Five years later,
"Have the flowers been delivered already?" Skylar asked the man who was bowing his head in front of her.
"Yes, ma'am" The man respectfully responded with his head still bowed.
"I hope it's Tulips?" Skylar asked the man again to be sure there wouldn't be any mistakes in the celebration today. She wants today to be a perfect day for everyone.
"Yes Ma'am. It is just as you have requested." The servant replied with a knowing smile on his face. He wasn't annoyed with his boss's incessant questioning. He knew how thorough and perfect his boss could be.
"Thank you, Brian. You may take your leave now." Skylar nodded as she took a sip of the juice in her hands before she walked outside to the balcony and stood gazing at the sea. The refreshing breeze calmed her nerves and brought peace to her mind.
"It's alright, Skylar. You are safe. Everything is fine. You are good and this is perfect. '' Skylar recanted in her mind as she struggled to calm her mind, but even though it had been five years, her mind still couldn't forget that afternoon back in the hospital...
After Leon had stepped out of the hospital, the doctor turned to guide Skylar to the examination table.
"Please lie down," The doctor motioned her to the table, which Skylar obliged, and she lay down with her head facing up and her hands on her chest, hoping the doctor would not find anything wrong with her child. She had protected him from harm these past few months. She hopes he will be strong for her.
"I'm going to examine you and know the position of the baby before taking you to the theatre. Is that alright with you?"
But Skylar couldn't process any words she had said as her brain had turned fuzzy immediately she heard theatre "Theatre? Am I having a premature baby, doctor? Why am I going to the theatre, doctor?" Skylar asked the obvious thing she had always suspected but refused to acknowledge.
"Having a baby? Prematurely? Is this some kind of joke?" The doctor had laughed at the obvious drama the woman was playing. She stopped after seeing the serious look on her face.
"Wait, are you serious? Are you saying you aren't aware of this?"
"Of what, doctor? Tell me, doctor. I've been kept in the dark here, and it's driving me crazy," Skylar pleaded as she bit her lips to keep herself from crying. She was moved to tears. How could Leon do this to her? How could he do this to her baby?
"Are you telling me that you aren't aware that your husband signed a document to abort your baby?"
"He isn't my husband? Wait, what? Abort my baby? Oh God!" Skylar shouted as she sobbed into her hands. She rushed out of bed in seconds and stood in the left corner of the room, away from the doctor. Her hands wrapped protectively around her stomach as she vowed to shield her son from any evil doctor that might wish him harm.
"What do you mean by he isn't your husband? But you responded and had been in the room with us while we discussed. Why didn't you say anything then?" The doctor dropped her equipment on the table and strengthened herself while she ran her hands tiredly through her hair. She didn't bargain for this. She had prayed and hoped for this to be a normal day, not for all these dramas to unfold in front of her eyes. It felt like she was watching a soap opera. And God knows how much she despised those things. She would rather spend her night buried in a steamy and erotic novel, living her fantasy with her numerous book boyfriends, than watching lies in the form of movies. God knows they were all lies.
"Th_at b_be_be"
"Come on, Mrs. Rodriquez."
Skylar flinched at the name and replied, "Just call me Skylar, please.
"Okay, Skylar. You can trust me. I have doubts. I mean, your baby's position was alright even though you look dehydrated and underfed, but your husband-sorry, he claimed otherwise. There wasn't anything I could do." The doctor rushed to correct herself as soon as she saw the anger in Skylar's eyes after she had called Leon her husband.
"He kidnapped me. He was my ex. I was supposed to get married to another man, but he found out about it and kidnapped me," Skylar replied with tears in her eyes while the doctor watched in shock.
The doctor couldn't believe what she heard. Could this be possible? Could it ever happen? Should she trust her? What if she's an ex-convict and the man is only an undercover agent watching her? But an undercover agent wouldn't request for an abortion unless he slept with the woman, he was supposed to watch but now it is against his job ethics and he must get rid of the baby before his boss gets wind of it "And why should I trust you?" The doctor shook herself out of her thoughts. She had obviously been reading too many novels. None of those scenarios would happen in reality anyway.
"Because I_____"
"She's telling the truth. And here's the proof."
The doctor and Skylar both turned to the new intrusion, and Skylar had never been more shocked in her life than she was right now. She watched the woman venture to them before handing the doctor a magazine in her hands. A magazine, Skylar could guess what was in it. Her heart burst with happiness, but she couldn't help wondering why she was doing this. "Lolita, why are you here?"
