It’s not an option

It’s been a week since Adele confirmed her pregnancy, she continues her work as a waitress because deciding to keep the child means extra expenses and she doesn’t know who the father is to tell him she’s having his baby. She’s three weeks gone and she felt easily tired and weak apart from the morning sickness.

She hung her apron on her stand as she was done with her shift for the day.

“Can you come by morning tomorrow, Samira just called she won’t be able to make the morning shift or the evening because of her sick father” the manager said to Adele who sighed.

“Extra pay?” She asked for the manager to nod.

“Sure,” he said smiling at Adele who nodded her head.

“Ok,” she said knowing she needed the money.

Adele left the front of their restaurant as she walked to the bus stop to wait for the next bus ride.

“Goodness,” she sighed looking for where to sit as she was feeling dizzy and nauseous. She carried her little phone to call Grace to find out if she would be coming home for the night.

After multiple rings, Grace picked up her call.

“Will you be home tonight?” She asked as she stepped onto the bus that just arrived.

“No.. got a lot of clients,” Grace said for Adele to sigh.

“Ok then,” she said rubbing her tired eyes.

“How are you feeling?” Grace asked after hearing her friend's tired voice.

“Not ok but don’t worry, I will be fine. Just be careful” she said and hung up.

After a few minute's ride, the bus stopped at Adele Street where she stepped out and began to walk to their apartment. The night was cold, Adele tiredly walked to her apartment and opened the door. After stepping in, she closed the door and put on the bulb just to see a strange man on their small couch.

Adele gasped in fear as she dropped her back trying to open the door to run away because she knew confronting a scary stranger was a bad idea.

The man brought out a gun and walked towards Adele who became stiff.

“Please take whatever you want, I…

“You are all I want,” he said and before Adele could ask anything, he knocked her unconscious.

Softly and gently, he carried her out of the apartment to the black van opposite Adele's apartments.

It was a sunny Sunday morning, and the birds sing so softly in the beautiful environment of the McCall golf field.

Albert McCall, an elderly man stood beside his nephew who just finished playing his turn of the golfing game.

“You know you can’t ignore some meetings in the company Harden,” the man said for Harden to watch as his ball landed on the field and rolled straight into the hole.

“You should put the word “unnecessary meetings” uncle” Harden responded for the man to nod.

“Your mother is so selfish that she refuses to give any position in the company to your cousin Daniel.” He said with a little distaste in his tone.

“You can’t blame her, her husband died of poisoning after attending dinner in your home uncle,” Harden said for Albert to sigh.

“Do you still believe I poisoned my elder brother for the company.?” He asks for Harden to walk towards Simon and give him his golf stick.

“He died of poisoning after having dinner at your house uncle, it’s clear isn’t it?” Harden said looking at the man.

“You were a child when that happened, so I can’t blame you, Maria has fed you everything she needs to just so you can hate me and your cousins.” He said for Harden to remove his gloves.

“And grandma?” He asks Albert to chuckle.

“Gerald was her favorite son, so I’m not surprised,” he said for Harden to nod.

“More reason to be a suspect dear uncle,” Harden said walking away from his uncle as Simon walked behind him. The man sniffs in anger as he watches Harden become a man just like his father, he needs to do something about him but the boy is just too smart like his father.

Inside the black car that drove away from the golf field, Simon gave his boss his phone as his mother had been calling after hearing he was going for a golf game with his uncle who she despised with her heart.

“Have you found the girl?” Harden asks for Simon to shake his head.

“No boss, it’s like she never existed,” he said for Harden to sigh.

“Every day, I can feel her body on me, her body scent was very unique, and her red hair…. I just wasn’t myself that I couldn’t see her face” he said sighing.

“Your mother is calling again boss,” Simon said looking at his boss from the concave mirror.

“Mom” Harden picked up his ringing phone.

“Where are you Harden, I told you to stay away from that enemy Albert,” Maria said in a worried tone for Harden to sigh.

“I’ve grown up now Mom, I can handle myself and besides he’s not just the family enemy, he’s the company enemy too,” he said for Maria to sigh.

“I know. I just don’t want him around you. Your grandmother asked to see you” she finally said for Harden to nod.

“I will have dinner with you both today.” He said and hung up.

Simon wishes he could tell his boss that the girl is pregnant and she was taken hostage by his mother yesterday night but he knows Mrs Maria McCall so well to keep his tongue intact.

“Keep searching for her, she did something to not just my body but my soul that night that I can’t stop thinking of. I need to find her” Harden said for Simon to nod while he accelerated and zoomed off into the busy city.

It was afternoon, and Adele's phone had been ringing in her bag inside their apartment, a click on the door and it opened while Grace stepped in.

