Bride Of Hades

Matthew's 2-month long business trip turned into 4, as things kept getting delayed and situations kept on changing. 

He was excited to get home, and his first stop was to see Jane. She was still at the office where she interned, so he headed there straight away. 

She was crossing the street when he saw her, "Jane!" he called out. 

On the other side of the street, she turned when she heard someone call her name. The smile on her face became frozen as she saw Matthew cross the street.

"Hi, Jane! How are you? I just came back and wanted to see if we could have dinner," Matthew's voice had that feeling of longing in it.

"I'm good. You came back so soon," her voice was masked with disappointment.

Matthew chuckled and answered, "What soon? It's been 4 months, I would say I'm late. I was thinking you're probably mad at me for leaving you that long."

"Oh of course not. You had some important work to do. It's okay," she stated. Matthew smiled at Jane, thinking she was so considerate.

"Why are you in such a hurry? I saw you crossing the road earlier. Where are you going to?" He was concerned that she might have gotten hit while crossing the road earlier. 

Jane kept looking around, as if looking for someone, "Yeah, I will."

"Jane, you look pale, are you okay?" he asked.

"It's probably the sun. It's a little hot today," she said as she touched her forehead, but her eyes were still somewhere else.

"Wait here, I will get you some water," he said as he headed to his vehicle. When he came back, Jane was lying on the floor, unconscious.

"Jane? Jane, are you okay?" Matthew looked for a pulse and carried her to his car when he found it.

Out of nowhere, Finn appeared at his side, "What happened to Jane?" he asked.

"Open the door, quickly. She fainted when I was getting water," Matthew explained.

In the car, Matthew laid Jan in the back seat while Finn took the front. They were on their way to the hospital.

"Why are you here?" Matthew asked.

"I had some business in the area, it's in the same building Jane works in," Finn explained.

At the hospital, the doctor checked Jane and took some of her blood to do some tests. After a while, Jane opened her eyes, disoriented. She sat up in bed, "Hold on, drink this," he lifted a glass to her lips so she could drink water.

"Why am I here?" She asked.

"You fainted earlier, probably of sunstroke. Just lay back, the doctor will come soon," Matthew said.

"Congratulations, your wife is three weeks pregnant," the doctor said as he came in with the results. "She is very weak right now but a little rest and a lot of vegetables and vitamins that I'm going to prescribe, and she's sure to recover in no time." He left the couple when they remained silent after his news.

"Pregnant…," Matthew murmured, shocked because of the news. Jane had been very conservative. They seldom held hands, and she wouldn't even let him kiss her when he left for his trip, and now after 4 months away from her, she's pregnant.

Matthew's eyes narrowed, his jaw tensed, and his lips tightened, as his hands formed into tight fists, he turns to Jane, "The doctor said you're pregnant, tell me that's not true."

"I…," Jane stammered, shock coursing through her body when she learned she was pregnant. She never expected the truth to come out today, just as Matthew came back.

"Tell me Jane, who's the father? I know it can't be me. Who is it?" Matthew screamed.

Jane was frightened, she knew that Matthew does not spare anyone who betrayed him. She raised her arms in self-defense, "NO! Don't hurt me, please."

"Tell me!" Matthew tried to reach forward to shake her when Finn took her in his arms to shield her.

"Matthew, stop it!" Finn pleaded.

"Finn, stay out of this, it's between Jane and me," Matthew snapped.

"I will not let anything happen to my child," Finn blurted out.

Matthew could not believe his ears, "What are you saying?" he asked.

"Jane is pregnant with my child," Finn declared.

Matthew felt like his head was spinning, his girlfriend and his best friend cheated on him. The people he trusted the most betrayed him.

"Matthew, I am sorry, please listen to me…," Finn tried to apologize. 

"Shut up! I don't need your bloody explanation. From now on, never show me your faces again." Matthew stormed out of the room without hearing their pleas.

-=-

Initially, when Jane went to the Santoris mansion to help her mother, she got the impression that Matthew was cold and merciless.

She had seen Matthew disciplining one of his subordinates, and it scared her so much that she tried her best to stay away from him. So she was surprised when he confessed to her. Matthew was handsome, rich, powerful, and the most eligible bachelor in the city. There were a lot of women dying to marry him, so she did not know how to answer him when he told her about his feelings. She said yes because she thought she could change her life. And maybe in the process, change his life as well, make him less stern and more sensitive to her needs. She thought it would take time for him to warm up, but as time went by, it only got worse.

He never gave her any gifts or said any sweet words to make her feel they were in a relationship.

And because he was always busy, so they rarely went on dates, they only met when she came to see him. All their conversations had been one-sided, which he listened half-heartedly to, answering with one-word answers or just nodding his head.

She was jealous of her friends because their boyfriends pampered and spoiled them, which she never experienced with Matthew. And because of this, she thought of breaking up with him several times, but then she thought about her future and decided that she would endure the suffering early in the relationship since her future looked bright with Matthew.

Unfortunately, when Matthew went on a business trip, she broke. Her loneliness and sadness consumed her, then one evening she saw Finn in the elevator. He offered her a lift, and that's where everything started. 

When her friends saw Finn and mistook him as her boyfriend, she never corrected them. It gave her an idea that maybe it would be better if he was her boyfriend instead of Matthew. So she started entertaining his advances. They went out to the movies, dinner some nights, walks in the park, then one night they let their emotions take over, and they slept with each other. One night turned into several, and even though they knew what they were doing was wrong, they continued with their secret relationship.

She had completely forgotten about Matthew, and just as she was crossing the street to meet Finn, Matthew showed up. She felt so guilty, so she panicked and fainted because she knew that Matthew would never forgive her, he might even ruin her life.