EIGHTY-SEVEN

She felt so faint that she had to lean against a wall for support. Her heart continued to pound heavily as she watched him take his fingers through his hair again and again.

"Say something, please." She cried. His silence was killing her and the anxiety was making her nauseous.

His gaze snapped to hers and she felt her breath hitched at how intense his eyes were.

"Yalda, it's not about you being sorry, it's not about you." He said to her. "It's about the fact that you're pregnant."

She shook her head.

"We're not going to keep it. I.... I'll get an abortion." She told him. Her shoulders shook as she continued to sob quietly. "I'll get an abortion and it'll be like nothing ever happened."

That was how much she loved him; she was willing to abort the pregnancy not only because it inconvenienced her but also because she was scared he wouldn't want her anymore if she didn't. She realized at that moment that she was willing to do anything for him, anything to make him keep her around.

She was beginning to realized that she was almost obsessed with him, she was infatuated with him to the point that she'd do terrible things just to gain his validation. And the realization made her hate herself even more, made her despise the person she was becoming.

He stared at her with those cold eyes, and she wished she could tell what he was thinking.

"You only had to turn in for your fucking appointment but you didn't." He said as he shook his head. He raked his fingers through his hair once more. "Was that so hard?"

"I'm sorry." She croaked.

"Yalda, this is serious. You are pregnant with my child." He pointed out the gravity of the situation as though she wasn't aware.

She, Yalda Harris, a nobody was pregnant with Alexander Monroe's child. He didn't need to remind her, she was very much aware.

"I already said I would abort it." She cried. "I..I can go back to Young right now and get it done."

He made his way over to her in a few strides, grabbing her shoulders, he completely backed her against the wall.

"I don't need this on my conscience." He said to her. "I've done a lot of shitty things but I cannot possibly live with doing this to you."

She shook her head immediately, but she didn't get the chance to speak before he did.

"Don't say a word." He warned.

And she held not only her tongue but her breath.

"Four years of your life have been thrown away, this ends now." He said. Her heart fell to the pit of her stomach immediately. "Get an abortion, get your life together, and get out of mine; you're free to do whatever you want."

It felt like a bucket of freezing cold water had been splashed on her face.

She shook her head.

"No." She cried quietly, it couldn't be. "You....you can't be serious."

"I am." He replied, with that, he grabbed her wrist and began dragging her back to her room. "Put on your shoes, we're going to get it done right now."

It felt unreal, she couldn't believe this was actually happening. Unable to take anymore of the anxiety, shock, and unsettled emotions, she pried her wrist from his hold and hurried to the bathroom, she fell to her knees before the toilet seat, pried it open, and emptied her guts into it.

Her vision cracked as she threw up again and again, she coughed and wretched her guts stopped being so unsettled. And then she crumbled to the floor crying quietly, it was only then that she felt his arms wound around her from behind, he helped her up gently and guided her to the sink to wash up.

Her body continued to tremble and her hands were almost useless at the moment.

"It's alright." He said as he helped her rinse the foul taste out of her mouth and wash her hands. "Calm down."

How could she possibly calm down? She tried to breathe as he lead her out of the bathroom slowly, and once she was seated on the edge of her bed, she spoke.

"You want me to leave your life?" She asked him in disbelief.

"I want you to have your own life; to live your own life."

She shook her head.

"No, no I won't accept that." She told him. For four years she had lived everyday for him, how was she possibly supposed to suddenly stop doing that? "I won't accept it."

"I am not asking for your permission, Yalda." He said, he sounded just as unsettled as she was, just as upset, just as unsure.

She pulled herself together and rose to her feet so she was standing in front of him.

"I've done everything you ever wanted, I've done everything for you." She reminded him. "I was willing to abort the pregnancy just so you would keep me around, I was willing to do anything."

She was crying so much now, so very much.

"I was ready to be monster for you." She cried. "And you want to throw me away?"

He raked his fingers through his hair once more, the look in his eyes screamed just how unsettled he wss.

"I can't do this." He told her. "Don't start. Get dressed, we're going to Young."

She felt like so hot, like she had been set ablaze, like everything within her was burning. Unable to stop herself, pranced towards him with the sole intention of hurting him, but he caught her wrists and held them firmly to stop her.

"You bastard." She cried. "You fucking bastard."

"Pull yourself together, Yalda." He tried to get her to calm down.

But there was nothing in the world that could calm her at the moment, nothing at all.

"I hate you, I hate you so much." She cried as she tried to free her restrained hands so she could hit him. "I hate you so much."

He shook his head.

"I don't care if you hate me. That is how things are going to be." He told her.

"You can't do this to me." She cried. "Please."

"If you still wish to work for me I can have you transferred far from here so you don't have to deal with me. You can start a new life, you can be happy." He told her.

She didn't know what to do, she wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to scream or laugh, she wasn't sure if she wanted to kill him or hold onto to him forever, she was lost. Staring into his dark and distant eyes, she shook her head.

"I've lived you for so long." She told him. "I've worshiped you, I've lived for you. This is really how it ends?"

He averted his gaze from hers.

"It couldn't have ended any other way." He replied.

A humorless chuckle left as she nodded.

"I'll hate you forever." She told him.

He nodded.

"A lot of people hate me."

Her blood felt so hot, they felt like lava in her veins. She wished she could do something, anything to make him feel just half of what she was feeling at the moment.

"I'll go to the media, I'll tellm them everything; I'll show them the contract." She said and his gaze snapped back to her. She hadn't even thought it through, but the thought had just occured and it seemed to be the only thing she could use against him. "I'll tell the world how you had me abort your child and leave your life."

"Don't try to play this game, Yalda. You won't win." He warned her.

He suddenly sounded cold and dangerous, he sounded like the ruthless billionaire he truly was.

"I don't care if I win." She told him. She just wanted to hurt him, or to at least affect him in anyway she could. "I don't care."

"You should know better than to go against me."

She had known better for too long, she had had enough.

"I don't care what you're going to do to me." She told him. At this point there was nothing he could do to hurt her; he had done it all. "You can do whatever you want, you might as well kill me."

It was his turn to chuckle humorlessly.

"You want to be this way?" He asked her. "Fine. Do as you please, but don't blame yourself when things start going south for your friend Riley, your pathetic family, Nina, every single person that has ever come close to being close to you."

Her heart fell to the pit of her stomach. The heat within her suddenly transformed to raw cold; he had put her fire out with just a single threat. She shook her head as a single tear drop went streaking down her cheek.

She opened her mouth to speak but he shook his head.

"Don't say a word or I swear this will be even more difficult than it already is." He told her. "I don't want to, but I will destroy everything you care about if I need to. I will do it."

He had won.

More bitter streams of tears went streaking down her cheeks. She stepped back and let herself plop down on her bed, she felt completely ruined.