Fabian's POV.My phone alarm rings. Signaling that it's time for me to go to bed. I set it to lessen my work time as my health condition has started getting worse and even if I'm afraid I don't have up to the time the doctor told me I don't show it.I close the paperwork on my desk and pack up, despite wanting to go home earlier, I'm still the last person who gets out of the office. Thank God it's Friday, I'll just have to take some time and rest before continuing anything.I use the elevator that leads to the garage. When the elevator dings, There's a spin in my vision, and I stop before I make the wrong step. Once everything settles, that's when I realize blood is coming out of my nose, at the same time a blinding migraine hits me, and breathing becomes a barrier.I try to find the nearest pillar–anything for support. My knees give out and I fall, clutching my throat as I struggle for air with eyes that can't see.I hear a voice in my head. I try to shake it off because of who it be
Pearl's POV.It's been really hard to keep up with the expectations of the people gathered here today. They're all like Dad, they narrow their eyes at you, searching for the tiniest bit of imperfection. Philip has been great at keeping my emotions afloat, but there's the lingering unsettling feeling I've been having. Has he read the letter and he chooses not to talk about it? That's impossible for me but I expected him to say something since last night, but he hasn't said anything. I checked my phone first thing when I woke up this morning and I was surprised to see no message from him was lying in my message box. Also, no missed calls or anything. I'd waited all night for a response. I wanted to be alert, holding my phone when the message came but I fell asleep and even when I got up, nothing had happened.“Pearl, Take this,” Philip hands me a glass of champagne he retrieves from the passing waiters. “It'll help your confidence,” he points to the people around, “It'll make you see t
Fabian's POV.I can't go through the front because of how I'm dressed, so I sneak into the restroom area.When I start feeling dizzy again, I go into the men's room to pour some water on my face and rest a bit. But my adrenaline is pumping madly in my veins if I don't get to talk to my wife in the next few minutes. I'll lose my mind. When I come out of the men's room, I absentmindedly look sideways before setting my eyes on the path that leads to the….Wait a second! My eyes get sight of a man, standing at the entrance of the women's room. There's no one else in the hallway. Despite the strong urge to see Pearl, I feel this nudge to get close and know what's happening there. As I approach him, I notice he's talking. While talking to the person inside, his tone is hushed from a distance but as I get closer the words become clearer. I'm stunned when I realize it's Pearl's brother from a close distance.“Make me get this properly, 'cause I want to, How would you feel if I was getting ma
Pearl's POV.My brother and I are sitting at the ends of our plush sofa, in my Father's home office. My hands are intertwined between my legs, my heart is drumming erratically in my chest, it could Pop out.I know. I know I fucked up, I'm not blaming anyone, I shouldn't have let him get to me. I should have ordered him to leave, and not ruin my day. But I just couldn't, I told myself I needed to talk to him. I thought it was going to be a quick conversation and I'll run back in and no one will know I spoke to him, that was the plan but I didn't know when I hugged. It was so soothing, it felt like home. It was peaceful like I was back to being my old self, with my Man–but he is no longer my Man. And it has landed me here, under the scrutiny of my father by seven am in the morning. My brother has refused to talk to me since last night. I know he's mad at me. He has the right to be. Maybe when he falls in love with someone genuinely one day, he'll see it's not that simple to detach. Y
Pearl's POV.“I…I…that wasn't…” forming a proper sentence becomes difficult. Not sure I thought about what I'd say to him at that moment. “I was really scared. That's why I sent you the text,” “What text?” He asks, with slight irritation in his voice.“The…text I sent to you a day before,” “Pearl, we are both adults, and you have to own your mistake and stop lying to cover up because It makes me want to hate you even more!” “I'm not lying Philip, I sent you a text.” I defend myself.Philip breathes out exasperatedly, puts his hand in his pocket, takes out his phone, taps on the screen a couple of times, and hands me the phone. “You can check if your ‘sent’ message is there,” I scroll through the messages. I'm sure I sent it to him. Why is it not here? I keep searching.“Did something happen?” Philip mocks me, “You didn't see the message you sent? And you expected me to see it.” He abruptly takes the phone from my hand. “Let's face the truth, Pearl, you still love your ex, so much.
