The snow fell in big flakes in the middle of the night. It was already 1 am, and Cristelle was still outside.
She was in her thin coat, hands pounding the heavy doors of the Barnett mansion as tears streamed down her face. Her shuddering voice carried down the quiet neighborhood. It sounded pathetic even to her own ears.
“Diego... Please open the door,” She begged, her breath clouding before her face, “Diego... Please open up... I really need to see you... Why are you hiding away from me, Diego? I need you.”
She couldn’t count how many hours she’d been standing in the dry and freezing wind.
The doors were finally pushed open from the inside when Cristelle couldn’t even feel her hands.
However, the face revealed behind the doors was not Diego’s.
The person Cristelle saw was Mrs. Barnett, Diego’s mother. She looked as arrogant and privileged as ever, clad in furs and jewelry.
She scoffed as her eyes fell on Cristelle’s swollen belly, “What are you doing here in the middle of the night, Cristelle? You’re waking up our neighbors, and we could get sued. Do you have any sense at all?”
“I’m sorry... Mrs. Barnett,” Cristelle sobbed in the wind, “But I really need to see Diego right now... Could you please let me see him? I will be delivering this month.”
Mrs. Barnett sighed, wrapping the fur even tighter around her body in the wind, “Cristelle, I thought we’d discussed this. It would be best if you stopped harassing my son. You’re not good enough for him. Whatever the delusion you’re holding onto right now, you should face reality and give up your ridiculous ideas. Our house will never accept you as Diego’s wife.”
Cristelle’s eyes went red, her mouth falling open hesitantly, “But... But we’ve engaged…You can’t break the promise.”
“What promise?” Mrs. Barnett snapped sharply, “The engagement only happened because you were Miss Friesley of the rich Friesley house. But who are you right now with your family falling? Your corrupted politician father has been thrown in jail, and your mother killed herself out of shame. Cristelle, just face the fact. Without the wealth and power of your family, you’re just a nobody. The wedding between big families is not charity. We won’t let our son marry a girl living on the street.”
Those words stung Cristelle bloodily. Everything Mrs. Barnett said was true. Cristelle had lost everything.
Her parents had left her, and her sister was nowhere to be found. Now, she was living in a crappy little apartment, doing three part-time jobs to pay her rent.
But she was still pregnant with Diego’s child. The Barnett couldn’t treat her this way.
“I don’t know if I’m still good enough for Diego, Mrs. Barnett... but your son and I love each other... You can’t separate us apart... It’s not fair...” Cristelle clasped her belly with one hand. Her face was pasty pale, and she was sweating in the cold wind.
It was not a good sign. Her body was getting to its limits.
“I want to see Diego. If he really wants to break up with me, I want to hear those words from his own mouth.”
Cristelle believed that Diego had been locked up by his family. She knew her boyfriend.
That man loved her. He would never run away from his responsibility.
Diego had gone missing for six months.
Cristelle believed every problem would be solved when she finally managed to meet Diego in person.
Mrs. Barnett sniffed, her arms folded before her chest, “Diego has left this country already. If you can find him, just feel free to chase after him. I doubt he would ever accept that little bastard in your belly.”
“What bastard? What are you talking about?” Cristelle gasped in the cold wind, “The child is Diego’s.”
Cristelle was furious. Mrs. Barnett could insult her all she wanted, but she didn’t have the right to insult her baby, “Diego and I had this child on that night of your birthday party... You invited me over yourself. Don’t you remember, Mrs. Barnett?”
Mrs. Barnett rolled her eyes, “I can’t believe how sick you are, Cristelle. I did invite you to my birthday party. But Diego had never left his study room that night. I don’t know who you shared your bed with. But I can assure you that the man was definitely not my son. You can’t shove this little bastard in our hands and tell us it is a Barnett.”
“It’s impossible... I don’t believe it...” Cristelle shook her head. She couldn’t stop her body from trembling violently in the falling snow, “You invited me over to the party. He asked me to go to his room... It couldn’t be another man!”
Mrs. Barnett lost her patience. She grabbed Cristelle’s shoulders and pushed her. Cristelle fell back as her heavy body collided with the cold and hard ground.
“Stop harassing us, Cristelle. Or I will call our lawyer. You’re the one who slept around and got yourself pregnant. It’s never Diego’s fault. You should feel ashamed! If I were you, I would have killed myself. Please don’t show up at my doorway ever again. Or I’ll throw you directly in jail, and you could celebrate your little bastard’s birthday behind bars. Do you understand?!”
With that, Mrs. Barnett just went back into her house and slammed the doors in Cristelle’s face.
Cristelle felt a sharp pain in her belly. She looked down and saw trickles of blood streaming down her shins.
“No...” She sobbed in the wind as she struggled to stand on her feet.
She probably hit her belly when Mrs. Barnett pushed her. Her baby was in danger right now. She needed to go to the hospital immediately.
Diego probably had abandoned her, but she would never give up on her baby. Her baby was the only one she left.
The wind was still howling, and the coldness was biting her skin.
Cristelle stumbled in the endless white of the winter night, knowing she must be strong for her baby. She should save her baby.
