Chapter 40
Valerie’s POV
My heart was pounding furiously but I tried not to look nervous. I had a quick bath, helping myself into a denim trouser with a red t-shirt and denim jacket to match. I wore a face cap to keep my hair in check.
By the time I was done getting dressed, Damian was still in bed, busy with his phone.
“Are you not going to get dressed?” I asked, with my hands on my waist.
“Not yet. You seem to be more eager than I am, Princess. Did you sleep well last night?” He asked nonchalantly.
“I slept well. You just informed me about what the Doctor said. I thought we should get ready and hurry to the house, you know that it is more than an hour’s drive from here. At least so that we can get there in time.” I explained.
“Valerie, calm down. You are rushing and you’ll soon run out of breath. I know what I’m doing. Dominic is not going to be at the house now, not until he has done his morning rounds at the hospital. We should be expecting him from 10 am. This is barely seven a. m, won’t you have breakfast?”
“I’m not hungry.” I snapped, leaving the room and shutting the door behind. I needed a breath of fresh air, staying in the same room with Damian seemed to deprive me of that.
I went back to the room and opening the door slightly, poked my head inside to inform Damian that I was going out.
“I’m going outside for a while. I’ll probably be back later in the morning. Just in case you are ready to go and I’m not back, you can leave the key at the window sill.” I said, about to take my leave.
Damian jumped up from the bed, rushing over to where I was,
“Valerie, wait. You can’t leave me alone here.” He said.
Bemused, I let out a ripple of laughter.
“Are you scared of staying alone?” I asked raising an eyebrow.
“No. It’s not about being scared. But I feel bad because I know that you are avoiding me. You hate the fact that we shared the same bed last night, you wouldn’t even let me touch you. I know you must hate me by now, you have not even looked at my face for a minute. You can’t run away from your own house just because of me. I should be leaving now.” He ratted out.
I was speechless for some minutes, wondering on what to say about his confession which I knew that it was nothing but the truth.
“I’m not avoiding you, Damian and you don’t have to leave now. I just need to go out and exercise for a while, probably jogging. I’ll jog to the park just to pass the time while I wait for you to get ready. Excuse me, I need to get my sports wear.” I said, trying to slid past him and go back inside the room, still avoiding his gaze.
“Then I’ll come with you.” He said, grabbing my arm, making me halt.
“You don’t have to. I wish to be alone.” I declared icily, looking directly into his eyeballs. His gaze lingered for some seconds before he let go of my hand. I went to my wardrobe, changed into my sports jumpsuit, took my phone and earphones and left the room. He was still at the passage that led to the room, with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
“I’ll call you when I’m ready to go,” he said and I nodded in agreement.
I shut the door quietly behind, the sun was just coming up on the sky as the weather was still humid. I breathed in the cold early morning air, it was refreshing but it could not prevent me from thinking about the events of yesterday. What if the test turns out to be true and Claire has won? I caught myself again in the middle of these thoughts and shook them off.
I plugged my earphones and set out with my jogging. I jogged across the streets for more than two hours, stopping to casually greet friends in my neighborhood. It felt so good to exercise my body because I felt a new surge of energy flowing in my veins. The time was almost 10 am and I knew that it was time to go back home.
As I was heading back to the house, Damian sent a text message, to inform me that he is waiting for me at the house.
I got home, had a quick shower, changed back into my denim attire and left with Damian. I locked the door carefully and got into the car before he zoomed off.
We didn’t speak to each other until we got to our destination. The house was very quiet and I wondered if anyone was inside. We hurried up the stairs until we came into the room and surprisingly, everyone was already seated.
I greeted Damian’s parents, giving his mother a side hug. She asked if I was feeling alright because she noticed how pale my face was. The Doctor greeted me with a formal handshake and a warm smile. I could feel Claire’s cold gaze cutting through my skin but I didn’t look in her direction.
“We apologize for being late. We were held up by traffic. Dr. Dominic, please proceed with the news.” Damian said.
“Alright then. Once again, good morning everyone. I appreciate your patience in waiting for the test results to be out and I have come to announce that everything is set. I hope the results will settle whatever feud may be going and ease the tension.” Dr. Dominic began.
“Firstly,” he continued, “with the blood samples that I took yesterday, the boys’ blood matched with the mother and this means that she is the true owner of the baby.”
Ugh! I wish he could just go straight to the point and tell us if Damian is the father or not. Of course, Claire is the mother. I never doubted it for one day
“Secondly, there was a mismatch between Damian’s blood and that of the boy. This means that Damian is not responsible for the baby. Is there any confusion?” He asked, looking at everyone with a searching gaze.
I heaved a big sigh of relief as my chest felt light. It looked as if the lump in my throat has disappeared. My heart leaped in excitement which I did not hide. My face beamed with smiles at the good news that Damian was not the Father.
“Oh, thanks goodness! Finally, this whole matter can be settled and shoved off.” Damian exclaimed, clasping his face with his hands.
“Thank you so much, Dr. Dominic for helping us. Let me see you off to the door.” Damian said, leading the doctor to the door.
“Doctor! There must have been a mistake. What do you mean by a blood mismatch? Damian is that father of my boy, why are you saying otherwise? I can see that he has paid you to tell stupid lies. This is nothing but lies.”
The man was taken aback by her sudden outburst and accusations. Yet, he kept mute and a permanent silent remained on his lips.
“I’m sorry if the results did not come out in your favor. I can assure you that this results were not manipulated in any way. It is against the ethics of my profession to do that. I could lose my license. You can also carry out the test at another hospital if you choose not to believe me. Have a nice day, Miss.”
“That will not be necessary. Dr. Dominic, don’t worry about this. I can handle the rest from this point.” Damian said as he dipped his hands into his breast pocket and gave the doctor a cheque. After which the doctor left with every form of dignity.
Damian’s father called on the security guards immediately after the doctor left. Claire was sitting tightly, fidgeting as she must be wondering what her fate would become.
“Young woman, what is the meaning of this embarrassment? You had the temerity to come up to my mansion, accuse my son of illicit acts and fabricate useless lies? You are very shameless!” Mr. Richardson thundered as he advanced towards Claire.
“Did you just call it accusations? Your son admitted right here, in front of all of you that we had an affair. How then are these mere accusations?” She asked.
“What about the boy? You dare bring a bastard boy into my house and accuse my son , expecting him to take responsibility for what is not his.” Mr. Richardson was visibly upset but Claire was unmoved.
“I will not have anyone insult my son. Damian may have escaped this one but that does not give anyone the right to call my son names!” Claire declared.
“Guards! Take this woman out of my house and throw her out on the streets! If she ever sets her foot into this place, you all will loose your jobs.” He commanded.