Do you think Philip will use this secret against her?
Pearl's POV.As I walk down the stairs, a feeling of excitement overwhelms me when I see him.“You look breathtaking…and ravishing,” I tell him.“And you look exceptionally beautiful,” He stretches out a hand for me to hold and I put my palm inside.He kisses my knuckles, and then my cheek, “I thought you won't come,” I say.“I wasn't planning to come, I guess I can't stay mad at you for long,” He smiles. That small, genuine smile that I love. Though I never told him.He's dressed in a red tuxedo, his hair is brushed and permed to the back, and he's putting on black leather shoes that certainly cost a fortune.I'm dressed in a green lace plunge neck gown, high thigh slit, and a shouty make-up that was recommended by my makeup artist. She said it would match the color of my dress. I'm wearing red Zara stilettos and white fur. My hair is wrapped in a messy bun, with tendrils falling at the sides of my face. Personally, I like how I look.Philip leads me to his car and opens the door for
Pearl's POV.I ask the butler the way to the restroom and they direct me.I go into one of them and fortunately for me, it's empty. I drop my purse atop the porcelain sink and stare at myself.Tears fill my eyes, I blink them back, I don't let them fall, not in the moment. I have to be strong, for me, for my family, for Mom, even if I never met her. I know if she was here she'd want me to be nothing but the best of myself.“You got this, Pearl, you always have. Don't let anybody's words faze you, you're in a new stage of your life, you can't afford to cry, laugh over it and move on, show them that you are more than what they think of you, you have so much they are yet to see, they'll be surprised.” I take out my handkerchief after motivating myself and retouching my face. But in the process of retouching my face, something rumbles in my stomach, and the next thing I'm throwing up. I clean up with water and flush. Once I regain my stance, I reapply some lipstick, the door opening inte
Pearl's POV.For the past week, I've been vomiting frequently every single day. Everything I perceive irritates me, I'm so uncomfortable, and when I checked myself this morning in the mirror. I didn't recognize the woman I saw. Because that person certainly isn't me. My brother would have talked about it if we crossed paths this week, but he'd been so busy doing I don't know what.I faced my work and my vomiting problem. Now out of curiosity, I decided to search Google about the symptoms I'm having and I'm sincerely petrified by the feed it brings out. Honestly, I do what that but not now. Now is a very bad time to have a baby.I stop at the pharmacy on my way to work and pick out three test strips because I need to be sure.I make the payments for them and head out. I waste more time than I intended to at the bus stop which makes me arrive late at work.I walk briskly to my office, waving at everyone while sweating like I just finished a marathon.I don't know how it happens but I
Pearl's POV.My Dad's gonna kill me today, if he doesn't I just know I'm lucky.I put my phone on silent at the park because I didn't need any distractions, and now I've missed several calls from him. How am I going to explain that? As I fiddle with my makeup, my hand trembles. I apply red lipstick and tie my hair up in a ponytail after throwing on a deep pink gown. I put on some jewelry, I try not to dress too much but it's better to impress Dad than to not.I give myself a once over and a three-sixty in front of my big mirror, when I see everything is in place I step out.Getting to the dining hall, everyone's seated on the dining table, Philip's parents are here already.My brother and my dad are sitting close, Philip's parents are sitting beside each other chatting about what's important to them and Philip is there alone, eating his food. There's also an empty seat beside him. There's a big chandelier hanging low from the ceiling, casting a warm golden glow into the dining room a
Pearl's POV I and Philip exchange a knowing look, it's at this moment I realize that lying is much harder when almost half of the people at the table know the truth.I fake a cough and clear my throat before saying “New York is Great, Not much has changed but it's still a great place you know,” “I disagree with you on that,” She playfully banters, “But it's okay, I heard you work in the company now?” That was the first time I looked at my Dad, And as usual, his face was like a statue, “Yeah,” I turn to face Mrs. Julie back.“So, how's your experience?” “It's been great so far, my co-workers are warm and welcoming, I'm a fast learner so I picked up on a lot of things,” “That's good.” She turns to my father, “Mr. Hughes, You were saying something about announcing the engagement,” A knot forms in my stomach.“Yes,” My Dad sits up, “I think we should announce it already, the couple has had enough time to know themselves and now that My daughter has been exposed to the Media I want peo
Pearl's POV.“I was joking about sleeping in your room tonight, but that doesn't mean if you let me I'll turn it down, you have to catch some sleep so you'll be up early tomorrow for the shoot,” Philip says after ten minutes of letting me cry in his embrace.I pull away. “Yeah,” wiping my face. I try not to look at his shirt or where my tears have soaked.Philip takes me unaware by kissing me on the forehead, “I'll get you a dress for the photoshoot, so you just have to be up early,” “I'll be up early,” I tell him.“Alright, I have to go before my parents start calling, sleep tight okay? and dream about me,” He starts retreating with backward steps.I mimic his talk, “I'll try,” once he's vanished from the hallway, I place my hand on the my door and open it…“Pearl…” My body trembles with shock. I pause and catch my breath before looking to see who's calling me like that.“Dad…” I swallow the brick in my throat. Did I not impress him at the table?“You told me you were going to stay a
Peal's POV.When I get to Photoshop, I'm received with a warm welcome. Like the workers, were waiting for my arrival. I bet with all my life savings that this shop was designed for the elite people because of how it was built. Big, elegant and luxurious. I wonder how much they make.“Come with me, Ms.” One of the workers told me with a polite smile, I suspected her to be one of the superiors at the place.I follow her meekly. My breath snags in my throat when I see Philip's back. Hands in both pockets, he's talking to one of the workers. Maybe the manager or something. I just watch him silently from a distance. Philip is fine! Coupled with the way he commands authority without words, the easy going demeanor he exudes, the effortless charm in his smile, the way his muscles flex under his dress shirt. Oh…am I forgetting the way he talks to people respectfully? Not like those trust fund babies who think the world revolves around them. And Yes, how kind he is to me. It surprises me ever
Pearl's POV.The photographers arrange their cameras and get us to position. When Philip's hand rests on my hips, I repress a shiver.“Are you okay?” He whispers in a low voice.“Do we really have to do this? I thought it's usually before the wedding?” “Well, it usually is but our parents, to be concise, your Dad has big plans, he said he wants everything about this marriage to be perfect and different, they want special pictures of the both of us together to use in preparing gifts for the engagement party,” “Oh, I see now,” I nod my head, and swallow, trying hard to ignore the tingling feeling of his hand.“You can change position now,” The photographer shouts.“Umm..how should we stay?” I ask.One of the photographers came forward and tried to get us into position. While he instructs us how to pose for the camera, Philip's hand brushes my abdomen. I shudder.“Did I hurt you?” worry fills his eyes as he stares at me.I gulp, “No, I'm okay, just a fleeting pain,” I lie. I can't look
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