"Because I had to do the right thing. I couldn't keep helping him anymore. This isn't love. If I truly love him, I'll look for a solution for him, not watching him destroy his life___"
Skylar rushed over to pull her into her embrace, seeing how broken she was and that she was on the verge of tears. "But what changed? Why did you decide to do this?" Skylar asked again after Lolita had calmed down, as she still wasn't convinced by her explanation. What if this was Leon's plot to know how much he should trust her? Will she be throwing away her little freedom? No one could blame her for not being able to trust again, especially after Leon almost got her baby aborted.
"After you left, I had a talk with Ty. He confessed that Leon was going to have your baby aborted and marry you afterwards. It will tie you both together forever. You wouldn't be free from him. And then Ty told me all about how he beat you up when you were still together. And then I discovered he wasn't different from my ex-husband. At least my ex-husband never hides his sickness, but Leon___ He's a perfect pretender. I can't believe I fell in love with a psycho. I almost made the same mistake twice," Lolita said with venom in her voice. Skylar could see she was sincere and genuinely hated Leon.
"Ty told you all of these. Why? I thought he always hated me?" Skylar asked in shock. She could remember those times she had begged Ty to let her escape, but he wouldn't refuse. He had always been adamant until he had that big fight with Leon and left.
"I guess we all have consciences in us, even though we try to ignore them. That little voice will always be there, trying to lead us down the right path. I'm only glad it wasn't too late to make amends. I only have you to thank, Skylar," Lolita said with a smile as she reached out to grab Skylar's hands while they both ignored the doctor who had grabbed her phone to put out a call to someone.
"Me? But how?" Skylar asked her, disbelief clearly showing in her voice. She couldn't bring herself to think about how she had helped Lolita. If she could remember clearly, she had been a barrier to her happiness. There had been a bond between Leon and her.
"Because Leon had been obsessed with you, I've been able to know of his true nature and have saved myself from making the same mistake twice," Skylar smiled after her explanation. She, too, was happy she was able to help Lolita. After what Lolita has been through, she deserves happiness, not another heartbreak and beating. She deserves more than a psycho. Nobody deserves a psycho.
"Mr. Thompson has sent a chopper to come pick you up. It's on the rooftop. If you come with me, I'll take you there. I'm so sorry for doubting you, Miss Evans" The doctor's words drew Skylar out of her reverie as she turned to gasp at the doctor.
"Vino sent a helicopter for me? How? You call him?" Skylar asked her with tears of joy flowing down her face as she couldn't contain her joy anymore.
"Yes. I called him when you both were talking. I must do the right thing even though it means losing my promotion, as the director wouldn't take it lightly with me. I mean, we'll be losing millions here, but you are worth it. You deserve love and your happily ever after. Just think of me as your fairy godmother," The doctor replied before winking at Skylar with a smile on her face.
The last part cracked both Skylar and Lolita up. "Thank you, doctor," Skylar told her with sincerity in her expression before turning to follow her to the door. She suddenly stopped as soon as she remembered something Important "What about Leon? Surely he will see me when we leave." Skylar panicked as tears spilled across her face. Her hope of seeing Vino has been squashed again.
"Relax, Skylar. There's a solution; we are going in that..." Skylar turned to stare at the stretcher the doctor pointed to with confusion on her face.
Seeing her confused expression, the doctor rushed to explain herself "We are still following the initial plan of taking you to the theatre. He wouldn't know."
"And Lolita?" Skylar had asked after she had calmed down when she heard the plan. She wasn't going to leave Lolita here alone. Who knows what he will do to her when he finds out that she betrays him?
"Get into this?" The doctor handed Lolita a green lab shrub and a nose mask. "Tada! I present to you my colleague who will be helping me in this operation." Skylar smiled and allowed herself to be wheeled outside. Her heart thumped in her chest when they passed through Leon at the reception.
It beat harder when he approached them to speak to her, but the doctor handed it wisely without letting him get closer to her, and she had been free. She had taken the chopper with Lolita beside her and arrived home to her family and Leon.
Well, Leon had____
"Here you are, darling. Our son had been searching all over for you."
Skylar smiled as she jolted out of her thoughts as soon as she heard that voice. It calms her nerves, and it always surprises and scares her. Her husband wields so much power against her. Just hearing his voice alone or being with him made her feel safe, and more especially, he had conquered her insomnia. She could now sleep soundly with him by her side every night. He was her drug.
"Mom, there you are. The guests are arriving, and I still haven't gotten my suit. I want to be daddy's mini today."
Skylar squatted to welcome her bubbling son, who ran into her hands and said, "Happy birthday, son. I wish you many more years of happiness and sound health. Momma loves you so much."
"Thank you, mom, and I love you both so much too. Now let's go find my dress before Nelson makes fun of me again," Little Valentino replied as he dragged both of his parents' hands into the big mansion, where his mom went in search of his suit and Vino left to get dressed.