Haines Curran was someone born into a silver spoon, right from his birth, it was set in stone that he was born to be in front a camera all his life.
It had only been about seven years since he joined the world of professional acting, but he had already won the actor of the year award twice in a row.
He had a huge line up of roles to play, and a one year waiting list which made it almost impossible to cast him without connections and strong backing in the entertainment industry.
And still, with all his great feats lined up, Haines couldnt have any more stressed out, over hearing about the news of the abortion. And from that witch, as he fondly called her, JessicaAmy.
His fingers tightly gripped the glass of alcohol he was drinking, the second he heard his little wife walk into the study and shut the door behind her.
"Where were you?" He asked in an unforgiving tone, casually stirring the ice cubes in his glass.
Renée took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders, "Im sorry for coming home late, some friends of mine dragged me out with them to have a celebratory drink after the ceremony." She politely told him, standing beside a bookshelf.
"Dont hide in a corner, come into the light where I can see you." His voice sounded like an uneven mix of sternness and forced courtesy.
Renée buried her fingers in her jacket pockets as she stood in front of him, her almond eyes staring at the brand of whiskey on his desk.
"But youre pregnant and you dont drink." Haines pointed out, pouring some alcohol into another glass. "Or do you?" He picked it up and made a move to offer it to her.
"I didnt drink, I just kept them company, and before I knew it, they were all so drunk that I had to book a hotel room for us to sleep in."
"Thats quite the encounter, you should have called and ask for the driver to pick you up." He told her, staring at the ugly grey turtle neck she wore inside the jacket.
"But forget about me." Renée abruptly said and took a seat beside him, "your agency called, theyve organised a small celebratory party for you tomorrow evening." She informed him, sheepishly smiling at him.
"Yes, I heard about that." He brought the glass to his mouth and took a sip out of it. "Im not going." Haines sharply announced and clenched his jaw.
"Not going? Itll sound rude if we dont honour the invitation. Some important people were invited, it could prove good business." She insisted, taking out her right hand and placing it on top of his knuckles.
Haines immediately withdrew his hand and wiped it against his pants, not caring to hide the look of disgust on his face.
"And what would you know about being rude?" He rhetorically questioned, locking his fierce gaze at her stomach, as though he was trying to say something.
Renée covered her stomach with both her palms and cocked a nervous grin. "Are you hungry? Is there anything in particular you want to eat?" She stood from her sitting position and made for the door, her heart pounding like crazy.
"Youre not lying to me? Are you?" His tone hinted that he had some suspicions where she had gone last night.
Renée halted her steps and let out a sigh, "do I have any reason to lie to you?" She retorted without looking back at him.
"I hope not, it would be a shame if after all these years the woman I trust the most became the one who deceived me." He relaxed into his seat and flung one leg over the other, his hardened stare on her.
Renée who could clearly see her husband was onto something, or at the very least suspicious of her rushed out of the study, despite the numbness in her left leg from the accident.
Haines expression dampened the moment he was left alone, it was painfully clear after talking to his wife that she was indeed hiding something from him.
"How dare she lie to my face?!" He cursed in rage, throwing his glass of alcohol against the pine flooring. The man had known her for more a decade and was certain she was hiding something from him.
He picked up his phone from the table and made a hasty call, cursing all sorts of profanities underneath his breath.
"I want you to find out where exactly my wife was last night and what exactly she did. Keep it discreet and report directly to me once you find something." Haines spoke into the phone, barely giving the person on the other end any time to respond.
He disconnected the call and shoved his phone into his grey sweatpants, "if you really did abort my child, then Ill show you hell." He concluded strengthening his resolve all the more.
While he remained in his study, his wife Renée scurried into their shared bedroom and tightly shut the door behind her.
"Does he know about my miscarriage already?" She gasped at the thought and covered her mouth with her palms.
"No." She fiercely shook her head, hot tears streaming down her cheeks, "he must never find out about this." Her hands moved to her stomach, the loss wasnt something she had gotten over.
It still felt like a dream, her being pregnant, receiving all the warmth and attention from her husband she had only dreamed of. Renée couldnt begin to phantom what would happen to Haines if he lost the child he so yearned for.
Once again, the only person on Renées mind was her husband, over herself, the person who was carrying the child, who felt the most hurt.
She spent the entire night crying her eyes out, wishing that things hadnt wounded up the way they did, hoping to go back to just a couple of hours back. Back to that night.
*Next morning*
During breakfast, Renée was shell shocked to hear her husband say he had changed his mind and would be attending the party later that night.
"You can take the day off, Ive arranged a shopping trip for you, pick out something black and elegant." He told her, then sipped from his large glass of red wine.
Renée mouthed a thank you to him and fixed her attention back to the plate of food she had barely even touched. Ever since she found out about her miscarriage, she had lost her sense of taste.
"Youre not eating? Why?" His sharp observation caught her off her guard and dragged her out of the deep rooted thoughts she was brooding over.
"Its not that, Im just feeling a bit nauseous, Ill have something sent to my room later on." She replied, her sweaty palms tightly gripping her knife and fork.
"Dont hurt the baby, if youre not hungry my child shouldnt suffer for it." His harsh words were precise, and spelt that his main priority was just the child in her womb.
A clear indicator, that without that child, he wouldnt have given a damn whether or not she ate.
"Send me a picture of the you in the dress before you buy it." Her husband said, standing up to take his leave.
Although he was just twenty five years old, he spoke and acted like he was ten years older than his age. He never avoided a problem and took the most straightforward approach towards it. He wasnt the sort of man to be easily swayed by his emotions, which was why he was able to survive in the entertainment business, without a single hitch.
"Arrange a car for me, I need to go somewhere urgently." Renée instructed the maid, standing beside her at the dining table.
"Yes maam."
Renée swiftly stood up and left for her room, masking the numbness in her left leg, which almost made it look like she was limping.
Ever since the accident, she had been wearing clothes that covered up her body, to avoid her husbands sharp scrutiny. If he had even the faintest idea that she was hurt, hed drive her himself to a hospital to make sure the baby was fine.
"This is the only thing I can do at this point." She told herself, aware that it was a last desperate attempt.
*************
"Follow my wife, and dont let her out of your sight, I want to know where shes headed and who she meets." Her husband said into his phone, as his driver took a sharp left turn.
"Ill reward you heavily if you dont make any mistakes." He reassuringly said and disconnected the call. His midnight blue eyes stared at his tinted glass, Haines still hadnt come to terms with the possiblity that his wife could have aborted the child.
"She cant do this to me! Renée I wont forgive you for it."