Fifty-two

"Liam, I'm going to the ladies room," I whisper in Liam's ear.

He's been stuck in some business conversations with Malik and the other three guys since forever, and I think I'm done with this party.

"Okay. When you come back we'll go home right away," Liam returns with a soft, tired smile.

"Sure. Can you hold my cellphone?" I hand it to him and walk away.

After jostling past a few guests, I finally manage to find the restroom with the help of one of the waiters. However, returning home and settling some scores with my husband is the only thing occupying my mind, fearful of the next hours of my life.

Maybe I should just quit thinking of it and let fate decide. Well, at least for now, right? A sigh of uneasiness leaves my chest as I stop at the bathroom entrance to let some ladies pass. It's a small hallway bathed with rich golden light from the refined ceiling.

"You've lost him, now get over it! You keep making a fool out of yourself and it's pathetic! Until when will you learn that, Monique?" A familiar voice yells from the bathroom and I stop moving.

It's Scarlet.

"Until I lose nothing! You hear me?" Monique retorts icily. "Mon Diew, Scarlet! I'm not like you, can't you see it? I can't sit around and watch my man getting married to some tramp from God-knows-where! No, no one takes what's rightfully mine!"

"Yours? Don't make me laugh! You don't even love him, Monique, for God's sake!" Scarlet laughs briefly, and a short silence follows. "Or do you?" she asks, her tone surprised.

I hold my breath, standing beside the door, not sure if I should go in or not. But I think they're talking about Malik.

"You think I'm a monster, don't you?" Monique snaps.

"Can you blame me?" Scarlet answers.

"Hell, you should be the last person to condemn me, Scarlet!" Monique barks, her French accent severe. "You, of all people, shouldn't even open your mouth to lecture me!"

"Oh? And why? Just because you're my friend I shouldn't tell you when you're stooping too low?" Scarlet recoils.

"What did you say? Stooping too low?" Monique booms into a scandalous laugh. "Coming from someone who got herself pregnant just to keep the man who's now married, that's very magnificent, darling, don't you think!"

I freeze. What?

"I didn't get myself pregnant to keep him! You're being very rude right now and I'm not standing here listening to your stupidity!"

"Oh, so now you're going to feed me the same crap that it was a mistake and you didn't plan to be knocked out?"

My heart is thumping violently against my chest. Horrified, my hand drops from the door handle I've been holding recklessly.

Pregnant? Did I hear that correctly?

I'm stupefied, too shocked to move, and then the door suddenly bursts open, and Scarlet, angrily, appears before my eyes.

"Why are you running away?" Monique shouts as she stalks her friend, only to hold her horses upon finding me standing right before them.

My gaze is fixed on Scarlet. We're mutually startled, eyes wide open.

"Just great," Monique mutters, her voice full of contempt.

I don't know how to react, so I just stand like a statue while dropping my gaze around Scarlet's stomach. I can't see anything as she holds her large wallet to her midsection.

"I'm leaving!" she announces to her friend, her blazing green eyes on me. "May I? You're blocking the way," she now asks me, coldly.

Like a fool I step aside. They walk away under my watch, and for the umpteenth time in my life I feel like a fool who always stays aside. I know I have a question to ask about what I've just heard, but my voice feels restrained to even utter a syllable.

I remain unmoved until the door bangs heavily, making me jump with nerves. A bile rises in my throat. What has just happened? I can't seem to feel anything other than the weakness of my legs, making a search for balance as soon as I can.

I breeze inside the restroom and heavily I lean against the vanity, catching my breath as though I've run a marathon. She's pregnant? I ask myself to no avail. The truth remains that I need to get that woman and ask for clarification.

Immediately I run toward the door to catch up with Scarlet. However, much to my surprise, it swings open and Scarlet walks in. She's panting, just as I am, and our eyes lock once again. She slowly shuts the door behind her, and I hold my stance firmly.

"Are you pregnant?" I ask straight, my voice hard and petrified.

"Do I look like I am?" Scarlet retorts in a low, unyielding voice. She looks dejected, her eyes dark, and maybe angered to some extent.

