*Nora*
I couldn’t tell how happy I was to see Andrea in such a mood. After the little visit to her house, I walked into the sitting room. My mood was elevated. In two days, Alejandro would be mine, and Andrea would be gone for good.
“Are you going out?” I asked, seeing Alejandro leaving. He hmm’d in response. I was used to his half-hearted response, so I didn’t mind.
“Where are you coming from?” He asked. I stopped on my track. Was this him caring about me? Since I came to this house, he has never cared about me or asked me any questions.
I felt like he didn’t care about me. That was the sad truth, though. But hearing him ask about where I had been could only make me wonder if he missed me.
“I went to the hospital. I had an appointment with my doctor.”
“I thought you wouldn’t answer and would rather stand there like a brick.” He said.
He wore the jacket he was holding. “Lucas was here asking after you. He was worried because you weren’t taking your calls,” he said.
Oh, so that was why he asked. I tried to fake a smile. “You should call him. He was in a sore mood.” He said and walked out.
His phone beeped as he left. Though he had his back towards me, I could swear that he smiled when he saw the message.
I could only wonder if Andrea had texted him and if she was going to tell him now.
I went to my room, took a quick shower, and laid on my bed in my pink lingerie.
“You owe me one.” A message popped on my screen.
“Of course I do. I’ll settle it once Alejandro is mine.” My hands danced on the keyboard as I typed. How would I have known so much if not for such a true friend? I wondered.
“You know what I want. Keep your promise.” She said.
This greedy bitch. She wanted a CEO position in one of Alejandro’s companies as if I’d let her have that much.
I typed back, “Have I ever failed a promise?”
I kept my phone close to my bed. I could already imagine Alejandro on the bed next to me when we get married again.
I missed him. I especially missed him making love to me. Though I hated to admit, no other man I’d been with could satisfy me as much as Alejandro.
I was about to drift into sleep when my phone rang.
It was Lucas.
A frown settled on my brow. I had almost forgotten about him. I answered the call regardless.
“Hey, Lucas.” I greeted. “How did the date go? Did you get your girl?’ I asked.
“No. That bitch. You would not believe what she did.” He went ahead and recounted the details of his date to me, and I listened like I had no idea.
“She doesn’t deserve you.” I said, “Let her be. I am sure you’d be able to find someone better; after all, you are my son.”
Lucas had my looks, so he could automatically pull in any girl he wanted.
“But she hurt my pride.” I closed my eyes and opened them. Do I really need to listen to him whine about his pride and stuff?
The following day, I had breakf, nor had he left for the office. I heard the maids whispering that he seemed to be in a sour mood, and I could only wonder if Andrea had already told him.
I went to my room after breakfast. “Just a day more, and he will be mine.” And I’ll be the madam of this mansion.
Oh, how I’ve missed the respect, and all being married to Alejandro brought.
My phone beeped, and my attention turned to it.
“Let’s meet. I’ve missed you.” The message read.
I smiled, I haven’t missed him, but I have missed him holding me.
“Let’s have lunch together then.” I sent a text back to him. I got ready quickly and left the room.
I noticed a taxi going towards the mansion while in my car. I didn’t miss the face of the passenger.
‘Andrea.’ Alejandro was still home, right?
I laid my head on the headrest, a thought quickly hitting me.
She must be going to tell Alejandro the truth if she hadn’t last night. But why not make the drama more interesting? I called Lucas immediately.
It connected on the third ring. “Hello, mom.” His cheerful voice greeted me.
He was always happy to speak to me. This puzzled me at first cause I didn’t expect him to after what I did to him, but then, what can I do? I can’t change that.
“Are you home?” I asked.
“No. I’m thirty minutes away from home.” I didn’t ask for details, but then it was nice.
“Oh… good.” I said and continued, “I left something in the house for you. A surprise.” I said.
“Oh, really, nice. I’ll head home right now,” he replied, and I smiled. Even if Alejandro wanted to forgive Andrea, seeing his son would discourage him from doing so.
And if Andrea didn’t plan on telling him, then Lucas would tell his father when he saw them both together.
This was killing two birds with one stone.
When I got to the restaurant, he was already waiting for me.
“You came.”
“You called.”
“I thought you wouldn’t. well, have a seat.” He stood and pulled a chair out for me.
He beaconed on the waiter and ordered food for two.
While eating, he said, “You seem to be in a good mood today.”
“Yes. The drama is about to unfold.” I sipped from a glass of wine.
“What did you do this time?” He asked.
“Nothing much. You’ll hear about it soon.” I said with a small, menacing smile.
………
*Andrea’s POV*
As I sat in front of the doctor, I couldn’t help but revert my mind to the conversation I had with Nora last night. I inhaled sharply. What should I do?
