CHAPTER TWO: Away From Home

Entering the house, I heard Mary's screams as she jumped up and down, her hand in the air, trying to show off her ring. As she saw me, she quickly dragged me by my hand, and we both started jumping up while I gave her a fake smile, pretending as if I wasn't aware of anything, and I won't lie, I was really jealous as I knew that I was supposed to be the one in this position.

Breathing heavily, Mary began to explain how Cassius proposed to her.

"He got down on one knee, right in front of my friends! And he looked into my eyes with his charming cute face and asked me, 

‘Mary, will you be my other half and make me whole because right now I am incomplete without you, will you please marry me? And please do not think of saying no because it will really be too embarrassing,’ 

“ I just can’t stop laughing as it was just so perfect, and I could see a lot of people taking our pictures and shouting, ‘Say yes!’”

Yeah, that's the kind of guy Cassius was, he already had everything planned out, and I foolishly thought he had it planned out for me. I would never forgive him for this.

“Really? That's quite amazing,” I said, trying very hard to be happy for her, although the smile on my face right now was nothing but fake. “ But you didn't send any messages that you are returning today?”

“ Yeah, that's because I wanted it to be a surprise but I only told Cassius about it, you know we don't hide anything from each other and I don't want him to be angry that I didn't inform him before jumping on the plane and I actually begged him not to tell anyone about it. So don't be angry little sis.”

“ Ohhh, I see.” 

“ i’m so happy right now” Mary swirled around and almost lost her balance but I quickly got hold of her and helped her back on her feet.

“ Thanks.

“ You're welcome and once again congratulations.” I quickly withdrew my hand from hers, and we joined our parents in the living room where we all had our seats while dad popped a champagne.

As the celebration continued, Dad asked me a shocking question,

"Emelia dear, who's the lucky guy in your life? You haven't really introduced anyone to us before, and now I’m starting to get curious about this mysterious guy of yours.”

My heart suddenly beat faster, and everywhere felt hot. I picked up my wine and gulped it down. I quickly racked my brain, but I couldn't think of any excuses as the whole family's gaze was now on me, expecting my answer. 

“Hahaha, You know me, Dad…. I love keeping my love life under wraps! So just trust me, when the time is right, you will definitely get to know him," I replied with a wide, awkward smile, thinking he didn't believe that, but Dad suddenly let out a loud laughter and then stood up and proposed a toast while we all picked up our glasses as well,

"To Mary and Cassius's love!" We cheered and clinked my glass with theirs, and I had a sip but I noticed mom was acting weird and her smile seemed forced, making me wondered if something perhaps happened today.

After the celebration, Mom and Dad engaged in a serious conversation which seemed to have to do with the business but I heard mom mentioned hospital. I tried to eavesdrop but Mary pulled me into my room. 

“ Why the hec..” Now I could feel that she’s tense about something.

"Emelia, I'm scared," Mary confessed, with a trembling voice and I pulled her over to the bed where we have our seat,

 "Cassius's family is so rich and powerful. What if I don't fit in with them? What if they suddenly realize that I’m not fit enough to be part of their family?"

As she said this, I already knew what she’s trying to talk about. We're not wealthy but dad got his own company while mom also got her own gallery. Considering how those rich people always want to secured marriage or business alliance through their kids, I doubt they’ll really be happy about Mary getting married into their family because they got nothing to gain from this alliance but as we all know, they got no other options than to accept her as their son was responsible for the predicament she was in.

 I moved closer to her and enveloped her in a comforting hug. "Mary, as long as you’ve Cassius, you don't need to be afraid of anything. He loves you for who you are, not for your social status. So I don't really think you need to be scared of anything because you’re one lucky girl," I said, assuring her.

Now overwhelmed with guilt as I know I had done something terrible to her, and I don't think she would ever forgive me if she found out what I had done.

"You're right, Emelia. Maybe I'm just overthinking things. I believe in Cassius" She replied as we both disengaged from the hug.

I took off my shoe, and jumped on the bed, and Mary also did the same. We talked late into the night, discussing wedding plans and dreaming about the big day since she had decided to sleep in my room.

