
