53. Bitter memories

Briella was awakened in the middle of her sleep by the vibration of her phone. Glancing at the clock, it was already two in the morning. She saw Chelsey's name and immediately grew concerned, fearing that something might have happened to her friend. 'Hello, Chel? What's wrong?" she asked as she sat up and leaned against the headboard of the bed, sensing that Braun was also awake and sitting beside her. 'Brie, I'm sorry for disturbing you, but I suddenly panicked and didn't know what to do," Chelsey said. 'Huh? Did something happen?" Briella's drowsiness vanished, and she glanced at Braun, suddenly feeling anxious for her friend. 'We're at the hospital. We witnessed Jovert and his wife arguing, and their baby accidentally fell off the sofa, hitting its head on the corner of the table. There was too much blood, and I started to panic," Chelsey explained. 'Calm down, Chelsey," Briella reassured her. Taking a deep breath, she knew Chelsey was scared of blood and tended to panic when she saw it. 'How's the baby?" 'The baby has a deep wound on its head. It needs stitches, and the doctor said it would take ten stitches to close the wound," Chelsey's voice trembled as she replied. 'Oh my God," Briella exclaimed, placing a hand on her forehead. 'What happened?" Braun asked, noticing her concern. 'Where is Jovert?" she asked, ignoring Braun's question as her attention was on the baby. The thought of the infant needing so many stitches made her heartache. 'He left to look for money to pay for the hospital expenses while Luigi stayed at Jovert's house to look after their other children. Jovert's wife couldn't stop crying," Chelsey answered. 'Take a deep breath. Alright, here's what you're going to do: tell Jovert's wife that I'll take care of their hospital bill, and when Jovert arrives, tell him I want to speak with him. I'll also call Luigi to check on the other kids," Briella instructed. She heard Chelsey take a deep breath on the other end of the line before saying goodbye to her and going to Jovert's wife. Turning to Braun, who patiently waited for her response, she said, 'Jovert's youngest child had an accident and needs stitches on its head." 'Jovert?" he asked. 'He's Matilda's assistant," she replied. 'And you want to help him?" he raised an eyebrow at her. 'Braun, I'm not helping him; I'm helping the baby. She's just a baby—eight months old. She has nothing to do with the issues between us," she explained. 'Don't you know how painful it is for a mother to see her child in the hospital, needing treatment?" Memories she had long tried to forget came flooding back whenever the words' hospital' and ‘blood' were mentioned as if they had happened just yesterday. 'Hey, I'm sorry. I can't believe that after what that person did to you, you're still willing to help," Braun said with a smile. She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. 'Just like I said, my help is for the baby, not for Jovert." Braun nodded and gently squeezed her hand, kissing it. 'I'll do it. Which hospital did they take the baby to? I'll send the money immediately," Braun said, taking his phone from the bedside table. 'Braun, I'll take care of it. You don't need to—" 'I insist," he interrupted her. 'I am your husband, and whatever you want to do, I'll always support you," he added. Feeling touched, she relented, and within seconds, he was already on the phone with Luigi, arranging everything regarding the hospital expenses. 'Bring the kids and tell Chelsey to take care of them," he said, abruptly ending the call and turning to her. 'Luigi will handle everything from there. Let's go back to sleep, wife." He helped her lie back down, tucked her in, and lay beside her. She immediately snuggled into his chest, using his muscular arm as a pillow. Soon, drowsiness crept over her. **** 'How dare you!" A strong slap blinded Briella's mother, and she looked at her daddy in shock. She didn't think that he would be able to slap her mommy in front of her. 'You did nothing but humiliate me, Lebyth! I was only gone for three weeks, and when I came back, you were already three months pregnant?!" He looked angry and dark at her. 'It's our child, Damian—your child!" cried her mother. Briella is only fourteen years old, but she is already aware of what is happening in her family. Her daddy has another woman, and they live with her in the mansion owned by her mommy. But because her mommy was a martyr and she loved her daddy so much, she never questioned her daddy's decisions. They all came together under one roof. Her daddy has three children with another woman, and she is the only child of her parents. 