This new guy was starting to make me uncomfortable. He kept on staring at me, making it difficult for me to work.
"So you're the woman who my brother accidentally knocked up?" He asked, his eyes not leaving my face.
My face heated up at hearing how Malcolm accidentally got me pregnant. I had a feeling that this guy did not like me, at all.
"I - I - I didn't -" I stammered, unable to form a proper sentence. Malcolm hating me was more than enough, I did not want any more people to hate me.
"It's okay, I'm not going to bite you, I just wanted to say congratulations," he said, with a small smile on his face.
I knew he was just being nice to me. I knew he didn't think I was suitable for being the mother of his niece or nephew.
While muttering a soft 'thank you' I went back to grating the block of cheese. But it looked as if this guy had no intention of leaving me alone.
"So what's your story?" He asked after a beat.
"My story?" What did he mean by that.
"Yeah, you know, where did you come from? What kind of a family do you have? You know, the usual general stuff," he replied.
"Would you mind telling me your name?" I asked him. The truth was, I didn't want to talk about myself, my family.
"Oh, I'm Michael. Now, your story," he prodded.
"Um, don't you already know everything about me?" I was sure Malcolm had already told his brothers everything.
"Yeah, but there are some things that don't make sense," he stated.
"Like what?" Oh boy, what had Malcolm told them?
"Like how you're living all alone and poor when you have parents?" He enquired, his eyes searching my face.
My heart started pounding and suddenly it became difficult to breathe. Oh no, I couldn't tell them anything about that. Malcolm might kick me out of the house, or worse, steal my baby from me.
"Um..." Tears pricked my eyes as I found it difficult to answer his question.
"It's okay, Ariana, you can tell me," Michael said gently.
"I - I don't live with them," I answered vaguely.
"Why? And also, you had an older brother who is now deceased, care to tell me what happened?" He queried.
A traitorous tear escaped my eye. Sobs shook my body as I remembered my brother and how his death had changed my life forever.
"Hey, it's okay," Michael cooed softly, covering my hand with his.
"I don't want to talk about it," I said.
"Okay, let's make a deal. If you can answer both of my questions I'll tell you stuff about Malcolm and why he's such an obnoxious person," Michael offered.
"Promise?" I wanted to know that he wouldn't back out from our deal.
"I promise, now tell me," he replied.
Taking a deep breath, I started telling him my story.
"Um, Trevor was my older brother, and my parents loved him dearly. He was the sole reason for their happiness. But not me. My parents wanted a brother for Trevor, someone who will help Trevor with the small family business that we had, but instead they got a girl." Now that I had started I found it difficult to stop, thankfully Michael sat quietly, listening to my every word.
"Since the day I was born, I was in Trevor's shadow. My parents made it clear from day one that they never wanted me, and that I was a mistake. My mother would tell me everyday that Trevor was her only child and I was nothing. If it were up to them, they would've gotten rid of me the moment I was born.
"Trevor on the other hand, tried to be a decent brother to me. He didn't exactly like me, but he didn't completely hate me either.
"One day, I was walking home from school around 5:00 pm in the evening, when I was cornered by a couple of bullies that were seniors.
"I was trying to escape from them, but they weren't letting me go. I was young, I thought they were going to kill me. But Trevor came in time and saved me from the bullies. The bullies started beating him up. Even though Trevor was strong, he was no match for those bullies. The bullies ended up killing him.
"When my parents found out, they threw me out of the house. They disowned me at the age of fifteen. And since then I had been on my own. It was difficult, leaving on my own. For a few months I lived on the streets. The police tried to put me in foster care but just like my parents, no one wanted me. I spent the last year in the orphanage, helping out with the children until I was told to move out. The owner of the orphanage helped me set up my small business as a painter. And since then I've been on my own."
I took a deep breath. "There, now you know my story. I know that I'm not the right person to be the mother of Malcolm's baby, but don't worry, Malcolm is free to marry whoever he wants, I wouldn't tie him down with me, when he so obviously hates me -"
"Malcolm doesn't hate you," Michael said.
"He doesn't love me. But that's all right, how can I expect anyone to love me when my parents never did. I'll leave after the baby's born. I will of course ask Malcolm for joint custody, hopefully he won't threaten to send me to jail." I gave a small smile.
"Malcolm doesn't hate you," Michael said firmly.
"And how do you know?" I questioned.
"Well it looks like it's time to fulfill my end of the promise. I'll tell you about Malcolm," Michael stated.
My heart started pounding in anticipation. Oh boy, here we go.