"The Aldriche family always goes all out for weddings, and they definitely love to impress and show off their wealth, so I'm sure this wedding will be really grand,” Mary said as she fantasized about how grand the wedding was going to be.

As she drifted off to sleep, I couldn't seem to get any sleep, and my eyes were wide open. After some hours, I grabbed a bottle of water on the table beside my bed and had a sip and just then Mom sneaked in, and I silently stood up from my bed, trying hard not to wake Mary, who’s still smiling in her sleep, and followed Mom out to the living room.

She had her seat while I looked at her, wondering what exactly was wrong for her to be awake by this time of the day.

“You need to leave,” Mom announced, and I was shocked as I wondered what’s going on here. “Linda called me and told me you’re pregnant, and if my guess is right, it’s for Cassius, right?”

Ok, now everything has been exposed as my stupid brain failed to remind me that Linda and Mom are friends. She must have already informed her about my condition, thinking it’s a good and  joyous occasion. Knowing that everything was now exposed, I fell on my knees as I sobbed quietly. I crawled closer to Mom with my head placed on her lap and told her how sorry I was for making such actions.

“ I'm very sorry, it really wasn't my intention.” But what puzzled me was how exactly did she know that the pregnancy belonged to Cassius? We’re very discreet about our relationship.

“You should have thought well about this before sleeping with your sister's fiancé, Emelia. We taught you better than this,” she rebuked as she took a deep breath.

“We have made the decision, so leave for somewhere far away and don’t think of coming back anytime soon. You should be grateful we’re not forcing you to get an abortion, and that’s because Linda already knew about your pregnancy, and I won't allow you to embarrass this family because of your shameless actions.”

Out of everything she said, the only word that caught my attention was ’we’ as I was well aware that she's the only one that knew about this. 

Wait…. Do not tell me Mary had also found out about this?

“We? What do you mean by 'we'?” I asked her, and then her gaze was fixed at my back, and I trailed her eyes to my back where I saw Dad standing.

Seeing my Dad makes my heart break more as I realized they both made this decision together, and I wondered if they even care about my own feelings.

I can't go against their decision because they’re trying to protect the family's reputation. Or should I say, they're trying to make sure that Mary never found out about this because she has a weak heart and couldn't bear to hurt her. So I got no other options than to abide by the family decision.

I dragged my already weak body up, wiped my tears away with the back of my hand, and went back into my room, packed my luggage, took a look at Mary for the last time, and gave her a light peck on her forehead before leaving the room.

On getting back to the living room, I met both of them sitting together, and immediately they saw me, Dad stood up and moved closer to me.

“Take this,” He gave me a flight ticket and an envelope filled with money. I moved closer to him and gave him a tight hug.

“Take this box. It’s filled with your favorite dishes that I prepared for you, so make sure that you eat it, okay? We will always call you to check on you,” Mom said with a reassuring smile, and I took the box from her hand and hugged her.

I was aware that this is all my fault, if perhaps I never engaged in those relationships with Cassius, none of this would have happened. My parents made the best decision for this family so I couldn't blame them for their actions. As I left the house, I checked the time, and it’s 2 am.

Can't believe my life was such a mess...

On getting to the airport,  as I patiently waited I decided to have some food. As I ate, I looked around trying to see if there’re others who are in the same condition as I was, but all I saw was happiness on everyone's face, and some even came with their partners. Just then I heard my number called, and I quickly packed my box and then rushed in.

As I settled in the plane, I suddenly got a severe stomach pain.

“Arrgghhhh,” I winced in pain as I clung my hand to my stomach. 

Not able to hold it again, I stood up to make use of the toilet, but my leg failed me and I fell down.

Rolling on the ground in pain with many passengers on my side trying to help me out, but nothing was just working. The pain just kept getting unbearable.

“Blood!” I suddenly heard someone screaming, and I wondered where she saw blood. Raising my head up,  I shifted my gaze down my lower part , and I saw blood streaming down my lap, and I couldn't believe what’s happening.

“My baby!!!!” I screamed in pain, and then that became the last thing I remembered.