She saw her roommate's bag on the floor which was unlike her, she carried the bag and drop on the table beside their door while she walked upstairs.

“Are you that tired that you dropped your bag on the floor Ade?” She asked entering their room to meet it empty and like she left it yesterday evening before going to work. Grace frowned as she immediately called Adele's phone and she heard it ring inside her bag which she rushed downstairs to pick it up. Opening the phone she saw multiple missed calls from her restaurant manager which meant she was not at work but still she called the manager's number back.

“Where have you been? I’ve called you multiple times. You promised to fit in for Samira”. She heard the man angrily say for Grace to frown.

“Sorry, this is not Adele, it’s her roommate. I can’t find her” she said for the manager to frown.

“What happened?” He asked but Grace was confused.

“I don’t know. I came home and she’s not anywhere like she never was” she said for the man to frown.

“ if you find her tell her I’ve reduced twenty percent from her pay this month for this thing she cost me,” he said and hung up making Grace scoff.

“Selfish Idiot,” she said sighing. She was so confused as she didn’t know what to do because they were both orphans, no family members to call or friends to ask about each other.

“Where are you, Ade?” She asked sitting tiredly on their single couch.

It was a unique setting of a wooden house which was in the middle of the woods, a land property of the McCall. The air felt so fresh on the skin and the silence was along with the sounds of leaves blowing wind.

Adele woke up to hunger as she felt a sharp pain in her neck.

“Goodness,” she tiredly called rubbing her neck as she looked around the beautiful room she was in.

“Where am I?” She whispered immediately standing up as she looked around the room. The night before began to rush in and she gasped. The stranger in her room kidnapped her but the room she was standing in didn’t look like a place where a kidnapped victim could be kept.

“Hello” she called out as she rushed to the door trying to open it but it was locked from the outside. She rushed towards the window, looking outside Adele knew she was somewhere far away inside the woods due to the thick forest she saw.

“Hello!!” She screamed out again before a click was heard from the door and it opened.

A young lady in a maid's uniform walked in with a plate of food and a glass jug of water. Immediately she dropped it on the table, she rushed out before Adele could approach her.

The aroma of the food made her stomach growl and without the fear of poisoning, she rushed and ate the food.

“Such disgusting way of approaching food” she heard a female voice speak as the door opened.

Adele who was standing and eating immediately dropped the food and looked at the elegant woman in her front who had two huge bodyguards behind her, one on her left and one on her right.

She immediately swallowed the food in her mouth and poured herself water to drink from the glass jug and cup on the table.

“Who are you?” Adele asked for Maria to cover her nose in disgust.

Adele frowns as she immediately moves away from Maria knowing she’s disgusted at her mouth breath since she just woke up.

“I wonder what my son passed through sleeping with you,” Maria said for Adele to immediately frown.

“You, are…

“What do you want?” Maria cut in for Adele to immediately shake her head.

“Nothing,” she said for Maria to scoff.

“You are carrying his child. You slept with him in his most vulnerable moment and now you have his child in you and you said nothing” Maria said for Adele to quickly try to save herself from the accusations.

“I didn’t know him, he only asked me to help relieve his…

“Oh shut up, if he wasn’t a Harden McCall, you wouldn’t jump into his bed so you knew who he was.,” Maria said before she looked at her bodyguard who brought out a file.

Adele was confused as she didn’t even know who Harden McCall was.

“The child you are carrying, is it his or not?” Maria asked for Adele to nod.

“Yes, he’s responsible,” she said.

“How sure he is re…

“I’m not a virgin but he’s the first man I’ve laid with after many years,” she said for Maria to burst out laughing.

“Did you hear her, she’s not even a virgin meaning somebody too can be responsible for..

“He’s responsible I swear” Adele cut in.

“Good. I won’t like my grandchild to grow up with a low class waitress like you who sleeps with strangers after many years, so sign the contract. You will stay here till the baby is fully formed and you give birth, you will never set eyes on him or her or come for him or her” she said for Adele to frown.

“I’m sorry, I can’t…

“It’s not an option. The contract is giving because it shouldn’t be that I didn’t warn you.” Maria said for Adele to shake her head holding her stomach.

“Sign the contract and save yourself and the child or choose death because I won’t watch my grandchild grow in you in an unconducive environment,” Maria said in a cold voice for Adele to feel shivers run down her spine.

“Please, don’t….

Maria looked at her other bodyguards who brought out a gun and immediately Adele closed her mouth.

“Fine.. fine, I will sign it,” she said in fear as she carried the contract and signed it in haste. After the guard took the paper away, Maria smiled.

“After the birth of the child, you will be compensated and you should consider yourself dead to the child,” Maria said and walked away while Adele fell on her knees as she just signed away the only family of her blood she was ready to have……