BETROTHED TO THE BILLIONAIRE

Valerie’s POV

Yawning and stretching, my left hand touches the space beside me and I open my eyes to see that Ryan is gone.

He was here all through the night and he slept soundly.

He must have gone to work.

Suddenly, my stomach rumbles loudly and I groan and get up. My shoulder still hurts a lot and I guess I am this hungry because of the medicines from last night.

I wear the flip-flop beside the bed and move out of the room, still yawning loudly without any care in the world.

Last night, I felt like hell. But today, I feel a lot better even though the pain is very much in existence.

However, I have decided not to think too deeply about what transpired last night. I figured out that thinking about it was what made me have that dream.

A dream is a figment of imagination as a result of human thoughts. This is my dad’s definition of a dream.

There is absolutely no use thinking about it when the deed has been done already. He is just a mere robber who wanted to rob me of my possessions, nothing more.

He is nowhere close to being Fred or Brenda or even that other lady.

I take the staircase down slowly to the dining room to see if there is breakfast. With my stomach still rumbling and groaning, I find Catherina placing the food on the table right on time.

I usually eat downstairs.

I have never eaten breakfast with Ryan at this table. We have had dinner twice, though. Being alone at this table has been a usual thing.

“Good morning.”This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

“Please dish it out, Cat. I’m famished”, I drag out a seat and flop into it.

I wince.

I don’t know why I keep forgetting the fact that I got hurt.

Breakfast is toast bread, omelet, sunny side up, baked beans, and fruit juice.

At the sight of the food again, my stomach growls louder than ever before and Catherine smiles at me.

I almost laugh but I manage to roll my eyes at her.

The moment she keeps the tray in front of me, I dig into it. I ate the two toast bread first and asks her to leave the ones in the other place because I am not ok yet.

She leaves the dining table with a smile while I continue to eat.

Today’s fruit juice is different. I take a sip and another and another.

Why am I not getting filled up?

When I am about to eat up the fourth toast bread, footsteps approach with the clacking sound of heels.

With bread stuck in my mouth, I twirl around to see Mrs. Lorenzo approaching the dining area with a big smile on her face.

I stop eating.

Ryan’s mother? Yesterday, she was so weak and unhappy and today, she is smiling widely like someone who isn’t ill or someone who is about to die.

Is she going to die really soon? Is that why she is smiling as a farewell?

I slap myself mentally for such stupid thoughts. When I blink, again and again, she is there, still smiling and striding close to me.

She is truly here. Maybe she is here to ask about my health since I didn’t allow her to speak to Ryan last night because of the little stunt I pulled.

Should I tell her what I heard from my parents? Will she be of help too?

Apparently, Ryan has nothing to do with this so it is definitely the job of his parents. If his father is in control then his mother can also help convince him to do the right thing.

There is a lot of harm in delaying.

“What a huge appetite, sweetheart”, she pulls my cheeks when she is close by and drags another chair to sit on.

“Mom?” I am still dumbfounded to see her this early.

“Mom?” She calls out in disbelief, then she chuckles and holds my hand. “Did you just call me mom?”

I nod. Then I continue to eat.

“How is your health? Do you feel a lot better now?” She demands and I nod with a smile.

“No more pain? No nauseation?” I nod again and she heaves a deep sigh of relief.

“Have some food”, I push the bigger tray to her but she waves it away. There are still two pieces of bread left. When she doesn’t take it, I take one and finish it up with my omelet before drinking the last content of the fruit juice.

I belch satisfactorily and lean more comfortably on the seat.

When I feel a pain in my shoulder, I try to suck in a groan so she won’t notice a thing. I don’t have to start explaining to her how I pulled a stunt back there last night and argued with her son then went off on my own to my parent’s place which almost got me killed and robbed.

“Do you usually eat this much?” Her eyes hold twinkles of amusement.

I shake my head. Taking hold of the serviette, I wipe my mouth with it. “To be honest, today is extremely different. I really don’t know if it’s because of….”

“Really? Today is different?” Her eyes bulge out, not in fear but something different.

My mouth hangs open from how she cut me short.

I wanted to say it might be a result of the medicines I took last night. Maybe this is why I am eating this much. Besides, I didn’t eat much last night at her place. The call interrupted my dinner and the news made me lose my appetite.

“Yes”, I reply when I see her still waiting for me to answer her question.

“Oh my God!” She exclaims promptly. “I knew it!” She shifts close to me and pulls me into a tight hug.

I try to release myself from the hug as fast as possible so she won’t hurt me but she disengages from the hug really fast, her eyes brimming with delight and happiness.

“I asked Ryan but he wouldn’t say a thing. I’m sure he was too embarrassed to tell me. He wouldn’t even let me come in so I had to drive home and then come back when I am sure he has gone to work.” She mutters in one breath, the smile not leaving her face.

“Were you here earlier?” I demand out of curiosity. I still don’t know what this is all about.

“Yes. He said you were asleep but I wanted to ask you something. I thought he was going to answer me but he didn’t so I had to come to see you now”, she expresses with a chuckle.

“What is it?” I lean back on the chair again, my curiosity at its peak.

She grins widely and blurts out. “Are you pregnant?”

I blink, widen my eyes, and exclaim. “What?!”

“Aren’t you?” Her face falls and the smile vanishes.

Is this why she is here? Did she mistake the stunt I pulled last night for pregnancy as well as my eating habit today?

Did she ask Ryan this same question? What answer did he give her?

Ryan and I haven’t really talked about how to go about the plan of faking a pregnancy and I feel it is too early but I don’t want to disappoint the poor woman.

She was full of life a while ago and now her eyes are filled with sadness.

This is why she made me marry Ryan. So we could love each other and have offspring. Even if she doesn’t get to see them before her death, knowing that I have conceived will make her smile till death.

Should I tell her the truth?

Should I just fake it now? Is it right to do this now? Every piece of evidence from her side is pointing to the assumption that I am pregnant. First, I was having aches in my stomach and second, I just had a large breakfast that I haven’t had in years.

“You don’t know if you are pregnant?” She places a warm hand on my shoulder. “The same thing happened to me when I was pregnant with Ryan. I didn’t know I was going to have him but these symptoms were evident. I ate a lot. I felt nauseated every morning and evening. I slept a lot too but I guess you should visit a doctor first to confirm my suspicions.”

I watch her speak and a smile creeps to my face. I shake my head at her and she perks up in expectation.

“I know”, I answer calmly as I look down, faking shyness.

“Really? You know?”

“Yes, I am pregnant?” I reveal and a moment of heavy silence falls upon us, her eyes wide open and my heart beating twice its normal rate.

When she stands up, she engulfs me in another big fat hug, her hand grazing my injured shoulder.