. Chased Out of the House

Brie POV

After signing my name on the divorce agreement, I walked out of Noah’s room as if the devil was after me.

There was something about the air in Noah’s hospital room that had me suddenly feeling suffocated.

“Mrs. Hunter, are you alright?” One of the nurses asked when she saw me pressing my palm to the wall for support, breathing heavily.

The nurse walked up to me and held my arm. “You looked pale. Do you want me to get the doctor?” She asked, sounding concerned.

I shook my head. It was then that I realized I had been crying. “I am alright. Thank you.” I told the kind-hearted nurse and hurriedly wiped at my tear-stained cheeks.

I winced, feeling a sudden overpowering sense of nausea.

“I have to go,” I told her.

“Your box.” She reminded.

I looked at the box in repugnance and shook my head, my chest constricting in pain. That box represents painful memories of today. I cannot take it.

“Can I leave it here? You can throw it away for me.” I said.

The elderly nurse looked at me with a frown.

But maybe she saw something in my face.

“You are a strong girl. Whatever problems you are facing now, know that it’s only temporary.”

I nodded and walked away with her words playing in my head.

“This too shall pass,” I murmured to myself.

Outside the hospital, I hailed a cab and asked to be sent to the house I shared with Noah.

From the outside, the mansion looked the same, but knowing that it would no longer be my home starting today, it felt different from afar. It was like looking at someone you love and before your eyes that someone turned into a stranger - like Noah.

An unexplainable ache gripped me.

“Are you going out?” The driver asked. He was a kind gentleman.

The car had been parked outside the gated mansion for a while, but I didn’t dare get out.

I let my eyes roam outside the house, committing it to memory. For three years, this mansion had become my home. It was our nest.

We had so many memories here. As it turned out, all of those were a hoax.

My husband never loved me and was just pretending.

That had to be one of the most excruciatingly painful realities I had to deal with.

“I am sorry, miss, but I have to go. I have another client waiting.” The driver called my attention. A look of hesitation was on his face.

Reluctantly, I opened the passenger door and got out.

At the gate, I rang the bell.

A maid opened the door for me, but her face showed a coldness that wasn’t there when I left the house that morning.

“Carla.” I greeted her.

“Sorry, Mrs. Hunter.” Carla cut me off before I could say anything. And then she half-run to the mansion, scared stiff like a mouse.

I followed her uniformed figure with my eyes as it disappeared inside the house and squinted when I noticed my things strewn outside the main door.

Dorcas, our head housekeeper, had been standing by the door with her hands on her hips. A disdainful look covered her face. She was blocking my entry.

“Mr. Hunter’s orders.” She informed me even before I get to ask my question.

She had been with the Hunters for as long as I can remember, and her loyalty will always be with Noah.

I remembered how Uncle Matt threw my things outside Hunter Enterprises’ building and grimaced.

Hunter may have divorced me, but do I deserve to be disrespected like this? I felt like a piece of sh*t nobody wanted.

It was too much.

The anger that was simmering inside me at the treatment I received from my husband and his people started to boil my blood.

I took my phone from my bag and dialed Noah’s number.

“I presume you already evacuated the house?” His cold voice greeted me when the call connected.

“Do you have to humiliate me just to make sure that I leave your house and company immediately?” I could not help the bitterness that frothed off my mouth as I asked in a grave voice.

I could not believe Noah, the man I loved with all my heart, could be this cruel!

While tears started to blur my vision, Noah’s taut and clipped voice came to the other line.

“You should be thankful that’s all you got from me. I could have thrown you to jail, but I figured humiliation is enough.”

“What do you mean? What have I done to warrant throwing me in jail?”

Noah snorted. “Don’t play innocent on me, Briana. You may have fooled my parents with your innocent act, but you cannot fool me. Are you sorry that you did not kill me, too?” He sneered.

From his voice, I could feel how hard Noah was restraining himself. He was so angry.

I was angry, too.

“What?” My brain could not process what he said.

“Are you trying to imply that I was the perpetrator of your parent’s death and the reason you were in the hospital for a coma? What motive do I have?”

Noah snorted.

“Do you want to go to court so they can extract that from you? We could go public if you want.”

He was threatening me, and something inside me rebelled.

I also wanted to prove my innocence. How can Noah think that way of me?

But I figured Noah, with all his wealth, could easily make life a living hell for me. I should settle for what he was offering because fighting him on this would be exhausting and detrimental to my baby.