Fabian's POV.“What is wrong with you Fabian? Why can't you get over this girl? You keep getting into continuous scandals with her and you don't even care what it's doing to your reputation or your Stephanie,” I pretend not to hear what she's ranting from across my desk.I stick my head in the paper before me, going through the files. “Answer me, Fabian,” She slams her hand on the desk. If I raised my head a second before she would have put her hand in my face.“What do you want me to do for you mother?” I ask. Offended by her distraction.“I want answers? What do I not know about you and your ex-wife that makes you crawl back to her even at her engagement party? Don't you have any shame? You had me panicking, looking for you! You weren't even healthy and yet you ran to her.” “Mother, I'm 34 years old. Old enough to make my own choices and be with whoever the fuck I want to be with. I'm busy right now and your noise is distracting me, please leave.” “I think I've given you enough ti
Pearl's POV “Give me a child, Pearl,” My husband says breathlessly, facing the ceiling while I lay beside him.After an intense moment of pleasure, where some people don't even remember their names, this is the first thing he says after coming down from his high. His words sting my heart and I let go of the feeling that he may have missed me. That's why he came by last night. No…I was wrong, In the three months we haven't seen each other he doesn't miss me, he is all about having a baby still… which I'm not against, but I'm not pregnant.I berate myself for thinking he missed me, I sit up on the bed, drawing my knees to press my chest, as if to stop the bleeding in my heart.“Give me a baby, Pearl,” He repeats the words, and this time his voice is firmer and devoid of any emotion which is unlike my husband and it really hurts, the only thing that matters these days is giving him a child.I want that too, it's been 7 years, and I wish I had gotten pregnant sooner, maybe my previous fe
Pearl's POV “How do you mean heartless? This is not mine and what is it used for?” My gaze flickers between the bottle content and my husband.“Enough Of the lies Pearl!” My husband barks in a thunderous voice that has me recoiling. “Enough Pearl, stop…stop lying,” he grits, “...to my face, I'm not a child, if you're not the one taking it then who has it? You keep lying to me and I believe every single word you say because I believe that you'll never lie to me. How come there's an abortion pill in your things? You've been aborting all your pregnancies?” He says the last sentence with a hint of disbelief, his eyes flaring with indefinable emotion, I've never seen my husband like this.Right now he looks like a lethal animal that's looking for a slight reason to unalive something.“Fabian, you have to believe me, I have never been pregnant and I've never aborted any of our children,” My chest heaving with uneasiness, my heart throbbing with fear, liquid heat pooling in my lower belly.
Fabian's POV.“What is wrong with you Fabian? Why can't you get over this girl? You keep getting into continuous scandals with her and you don't even care what it's doing to your reputation or your Stephanie,” I pretend not to hear what she's ranting from across my desk.I stick my head in the paper before me, going through the files. “Answer me, Fabian,” She slams her hand on the desk. If I raised my head a second before she would have put her hand in my face.“What do you want me to do for you mother?” I ask. Offended by her distraction.“I want answers? What do I not know about you and your ex-wife that makes you crawl back to her even at her engagement party? Don't you have any shame? You had me panicking, looking for you! You weren't even healthy and yet you ran to her.” “Mother, I'm 34 years old. Old enough to make my own choices and be with whoever the fuck I want to be with. I'm busy right now and your noise is distracting me, please leave.” “I think I've given you enough ti
Pearl's POV.“I…I…that wasn't…” forming a proper sentence becomes difficult. Not sure I thought about what I'd say to him at that moment. “I was really scared. That's why I sent you the text,” “What text?” He asks, with slight irritation in his voice.“The…text I sent to you a day before,” “Pearl, we are both adults, and you have to own your mistake and stop lying to cover up because It makes me want to hate you even more!” “I'm not lying Philip, I sent you a text.” I defend myself.Philip breathes out exasperatedly, puts his hand in his pocket, takes out his phone, taps on the screen a couple of times, and hands me the phone. “You can check if your ‘sent’ message is there,” I scroll through the messages. I'm sure I sent it to him. Why is it not here? I keep searching.“Did something happen?” Philip mocks me, “You didn't see the message you sent? And you expected me to see it.” He abruptly takes the phone from my hand. “Let's face the truth, Pearl, you still love your ex, so much.
