** Anna’s POV **
I walked out of the Doctor’s office with shaking legs; my worst fear had come to pass. I was carrying a child, whose father I couldn’t even tell. Was it Maxwell or could it be Jimmy? I had slept with both of them in the previous month, if the pregnancy was anything less than three weeks old, then I could have been certain that it was Jimmy.
My heart raced as I walked down the hallway, I cannot keep this baby, regardless of which of them is responsible for it. I won't even consider bringing a child to this world for Jimmy, after everything he has done to me, I want no ties and connections to his life in future, our paths must never cross again.
And Mr. Blackwood… I don’t think keeping his baby would be a good idea. Take aside the men involved, I am not ready for a child right now, I can barely take care of myself and my family, let alone an extra mouth to feed.
“Hey, what was it about? You looked worried?” Jenny’s voice called back my attention. It was then that I realized I had made it back to the hospital car park, how did I even get here?
I put up a pretentious smile immediately. “It is nothing, I am fine.” I lied.
Jennifer nodded and got into the waiting car. I decided to go sit in the front so she wouldn’t notice that there was something wrong. My mind was occupied by the thought of being pregnant, my mom would be so disappointed if she should ever find out, she raised me better than this, especially considering the fact that I have no idea who the father is for certain.
The drive home was quiet, just like the peaceful evening on the streets; Jennifer was quite occupied with her phone, probably had a lot of dm’s to reply as she had been on a hospital bed for quite a few hours, while I on the other hand was lost in thoughts. Should I tell Mr. Blackwood? No! I don’t think it is wise to do that, what if the child belongs to Jimmy?
We arrived at home and I felt quite pressed as soon as I alighted from the cab, I got inside, tossed my handbag on the couch and rushed to the bathroom to ease myself; at least now the constant urination makes sense, I was beginning to fear that my excessive intake of sugar had finally caught up with me.
At this point though, I think learning that I had diabetes might be less terrible news than that of my pregnancy. I am just twenty-years old, aside that it still feels like teen pregnancy, this would ruin my future. What are my chances of finding a good job or even a husband as a single mother who isn’t certain who the father of her child is? My life is fucked!
After using the bathroom, I walked back into the bathroom and froze at the sight. Jennifer was giving me that look, like she couldn’t believe what I had done. I slowly looked at her hands and noticed the paper in her hands, it was my text results; did she take it from my bag?
“So… I wanted to grab your phone plug to power my phone and I saw this? It is a pregnancy test result which says you are over a month positive? Is this true?” she asked coldly, like she was scared of my response.
I sighed, the cat was out of the bag already, I would have preferred to keep her in the dark but it was not in my options anymore.
“Yes, Doctor Juliet confirmed it.” I replied softly, still standing at the spot while wiggling my fingers nervously.
“So that is why you have been acting strange since the hospital? Were you really going to keep something this big a secret from me?” she asked, there was hurt and distrust in her eyes. now she knows how I felt to find out that she slept with Jimmy, at least ten percent of how I felt.
“Would you blame me for doing that, Jenny? Lately, you have not proven yourself to be trustworthy. I told you we will get back to that but not so soon, I am sorry if that makes you feel bad.” I sighed.
“No… I am not mad, I am just disappointed. I know I have messed up lately and I totally deserve to be treated this way, but not with a matter like this. Anna, you are freaking pregnant, you need all the support and advice you can get. Forget about that, please tell me Mr. Blackwood is the father,” she pleaded.
I scratched my head and took a step forward, I could already see the disappointment spread across her face. “I am sorry, I can't tell which of them is responsible, I had unprotected sex with both of them within the same week last month. With Maxwell, it was a week before I quit my job and with Jimmy, it was two days before I quit my job.”
“Fuck! Girl, you have messed up! How can you be that careless?”
I huffed. “I already said that to myself, so if you have something new you want to say to me, the floor is yours.” I sighed as I went to sit on the couch, my legs were feeling heavy already.
I watched Jennifer take a deep breath and exhale, then she turned back to me. “The mistake has already been made, but now we have to fix it. Before I give suggestions, what do you want to do about it?” she asked; she sounded like she already had a master plan and was curious to know it.
“Girl, I am thinking of taking it off.” I muttered.
“Abortion? No chance in hell! I know it is your body but I am not letting you get that, if not for anything, for the fact that you would be putting your life at risk.”
I made a face immediately, the irony. “Girl, you have done abortion twice, you are the last person I expect to say that.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “That changes nothing, you aren’t going through with that shit, we need to find a better fix for this.”
“Well, what do you suggest? I don’t have the capacity to raise this child. No father, no job, no husband, I don’t even have a life, why would I suffer only to bring in a child to the world that would also suffer?” I queried, pain in my heart as I spoke.
“But you don’t need to suffer, you just have to tell Maxwell that the child is his. Even if you don’t want to take his job offer, he still owes you responsibility. He will take care of you and your baby, Ann. You two can have a good life.” she advised.
“As much as I hate to agree, it is the truth. But then, what if this child belongs to Jimmy? I don’t have time for billionaire relationship scandals, I don’t want to go through all that stress and embarrassment. Everyone is going to call me a gold digger, it would even be worse knowing that I was his personal assistant. People are going to talk, Jen. It will affect his business as our relationship should have remained platonic, I will be in the front page of every magazine and newspaper the moment this comes out.” I professed my fears.
“Don’t you think you are overthinking right now?” Jennifer asked with a furrowed brow.
I pushed back into the cushion. “I don’t know, but I just can’t tell Jimmy or Maxwell, and you won’t either.” I stated.
“But…” Jennifer tried to make a statement.
I immediately cut her short. “There are no buts, Jen. I don’t want any of those men in my life ever again, so promise me that you are not going to tell him, like never ever.” I demanded.
There was hesitance in Jennifer’s eyes and then she sighed. “Fine, I won't tell him, I promise.”
“Good,” I muttered and then relaxed my head on the sofa. I still needed to make up my mind on if this baby would stay or go.
Was abortion going to be my final resort?
TBC!!