Chpt 9: The Maiden Leaves The Beast

"How dare that short bastard do this to you?! I'm gonna pulverise him, wishing he was never born." Hanji seethed. Petra could only stare into the empty space above the television; today's scene replaying in her mind, not stopping no matter how much she begged her mind to. Today was supposedly one of the best days in her life and it crumbled before she could break out the good news.

"Petra." Her best friend said softly, laying her hand softly on her own with a concerned look on her usually smiling face. Petra turned slowly to face Hanji, with eyes of the dead. The brunette has seen various expressions of Petra since she joined their company; smiling, angry, downright pissed, confusion, stumped, but never the look of a zombie. The only signs of life Petra exhibited was that she is breathing and the glassy layer of her eyes.

"Oh.." Unable to bear the look of her best friend, Hanji guided Petra's head to her shoulders, letting her know that she is not alone in this.

Petra still could not believe what she saw. The sight of Levi having intercourse with that bitch; it's just too much to bear. Her body started to shake involuntarily, emotions overwhelming her small build. She felt like she was being closed in by the world, leaving no space for her to breathe properly and started to hyperventilate. Her chest started to burn for air but it couldn't match the pain her heart was experiencing; nothing ever could. She could still his whispers of endearments in her ears when they laid in bed; his soft caresses in the morning; hidden kisses in his office; everything other people would dream to see.

Hanji started to feel wetness on her shoulder but she let it be; she'd rather the poor girl cry her heart out now rather than bottle it up until she could take no more and explode. But she had never imagined Levi to be this kind of person. Knowing the guy since university, she always thought of him as a clean freak, smart ass, foul-mouthed shorty and a guy who likes justice.

While Hanji was comforting Petra, Erwin could only sit awkwardly across them and fidget like an outsider in his own house. He had never comforted anyone in his life, not even his own wife because she handles it without tears and he definitely does not want to be on the receiving end of her wrath if he says the wrong words, especially in this delicate situation. Assuming this... scene, Erwin was puzzled. Levi has not called once to find out about his lover and that's just bizarre because he had seen the way Levi acted when Petra is not by his side for more than thirty minutes. The unexpectedly worrisome dwarf would imagine the worst possible scenarios and start to panic internally because hell would freeze over before he showed anything more than an angry face to people other than Petra.

It's been five hours since Petra knocked on their door when his phone rang. Seeing his screen light up with a poop picture staring at him, Erwin looked over to Hanji and spoke telepathically, what the fuck do I do now?! Hanji frowned and shook her head; she does not want Petra to face that asshole when she has yet to come to terms with whatever she had seen.

Knowing his wife is better at these sort of stuff, he took his handphone with him to his room and picked up after closing the door.

Before he could say a greeting, Levi demanded through the phone like a lunatic off the hook, "Have you seen Petra? Is she at your house? Has she called you or that ball of madness?"

"Calm down. Your answer is 'No' for all of the above."

Erwin heard a soft fuck and dared to ask, "Did something happen?"

"I haven't heard from her since this afternoon and she isn't picking up my calls either. But I've know she's been home; the door was open like an invitation for a burglar and grocery bags were on the ground." Erwin could detect hints of frustration in his voice and felt slightly guilty for deceiving his friend but he doesn't want both women to go berserk in his new house, not when he has spent a great deal of money to renovate it. "I'm sure you will hear from her soon. Relax and go to sleep."

"How the fuck can I sleep when it's already two in the morning and not having heard a word from her? And she may have seen me..." Levi's voice trailed off.

"Seen what?"

"Nothing. None of your business. Just call me if she contacted you." The call ended.

Erwin was about to step into the living room when he heard Petra talking.

".. I go from here?"

"But you can't keep it hidden forever. I mean, it's gonna show a few months later." His wife said gently.

A few moments of silence passed before Petra seemed to have made up her mind.

"I'll leave. Not now, but eventually."

"What?! But..."

"I can't forgive him now; not when I have to face him every single day, knowing he slept with another woman. I just can't." Petra began to choke on her tears and started coughing.

Erwin made his appearance and took his previous seating on the sofa and asked as softly as he could, "Will you be leaving the company as well?"

