My Wife is a Sassy Queen

Liliana gave Jonathan a quick kiss on his jaw and continued.

“To secure her position, Vivian went to the Aprices and congratulated my father on having a talented daughter who always scored A+, and asked him about his plans to celebrate my being a Valedictorian.”

Jennifer exclaimed, “What?”

Mariana gritted her teeth, “That’s why I hate her so much. She was the first person I wanted to take revenge on. But Lil let her go.”

Jonathan asked fearfully, “What happened then?”

Liliana shrugged, “On the pretext of going to the bathroom, I wore that body shield. After Vivian left, Lester got one of his bodyguards to find him the most painful whip and personally whipped me until he was sweating and tired.”

Mariana trembled in rage, “Rose had her thrown to the room and forbade them from treating her wounds or calling a doctor. Dad went to rescue her.”

Liam asked, “The clip about your father rescuing her – was it the same?”

Liliana nodded, “Yeah. I never went back to Aprice Mansion after that.”

She patted Jonathan, who was slightly trembling with worry and rage.

“After the first time she whipped me, I asked my security team to upgrade the body suit. It absorbs pressure and blunt force to a small extent. If you throw a table at me, I would still get hurt, but if you throw a small glass, I would only feel a slight sting. Besides, I had all the whips changed, so with the body shield, I wouldn’t get hurt.”

Liliana explained to the worried Jonathan.

Jennifer sighed with emotion, “I feel sorry for you.”

Jacob seconded her, “Your childhood must have been hard.”

Liliana shrugged, “It was fulfilling and enlightening. We had a lot of fun.”

Mariana added, “Unless Lester was involved, Rose and Lydia were not all that capable. We used to trick them all the time.”

Liliana explained, “After that, and even more so after our marriage, all my feelings for my father dried up. I still held hope after I left. But after our marriage, I simply got tired.”

“When I had kids, all leftover feeling, hope, and desire I held towards my father dried up over time. I could lie to myself, but as a mother, I wanted my kids to love themselves more.”

“A toxic relationship is a toxic relationship. There is no way around it.”

“One should not bear with it just because you share the same DNA. I wanted Li and Kyle, especially Jo, to know that.”

Jonathan held her close and, once again, thanked the heavens for blessing him with her as his wife.

James wondered if what he had with Mariana was toxic. He still wanted to try for a chance. But he would let go if he was unhealthy for her.

Jacob sifted the topic to lighter things, and they continued their impromptu gathering.

An hour later, Jennifer received a page and left to collect some reports.

Jennifer and Henry shared a look that did not go unnoticed by anyone.

Jennifer came back and handed the report to Henry.

“You all should go to the lounge. I have something to discuss with Mariana,” Henry announced with a frown.

They all left.

As close as they were, they all understood doctor-patient confidentiality.

“Lil, wait!” Mariana cried.

Liliana and Mariana had never kept anything from each other. There was no point sending her away and then repeating the conversation later.

Henry, Jennifer, Liliana, and Mariana were in the closed ward.

“You are still pregnant!” Henry directly announced.

Mariana thought she was hearing stuff. It took her a full minute before she screamed, “What?”

Liliana shook her head.

“You knew?” Mariana asked.

“Yeah, the gyne who operated on you told me. I ran into the doctor in the parking lot the other day. I did not want to stress you out. Because of other wounds, abortion was risky. The fetus was unstable. You could have miscarried by now. I guess the latest scans show the fetus is stable, huh?” Liliana explained as she asked Henry.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

Henry nodded, “Yes!”

“I am sorry, Mer. I did not want to lie to you. If you were any other patient, I would have told her. But I did not want to stress you out with everything going on.”

He added, “The fetus is still unstable and needs proper care for the next six weeks. But if you want to abort, it can be scheduled for next week. It’s up to you.”

Mariana went quiet at that.

Liliana held her hand and hugged her.

“I am here! We are all here for you. Whatever you decide, I will be there,” She said.

Jennifer hugged her from the other side and rubbed her arm.

Mariana looked up, and a lone tear escaped her eyes, “It’s harder to decide to abort a child, even though I never wanted it.”

Jennifer caressed her hair, “It’s okay, Mer. We will be there for you.”

Mariana looked up and said, “Thank you, guys! I got to think of the whole pregnancy thing more rationally. If I had known earlier, I would have freaked out.”

They all waited for her decision.

“Henry, can you slot me for abortion for next week? Whenever you think it is better!” Mariana asked. She had made her decision.

“Okay! I will slot it at the same time as your follow-up,” Henry agreed.

“What do you want to tell the others?” Jennifer asked.

“Don’t tell anyone, especially my parents.” Mariana requested.

“Alright, we will tell them that your gyne scans showed some problems, and you need another ultrasound and other tests next week,” Henry suggested.

“Thanks, Henry!” Mariana was grateful for their thoughtfulness and lack of judgment.

“What are friends for?” Henry joked and raised his eyebrow in the provocation.

They had been frenemies for six years before Mariana decided to forgive Jonathan.