CLAUDE
Five years later…
I stared intently at the pregnancy test strip in my left hand. I released a deep sigh.
Years had passed, but the pain and anguish of the day when Constance confronted me about it still lingered in my heart. It had been over a week since Sia left when I was tearfully greeted by the maid when I returned home to the mansion.
“Why did you let her leave? Didn’t you have any pity for her? Didn’t it ever cross your mind that she might be in danger outside, leaving at this hour of the night? Why are you like this? You’re a good person, but I don’t understand why do you seem so heartless when it comes to Sia?” Constance’s words echoed in my mind.
“Wait, Constance, hold on. I don’t understand. What are you talking about? Let’s talk calmly,” I said, taking the maid’s hand and guiding her to the sofa. I was confused about what she was saying.
Constance retrieved something from the pocket of her maid’s uniform.
“Here, I found this in the shorts Sia was wearing before she left.”
I blinked several times. I stared at the small rectangular white object that the maid handed me.
“What is this?” I asked as I accepted what Constance was giving me.
“It’s a pregnancy test. The two lines indicate positive pregnancy.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Who’s pregnant?”
“Aren’t you listening? I found it in Sia’s shorts. What’s wrong with you?” The maid’s voice rose as she shot me a disapproving look.
I took a deep breath. I looked around. Thankfully, there wasn’t a single maid eavesdropping on our conversation. I was worried that someone might overhear us.
“Constance, are you sure you found this in Sia’s belongings? What if you’re mistaken?” I still couldn’t believe that Sia was pregnant. She hadn’t said anything to me about it. I had the right to know because I am the father. I could have used it as a reason for my wife not to divorce me. But why didn’t she tell me about it?
“I’m sure. If you don’t believe me, ask each of the maids here. We will all had taken a pregnancy test at least once in our lives,” Constance challenged.
I rubbed my face. It isn’t that I trusted Constance’s words. But I knew she was close to Sia, so I had some doubts in my heart.
“Have you told Mom about this?”
“Not yet. Do you want me to tell them?”
I squinted. I shook my head vigorously. “Don’t tell Mom. I want to prove if what you’re saying is true.”
“Okay, I’ll keep quiet. But once you prove that I’m not lying, you have to tell your parents yourself. If Sia isn’t important to you, at least think about the child she’s carrying. If something bad happens to her, your child will suffer too.”
After saying that, Constance stood up and left abruptly. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t even scold the maid. In a way, Constance wasn’t just another person to me. She was the eldest child of my deceased nanny. She wasn’t much older than me, with only a ten-year age gap. She was more like an older sibling to me, in a way.
That night, I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned in bed. In frustration, I got up from the bed and went out to the balcony of my room.
The entire sky was dark. Not a single star was visible. It seemed to foreshadow the rain, much like what I was feeling at that moment. My mind was in turmoil.
What if Sia was really pregnant? Why didn’t she tell me about it? What did she plan to do with the pregnancy? Did she intend to keep the child, or was she planning to get rid of it so she didn’t tell me about it?
Shit! No way! I would not allow Sia to do that. She was carrying my flesh and blood. If my wife was angry with me, she shouldn’t had involved the innocent child. Our child had nothing to do with our issues. I thought of one thing. I needed to find Sia as soon as possible.
The next day, during breakfast, I talked to my parents.
“Mom, Dad, can you help me find Sia? I need to talk to her.”
My parents exchanged glances.
“Why? You’re already separated, yet you want us to find her. If you’re worried about the legal separation you filed, Attorney Hernandez will handle it. You don’t need to worry about it. Even if Sia doesn’t show up, Attorney Hernandez will ensure that your legal separation is approved,” my mother said.
I scratched my head. “That’s not my problem, Mom.”
“If that’s the case, why do you want us to find Sia? What do you need from her? She’s not here anymore. You can have as many women as you want. Just make sure you don’t bring anyone home. Even your friend, Haven, can’t be brought here. Your mother and I don’t care if you drown yourself in different women’s arms,” my father said.