If it were just me, I could do it. But I have my child to think of.

. Suspect

Brie POV

Noah must have assumed that I had accepted his accusation with my silence because when he spoke his words were full of venom.

“Facts won’t lie Briana. And the report said that someone deliberately caused the accident. Someone tampered with the car.”

“It wasn’t me!” I argued in my defense. My voice came out harsh because I never thought that I would become a suspect in the accident.

Not in my wildest dreams.

“You have the motive.”

“What motive?”

“Don’t tell me you have forgotten about your lover? Didn’t you plan this whole thing with him so you would be left to inherit our family’s fortune once we were gone?” His voice held his contempt, and my brows furrowed, recalling when I had ever had a lover.

“You know I can never kill them. I love Marsha and Danny too much!” I tried to grope for the right words to say to make him see that what he was suggesting was preposterous. I can never kill the two people who took me in from the orphanage when I was young. The ones who had taken the role of my parents?

“I love your parents. I love you,” I said, my voice sounding flat.

There was a tense silence following my outbursts before Noah laughed insultingly in response.

“Lies. They were all a bunch of lies. Too bad I believed them.” Noah hissed.

“I never lied to you, Noah.” I insisted.

“Do you think you can still fool me? Be gone, and don’t show yourself to me ever again.” Noah shouted before dropping our call.

I looked at the black screen with shock on my face.

How could this happen to me?

How can my life vanish in a flash?

This is not how Cinderella’s story went. She lived happily with her prince, why can’t I?

I looked heavenwards and saw that the sky had started to darken. Moments later, the sky started crying, too.

“Lord, what have I ever done to deserve this?” I implored the skies while tears streamed down my face.

Three years ago, Noah married me. That time, I was the celebrated one.

I was the proverbial Cinderella who got her prince.

Everybody loved me.

Now, I feel like the discard nobody wanted. Suddenly, everyone does not know me. No one came to my rescue when my husband threw me that dismissal letter, firing me from my job or forcing me to sign those divorce papers.

And now this! It was like everyone rejoiced in my downfall.

I felt so alone and scared.

I caressed my belly – an unconscious act – that was also a way to remind myself that I was not alone. I have a baby to protect at all costs.

I dropped to my knees and started picking my things up, carefully choosing the important ones and intending to leave the rest.

“If you wouldn’t take them all at once, I am afraid I will have to put them in the dump,” Dorcas told me when she noticed what I was doing.

“Noah does not want to see anything belonging to you when he returns from the hospital.” She added.

That brought a bitter smile to my face. Of course, what else would I expect from the same man who quickly dismissed his wife without talking it out?

Why was it so easy for him to believe in the evidence rather than talk to me?

“It’s alright. You can throw everything away.” I told her bitterly.

“I only needed my documents,” I added.

I loathed to bring all the things that Noah paid for.

The elegant dresses, the jewelry, the bags, and the shoes – all of those - were gifts from Noah, and I do not need them anymore.

Dorcas looked at me strangely.

“Those are Noah’s gifts. Are you sure you wanted me to throw them away?” I saw her falter while she asked, and something in her voice changed, but I was too hurt to even give it so much attention. All I want is to get away from here.

I nodded. “What was the use? Noah bought them for his wife. He did not buy them for me.” I said contemptuously, causing a frown to form on Dorcas’ head.

Then my eyes accidentally caught sight of the wedding band on my ring finger. I took it while Dorcas looked on.

“I forgot to return this to Noah,” I told her, putting the ring into her palm.

At first, she refused to take it, but I insisted.

That ring was no longer relevant to me, and holding on to it meant I was still holding out for Noah to change his mind.

I do not have any illusions now. Not after what Noah did and said to me today.

He believed I killed his parents. He believed I caused the accident.

My shoulders started shaking as I tried to control the sobs that wracked my body. I do not want Noah’s household staff to see me like this.

I walked out of the house slowly because my chest felt too stuffy, and I felt light-headed.

At the gates, I have to hold on to the frame to keep my balance.

“Are you okay, Briana? Do you want me to call a cab for you?” It was Dorcas. I did not know she followed me here.

I shook my head no and smiled my thanks.

“I can manage. I don’t want you to get in trouble with Noah.” I told her.

She did not smile back, but her look was probing. I waved at her.

“Thank you for your kindness in all the years I stayed in the Hunters,” I told her and left.

Outside, the rain was pelting hard, but I didn’t mind. It seemed as if I was numbed off by what happened today.

