CHAPTER FIVE

Chapter 5

MAYA’S POV

Two days passed, but to me, it was like an eternity. Kelly would often come and check on me in the hospital, and my boss, Mr. Jared, sent me his regards. However, I never told them that I was pregnant. I wanted to let them know personally. Not even Kelly knew about it.

Meanwhile, I recalled that the doctor said I was one month pregnant, meaning that it must have been the sex I had a month ago that made me pregnant. However, I always made sure my clients used protection before servicing them… well, unless the person wasn’t my client.

‘It’s gotta be him. He’s the only one who I had sex with and I barely remember it. He most likely did it raw. Still… I took pills after that, so I should still be safe. What’s going on now?’ I was lost in thought, thinking about what led to this and what I did wrong.

However, I suddenly heard a loud voice call to me and a strong force pulled me back, “Look out!” Kelly screamed as she pulled me back. I snapped back to reality and suddenly, I car sped across me. I looked at Kelly, who pouted and frowned at the driver of the car that just sped across me, “Watch where you’re going, dumbass!”

I was flabbergasted and I couldn’t believe that I was so lost in thought that I almost walked into an incoming vehicle. Worried, Kelly touched my body, examining if I was hurt anywhere.

“Are you alright, Maya. What happened to you?” she questioned and I sighed with a gloomy expression. 

“It’s… it’s nothing. We should get going.” I claimed and she seemed confused. I wanted to tell both her and my boss at the same time. Before long, we reached the club. However, Kelly still seemed a bit skeptical about my coming here.

“Are you sure you wanna come here? You just got  discharged from the hospital, you know.” she said but I returned a smile.

“It’s alright. I just want to tell the boss something. I’ll be fine.” I assured and she sighed.

“Well, if you say so.” she claimed before escorting me to Mr. Jared’s office. I knocked and a voice told me to enter. Without wasting a second, I walked into the office and I found my boss counting wades of dollar notes. He counted so much that I was slightly appalled. 

Seeing me enter, he smiled and placed the money inside his desk drawer. “Maya, it’s so good to see you. How are you feeling now?” he asked and I nodded with a smile.

“I’m feeling better now, sir. Thank you for asking.” I answered.

“Are you sure? I could give you a few days off and some money too. You don’t have to push yourself too hard.” he claimed and my heart felt warm. Unlike Mr. Harry in the restaurant, I admired Mr. Jared. He was nice to his employees and a very compassionate man. Everyone in the club loved and admired him, even though he could be quite scheming sometimes.

“No sir. I’m fine really. I came here to tell you something sir.” I said and he leaned forward with his hands on the table while his expression became serious. He seemed curious to hear what I had to say.

“Hmm. Go on then. I’m all ears.” he claimed. However, despite how compassionate and kindhearted he was, I didn’t know how he would feel if I told him about my pregnancy. Unfortunately, pregnancy wasn’t something I could hide. Withing three months time, everyone would notice the bulge on my belly. So it would be better to tell him now. Still, I was still hesitant.

“Well… I…” my hands fidgeted as I struggled to let out the words, “In the hospital, I was tested and it turns out… that… I’m pregnant.” I revealed and his eyes widened. He was taken aback by my words and he seemed too stunned to even speak. 

After revealing this to him, I could barely look into his eyes. I feared that he’d probably fire me, just like my other boss.

“I’m sorry sir. I don’t know how this happened. I… I don’t know what to do sir.” I let out, with the intention of apologizing for my mistake. He sighed and leaned back on his chair. His eyes squinted and his expression turned serious.

“Hmm… indeed, this is a bit of a problem…” he said and I dropped my head sadly. In my head, I was starting to anticipate what I would do after he fires me. Knowing him, he won’t say he’s firing me. Rather, he might use less harsher terms like ‘I’ll have to drop you off here…’ I couldn’t imagine what I would have to do if I got pregnant. Especially that I had no idea who the father really was. 

However, Mr. Jared surprised me, “While that might be a problem, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a solution for it.” he claimed and my eyes lit up. 

“What is it sir? I’ll do anything.” I said out of impulse and he suddenly glanced and at me and smiled.

“Well, I have a gynecologist. He’s very good at what he does. Since we can’t have you working with a pregnancy, I’ll call him to come offer his help and expertise. He should be able to solve this problem without doing you any damage at all.” he explained. However, something was amiss, and I could sense something troubling in his words.

“Wait… what sort of help is he going to offer, sir?” I asked and he smiled.

“You should understand what I mean, Maya. You did say that you would do anything, and I am simply going to ask him to ‘help’ you with the baby so you won’t have to stop working. After all, a pregnant stripper is bad for business.” he claimed and it suddenly dawned on me.

‘Wait… is it what I think it is?!’ I thought to myself and I shook my head fervently. “What? I can’t abort this child. That’s… I can’t do it sir.” I quickly spoke up. I was even thinking that he would fire me, but getting rid of a fetus inside me is even worse. That would be like taking someone’s life. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

“Why back out now? You did say that you would do anything. If you’re worried about what it would do to you, I’ve already told you not to worry. My friend is an expert and you won’t suffer any…” he persuaded but I had to cut him off.

“No sir. I can’t do it. What is inside me is a child, sir. I can’t just take its life. Please, if there’s another solution apart from that, I’m willing to take it. But I cannot abort this baby, sir. It’s… wrong.” I explained, hoping that he could sympathize with me. Unfortunately, I thought wrong.

“Look, Maya. Reality isn’t always what we usually expect it to be. It can be very harsh, and we have to make sacrifices in order to survive and get what we want. I can’t have a pregnant woman in my club. I’m giving you an option here. Abort the baby or the door, your choice.” he said with a frown on his face. 

I couldn’t help but shudder as I heard his words. I expected him to be much more compassionate with his words, but he was blunt. I couldn’t believe that he would expect me to kill the child inside me just so that I could continue stripping for useless men who don’t give a damn what happens to us.  That was unacceptable. 

Now, I began to realize how wrong I was. I trusted men, and yet again I was disappointed. I never expected Mr. Jared to do something this evil, but yet again, he did it anyway.

“I’m sorry, sir. But I cannot do that. I cannot abort the baby.” I blurted. My face was serious and I was extremely furious. However, I couldn’t blame him. I could only blame myself. “Thank you for all you’ve done for me all these days. I’ll be leaving now sir.” I said before getting up and turning to leave. However, immediately I opened the door, my eyes fell on Kelly. The first thing that came to my mind was that she was eavesdropping, but that didn’t matter now, did it.

“Hey Kelly.” I greeted and wanted to leave but suddenly, I felt something pierce my neck and I gasped. Suddenly, I felt an ache, like something pushing against my veins and the pain made me scream. However, my voice was stuck, as I watched Kelly smile maliciously as I fell towards the floor. I clutched my neck as I fell on the ground. On her hand, I noticed a syringe.

“K--Kelly?! Why?” those were the words that emerged from my lips as my face distorted. She didn’t speak. Instead, she kept the smile she had on her face which I haven’t seen before. Unlike a friendly smile, this one was filled with contempt. 

I suddenly heard laughter and footsteps before seeing Mr Jared’s face. He was laughing devilishly. “Did you really think that I’d let you off like that? You never really had an option. I was just hoping that you’d choose the option I wanted for you of your own free will. Seems like I was wrong, but no matter. Hahahaha.” he laughed and I grunted.

“You… monster. You’ll pay…” I grunted bit he simply chuckled. Before I knew it, my eyelids grew heavy and slowly, I sank into unconsciousness.