Chapter 57: Chapter 57

"You can't take her away from me!"

"Yes, I can."

"No, you can't! Not without my consent!"

"You are her husband, not her father. Also, mind you that Natasha is already an adult. You can't stop her from going out."

I hurled out a deep breath and then glanced at Bobby beside me, who looked perplexed. I wanted to facepalm my head and then leave them behind. Regardless, I can't do that because I'm anxious Ethan might do something to Criselda the moment I set off my eyes away.

I looked at the wall clock to see they had been arguing for an hour. Ethan was blocking Criselda's way to get through me. Every time I tried to thwart them, they would both look at me then yell,

"Stay out of this!"

It's getting out of control, and I can't say anything. So, I stood here eyeing them throw words back and forth at each other in the end. Bobby yapped beside me, looking at Ethan, trying to embezzle his attention away from Criselda. But the other party just rasped, then crossed his arms in annoyance.

"They are not going to stop, are they?" I asked Bobby, then stroked his head. He stopped wagging his tail, then leaned his head on my lap, giving me the puppy eyes to do something between those two.

"What if something foul will happen while you two are out? Who's going to save you?"

"Dude, you're not on the loose to assume like that! Chill."

Ethan suddenly took a step forward. His jaw tautened as he towered over Criselda, who went still in her spot, unable to say something. She took a step back, while Ethan did the opposite.

"what if we were?" he threatened. His voice is intense and treacherous, ready to go for a kill. Criselda gulped. Her lips trembled in dread.

"That's enough!"

That's their queue to stop. They both looked in my way when I crossed the gap between us. I clenched my hand while stomping furiously. I grabbed Ethan's elbow and then dragged him away, leaving Criselda dumbfounded.

"I'll get back to you, Criselda. Just play with Bobby for a while. I'll just be going to handle this for a minute."

Ethan didn't say anything when I snatched him out of his momentum. I clicked my tongue when I twisted the knob of our room and then pushed him inside. Before closing the door behind us, I saw Criselda lift Bobby and then play with him as I told.

None of us say a word when the door shuts. I was facing the thick wood, trying to calm my nerves. Ethan behind me was silent, waiting for my cue. I run my hand through my hair, resting them on my left shoulder.

"Natasha-"

"Ethan, do you know what will happen if you tell them who we are? Why are we here in the first place?" I whispered, anxious she might hear us outside the room.

"I know, I'm sorry-"

"This is our only last hope, Ethan. To escape and pretend to be someone else. I know we told them our real name, and that was a mistake because we got drifted into their kindness-" I wiped my face, letting out an exasperating sigh.

"But one mistake is enough. You can't tell them why we are here. I don't want to run away again. I want to live my everyday life and have children with you. I want to maintain the peace I almost lost within myself. So please, Ethan, don't ruin this opportunity we had."

I was almost begging for him when he interrupted me by covering his muscular arms around my body, burying his face in my neck. I tried to push him away, but when he breathed, sending chills on my whole system, that's when I let him.

I slowly dropped my arms to my side, listening to his beating heart syncing with mine. He sniffed my fragrance, causing me to feel weakened between his arms.

"I'm sorry for causing you enough jeopardy, my love. I'm sorry for the crumbs I have left. I'm sorry if I almost dribble our secret. I can't bear to witness you getting mad at me or leaving me just because I was hard to love."

His words were soothing and addictive. He caressed my back, trailing its way up to my head. He slightly distances himself and then stares at my eyes, beaming luminously.

"It won't happen again, I promise you," he ensured me, kissing me on my forehead before letting me go. I stood there as if I was struck by lightning with his words. I blinked, watching him under my lashes before letting out a huge sigh.

"It's okay. I'm sorry if I got mad. I was just worried."

He waved it off, then circled his arms around my shoulder, "I understand, love. My anger got the best of me again. Next time just punch me fair and square on my jaw so I can shut up."

I chuckled at his remark and just nodded my head. He played with my hair and then pinched my nose before twisting the knob to open the door. However, we stopped dead when we saw Criselda standing outside our room, holding Bobby.

"So...?" she trailed off, waiting for Ethan's answer.

When I glanced up at Ethan, his reaction was, "Oh, right." he then rolled his eyes.

"Fine, you can go out."

Criselda yelled, making Ethan and Bobby jump in stupefaction. She gave bobby to Ethan and then pushed me inside of our room.

"Hey, what-" she shut the door, leaving the two behind.

"Don't mind them, we are going to have our girl's bonding, which boys are not allowed. Do not worry. It's just the two of us."

I shook my head slightly while watching Criselda getting overhyped about our plan to go out. Although I have a bad feeling about this one, I shouldn't worry too much about everything. This is my first time having an actual genuine friend, and I don't want this to flop.

"Oh! This looks good on you!"

She threw me a dress I completely forgot it existed. It's not bad, though but what terrified me was Ethan's reaction. He might scold me for wearing something that will expose some of my skin.

"Your husband has nothing to do with this!" she suddenly blurted, then forced me to wear it.

She helped me fix myself. We just talked about random stuff until we were settled. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, then nodded, pleased with my look. Actually, I didn't recognize myself. I feel like I'm a new person.

"Come on, let's go before your husband blocked my way again," she muttered, then rolled her eyes, looking done with everything. I chuckled and stood up.

When we got outside our room, I saw Ethan lying on the couch, and Bobby was on top of him. Both of them were sleeping peacefully. I halt in my route, watching them in awe. Something caressed softly on my heart when Criselda yanked my arms.

"Let's go," she whispered, then pulled me outside our unit.

"So, sister. Do you have any trouble?" Criselda asked when we got inside a car. I didn't know she could drive. My eyebrows furrowed in disarray, waiting for her to continue.

She shrugged her shoulder, "I wondered if you wanted to talk to someone about your problem, you could tell me, " she said before accelerating the engine. I was left dumbfounded, thinking about what she said.

Did she hear what we were talking about earlier? The thought of it made my body flutter and frail. I was quiet the whole ride, and Criselda listened to some tunes I barely recognized. I actually don't have any idea what to say. This discerns so fucking uncomfortable.

"We're here!"

He dropped off the engine. When I looked outside the window, I realized we were in front of the mall. Criselda held my hand tightly, making me face her.

"We're going to have some fun, don't worry."

I stare at her face, eyeing her countenance. I can sense she's anticipating this moment. I let out a genuine smile, then nodded.

"Let's go!"

We both got outside the car and then ran to the mall's entryway. We giggled and yelled like teenagers who were just obtained out of their home after long isolation. We held hands, side by side, and did the things I couldn't imagine would happen. This is too much for me to bear, and having a girl best friend was indeed a blessing.

We watched movies, ate in the food court, went window shopping, and tried different clothes. I was having the time of my life until I didn't realize it was getting pretty late.

"Did you enjoy it?" she asked while riding our way home.

"Of course! Thank you, Criselda. You're the best person I met here!" I hugged her side. She chuckled and then tapped on my cheeks.

"Okay, okay. Cool down, bessy."

I arranged to sit down and just focused my attention on the road. As I looked closer at our apartment, my eyes narrowed when I found police cars parked in front.

"What's going on?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat, watching closely. I have no idea either, but my gut told me something is not right here.