I am sterile!

Chapter 2 He is Sterile

THE TAYLOR’S HOME, NEW YORK.

The silence that followed her announcement wasn’t what Nina expected from the people she considered her family. She looked from one person to the other, her smile fading. Her hands rubbed at her belly unconsciously.

“Didn’t you all hear me? I get that, and it is the shock. But this is good news. I am six weeks pregnant. I am carrying the first grandchild of the family.” She said, staring at her parents-in-law.

Asher blinked in shock and didn’t know what to say until he felt someone kick his foot under the table, like someone touched by a hot pan. He yanked his hand out of Nina’s hand, hissing loudly.

“What did you just say?” He bellowed.

Nina stared in evident confusion. “You heard me, baby. I am pregnant. We are having a baby.”

Asher got up from the chair, ruffling his hair. He took his time to come up with the right things to say as he kept pacing the room back and forth. Pausing abruptly, he pointed a shaky finger at Nina.

 “Is this some joke, Nina? How can you be this shameless? What are you trying to prove by humiliating me in front of my family?”

She glanced around again, wondering why no one was saying anything. Not even Andrea, who is a known chatterbox. “B…baby, why are you doing this? What do you mean by trying to humiliate you?” Nina asked with her lips quivering.

“Of course, that is what you are plotting. Fucking tell me why you will claim to be pregnant with my child?”

Confusion pulled at every vein on her face as she met him. “Because you are my husband.”

“Husband?” Asher gritted, slamming the table in anger. Nina hiccuped, shocked by his reaction. “How dare you lie to my face? You and I know that thing you are carrying, if truly you are, is not mine!”

“W…why can’t it be yours?” Nina felt stupid for asking the question, but that seemed the only thing she could say.

“Cut the crap! I am fucking sterile, Nina! I can’t reproduce!”

Nina gasped out in shock. “What?” She swallowed hard. “What—What are you saying? How—how did I get pregnant then?” She stuttered, looking around for anyone to say something to back her up.

Asher cackled. “Are you asking me? It is obvious now that you are a cheat! If I didn’t get you pregnant all this while, how is it that you are pregnant now? I have been diagnosed as sterile long before I met you. Have you ever heard me pester you for our lack of children? I knew you were cheating on me, but I never expected that you would summon the courage to go to this extent.”

Uncontrollable tears rolled down Nina’s face; she felt weak and clueless about where the accusation came from. “Why are you doing this to me, Asher?” She turned to her friend. “Andrea, please tell him that I would never hurt him or be with another man. Please.”

Andrea shrugged with her head bowed, stabbing at her pie. “It's not like you told me about any pregnancy. How am I supposed to know you aren’t telling a lie?”

Nina’s eyes fluttered in shock, and her mouth was agape. It's almost as if she doesn’t recognize the person before her. Andrea sounded cold, which wasn’t like that half an hour ago.

“Where is all of this coming from? Darren, Leila, can you please talk to Asher? We haven’t been on good terms lately, but he’s not telling the truth. Listen, Asher, I will never cheat on you, baby. Asher.” She tried to reach for his hand, but he slapped it off, causing her to wince in pain.

“Don’t you ever try to touch me again? You are such a wicked person, Nina. If you wanted to humiliate me, couldn’t you have done it in the privacy of our room? You had the guts to bring to me another man’s child and still admit it in front of my family. When did you lose your sense of shame? That child is not mine!” He gritted.

Nina shut her eyes as she balled her fists, feeling the dullness cut into her palm. It doesn’t look like a prank anymore. Her husband is dead serious! She turned her red eyes to him. “I get that I haven’t been attractive to you lately, but can you not lie to my face and everyone else? You insisted that I take birth control pills whenever I am ovulating, and we have sex so that I don’t get pregnant. Because, in your own words, we do not need to rush it. I decided to stay off the pill six months ago because I thought falling pregnant might change your cold attitude towards me. But this is far too extreme, Asher. I do not like this joke of yours.”

Asher gritted, flaring his nose. Feeling a different emotion engulfed him. He yelled, “You bitch!”

While attempting to hit her, Darren stopped him. “Don’t you dare try it, young man!”

Nina cowered, sobbing. “Asher…please.” She mouthed.

“Where the hell did you get that from, young man?” Darren questioned. “I never taught you to hit a woman. What has come over you all of a sudden?”

“She came over me! This bitch!” Asher bickered.

“Can you calm your nerves, and let’s settle this?” Darren cleared his throat.

“Dad, that child is not mine. I can’t possibly get her pregnant.”

“What's with the pills then?” Darren asked.

“I only asked her to take it so she wouldn’t suspect anything. How am I supposed to know she would go ahead to cheat on me? I have heard rumors of how she makes out with one of her colleagues during break times, and that is when she always claims to be busy refusing to eat lunch with others.”

“Is this true?” Darren asked Nina.

Nina mumbled like a deaf person, and she looked at Andrea, who now has a disgusting look on her face. Leila didn’t bother to hide her displeasure. Nina felt like she was trapped in a room with no ventilation, and she might pass out from suffocation soon. Everything Asher is saying sounds alien to her ears. She can’t seem to understand him, almost like he is speaking a different language and talking about someone she doesn’t know about.

“I swear on my life, I have never cheated on Asher.” She looked straight at her husband. “And if you were sterile, why didn’t you tell me? And how, then, did I get pregnant?” She asked, feeling her chest tighten.

“Because you are a whore!” Asher growled. “And I am never going to take that child from you.”  

Nina sobbed louder, her voice breaking as she spoke. “Stop this, baby. Please. Asher, I would never do anything to hurt you or damage our marriage. Remember the promises we made to each other. Please. Andrea, please tell him I would  never hurt him.” She cried, turning her head around to catch pity from any of them, but they all looked unbothered.

Sucking in a breath, he pinched his nose. “I can’t do this anymore, Nina. I have had enough! I tried understanding you and enduring your cheating hobby, thinking you would have a change of heart and remember the love we share. But now I have had enough of you.”

“W—what are you saying?”

With a fixed jaw, he flared his nose at her. “I want a divorce.”