“Give me a moment, miss.” The doctor said and flipped through a file. My phone beeped at that moment.
“Make sure to tell him today. I may not be with you, but I will always support you. Alejandro won’t stay angry at you forever,” the message read.
What do I do without Alison in my life? “I will, I am at the hospital now. I’ll tell him once I get to the hospital.”
“Miss, I think we’ll need to conduct a test on you.” I squinted my eyes, “a test?” He nods. I told him my symptoms.
“Alright.’ I said. I could wait for the results before going over to see Alejandro. I knew I was just trying to find a way to delay seeing him.
“We’ll have to conduct a pregnancy test on you.” My eyes widened, “pregnancy test? Why, what… eh?” I couldn’t form a coherent word.
“But… but…” my words were stuck in my throat.
“Have you ever been intimate?” He asked me, and I nodded.
I have been intimate with Alejandro many times, and we never used protection, and I never took any after-pills to prevent pregnancy.
Why did I never think of this?
I paced back and forth in the hallway as I awaited the results. I had texted Alejandro to tell him I may be late today, and he asked me to take all my time since he was still at home.
I exchanged greetings with a nurse who passed me. She stopped when she was just about to take a bend.
“You can sit down and wait.” She said.
“Uhhh?” I raised my head to meet her gaze. It took me a while to process what I heard, “Oh.” I had unconsciously been blocking the hallway.
After about two hours, I was called into the doctor’s office. “What is the result?” I asked, my heart beating loudly inside my chest as I tried to prepare myself for whatever the result might be.
It’s not that I hated having a baby or anything.
It’s just that I didn’t think I was ready. I am young and know so little about life, so how do I raise a baby?
He handed the results over to me.
I am pregnant. A rush of joy shot through me, my hands holding the results shook. I am pregnant, what do I do?
I was happy, but it was mixed with a bit of worry.
“Congratulations miss. You are four weeks pregnant.” He said. How did I not notice or think about it?
I missed my period a week ago and thought it was late. I never imagined that I might be pregnant. I could feel my tears in the brim of my eyes.
“Is there a problem?” The doctor asked. My tears fell that instant. “No, I am just too excited.”
“I’ve seen a lot of mothers like you; no doubt that this is your first.” He paused but didn’t wait for my affirmation before he continued.
“But trust me, it is about to change your life for good.” He said I nodded.
I know. You can say that it wasn’t expected, especially now that I have to tell Alejandro my secret. What if he doesn’t want me or the baby?
“Thank you,” I said before walking out of the room.
I dialed Alison’s number immediately after I got out.
“I’m pregnant,” I said immediately after the call was connected. There was silence at first, and I wondered if she had ended the call.
Then came a loud scream that I had to take my phone away from my ear for a second.
“I’m going to be an Aunt. Congratulations, Andrea. This calls for a celebration,” she said.
“Aren’t you worried? What if Alejandro…”
“This should give you more leverage on him. Now, even if he is mad at you or anything, we both know he would not abandon his child. He would never do such a thing.” She said.
I know.
But this didn’t stop me from being scared. “Andrea, are you there?” I nodded, but upon realizing she couldn’t hear me, I said, “I am here. I am just so overwhelmed.”
“You don’t have to be. Do you want me to come and accompany you? I can leave what I am doing and be there at least…. The next thirty minutes.” She said.
“You don’t have to. I’ll handle this myself.” She has already done so much for me.
I don’t want to burden her with more.
I hailed a cab. I’ll go meet him at home. I contemplated what to do first. Should I tell him about the pregnancy first or should I tell him my secret?
I told the driver the destination.
The driver was full of life, and all throughout the ride, he engaged me in one conversation or another, enabling me to temporarily forget my worries.
“You seem troubled.” He said after a moment of silence.
“The world isn’t trouble-free, you know,” I said softly. He then pulled over in front of Alejandro’s house.
“It is not. But whatever trouble you are facing, be strong and face it head-on. Even if the result isn’t what you want, you’d know you tried to do something at least.” He said.
I thanked him as I got down.
As he drove off, I couldn’t help but think about how right he was.
I would face this head-on. No matter what happens, I know I tried to fight.
I was ushered into the house by a maid. She gave me a small smile.
“Alejandro is here?” I asked.
“Alejandro isn’t here.” She said.
Oh, fuck that.
I took a deep breath, “But I think he’ll be back soon. He made mention of quickly picking something.” She said.
Then I’ll just wait for him.
“I’ll wait for him, thank you,” I told her.
After thirty minutes, I heard the doorbell.
The maid was in the kitchen, “I’ll help you get it.” I said and walked to the door.
I opened it, “Hel…” My words were stuck in my tongue as my eyes landed on the face in front of me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I should be asking you that. This is my father’s house, so what are you doing here?”