It felt like years.
Those were years of torture of not being with her.
It was ti that he had longed to see her, not on paper or a small screen but in person.
His hands yearned to touch her. His arms dread of having her under his protection. His fingers inched to run through the strands of her hair to show her how much he cared.
"Haley!" A na that he had uttered a thousand tis but only to fade into the thin air.
Now, she stood before her, staring directly at him, within his reach. He knew, this ti, she heard him call her na as she looked in his direction.
Of course, he wanted to run to her, hug her, and never let her go. But sothing stopped him. Was it sothing he saw in her eyes? Maybe.
"Haley, are you ok? Is the baby alright?" His foot stopped just a few feet away from her, unable to move forward.
He guessed it was more of the guilt eating at him for so long. He had lied to this woman that he loved. He had hidden secrets from the mother of his child. He had put her and their child in danger because of his sins.
Or, it could be fear because this would be the first ti that he would be facing her, not at as Gerald Brown that she ca to know.
He faced her as the man mothers warned their daughters about. He was soone who did not star in dreams but belonged in nightmares.
"Gerald?" He finally heard her trembling voice, full of fear, doubt, and overwhelming despair, as her eyes filled with tears.
Suddenly, he felt a knife piercing his heart, twisting his guts and killing his soul repeatedly. He guessed he deserved that after what he had put her through.
What else would he expect once she saw him? Did he think that she would accept him with open arms? That his past actions never had any consequences.
That was a dream, while this was reality.
"I am so sorry for..." He knew not enough apology and groveling could make up for what he had done and what she had to endure.
But he failed to finish his sentence when he felt arms tightening around his shoulders and neck. It happened so fast that he did not have ti to react and process it.
But once he did, he finally realized what was happening. He eventually heard what Haley said between her stifled sobs and soft laughter. "Gerald, you are alive."
Frankly, at first, he thought that he might be hearing things. But then again, the arms around his neck tightened, and the body pressed hard to his body only affird what he thought would be impossible.
"You are here." It was a voice full of life, excitent, and happiness compared to earlier.
The woman he loved was more than glad to see him. And more importantly, she did not seem furious at him. Or, it could just be their unusual circumstance.
She could be compliant with their condition due to the adrenaline coursing through her veins caused by being in a life-and-death situation.
"Yes, Haley. I am here." He said as his arms hugged her back. But he was mindful not to squeeze her too tight, afraid he might hurt the baby.
Nevertheless, what was important to him was the now. He could worry about the rest later. For now, he had sothing he had to do.
"And I am saving you from your father." That was the plan.
Under a regular family, the father was the sworn protector of their kids. He had the task of ensuring the safety of his children and preventing them from being hard.
Sadly, not in this case.
"So, I hate to interrupt this reunion." He finally heard his friend's voice, reminding them that they were in the middle of escaping. They had no luxury of ti for their hundreds of questions.
He turned to his friend, acknowledging his statent before returning his eyes to the woman in his arms. As much as he wished to stay in this position forever, he knew they had to move.
"But what is the plan, Gerald?" Mike asked as he stood by the door, serving as the lookout.
He knew as well as his friend that sooner or later, soone would discover what they had done. And then, they would be looking for them.
But he had already considered that scenario, even before he had co to this place. But, of course, even the best laid-out plans were bound to fail at so point. Therefore, he always had to improvise.
"Wait!" Haley looked at them, appearing confused. "Do you think we can simply walk out of this place with just the two of you against my father's security?"
Truthfully, that task was difficult, nearly impossible to do, as Haley had said. Even he could not think that was doable.
First, he was no superhero. He did not have super strength or powers to protect them from flying bullets targeted at their backs.
"Of course not. We are not walking out of this place." He said, at least not in the conventional thod.
He could see the two pairs of eyes gazing confusedly at him. He had no doubt they had no clue of his plans. But nobody had, except him. Nevertheless, they would soon find out.
"I think that contradicts the word escape." Haley flicked the hair out of her face as the bun on her head began to fall.
He could not bla her since she was right. Escaping ant running away from this place. But that was not what they would do because that was a sure failure.
"So, what are we going to do?" Mike asked, curious, but he never doubted that he had a plan.
Of course, he ca here ready for anything. However, he had to check everything, ensuring nothing would deviate from the plan.
"We wait, but not here." Gerald nodded to Haley, taking her by the hand. "We have to go."
They had to relocate sowhere safer until he heard the signal. Then, he would proceed to phase two of his plans.
He strode out of the door with Haley and Mike following him. "Which part of this house will your father unlikely to look for us?"
He quickly asked as he navigated them into the hallway, avoiding the two unconscious guards he had taken down earlier to get into the room.
"Where?" He repeated when she did not answer right away. Ti was important. They could not waste a single second of it.
"The art gallery," Haley answered. "He knew I never liked going in there." She pointed to another set of stairs leading to the upper level of the house.
For soone who was escaping, going up was not the right path. But that was the point as Gerald instructed Mike to take her there.
"Give your shoes. Those things can kill you." Of course, he loved a woman that wore very high heels.
He believed those killer hills added to the attractiveness of any woman who wore them. However, for a pregnant woman running for her life, that was an accident waiting to happen.
After Haley took the shoes off her feet, he took them and forced them to go on without him. He knew he still had one more thing to do.
"What about you? Why don't you just co with us?" Haley was anxious as she stopped in her tracks.
"I am going to be ok, but I need you to go with Mike." Then, he signaled for Mike to force her mildly to climb the stairs.
Then, he ran in the opposite direction, descending the stairs to the lower floor. He believed that would lead him to the back of the house, toward the kitchen.
But he only took a peek but never went to the other room where people were buzzing around, still busy with the night's activities.
"This should be good enough." He thought to himself as he scouted the empty hallway.
Then, he lowered one pair of the shoes to the bottom of the stairs, planting to appear as if Haley had taken it off. Then, he left the other pair a bit further in the hallway leading to the exit at the back.
Then, when he saw the coast was still clear, he climbed the stairs, following the two to their hiding place. He had planned to hide it out until his next phase was over.
He just needed to plant those shoes to make the security, and her father believed that she had run in that direction.
"Haley, open the door." He mildly knocked and whispered at the locked door. Once inside, he turned to his companion and said to sit still and wait.
"What are we waiting for?" Mike asked, wanting to be in with the plan.
"Samson." He said his other accomplice's na. "He would give the signal when it was ti."
"What signal?" His friend asked, appearing both excited and weary.
"We will know once we hear it," Samson promised to improvise since they did not have enough weapons to take down Alfred's army.
Then, he guided Haley to a chair to rest her body and bare feet. He could tell that this entire situation had already taken a trendous toll on her body.
But he knew it was just a matter of ti as he finally looked at the grandfather's clock chiming on the wall. The ti was already near.
"I hope you are right about this." Haley said, probably more concerned about their child than her life or his.
He hoped he was.
But it did not take them long.
He could tell from the movent outside the window that they had already discovered they were missing. Now, he could only hope that his trick worked.
Then, finally, he heard the signal.
BOOM!
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