"What?" Raina was stunned. "You want me to kneel and beg him? After what he just said to me?"
Zayn didn't answer. He grabbed her arm and dragged her across the room to where Mr Johan was sitting. She tried to pull away, but his grip was tight.
He shoved her down, and she hit the ground hard.
Her knees slammed against the floor. It hurt. She felt humiliated.
"Apologize to him," Zayn ordered, standing right behind her.
She looked around.
Everyone was staring.
Kiara had her phone out, recording everything like it was a show. Raina saw the little red light blinking. That video would probably be on every family group chat by midnight.
"Have you suddenly lost your voice?" Celene asked, rolling her eyes. "You're being rude. You're wasting our time."
Raina's hands were shaking. She swallowed hard. Her throat was dry.
"I'm sorry, Mr Johan," she said quietly.
Zayn leaned in and squeezed her shoulder tight. "Is that all?"
"P-please forgive me," she whispered. A tear slipped down her cheek.
Mr Johan smiled like he was enjoying every second. "It's fine. I forgive her," he said, chuckling. "Ugly women always have the sharpest tongues."
Zayn walked away like nothing had happened.
Raina stood up slowly. Her legs were weak. She turned to leave the room.
Zayn looked back at her. "Where do you think you're going? Sit down and finish your meal."
She said nothing.
She walked back to her chair and sat down. Kiara was still playing the video on her phone. Over and over. Laughing. Zooming in.
Raina didn't eat.
She cried silently through the rest of dinner. Nobody cared.
Later that night, the guests were gone. The house was quiet.
Raina stood in the living room, waiting. Zayn was outside, saying goodbye to his mother.
She wanted to make things right. She didn't want to go to bed like this. She was tired of fighting, tired of being ignored, tired of everything.
He walked in and saw her standing there.
"Zayn," she said softly.
He looked at her, his face blank.
"I'm sorry for earlier… I didn't mean to embarrass you."
He walked over to her slowly. His face didn't show much, but something about his walk made her heart race.
"You embarrassed me in front of everyone," he said, voice cold.
Then suddenly, he pulled her close by her waist, harshly. His grip was rough.
"I know," she whispered. "I'm sorry."
He kissed her neck. Hard. Fast. Like he was trying to own her.
She knew where this was going. He always did this after a fight. He would shut her up with sex, pretend everything was fine, and forget it all by the next morning.
She didn't want that tonight.
She pushed him back gently. "Zayn…"
He kissed her harder, lips on her mouth now. Dominant. Like he was trying to erase the whole day.
She kissed him back for a second — part of her still craved any kind of love from him — but then she stopped.
She stepped back.
"I need to tell you something."
He rolled his eyes. "For fuck's sake, Raina. Why can't you ever just shut your mouth? I don't even want to do this anymore."
He shoved past her.
Before he could walk away, she blurted it out.
"I'm pregnant."
He froze.
Completely still.
But before he could respond—
Another voice spoke.
"You're what?"
It wasn't Zayn.
It was Celene.
She was standing in the doorway, one hand still holding her clutch bag, eyes wide.
Raina's heart dropped.
"Celene… I thought you left."
"I forgot my scarf," she said, stepping into the room. "But that's not important. What did I just hear you say?"
Raina hesitated. She didn't want to repeat it, but there was no going back now.
"I said I'm pregnant."
Celene's eyes narrowed. She walked closer.
"You're pregnant?" Her voice was sharp, mocking. "And how exactly do you know that? Did you Google it?"
"I found out last month," Raina said quickly. "I was waiting for the right time to tell—"
"The perfect time?!" Celene laughed. "The perfect time is never. We don't want you poisoning our bloodline with that thing in your stomach."
Raina's jaw dropped. "What?"
She turned to Zayn, hoping he'd defend her. But the way he looked at her—
That wasn't a husband's look. That was disgust.
"Zayn?" she whispered.
He stepped back like she had some kind of disease.
"Get rid of it."