I opened my mouth to inhale because my nose was clogged. My vision became blurry, and I suddenly swayed to the side.

Blackness took over.

. Rescued and Safe

Brie POV

When I came around, the overpowering smell of antiseptic was the first thing my mind noticed.

I opened my eyes to be greeted by a white ceiling before my sight wandered to take in the white walls, door, and blanket covering half of my body.

This time, I already had a fairly good idea about where I was.

It was also by this time that I acknowledged the presence of a cannula tube connected to the IV drip and attached to my hand when I got up from bed to sit up.

The door burst open, and in came four young handsome, and tall men I haven’t seen before, but their presence suddenly made me feel safe.

Their presence was enough to make me feel comforted. I did not feel so alone anymore.

“Are you alright?” One of them asked. He had black eyes and brown hair just like me, but my hair color was slightly paler.

It felt awkward when I noticed the four of them looking at me, and all I could do was nod yes in response.

Their faces looked strikingly similar.

“I am Charles Ford.” The same man who asked me about how I was informed.

“I am Rowan.” Inserted another one wearing a gold-framed eyeglass.

Then, he gestured toward the other two behind him. “And these two are Flint and Marcus. We are your brothers.”

Another man came in. He looked different from the four, but he was equally handsome, if not more so. I think he could make the runway models a run for their money.

I nodded at him. I knew him. He was probably the only man in this room I knew because he was the person who got in touch with me to tell me about my brothers' existence.

“Goldstone,” I called out his name.

“You’re crowding my patient.” A woman’s stern voice rang out, and automatically, all our eyes riveted to her.

She looked cute and had almond eyes that crinkled at the corners when she smiled, and her curly hair complemented her face.

“How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” I replied and looked at the glass window with a view of the sky, noticing it was very bright outside.

“How long have I been out?” I asked the doctor.

“Thirty-six hours.” She replied.

“Mr. Goldstone found you sprawled on the pavement. He brought you here and called your brothers. By the way, I am Jenna Ford. I am married to one of your brothers.” She gestured toward the man who introduced himself as Charles.

Again, my eyes went to the four men who bore a striking resemblance to each other.

My eyes started to water.

I remember the last time I talked to Mr. Goldstone. He was the lawyer representing my four brothers. He mediated for a reunion between us five, but I declined.

“What is the point? I already have a family. The Hunters took me when no one else did.” It was my anger talking.

The shock of finding I have four older brothers was too much to process.

For years, I had longed for a family. I was in the orphanage since I was a baby and until I was six before Marsha and Danny Hunter took me in.

Though the couple stopped short of adopting me, they cared for me like I was their real daughter. They were the only family I knew.

Now, Marsha and Danny are gone. And Noah divorced me. I had no one. The bitter thought made me sad.

“Don’t cry. It would be bad for the baby.” Jenna told me.

“She is pregnant?” My four brothers asked in unison, and Jenna had to shush them while I tried very hard to stifle my laugh at the comical look on their faces.

“And what is so shocking about that? She was married.” Jenna told them.

They all gawked at me as if they found the idea of me getting pregnant ridiculous.

My awkwardness was of another level. I was mulling the fact that I was divorced and pregnant. It was not a life I had envisioned for my child.

“Is the baby okay?” Someone asked to break the ice.

My eyes widened in recognition.

“You're Marcus Ford, the model!” I exclaimed.

He nodded, and the knowledge got me excited.

I remembered I had drafted a proposal letter for him a few months ago.

“The Hunters were about to sign you up as our hotel endorser,” I informed him.

My excitement plummeted when I remembered I was no longer part of the Hunters.

All the years I put in working my ass off shot down the drain.

“Not anymore. I already declined the offer yesterday.” He told me.

I noticed the grave voice he used and saw his face hardening. In response, my stomach tightened.

Did he do that for me?

The answer was on his face that it did not shock me anymore when he confirmed.

“I was only there for you."

Deep gratitude filled my heart.

“Thank you,” I said, eyes tearing, knowing I had an ally.

Then, my eyes encompassed the other three. I do not have just one, but four allies.

My chest felt stuffy as I felt a sense of deep longing in my heart for them.

"Even when the world was against you, you have us, Briana," Rowan promised.

I bit my lip.

The guys knew Noah divorced me and was assuring me.

I wonder, what else do they know?

My hand immediately searched my lower abdomen, and a slow smile spread through my face.

‘We are going to be fine.’ I told my child silently.