Chapter Three

SHAWNA

In Liam's car, I leaned my head against the seat's headrest trying to gather my thoughts on how I'd get the money since there was no way that my father would assist with the money; he'd tell me to get it from Damien.

“I can assist you but there's no way it'd be up to the money you need,” Liam sighed and I turned to face him in annoyance.

“Liam!” I snap. “You can barely make ends meet and you're trying to help me. With all that you've done for me, I should be the one helping you not the other way around. Even if you give me any money, I won't accept it and if you give it to the doctor, I'll loan double the money to pay you back.”

“But how will you get the money when your family won't help you? It's not like you can ask your husband either,” He said.

Right. Him.

“Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do,” I told him with a determined look on my face.

Liam turned to me with a shocked expression on his face. “How will you do that when he doesn't give you money and is unaware of your mother's condition?” He inquired.

“I won't be collecting the money from him. I'll just take a loan from him,” I said with a tired sigh. “I don't know what I'm going to use as an excuse but I've never asked him for money before so he might loan it to me… no, I'll make sure he does.”

“Are you sure he'll agree? Why don't you just tell him—”

“Absolutely not! I don't want attention on my mother,” I snapped. “And I don't want to burden him. He already thinks I intentionally trapped him in a marriage with me and telling him about my mother will make things worse.”

Liam sighed as he started the engine and I could tell he felt bad about being unable to help me. “And just so you know, you being here and standing with me through all this is more than enough. You don't have to feel bad, okay?”

He nodded slightly with a small smile and I leaned my head against the headrest. Damien should have left by now.

+++

“Do you think he'll like it? Even if he finds it tasty, he might not eat it because I'm the one who cooked it,” I said to my friend, Suzy who worked as a maid in Damien’s home. Since the first day I stepped into the house, she had been nothing but kind to me and we soon bonded.

She nodded her head. “Of course, he will,” she assured me with a wide smile. “It's all his favourite dishes and he's not the type to waste food so he'll surely eat it even if he knows you cooked it and who knows? Perhaps this might be the bridge between you two.”

I doubt so. I had always held on to a glimmer of hope that things would get better between him and me, and truly, I wanted it to. I didn't want things to end on a bad note between us. Perhaps if we have children, things will change.

I took a deep breath as I placed the last plate of food on the table and glanced at the wall clock. “He'll be here any minute from now,” I muttered.

“I should get going now,” Suzy said, looking more excited than I was.

“Goodnight, Suzy,” I hugged her.

“Goodnight and good luck,” She wished me before hurrying out of the dining room. I sat at the table since it was almost 8 pm, the time he came home but after waiting for nearly an hour, I dozed off at the dining table, waking up to someone calling my name.

“Miss. Shawna,” I looked up from the table to see Damien hovering above me and the sleep instantly cleared from my eyes. I hope I wasn't snoring.

It then occurred to me that he had called my name. That was the first time he had directly addressed me in private and although he was formal about it, it made me feel hopeful again.

“Damien, I—” I started to say only for him to drop a file in front of me.

“Those are divorce papers. Sign it,” He instructed, his voice cold as usual.

I stared at the papers in shock and despite knowing the answer, I still asked. “Why?”

“Because you aren't needed. I married you only because my father made it the only way to inherit his properties. I wasn't going to allow my hard work to go to the snake that is my younger brother and now that I've inherited almost everything, you're not needed.”

“That is all I was?” I inquired knowing fully well his answer would hurt me but he didn't bother giving me an answer.

“You'll be paid for your years as my bed warmer—” Bed warmer? “—and the moment my lawyer receives the signed document, you'll have the money sent to your card. In addition, you can stay here for an extra month.”

I smiled through gritted teeth. “Fine. A hundred and thirty thousand grand is all I need.”

“You can get more.”

“I need just the amount I specified and don't worry, I'll sign right now. Just send the money now,” I told him before signing the document and handing it to him.

He stared at me for a while before collecting the document. “You'll receive it tonight,” he said before walking away with his phone to his ear.

The moment he left the house, I sped to my room, tears blurring my vision. I didn't know if the divorce of the fact that I was nothing more than a bed warmer to him was the most painful of all that transpired.

I suddenly felt the urge to vomit and ran into the toilet, feeling dizzy afterwards. I immediately took out a pregnancy test stick. I always used one when I felt sick but to my surprise, there were two lines.

No way. I'm pregnant.