'Don't fool me!" said her daddy, who was about to slap her mommy when she blocked her body and looked at her daddy without emotion. 'If you let your brain narrow, Daddy, you certainly won't accept whatever Mommy explains," she said boldly. 'Stay away from there, Briella. Please don't lecture me on something I've known for a long time! Your mommy is jealous because I have more children with Meryll than her! So she is working on a way to have a second child again, but I know it's not mine!" said her daddy angrily. 'How did you make sure that Mommy is not carrying your child? Because your mistress said so?" she asked sharply here. He agreed to live here with her partner, but it was against her heart if it wasn't for her mommy's plea to him that he wouldn't really agree. 'What the hell did you say?!" her daddy roared at him. She was about to repeat what she said, but she couldn't continue because she suddenly jumped to one side. She heard her mommy's scream, but she couldn't see her clearly. She felt a viscous and fishy liquid from the side of her head, and that's how shocked she was when she saw her Daddy stomping on her mommy's stomach. Even though she was dizzy, she approached her mommy. From the corner of her eyes, she saw her daddy's mistress and her eldest daughter, Megan, who were both smiling and just looking at them. If it weren't for their maid, they wouldn't have been taken to the hospital right away. Only then did she realize that she had a big wound on the side of her head and needed to be stitched up, while her mother was dying because of the beating she got from her daddy. . . *** Briella slowly opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, wanting to cry at the contents of her dream. It felt like she was transported back to the time before she decided to pursue modeling and finally move away from their hellish house. She couldn't bear to live there, where the pests of their lives still resided. 'Good morning, wife," Braun said, still groggy, planting a kiss on her lips. 'Something wrong?" 'I'm worried about the baby," she answered truthfully. Because of what happened to the infant, those bitter memories of her childhood came flooding back. He hugged her and kissed her shoulder. 'Stop worrying too much. Luigi will handle everything. Okay?" he said softly. She smiled at him and turned to face him, their eyes meeting, knowing he could sense she wasn't okay. He picked up his phone, and she knew he would call Luigi. 'Hello, good morning," Braun greeted. 'How's the baby?" he asked, putting the phone on the loudspeaker. 'The baby is okay. She's strong, and she managed to endure the stitches on her head," Luigi replied. She breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that, feeling some of her worries dissipate. 'Where is Chelsey?" she asked. 'She went home to change; she's with Jovert and his kids," he answered. 'Okay, thank you." She handed the phone back to Braun and took hers. Reading Chelsey's text, she felt the excitement building up because she heard Jovert finally agreed, and they were waiting for her at her former apartment, which was now Chelsey's residence. 'Braun," she called to her husband, who immediately looked at her. 'I need to go to my former apartment. Chelsey said Jovert is with her and the kids now. Is it okay if I visit them?" she asked for his permission. He nodded. 'Okay, but let's take a shower together first and eat." *** They had been facing Jovert in the living room for a while now while Chelsey fed his kids. Jovert seemed hesitant to speak and didn't want to be trusted. 'Jovert, I need your cooperation. You only need to do one thing: get Matilda to a motel that I'll set up," she said, unable to bear his silence any longer. She heard him sigh heavily. 'I knew it. You're only doing this to get information from me! No! I won't betray Miss Matilda!" She took a deep breath. 'I don't understand why you're so subservient to her! Learn to stand up for yourself and prioritize your family because they'll be with you for the rest of your life," she lectured. But it seemed like he wasn't listening, but she didn't give up. 'You can't fool me. I won't cooperate with you!" he said firmly, with a hint of defiance. 'So, you'd rather let your whole family suffer than stand up to Matilda?" she asked him. He remained silent, seemingly lost in thought, but after a moment, she heard him take a deep breath. She secretly smiled, knowing what that meant... 'Okay, I'll do it. What am I supposed to do? I'll only do this for my family," he added. 'Good choice," she said, smiling at him. Get ready, Matilda. The day has come for you to kneel before me, and your name will be erased from everyone's memory.