Angry at me? I don't know.

"Just answer my damn question! Are you pregnant or not?" I fail to guard my anger, my fear, my assorted emotions resulting from the possibility that this woman may be carrying my husband's child as we're speaking right now.

Scarlet's chest shores on and off, sighing. Gently she tucks some strands of her nicely styled hair behind her ear, her nude colored lips moving momentarily as she struggles to let out the words. I find hell waiting for her.

"I'm sure you heard it," she utters at last while freeing the wallet off her stomach area.

Instinctively, my eyes fall right to it, trying to find any trace of pregnancy from the mini swing dress she's wearing. The midsection is loose so I can't clearly tell whether there's a bump or not—anything is possible.

God, I'm going crazy!

"How long?" I barely ask. My fake confidence slowly withers under Scarlet's intense gaze. "Your pregnancy! Is it Liam's?" My voice comes soft as I take my husband's name.

Don't be too cruel, Lord! Please don't do this to me. I pray inside, crying without tears for some miracle to happen.

"Hmm." Scarlet nods affirmatively, and no miracle seems to find me. "He's the only man in my life, so naturally he's the father."

My whole world turns into a serious halt, dull and livid. My eyes freeze, my mouth slightly hanging, and I lose focus on what's real and what's not. No, this can't be real. It has to be another nightmare that I'm used to.

Did Liam cheat on me? It suddenly crosses my mind, driving me insane.

"What will you do if my answer is what scares you the most right now?" Scarlet utters gently, a torturous look in her eyes that tells absolutely nothing specific. "If I tell you that I am pregnant"—she saunters closer to me with clear menace—"or not, will it change anything?"

I'm not sure. I don't know if anything will be the same whether this woman is really pregnant or not, but I still have to know.

"Will you stop this and just tell me the truth? I'm in no mood to play mind games with you, Scarlet!" I snap straight to her face.

"Me neither." She smiles and takes a deep breath, mentally cornering me like a prey.

I must look so desperate in her eyes. Like a poor, vulnerable woman who's scared to lose her little home and husband.

And I am that woman. I've always been the person with nothing to lose, but ever since I met Liam something changed.

I'm constantly afraid to lose. Afraid to lose my love, my happiness, my home—which is none other than him—and mostly him.

"I'm no longer pregnant," Scarlet whispers plainly.

I gaze up sharply at her. "How come?"

"I don't mean to be rude, but I don't think I owe you any explanation, Kira." Scarlet doesn't seem appreciative of my question.

"Did you tell him? I mean Liam. Does he know about your pregnancy?" I ask her.

"No, I didn't. What for? He's found you and you're both happy with your marriage, right?" Scarlet fails to conceal her pain as she speaks.

My heart sinks.

"I'm sorry," I utter.

"I hate pity. And I'm not even sure why I'm here with you right now!" she snaps, tears and dread fill her glistening eyes. "You're probably expecting his baby, too, by now, right? I know how much Liam loves kids so I hope you can make a beautiful family together. I mean it." Tears stream down her face but she's quick to mop it away.

I feel a pang on the chest, and out of the blue my eyes burn because I'm positive I'd be overjoyed if I was expecting his baby.

"So . . . Just because you can't tell him yourself about the pregnancy, you're now throwing it all on me. How smart." I chuckle, letting the team work in my eye. "I really don't know why you're telling me this, but—" I pause when the door opens once again.

Three ladies walk in with loud voices, but they tone down the second they see Scarlet, smiling excitedly at her. She smiles back at them, and it shows how popular she is.

But of course, how can I forget that she's that famous ballerina, huh? And mostly, the star of this night after the runway she pulled some time ago.

"One more question," I ask Scarlet before we part ways. "When did that happen?"

I know I'm being an inconsiderate bitch asking this, but I can't help it. I need to know if it's after or before I met Liam.

"Everything happened before you even knew he existed, I believe, so you've nothing to worry about. Good evening," Scarlet tells me in a hurry and scurries off.

No, ma'am. I knew he existed way before you even met him.