Pearl's POV.My brother and I are sitting at the ends of our plush sofa, in my Father's home office. My hands are intertwined between my legs, my heart is drumming erratically in my chest, it could Pop out.I know. I know I fucked up, I'm not blaming anyone, I shouldn't have let him get to me. I should have ordered him to leave, and not ruin my day. But I just couldn't, I told myself I needed to talk to him. I thought it was going to be a quick conversation and I'll run back in and no one will know I spoke to him, that was the plan but I didn't know when I hugged. It was so soothing, it felt like home. It was peaceful like I was back to being my old self, with my Man–but he is no longer my Man. And it has landed me here, under the scrutiny of my father by seven am in the morning. My brother has refused to talk to me since last night. I know he's mad at me. He has the right to be. Maybe when he falls in love with someone genuinely one day, he'll see it's not that simple to detach. Y
Fabian's POV.I can't go through the front because of how I'm dressed, so I sneak into the restroom area.When I start feeling dizzy again, I go into the men's room to pour some water on my face and rest a bit. But my adrenaline is pumping madly in my veins if I don't get to talk to my wife in the next few minutes. I'll lose my mind. When I come out of the men's room, I absentmindedly look sideways before setting my eyes on the path that leads to the….Wait a second! My eyes get sight of a man, standing at the entrance of the women's room. There's no one else in the hallway. Despite the strong urge to see Pearl, I feel this nudge to get close and know what's happening there. As I approach him, I notice he's talking. While talking to the person inside, his tone is hushed from a distance but as I get closer the words become clearer. I'm stunned when I realize it's Pearl's brother from a close distance.“Make me get this properly, 'cause I want to, How would you feel if I was getting ma
Pearl's POV.It's been really hard to keep up with the expectations of the people gathered here today. They're all like Dad, they narrow their eyes at you, searching for the tiniest bit of imperfection. Philip has been great at keeping my emotions afloat, but there's the lingering unsettling feeling I've been having. Has he read the letter and he chooses not to talk about it? That's impossible for me but I expected him to say something since last night, but he hasn't said anything. I checked my phone first thing when I woke up this morning and I was surprised to see no message from him was lying in my message box. Also, no missed calls or anything. I'd waited all night for a response. I wanted to be alert, holding my phone when the message came but I fell asleep and even when I got up, nothing had happened.“Pearl, Take this,” Philip hands me a glass of champagne he retrieves from the passing waiters. “It'll help your confidence,” he points to the people around, “It'll make you see t
Fabian's POV.My phone alarm rings. Signaling that it's time for me to go to bed. I set it to lessen my work time as my health condition has started getting worse and even if I'm afraid I don't have up to the time the doctor told me I don't show it.I close the paperwork on my desk and pack up, despite wanting to go home earlier, I'm still the last person who gets out of the office. Thank God it's Friday, I'll just have to take some time and rest before continuing anything.I use the elevator that leads to the garage. When the elevator dings, There's a spin in my vision, and I stop before I make the wrong step. Once everything settles, that's when I realize blood is coming out of my nose, at the same time a blinding migraine hits me, and breathing becomes a barrier.I try to find the nearest pillar–anything for support. My knees give out and I fall, clutching my throat as I struggle for air with eyes that can't see.I hear a voice in my head. I try to shake it off because of who it be
Pearl's POV.“Okay!” I say. Dragging my feet, I don't even realize I stopped.Settling in the backseat with my Dad, our driver takes over the steering and we start moving to God-knows-where. It takes me a lot of courage to turn and face my Dad, “Umm…” I try to make my voice polite, “Where are we going?” He swivels to look at me, “We are going to the venue of your engagement Party,” He says, almost excitedly.Okay, I'm trying to wrap my head around this. Why are we going to the venue tonight? I can't help but think my dad is up to something, Wait–has he found out? “Is something wrong?” He says. “No,” I reply sharply. Showing him a forced smile.He turns his face away as if irritated by the smile. The silence from then on puts me on the edge and makes me anxious till the car pulls to a stop, I immediately come down from the car. I don't even know if we have gotten to our destination.The air in the car is so suffocating that if I inhale one more time, I may fall sick. Or worse, colla
Pearl's POV.It's Friday already, I wish so bad that it's not but there's limited power to what I can control. Standing at my room window, I've seen the night snatch light from the day. And I can only wonder what tomorrow holds for me. Tomorrow is my engagement party.Tomorrow, I'll stand before people and pretend to love a man. I'm not so sure how I feel about him, and I'll have to tell him about my baby eventually. Running away is not an option for me. I've thought about it countless times. It'll only make things worse for me and the baby. I can only hope he doesn't take the news negatively, I'll never tell Fabian that the baby is his. Philip and I will care for the baby, he'll be my child's legal father. That's if he accepts the baby.I stand back from the window and turn, going straight to my table. The letters I'd written two nights ago are lying there.One for Philip, one for Dad, and one for Paul. He'd be the most disappointed, I don't know why it's hard to tell anyone I'm preg
Fabian's POV.After picking my Mom from the cell, I don't need to ask her why she did what she did because she won't give me a reasonable answer. I just drop her off at her house and head back to the office. It's already enough headache I'm dealing with in my life, I can only try to reduce my headaches.I toss my suit jacket on the desk as I walk into the room. I pick up a bottle of water from my mini fridge and drink. It's been so distressing and annoying how much I have to worry about myself and my Mom too. I throw some pills into my mouth and use the water to wash it down.There comes a soft knock on my door, “Come in,” I say. Stopping myself from thinking about whom it may be.Stephanie walks in, her pretty face is in order, but there's an edge of something…concern, Maybe.“What happened?” She asks, ambling close to me.“Nothing I couldn't take care of.” I reply, casually.“Do you have to be like this all the time with me?” By this time she's standing so close behind the desk. I