Part 187

187

"What brand would you like, Miss?" The employee asked while displaying several different brands of pregnancy tests.

Shabila looked puzzled, which only fueled the employee's suspicions. "Is this your first time buying a pregnancy test?" she guessed with a condescending glance.

"Y-yes," Shabila replied hesitantly. Seeing the employee looking down on her, Shabila's heart began to boil. "I am already married, just so you know. Here's my ID," she said abruptly, opening her wallet and showing her ID card, which still stated her marital status as MARRIED. Her divorce from Arya was only religious; it wasn't legally recognized yet.

Seeing the ID placed on the counter, the pharmacy employee became flustered. She was torn between embarrassment and guilt. "I'm s-sorry, Miss, I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine, I understand!" Shabila retorted sharply, then pointed towards the pregnancy tests. "So, which one is the best?" she asked.

She deliberately didn't want to prolong the issue since she wanted to hurry back home and take the test.

"They're all good, Miss. This brand is the most popular," the employee pointed to one brand. "But the one with the highest accuracy is this brand," she indicated another. "And I'd suggest not relying on just one test, sometimes early pregnancies may not be detected."

"Alright, I'll take one of each brand," Shabila said, pointing to all five items and asking the employee to package them.

"Instructions are on the packaging, right?" she inquired, studying the items' wrappings.

The pharmacy employee nodded and walked back to Shabila after a brief visit to the back, carrying a plastic bag and the change.

"Here's your change. Thank you for shopping with us. I wish you the best of news," the employee sincerely said.

Shabila accepted the bag and change from the employee. She bowed slightly and left without saying thank you, even though she had just been wished well by the employee.

Shabila entered the house's front yard and crossed paths with her mother, who was tending to her flowers on the front porch. The middle-aged woman saw her daughter entering with a small bag bearing the name of a pharmacy. Her brow furrowed, and she was about to ask, but Shabila quickly entered the house, ignoring her curious mother.

"Sa... Shabila, are you feeling unwell? Why did Mama see you come in with a pharmacy bag?" She asked in a raised voice because Shabila continued to ignore her and headed inside.

Shabila entered her room and locked the door from the outside. She searched for something to collect her urine in. She found an empty cosmetic container on her dressing table, seemingly forgotten. She took it to the bathroom and cleaned it as best as she could before drying it with tissue.

She began to collect her urine and opened the packaging of the pregnancy test. With trembling hands, Shabila dipped the small object into the urine in the container and waited for a moment. Her heart kept praying that what she feared wouldn't really happen. She wasn't ready to face it.

Two minutes passed, and Shabila, who had slowly closed her eyes, opened them again to see the pregnancy test result still in her hand. Her knees weakened when she saw two faint pink lines appearing on the stick-shaped object.

"This must be wrong. I have to try again," Shabila murmured with a troubled heart. Her body trembled intensely as she couldn't believe what she had just seen.

On the porch of the house, her curious mother followed Shabila inside. She didn't see her daughter anywhere else. It seemed like Shabila was in her room, her mother thought to herself. She stepped into Shabila's room and gently knocked on the door.

"Shabila, may Mama come in?" she called from outside.

No response. Shabila didn't acknowledge her mother's calls from outside. Her mother took another pregnancy test and dipped it into the container of her urine. After a while, she lifted it and waited for a moment. She watched closely as the lines on the small stick slowly turned pink.

"No, no, please," she whispered almost inaudibly. Her mouth murmured prayers, hoping that what she feared wouldn't come true.

But her face immediately fell, and her thoughts grew more confused. The result of the second pregnancy test was the same as the first.

Meanwhile, her mother's knocks on the bedroom door became louder and more impatient. She was extremely worried because Shabila hadn't responded to her calls since earlier. She pounded on the door forcefully.

"Shabila... Shabila... Can you hear Mama? Are you okay, dear? Please, Shabila, don't make Mama worried. Answer me, Shabila!" She continued shouting and pounding on the door with all her might.

Afraid that her mother would become even more worried, Shabila answered from inside, "I'm fine, Mom!" trying to sound as calm as possible.

She still couldn't believe the results of the two tests and decided to open the third pregnancy test and do the same thing. And the result remained the same. Two faint pink lines appeared on the small stick.

"In that case, please open the door. Mama wants to come in," her mother still didn't give up, even though Shabila had said she was fine. Even though she had said everything was okay.

The image of her mother's disappointed face, and her father's anger, made Shabila even more distressed. She sat helplessly on the bathroom floor, staring blankly at the three pregnancy tests in front of her. She let her clothes and body get wet from the cold bathroom floor.

No, this wasn't what she wanted.

Shabila cried in silence, cursing herself for losing control that night. The night when she had forced herself on Gibran. Yes, she was the one who had pressured Gibran, not the other way around. So now, how was she going to face all of this?

"Mom, I want to take a shower. You can come in later," Shabila replied weakly from inside.

Her mother stood still in front of the bedroom door. Shabila's voice sounded fine, but for some reason, her heart felt like it had been pierced by a thousand needles when she heard her daughter's voice.

"Alright, if you're feeling unwell or if something's wrong, please let Mama know, okay? Mama's leaving for now."

The woman left the front of the door, her steps filled with doubt. But she pushed that feeling away. She tried to think positively and trust her daughter's words.

Shabila continued to cry silently, allowing her body to remain in that position in the cold, wet bathroom until she was exhausted. After crying, she got up, cleaned herself under the running shower for hours.