I felt like I was slapped when I heard my father’s words. I admitted that I was a womanizer. But if my father included even Haven in his anger, it meant they were really angry about my separation from Sia.
“I’m not asking you to find Sia because of our legal separation. I just want to talk to her to confirm if what Constance told me last night is true,” I said.
My mother furrowed her brow. My father blew out a breath.
“What did Constance tell you?” my mother inquired.
I took out the pregnancy test strip from my pant pocket. I laid it on the table.
My parents looked at it simultaneously.
“Where did that come from? Why do you have that?” my mother asked, her eyes widening.
“Constance said she found it in Sia’s shorts.” I didn’t want to say it, but I knew I could talk to my wife more quickly if I told them the truth.
My mother’s eyes widened. “Sia’s pregnant! We’re going to have a grandchild, Donnie!” my mother exclaimed, slapping my father’s arm.
My father grinned broadly. “That’s good! We need to bring Sia back home immediately.”
“Dad, please don’t do that!” I protested quickly.
“And why not? That child is our grandchild, and it’s our responsibility to provide a good life for him. If you’re not concerned about that child, then you should reconsider your position!”
It felt like I had a muzzle on my mouth, preventing me from reasoning or objecting to my father’s words.
That same day, my parents and I went straight to Sia’s house. However, my wife wasn’t there. The caretaker couple said that Sia and her nanny had left together. They also tried to go to the address provided by the couple, but they didn’t find Sia and her nanny there either. Three days had passed since Sia and her nanny left, and no one knew where they had gone.
In the midst of all this, I became the target of my parents’ blame.
“If you weren’t in such a hurry to separate from your wife, this wouldn’t have happened!” my father’s voice thundered.
My father rarely got angry, but when he did, not even my mother could stop him.
“Now what? How do we find the mother of your child? If you really didn’t want her, why did you get her pregnant, huh?” I had no answer to my father’s question, so I just bowed my head. I didn’t want to meet my father’s gaze. It felt like my father’s eyes were aflame. If fire really came out of them, I might have turned into ashes.
“Your father is right, Claude. You shouldn’t have gotten Sia pregnant if you were going to leave her anyway. Because of what you did, an innocent life got involved,” my mother said with a sigh.
“Claude, give me a good reason why you let Sia get pregnant. If you couldn’t control your libido, you should have used protection. After all, you only considered Sia as an ordinary woman. You should have let it out. Why did you do it inside if you had no intention of taking responsibility? You’re so smart, but when it comes to sex, you are clueless, aren’t you?” My father’s words almost deafened me. Why didn’t I think about those things when I was with Sia?
“I never intended to turn my back on my responsibility to Sia if she’s really pregnant. But she didn’t tell me that she was already pregnant.”
“If she did tell you she was pregnant, would you still leave her?” my father challenged.
I didn’t answer. I knew deep down that my decision won’t change even if Sia were pregnant.
“You can’t answer now. You really had no intention of taking Sia seriously even if you had a child together. I regret now why I agreed to let Sia fulfill our agreement with her father. I should have refused, even if she insisted. We wouldn’t have this problem now. They’re right. Marriage doesn’t guarantee that a person will change. We were wrong to think that you would change once you got married. Not only Sia got caught up in our problems, but also an innocent life.”
I fell silent upon hearing my father’s last words.
“HEY! YOU’RE WORRIED again.”
I flinched when I heard the familiar voice.
“What are you doing here?” I asked Monte, who was sitting in front of my table.
“I just passed by, Chaos. I just wanted to remind you about Zeke’s invitation.”
“What invitation are you talking about?” With all the work I had in the office, I had forgotten many things. Besides, I had also started avoiding joining my friends’ outings. Whenever I saw my friends with their spouses, I felt jealous. My chest also felt heavy when I saw their children. I remembered my child with Sia. I had no idea what had happened to him. Is he alive, or did Sia have him aborted while he was still in her womb?
My heart was pounding. I could hardly breathe whenever I thought about the child that I hadn’t even seen even in a picture. We hadn’t found Sia since we followed her back home.