The apartment was unnervingly quiet after the chaos of the evening. The scent of Adrian's food still lingered faintly in the air, like a ghost reminding Gina that tonight had shifted something fundamental in her world.
Tess had retreated to her room,
muttering something about needing time to "reprocess reality," which Gina could completely relate to… leaving Gina alone with the dull hum of the refrigerator and the sharp ache behind her eyes. Her body was tired, her soul even more so. She stared at her phone for a while, willing it to stay silent. Wishing for one night, just one night without drama, without reminders of everything that had unraveled in the last few months.
She placed the now-empty food container in the bin, brushed her teeth with robotic slowness, and crawled into bed. Her hoodie still on, her sweatpants bunched around her hips, hair loosely tied, eyes staring up at the ceiling fan that spun in slow, lazy circles.
But the silence didn't last.
Her phone buzzed on the nightstand.
It was Marcus.
She almost didn't answer. She almost let it go to voicemail, but something told her if she didn't hear him out now, he'd only come back louder, more reckless. So she swiped across the screen and held the phone to her ear.
"What do you want?" she said, her voice flat.
Marcus didn't bother with pleasantries.
"Do you even know who you're getting involved with, Gina? That man… Adrian, do you know the kind of company he keeps? You think you're safe with him?"
She said nothing, too drained to argue. But her silence only fueled his fire.
"He's not like me. He doesn't care about you. He's dangerous. You're nothing but a pawn to people like that. You really think he brought you dinner because he cares? He owns you. He fucking said it."
Gina's grip tightened around the phone.
"At least he didn't lie about who he was," she said. "At least he didn't pretend to be one person while living a whole other life behind my back."
Marcus laughed, bitterly.
"Oh, so now I'm the villain? Because I got married to a woman who shares the same dreams as me… who was there when you pushed me away? When you questioned my decisions and wanted to be independent?"
Gina swallowed hard. "Don't twist this."
"I'm not twisting anything," Marcus snapped. "I'm giving you a choice."
She closed her eyes. Dread was curling in her chest like smoke.
"You come back with me," he continued. "And we raise this baby together. Or…"
He paused, long enough to make her blood run cold.
"Or I make a few calls. My lawyers will have you declared unstable. You're basically jobless if you work for a man like that, pregnant, and running with criminals. I'll take full custody. Jessica and I will raise the baby."
Gina's heart plummeted.
"You wouldn't…"
"Oh, I would. Don't test me. You think this game you're playing with Adrian will save you? You think he'll fight me in court? That he'll risk his empire for you?" Marcus's voice was low, calculating now. "No one fights me, Gina. You of all people know that."
A tear rolled down her cheek, warm and bitter.
"You're sick," she whispered.
"No," Marcus said. "I'm practical. And you should be too. You've got three days. I'm staying at the SmartLake Hotel. Think carefully before you make your decision."
He hung up.
The silence that followed was deafening. She stared at her phone like it had just delivered a death sentence.
Then the sob broke free.
It started in her throat, choked and strangled, and then came the flood. All the pain she had been swallowing, all the strength she had been faking, it crashed down in waves that stole her breath and made her chest ache. She curled into herself, her arms wrapped around her knees as she cried, really cried, for the first time in what felt like months.
It wasn't just about Marcus. It was everything.
The way he used to joke about people being beneath him. The way he threw money at problems and expected praise. The times she'd seen him snap at waiters, scream at employees, crush people under the weight of his name and she had stayed. She had loved him.
She had been loyal to him.
She remembered his laugh in the early days, how it used to melt her. How he held her like she was his whole world, how he swore he'd never be like his father. She had believed him. Every promise. Every kiss. Every night he whispered how lucky he was to have her.
And now, here he was, threatening to steal her child.
Her child.
Her body shook with each sob. The baby inside her deserved more than this. Deserved peace. A mother who wasn't falling apart. A father who didn't use power as a weapon. A future that wasn't born from emotional blackmail.
But right now? All Gina could feel was despair.
She pressed a hand to her stomach and whispered, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I brought you into this mess."
The door burst open.
Tess rushed in, hair messy, eyes wide.
"Gina? what's wrong? What happened?"
Gina couldn't speak. Her breath was coming in harsh gasps, and her face was wet with tears. Tess dropped to her knees beside her and wrapped her arms around her without asking.
Gina buried her face in Tess's shoulder, sobbing harder.
"I can't do this," she choked out. "I can't… he said he'll take the baby. He said I'll never see it again. He'll raise it with Jessica, Tess. Jessica. And I know he'll do it. I know what he's capable of…"
Tess held her tighter. "That piece of shit. That entitled, manipulative asshole…"
"I saw the signs," Gina whispered. "All of them. The way he treated people. The way he flaunted his money. How he punished people just for saying the wrong thing. I thought… I thought I was different. He told me I was. He told me I was safe."
Tess wiped her face gently. "You were in love. That's not a crime."
"But it's not love anymore," Gina said, her voice cracking. "It's a war. And I'm losing. I'm so scared, Tess. I'm scared of what he'll do. Of what this means. I'm stuck between a man who scares me and another who… I should fear and yet don't even understand."
Tess looked at her, serious now. "You're not stuck. You're just cornered. And we'll find a way out."
Gina blinked at her. "You think there's a way out of this?"
"I think if anyone can crawl out of the rubble of a man like Marcus, it's you. You're smart. You're strong. You have a baby to fight for now. And you're not alone. You've got me. And I'm not going anywhere."
Gina's lip trembled. "Thank you."
Tess kissed her forehead. "Now come on. Let's clean you up. We'll make a plan tomorrow. Tonight, you cry all you need. But tomorrow, we fight."
And as Tess helped her to her feet, Gina realized something:
She may have broken into pieces, but she wasn't broken beyond repair.
She was hurt. She was lost. But she was still here.
And as long as she had that, she had a chance.
Even if it would mean walking through hell to take it.