Her body began to cramp, and she felt pale and shriveled from staying in the water for too long. She also began to have difficulty breathing, and her head felt extremely dizzy. Shabila almost crawled out of the bathroom. She put on some clothes and lay down on the bed. She wrapped herself in a thick blanket, covering her entire body. She was shivering, not only from the cold but also from the chill in her heart and mind. How could she be pregnant amid her divorce with Bryan?

For almost a week, Shabila had secluded herself in her room. During that time, she had tried the last two pregnancy tests she had bought, and the results remained the same. Shabila was falling apart. Her life felt empty, and her thoughts wandered aimlessly. She kept thinking about the child growing inside her right now. How would she face her family? How would she face people and the child when it was born? Various questions haunted Shabila until she finally decided to hold Gibran accountable. After all, the child she was carrying was his.

Shabila straightened her posture, sitting on the edge of her bed. She remembered how Viska had slandered Arya with her lies. Imagining that made Rasia smirk wickedly.

"Maybe this is destiny," she murmured softly.

Now she wasn't confused anymore. Her heart had made up its mind. She had to make Gibran take responsibility for her and divorce Viska, just like she had divorced Bryan.

As if regaining her strength, Shabila got up and walked to the bathroom to clean herself. It felt foolish to remember that she had locked herself in her room for days. She didn't want to fall alone. She would rely on Gibran and lean on him. And if he refused, it was better for them to fall together. Somehow, Shabila was more convinced that the child was Gibran's.

After showering and dressing neatly, Shabila applied makeup to her slightly pale face to look fresher. She put on lipstick and sprayed a soft-scented perfume on various parts of her body. She confidently walked out of her room. She hadn't forgotten that she had put the pregnancy test she had used a few days ago in her crossbody bag. Gibran's cafe was her destination.

Getting out of the taxi, Shabila handed some money to the driver and thanked him. She looked at Gibran's cafe from the side of the road and then casually walked inside.

"Good afternoon, please have a seat, Miss," a female waiter in distinctive attire greeted Shabila at the entrance. Her face was friendly with a sweet smile on her lips. She gestured for Shabila to choose a seat.

"Excuse me, I'd like to meet Gibran," Shabila said to the waitress, choosing one of the tables and sitting down. "Could you let him know that I'd like to meet him?" she added.

The waitress nodded slightly, "Sure, Miss! By the way, who should I say is here?"

"Shabila."

"All right, I'll convey the message."

The waitress left Shabila and hurried to the back of the cafe, where Gibran's workspace was located. She knocked on the door gently.

"Sir, there's someone who wants to meet you," she said politely.

"Who?" Gibran asked from inside.

"She said her name is Shabila, sir!" the waitress replied.

Gibran's brow immediately furrowed upon hearing Shabila's name. "What does that woman want here?" he muttered quietly. Displeasure was evident on his face. "Tell her I don't want to meet her," Gibran ordered.

The waitress then went back to Shabila. "I'm sorry, Miss, but Mr. Gibran said he can't be disturbed right now," she said.

"Why?" Shabila asked, her face showing annoyance. "You didn't mention my name, did you? Right?" she confidently accused the waitress.

"I did mention your name, but Mr. Gibran still doesn't want to be disturbed," the waitress began to look displeased, irritated by Shabila's suspicions despite her good intentions.

"Where is he? I'll meet him myself." Shabila got up and was about to walk into the cafe's interior, but her steps were immediately halted by the waitress.

"I'm sorry, Miss, you can't just enter like that," the woman firmly stood in Shabila's way.

"If you don't want me to enter like that, then quickly call Gibran here. Tell him I won't leave until he meets me here right now."

Shabila slammed the table hard enough to attract the attention of some customers in the cafe. The waitress left with a sour expression and went to find Gibran in his office.

"Sir," the waitress knocked on the door.

"Come in!" This time, Gibran allowed his employee to enter. "What is it?" he asked as the waitress appeared at the door.

"The woman outside refuses to leave, sir! She insists on meeting you and even threatens to cause a scene in the cafe," the waitress reported with a hint of fear in her expression.

"Tell her I've already left," Gibran ordered irritably.

"What if she insists, sir! The woman might force her way in. She even threatened to make a scene in the cafe."

"Call security, then. It's that simple!"

"Very well, sir!" The waitress went back to Shabila.

As soon as she saw the waitress approaching, Shabila stood up from her seat. "Where is he?" she asked, peering over the woman's shoulder. Her face turned even redder with anger when she didn't see Gibran intending to meet her.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but Mr. Gibran is not willing to meet you. He also asks you to leave this place as you're disturbing the comfort of our customers," the waitress stated firmly.

"You're so arrogant!" Shabila pushed the waitress, causing her to stumble into the table behind her. The atmosphere instantly became noisy.

The waitress waved her hand as a signal to her colleague, who promptly went to the security post to request assistance in removing Shabila. Shortly thereafter, two burly security guards dressed in uniforms appeared.

"What's going on here?" one of the security guards asked the waitress.

"Please, take this woman away, sir! She has caused a disturbance and disrupted the comfort of our customers," the waitress said, her eyes filled with hidden resentment towards Shabila.

"Please, Miss," one of the security guards gestured for Shabila to leave the cafe, but she refused and roughly waved the guard's hand away.

"Don't touch me!" Shabila shouted angrily. "I can walk on my own," she said and walked out of the cafe with a face burning with embarrassment. The two security guards followed closely behind, making sure Shabila left the premises.