Marry Him...Or Not

It's been two days. I had been to another hell and back. I'd visited Christian at the company but he had ordered no one to let me in. 

Uncle Pete had gone with me for support. I had tried the house my father built with his hard earned money, same mean treatment. Even his ex-girlfriend — now girlfriend — Denise Kellers, had treated me worse. She's splashed cold water on me before I saw it coming. 

I was currently in the car with Uncle Pete crying my eyes out. "He doesn't want me anymore, uncle Pete. What have I done to deserve this? I didn't plan for this to happen."

"I'm sorry you're going through this. But at a point, you have to make a choice." He comforted me.

I wiped my tears and stared at him. "You do not expect me to marry Jared, do you uncle Pete? He doesn't even like me. Did you not see how he and his mother and girlfriend treated me?"

"Martha has never been an easy woman. Jared is short tempered and sometimes too stoic for his own good but that doesn't make him a bad person." He reasoned with me.

"What about Mia, his girlfriend? She's like a cat ready to scratch my eyes out." I sniffled. "That home is going to be hell for me, uncle Pete. I don't want them."

"Now, it's not about you, Hailey." He softly said.

"It's about Jared? Should I think about Jared and his lofty dreams forgetting I'm a human too?"

"It's not even about him., but the child you're carrying." He said.

"I..." I held his gaze at loss for words.

"This child is the reason you are already out of your home. You already decided to keep this child alive no matter the consequences and how much it'll affect you."

"I'm beginning to think I made a mistake. I should have just aborted it." I told him.

"You know you don't mean that, Hailey. You're just upset and confused which is normal given the current state of things. You seem like a woman with a good heart, you wouldn't kill a child even though it was still in blood form."

I hated the fact that he was right. I didn't have the heart to do such. This was my first pregnancy, I could not treat it so badly.

"But Martha and Mia..." I trailed off. 

I wasn't the troublesome type and I hated confrontations. But Martha and Mia would certainly make sure I was covered in that area. 

"If you could take the risk of sacrificing your marriage for this child, you can withstand anything. But I promise you, I'll try to make sure they don't trouble you much." His phone rang then. 

He picked and put it on loudspeaker, mouthing who it was to me.

"Hello, uncle. Has she agreed?" Jared sounded like a frustrated man.

Business was definitely not doing well. 

"Not yet."

"What the fuck?! I told you she was sent to ruin my life, uncle! Why is she doing this?!" He raged from the other side of the line. 

"Shut up, Jared. She's a human too. She went to see her husband to try to reconcile, he's having none of it. If you want this girl, you need to do better than this. Your mother and Mia are the main reasons she's not saying yes yet." Uncle Pete informed, trying to be calm and patient with his nephew.

Aside my father, uncle Pete was the nicest man I'd ever known. 

"What has my mother and girlfriend got to do with anything?" He asked, still aggravated.

"They abused and harassed her the first day she came to the house, Jared. If you were treated that way on your first day, would you jump on the idea of spending years in such an environment or even being co-live with such people?" His uncle was beginning to get irritated, slowly losing his patience.

"I am losing more clients, uncle Pete. If she doesn't agree to this marriage thing, I'll be bankrupt before six months." Despite the anger, I could detect the faint sadness and self disappointment.

My conscience was pricked and I heaved a sigh. He might have not treated me right but I also could not stand and watch his empire go down. 

To have come that far, even though it was an inheritance, was not easy. He had put in the hard work and he certainly didn't look like the lazy, sleazy type. He worked for what he wanted.

I admired ambitious people, their character flaw regardless. "Tell him I'll marry him." I said before I could change my mind.

"Wait? What did she say, uncle Pete?" He asked.

"She has agreed to marry you." His uncle relayed the news, relief flooded his voice.

"Great. I'll make arrangements and we'll go tie the knot and make sure every media house in the country is present. That will kill the rumors and bring me back to business."

"You've laid it all out yourself, haven't you?" Uncle Pete emitted a small chuckle.

"Yes, I have. Alright, I'll relay the news to my mom and get back to you. Thank you so much , uncle Pete. You're a life saver."

The call ended. 

"But there is one problem." I started, feeling a bit nervous at the thought of marrying that guy.

I was having a rethink, I'd made a very rash decision out of pity for him.

"I'm still married." I showed him the wedding ring I'd refused to remove. "And he has a girlfriend."

"We'll have to send him divorce papers, then." Uncle Pete suggested. "And as for Mia, she won't be a problem."

"Divorce papers." I repeated, those words suddenly sounding alien to me. 

When I'd agreed to marry Christian the day he'd proposed to me, I had never thought there would come a day I'd divorce him. 

I shook my head when I realized deep down I still loved him. "I-I can't." My voice was barely above a whisper.

"What do you mean you can't, Hailey? You want to be legally married to two guys?" His moss green eyes kind and empathetic, but also tired.

"I...I still love my husband." I told him.

He sighed. "I know that. You don't seem like the kind of girl who'd marry for material things."

I smiled at that. "Thank you."

"But a new phase of your life is beginning and yes it hurts but you have to live it. This is your life now." He said.

"But I can't divorce him. He's my husband. My first..." My vision got blurry and my voice got smaller.

"It's okay, you'll be fine. Let's take it one step at a time, okay?" He encouraged.

I nodded. "I'll need some time first. Let me see if Christian changes his mind."

Deep down, I knew the chances of that happening were slim to none, veering more on 'none'. But I had to be hopeful. Dad had said to never give up on what I truly wanted. 

So I'd hold on for a while and hope that Christian forgave me.