"I'm sorry, Erwin. But I find myself considering abortion when I think of Levi, and I don't want it to happen because it's innocent. I don't want to deny it when it has done nothing wrong." Petra's verbal anguish echoing off the walls.

"But what if I disagree? It wouldn't be fair to Levi if you keep it hidden, especially when he's the father."

Hanji and Petra whipped their faces up to stare at him and he regretted his choice of words immediately; Petra's face was just unbearable and he could see the gears in Hanji's head clicking and whirring, planning his castration, right down to the methods and degree of pain she shall inflict upon him.

"Erwin, room, now!" Hanji got up after patting Petra on the shoulder.

Shit, here it comes. There are multiple reasons why Hanji is one of their top lawyers. Her cause of argument, straightforwardness, choice of pertinent words are some and then there is her secret weapon; the ability to invoke guilt. Erwin felt like a criminal at an interrogation except he has absolutely nothing to say in his defence; even if he has, he can't say them because Hanji will slice his abdomen open, tug his guts out and chew it while staring him in the eye, behind those glasses of hers.

"Are you trying to grind whatever pieces she has left into powder?" Hanji whispered harshly, poking her finger repeatedly into his chest.

"Of course not. But it really isn't fair to Levi, even if he did sleep with someone else."

"Oh yeah, I seem to have forgotten a simple rule. Guys always stick together when one is in trouble, right? Well, you can stick your head into his butt and smell his ass for all I care." Hanji opened the door and before she stepped out, she said, "And you can sleep on the couch until Petra is ready to leave." and stormed out.

The couch treatment before she's even pregnant, what have I done to deserve this...

So for the next few nights while Erwin grudgingly bonded with the sofa, Hanji patiently listened to Petra quiet sobs in her bedroom and silently thought of what actions she would have taken if she was in Petra's shoes. Definitely not as quiet as her, that's for sure. Hanji could only hold Petra tightly and give her as much support as possible, even if it means working from home because Petra isn't stepping out to face the world anytime soon. Sighs...

It's been a week since Levi had last seen Petra. He almost called the police twice but decided against it after he straightened out his thoughts. Most probably she saw me and ... FUCK! It would be so easy to lose control of his feelings but he isn't at home now. Terminating the case of Rico's was the first thing he had done once he realised what transpired; he doesn't want to have anything to do with that scheming wench. Just remembering how easily he fell for her trap made him sick enough to hurl his guts out. And also Petra was sick when he last saw her. He still doesn't know what her sickness is since the doctor couldn't tell him due to confidentiality.

And he just knows it. Shitty glasses is hardly in the office nowadays and everyone knows she loves her job enough to marry it; the only reason she didn't is because Erwin got her first. But that spectacled mule just refuses to reveal anything. Why is everyone in this line so hard-headed and stubborn? Damn it.

Levi was just about to run his fingers through his hair when Roy opened the door. "If you are here for non-business talk, get the fuck out. I'm not in the mood for meaningless chatter." Levi all but growled.

Roy put his hands up in a surrender gesture and retorted, "As if you were ever the chattering type." Roy could hear Levi grinding his molars real loudly and decided to get to the point before he gets the chance to hurl the letter-opener that is oh-so-conveniently in reach.

"Anyway, I'm just here to ask about Petra. She hasn't been to the office this past week and there is one less beauty for me to admire. Also, Riza and I saw her with a luggage bag at the train station today when we passed by."

Levi stood up so quickly, his chair toppled back. "You saw what?!"

To say Roy was shocked is an understatement; he had never seen an outburst from Levi, much less those wide eyes. The next thing he knew, Levi had rushed out of the office.

Levi probably would get jail time for breaking all the traffic laws in one day if he got caught but who cares about that when there was news of Petra. Unlocking his apartment and rushing in without closing the door, everything looked the same until he got to his bedroom. Her clothes, shoes, everything of hers was gone. Her part of closet has been emptied and cleared out. The only trace of Petra had lived here was the small photo frame of them on his bedside table; the one she persuaded him to take while at the fair a few months back.

All of a sudden, Levi felt his normal apartment was too big for him; too big to live alone. Petra made this place feel like a home where he can return to, but without her, it is just a house; a house he could no longer call home.

A/N 1: I admit, I like to make Levi suffer.