Chapter 6

" Food is ready" Ann said aloud, her voice echoing from the kitchen. Denise faked a static smile when Ann moved closer to the dining table. She placed the food on the table while Denise rose to join her. "That's it! A strong and beautiful Denise we have here" Ann praised...rubbing her best friend's hair. " Leave me alone already" Denise replied jokingly. She opened the food and inhaled deeply. " Easy Denise...I don't want you to use your inhaler right now. The food is more sumptuous than it looks" she whispered.

Denise smiled. This time, it wasn't fake. She drew in a long breath. " Thanks Ann" she said.

" What? Come on! Stop that" Ann replied munching the mountain of food in her mouth. " Just eat up! I made this with so much love" Ann said. Denise took a spoonful and nodded her head. Ann sure knew how to spice her food. She was right–it tasted better than it looked.

" Why don't you open up a restaurant real soon? This is so delicious" Denise praised. " Well...I uhmm..."

A message from Denise's phone interrupted her words. Denise swiped up and saw that she had a notification from I*******m. She dropped the phone and hissed. Then, took another spoonful of food. But her eyes were still on the phone.

" Are you sure you wouldn't check that out?" Ann suggested. Denise paused and rolled her eyes. Then she clicked om the message. She shouldn't have listened to her best friend.

Right before her eyes was a post from Kathryn and it read...

" With the love of my life, C..."

Denise counted the love emojis after the letter 'C'. They were exactly thirteen.

She was filled with rage. The food she had fetched dropped on the table." What is it this time?" Angela asked fuming under her breath. Denise faked a smile and turned her phone upside down. " Denise...?" Ann called out. " It's nothing...just some stuff..." She lied.

Denise couldn't control the heat that weled up in her stomach. Why would she wait till daybreak to appease her instincts? The post she had just seen triggered her fury even more. Soon, she had left the food on the table and grabbed her bag. " I'm going to meet up with som colleague from work. Will be back shortly" she texted Ann whom she waited for to go upstairs before sneaking out to avoid being interrogated like a culprit at the police station.

Denise looked up the annoying photo again and zoomed out to have a better view. Then, a message dropped in her inbox. She quickly opened it. " How daring of that witch!" she murmured under her breath. 

She zoomed out the photo on the screen. Clark and Kathryn were at the beach smiling as if they had not attempted to send a human soul to an early grave. How cruel of Clark! Denise's breath heightened. She knew what to do; keep the phone away but she couldn't. The beach was one of her favorite spots. She had gone there with Clark once after much persuasion. It never dawned on her that Clark was putting up an act all along. If only she knew earlier...

Clark broke her heart. Kathryn pierced it. The photo dropped hot coals on her chest. She was back to the routine–crying her eyes out. The tears dropped on her phone screen. Denise tried to be as quiet as possible in order to keep the driver's attention away. She was lost in the labyrinth of her thoughts when the driver called out to her awakening her senses. 

" Yes! I'm.. I'm so sorry sir" she apologized and stepped out of the car then paid him off. 

Her eyes were swollen. One would bet that another round of crying from her would automatically make her go blind from eye swelling. 

Denise booked an appointment quickly. Thanks to the kind nurse she had met on the counter. The doctor was surprised to see Denise again.

" Yes! I was here and I'm here to take a paternity test" Denise cleared his doubts.

" Why would you do that?" he inquired. If only the doctor knew how annoying his question was...how furious Denise was getting but tried to maintain her cool...he wouldn't have spat such privacy intruding words.

" Are you doing it or not?" Denise asked forgetting her manners. The doctor caught sight of the smirk on her face and sighed. " I was just wondering why that'll be necessary, ma'am" he said as if reading her thoughts. Denise rolled her eyes. 

" I want it tonight" she added.

" That won't be possible" the doctor responded. " The result will be sent to your home address when it's ready. Please do well to leave your address before you leave" he said.

Denise brought out a piece of paper and pen from her bag and scribbled some letters on it then pushed it to the doctor's face. 

He leaned backwards to avoid having close contact with the paper. Denise faked a smile which sent shivers down the doctor's spine. 

" Uh...let me carry out a few scans before you leave" he managed to say.

Denise made way for him to do whatever he needed to do. Moreover, she would be getting a confirmation soon. How he went about it wasn't her business...what the result will be was what mattered the most. 

She finished from the hospital at exactly 10:00pm. It would be difficult to get a cab home as none of the drivers were within reach. Denise walked a few meters away from the hospital looking for a cab.

After waiting for over fifteen minutes,the headlights of a car from the distance gave her hope. She waved but it didn't stop. It was driving with such a speed she had to leave the road quickly to avoid being run over.

" What was that nonsense?" she hollered holding her chest and breathing heavily.

Like the speed of lightning, it dawned on Denise to go after the car as it looked familiar. She quickly rushed over and hid beside a wall to have a better look.  

It was a red Mercedes-Benz...she was always at the front seat. It was Clark's.

"No way!" Denise whispered.

Just then, an astonishing beauty stepped down from the car. From the legs, to the height to the body...she was on shades and a veil covered her face. They grew up together. No matter the transformation... Denise's wouldn't get it wrong! It was