Chapter Eight: Seeds of doubt

ASTRID'S POV

I had always covered my tracks so that no one discovered anything. How did Harry end up with Laura? Now she's ten times richer than Elijah.

"I shouldn't have aborted Harry's baby," I snapped, slamming the glass against the wall. I paced back and forth, the memory of Laura walking in with Harry burning in my brain. My plan was simple: make Elijah think we slept together and trap him with a baby so that I could become a billionaire, but how did Laura become one so quickly while I am stuck here without six figures?

The door creaked open, startling me from my thoughts, and it was Luna, Laura's daughter. "Mom, why are you awake this time?" Luna walked into the room, clenching her teddy bear. "And where is Dad?"

"It's none of your business! Go back to bed; you know you're not allowed to roam around the house at this time!" I snapped.

Luna flinched and started sobbing. Unimpressed with her tears, I summoned Ms. Lilly to take her to bed.

I remained in the room, pacing back and forth as Lilly escorted Luna to her bed. I felt like screaming my lungs out.

Elijah had not touched me in years since the night I drugged him, nor did he marry me.

"I had a perfect plan, Laura, but your effect on Elijah ruined it for me!" I groaned in anguish.

Elijah walked in the following morning with an unreadable expression plastered on his face. "Hi, Eli-" I warmly greeted him. I hoped Luna could not say a word to him, or else I'd know how I treat them when he is not around.

"Hi," he simply answered, nonchalantly. He walked straight to the twins' room and closed the door behind him. As always, he never stayed around me but with those stupid brats.

Ethan walked in and hugged me from behind, placing a peck on my neck.

"Why are you so tense, my love? Did my brother upset you again?" Ethan muttered in between kisses.

"You know we should not be doing this in the open. I'll find you in my room. Now go!" I whispered harshly.

I kept my affair with Ethan a secret; nobody knew about it. I went straight to my room and found Ethan on the bed, lying down comfortably.

"I want you to pleasure me; I am too stressed out right now, so do a good job," I said.

"Ooh .. so feisty , Just how I love you. Have I ever failed to satisfy you, Astrid?" he teased as he pulled me onto the bed.

He gently spread my legs and rolled my thong to the side, dominating the whole atmosphere, I felt his warm lips pressing against my insides, and I couldn't help but let out a moan; his tongue playfully brought pleasure as he went deeper and harder, squeezing my thighs together, and I felt all my stress melt away.

Ethan knew how I wanted it, how to pleasure me. Elijah never gave me a second glance; he was always stuck with his stupid twins. I regretted bringing them into our lives; I hoped I would be punishing Laura, but it backfired badly.

I pulled my head up and glanced at Ethan, who was pushing his head down on me. I pulled him close to me, and he slid his shaft straight inside me, causing me to let out a moan.

We were so deep in our intimate moment that I didn't realize there was a knock on the door. "Oh my goodness! Quick, hide!" I whispered silently.

I grabbed my robe and fixed my hair, wobbling and rushing to the door. "Ah, Elijah, um, what brings you here?" I said, half-panicking. He stood there, trying to take a peek into the room. "The twins have a PTA meeting at school today. Handle it. I'll be busy," he said. It sounded more like an order than a request.

I nodded; he stared at me from head to toe and talked as if he were trying to read my mind before he walked away with a doubtful look on his face. My heart pounded, hoping he didn't hear a thing. But from the looks of everything, it seemed he had started suspecting me.

"Is he gone?" Ethan popped out of the closet.

"Yes," I smirked before we continued where he had left off.

Afternoon arrived, and I took the twins to the school meeting. The whole process was boring; I just wanted to escape from it. When it concluded, we walked out of the hallway. It was very crowded, such that I was barely holding my grip on the twins; they followed beside me as Luna held her teddy bear and Jimmy stomped his feet, trying to catch up.

"Mom, we are tired; you're walking too fast," Jimmy complained.

"Yes, Mommy, I am very tired too, plus it's so crowded today!" Luna said weakly.

I felt anger boil inside me; I never wanted to be here in the first place.

It all happened in seconds before they slipped out of my hands and out of my sight. I looked around me, panicking. I felt beads of sweat; my palms trembled. "Oh my, Elijah will kill me!" I panicked. I called out their names, but it was too noisy for anyone to respond.

"Luna! Jimmy!" I screamed.

LAURA'S POV

I watched as Harry treated his helpers with so much respect, something Elijah never did. My mind constantly drifted to my twins; I wondered how they were and how Astrid was treating them.

"Hey, Laura, come play soccer with us," Harry exclaimed as he played with everyone.

I shook my head; I was not into sports or anything that involved cheerful events. Prison changed me; it destroyed the cheerful Laura everyone knew and took away my innocence and my true self. The constant hard labor, the beatings, and starving made me lose connection with reality. That small cell became my reality.

Harry jogged close to me and held my hand. "Come on, it will be fun," he insisted.

"No—" I was cut short by the vibration of my phone. I looked at the screen, and it read 'unknown.'

Luckily, Harry had returned to the football court. It was a text from an unknown number, and it read, "Meet me at the abandoned building at 7 PM; come alone if you wish to see your twins alive."

My eyes widened in shock; I gasped and felt furious, but at the same time, I wondered who this could be. Was it Astrid or Elijah? Who would be this evil apart from them.

I could not show Harry the text; he had done so many favors for me. This was my battle, my time to get my babies back. I slid my phone into my pocket before excusing myself from the court.

"This is my battle," I said with clenched teeth as I walked out the door without looking back.