I was shocked to see Eric standing behind me. The small shovel I was using to dig out the weeds around my flowers slipped from my hand and fell on the soft soil.
“Eric!” I muttered, the sound escaping from my lips like a whisper. I had kept him in the dark about the pregnancy and certainly had not prepared my mind to see him at any point during my pregnancy.
“You fucking slut!” He sneered at me, walking towards me in hard stomps that I was forced to run.
My attempt at escaping from him was futile as he caught up with me in a few steps.
“Eric, stop! You are hurting me.” I yelled at him, hoping that the sound of my voice would attract the attention of my neighbor.
His grip tightened around my neck as he pressed my back tightly to the wall. I could feel the stone digging into my skin.
“You are pregnant! How can you be pregnant?” He yelled.
“Let go of my fucking neck, Eric!” I yelled again and began to wrestle my way out of his grip. I succeeded in loosening his grip on my neck when I sank my teeth into his hands, drawing blood.
“Bitch!” He cussed and slapped me across the face. I fell to the floor and gasped for breath desperately.
“Why are you calling me names? You disgraceful piece of shit! Who do you think you are to saunter into my space and abuse me? I could call the cops on you stupid.” I threatened him and struggled to get up.
“You slept with your best friend’s husband and sent her out of her home. How cruel can you be? And to think that you were judging me for the little affairs that I was having.” He looked at me with so much disgust in his eyes that I shrank away from him in shock.
“You think Rolan is responsible for my pregnancy?” I gaped at him, unsure of how he came to that ridiculous and stupid conclusion.
“Who else is responsible? You’ve got a new man already?” He asked me, his eyes glinting with jealousy and a murderous stare.
“You are, you fool. I did not see any other man. What the hell do you even think of me? Pandora’s mate? Do you think I am loose like you are?” I shouted, my eyes fearless and my tone stern.
“Me? How come? I did not know you were. Are you just trying to pin this on me? You better think twice if that is your plan because there is no escaping me this time around.” He threatened and began to walk straight into my house.
“And where do you think you are going?” I questioned, shocked by his audacity.
“Inside your house of course?” He retorted.
“I do not want you in my house. If you want to have a conversation with me, we are going to stay out here and have it.” I said and moved to sit on a lounge chair in my backyard.
He stood there for a few seconds before he stomped angrily at me and plopped down heavily beside me.
“What happened, Kiara? Why did you not tell me about the pregnancy?” He asked me, his tone a lot gentler than before.
“Well, you were being an asshole, Eric. I did not want the person you had suddenly turned into to be in my life or that of my child. I did not need you then, nor do I need you now.” I stated clearly so he understood that I was totally capable of taking care of the child on my own.
“I have a right to know, Kiara. No matter what had happened. You should have told me. I would not be that selfish about my innocent child.” He said, his eyes filled with sadness.
“Look here, Eric, you were okay with me being out of your life, so I took my child with me. You might be the father of this child, but I am not going to share the experience with you. I am sure you came here to discuss other things, as you did not even know about the pregnancy. So what are you here for?” I asked him, pressing the remote button that Rolan had given me whenever I was in danger.
After my last encounter with Eric at the hospital, I had the machinery department build me a little chip in my wrist that I could tap on whenever I was in danger.
“I saw Pandora and Rolan. Pandora was running away from him. I came here to see you for something else but met you pregnant, of course, I have to be affected by the sudden discovery.” He replied in a very defeated voice.
“You saw Pandora?” I exclaimed, shocked at the news.
“Yes. She was pregnant too. She did not seem to fancy Rolan’s presence when they saw. Did something happen?” He asked.
Rolan must have been lying to me all these months. He hurt Pandora and was trying to keep it from me and everyone else.
“Where did you see her?” I asked curiously.
“At the Red Moon pack. She was having her morning run.” He volunteered more information.
I began to panic at the possibility of Rolan hurting Pandora. A lot of questions ran through my mind, but I knew I needed to confront Rolan immediately.
“Are you very sure that it was Pandora you saw? Because she has been missing for about four months and Rolan has been searching desperately for her.” I queried, wanting to get my facts right before drawing any conclusions.
“Yes. I am. I also suspect that Rolan might be seeing another woman in the same pack as he had spied on her before going to look for Pandora.” Eric explained.
“What were you doing in all of these places anyway?” I asked him, surprised that he had followed Rolan.
“I happened to coincide with him at the boundary fence.” He replied and I knew that there was more.
“We need to talk. I am not exactly sure about what, but we need to. I have some things to do right now, so I do not have the time.” I said and stood up, my mind plagued by the barrage of questions that my brain wouldn’t stop asking.