"Good evening. And I'm sorry for your loss," I say sincerely in a low voice.

She gives me a tight look that I hardly understand, and off she goes. I know she's in pain, the one I can or can not imagine, but I can't help feeling like she's hiding something.

Am I losing my judgement? I'm not sure about that but I know I need to use the bathroom. Gingerly, I slip into the toilet stall with so much in my head.

The two women outside are talking about winter and beauty. One complains about her dry skin, and the other about her unshaved legs that she hid with stockings.

But my head stays profusely on one thought. Little Liam, or Scarlet, could be expected in a few months from now. My husband was going to be a father—something I can't give him.

How ironic can life get, huh? My eyes are watery as I laugh soundlessly. I fail miserably to hide my pain, the deep harrow in my heart that can only be filled with the cry of an infant.

I rub my tummy, crying painfully. But I know I shouldn't despair. It's too early to cry if I haven't even told Liam about it. What will be his reaction when I do? I sigh deeply to pull myself together.

Liam is at his feet as I return to the ballroom. He regards me worriedly.

"I was about to call you but then you left your phone with me. Is everything okay?" he inquires, staring intently at me.

"Mmm. Let's go home, I'm tired," I answer softly.

Liam scowls but he presses the matter no further. "Let's go. I already informed Malik and Roshni." His arm hauls my waist and we finally make our exit.

The ride home is filled with silence. I'm facing the window sullenly, my head hanging low to the side. Liam's frown is apparent as he handles the steering wheel, only halfway to enter Kensington.

The talk we're going to have tonight has been a torture enough for me, and now my thoughts are divided between that and the news from Scarlet. Did she really lose the baby? Or got rid of it? I'm confused.

Okay, I know, I need to stop thinking of her. Deeply my subconscious snaps. I just don't know how I can keep this to myself. Hiding this important information from Liam is like betraying him, yet it's not mine to tell.

"Are we having a funeral?" Liam snaps coolly.

"No, why?" I sit straight.

"Why? You haven't spoken a word since we left the party." He sounds displeased. "What did they tell you?" He glances at me.

I frown. "Who?"

"I saw Monique and Scarlet a few moments before you stepped out of the bathroom, Kira.You were with them, weren't you?" Liam demands, a tiny agitation lacing his voice, his attention equally divided between the road and me. "What did you hear from them to make you this way?" He lowers his voice.

I suck in a deep breath, smiling. "What could they possibly say to me?"

"I don't know," Liam mutters. "Well, I know Scarlet is never the type to harm anyone, but Monique is different. So I thought maybe she said something to upset you or . . ." His voice trails off at the glare I give him.

"Yeah, I guess she's a good woman," I murmur under my breath. Liam looks confused, his brows crinkled. "Scarlet. She seems nice and you've just said it yourself. When did you break up with her? To me it seems like you two were madly in love with each other," I blurt out.

"We broke up a few months before I met you," Liam replies with no delight.

And left her pregnant? I feel like I'm missing something, but I'd rather stop figuring out the past that doesn't belong to me before I lose my mind.

"Why did you break up with her?" I ask and it's too late to take it back.

Damn, why am I interested?

"Why are you asking such questions?" Liam growls impassively.

"I—" I stutter.

Maybe I just want to understand their history so I know how to live with it. They were about to be parents, and this man here has absolutely no idea about it.

"Fuck, Kira." Liam drags his head toward the headrest of his seat the moment he halts the car. He shuts his eyes for a while, sighing, then flashes them open. "You're not the type to ask such kind of questions without a reason. Now tell me what's going on."

"Well . . ."

"Everything, Kira! The whole truth. Right now!" he commands, his voice no longer friendly or loving.

He looks mad.

"We can't talk on the road, Liam. Let's go home and do it as we agreed," I plead. Liam glares at me, taciturn. "Please," I add gently.

He doesn't respond, other than holding the steering wheel and proceeding to drive. We say no word from this point, and I know it's about time that I know where I stand. 

A/N: Thank you everyone for reaching this point. Don't forget to vote, and I hope you're enjoying the story.

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