Chapter 5

　　I stood as he walked back into his room. 　　Yes, I know that. But hearing it from him, saying it to my face, is really painful. My presence here was just a side-effect of the deal between our old folks. To him, it was only my child than mattered. 　　No one can deny that I was here to only to bear the child of Marcus Mo. I was here so that he would be the rightful heir to all the possessions and shares from several companies the old man owned when he came of age. 　　I, more than anyone else, knew of this since I’ve been told of our arranged marriage since I was a child. But still, was a little love from him too much to ask? 　　As he reminded me of this sad truth, my heart sank. It felt like a part of me died. 　　A week passed. I was in my room and sitting on the bed, lost in thought. I tried to find something comforting to keep myself from going crazy. As I looked at the window, my eyes fell on the jewelry box on the bedside table. 　　I picked it up and felt it in my hands. This was the only thing that Marcus Mo had ever given me. As I began to remove the lid, a strange smell came wafting out from it. I noticed this scent back when I first opened the box but didn’t really think much of it until now. Suspicion rose within me as I finally removed the lid. 　　The necklace was still there, beautiful as ever. But there’s no mistake that it was laced with that smell itself. 　　It’s the scent of musk! 　　Maureen! This was her doing! 　　How could I be so naive? She hated me to the core. Add to that the fact that I’m living in their house which must really piss her off. How could I ever let my guard down in front of her just because of a jewelry box? 　　Musk is known in traditional medicine to cause miscarriage. Maureen is trying to murder my baby! 　　I thought this gift was her way of making peace with me. I tried to bury the hatchet between us but that’s all out of the window now. I trusted her. I tried to. Thinking about it made me even more furious. I bolted out of my room, box in hand and went downstairs. 　　There she is! Maureen had just came back from her shopping. 　　"Maureen!" I screamed, “How could you? You good for nothing brat!” 　　"What did you say? You annoying, insolent bitch!" she said as she walked in strides, ready to lash out at me again. But when she saw the box in my hand, her expression changed. 　　It really is her! 　　"How could you do this? You--you laced this thing with musk! Why do you want to kill my child? Your own nephew! Your own flesh and blood!" My voice shook with anger. 　　Maureen stood her ground. Her eyes were slits of fury. 　　"Because I hate you! I hate you for taking Marcus from me! He’s mine!" 　　Straight out of the horse’s mouth. Now I finally have confirmation of the very thing that’s been bugging me for months now. 　　Their sibling love, or--should I say, incestuous relationship--made me want to puke. 　　I heard the car door shut from afar. Before I knew it, Marcus Mo was already behind her. 　　Did he hear us? What does he have to day about this? 　　Maureen kept her stare at me but her face changed into a scowl. Then Marcus Mo's gaze fell on me and the box in my hand. He eyed it suspiciously. 　　"What’s that?” he asked,his eyes never leaving the box. 　　Brace yourself, Maureen. 　　"Maureen gave me this jewelry box a few months ago,” I said as I handed it to him but he didn’t took it. “Here, can you smell it? This so-called gift of hers is laced with the scent of musk, Marcus Mo! It almost cost us our baby!" 　　"Hmm…is that so?" he said coldly. He walked past me without even looking at me in the eye. 　　What? That's it? 　　He didn’t even got angry or anything towards her? Does our child mean nothing to him? 　　“ Marcus…”Maureen called after him. She took his arm. 　　"Yes, I did give her the jewelry box. I gave it as a gift, a sign of goodwill to her and your baby. That musk she’s talking about wasn’t there when I gave it to her," she said in a soft, pleading voice. 　　What is she talking about? Why would I do something that would put me and my child in danger? 　　"Maureen, stop this!” I said, losing my patience. “We all know how much you hate me! Stop playing the victim here!” 　　With this, she leaned onto Marcus Mo’s shoulder and prepared to cry. 　　Look at this bitch go! The way she acts really gets on my nerves. 　　I looked at Marcus Mo, waiting for him to decide for himself. Surely, I know he doesn’t believe in every word she says. Especially with the child’s safety on the line. 　　But his reply to all this felt like a splash of cold water onto my face. 　　"Sarah, I’ve found a place for you to live in for a while. You will stay there until the baby is born..." he said flatly with his eyes fixed on mine.