Chapter 158 CHAPTER 158
Suspicions in the Hallway
Dorcas rushed down the hallway with one hand clamped over her mouth, moving so fast she nearly hit the wall before she caught herself. Her stomach rolled violently. She pushed the bathroom door open, dropped to her knees, and barely made it to the toilet before the nausea tore out of her.
She gagged again, gripping the toilet seat until her fingers went numb.
Footsteps padded quickly behind her. Then Ayisha’s voice, soft at first, then sharper with worry.
“Dorcas? What’s going on? Are you okay?”
Dorcas didn’t answer. She was heaving too hard to talk.
Ayisha knelt beside her, pulling Dorcas’ braids away from her face. “This is the third time tonight you’ve run off to throw up. Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
Dorcas spit weakly, reached for the flush, and sagged back against the wall. Sweat beaded across her forehead. She dragged her sleeve across her mouth and exhaled shakily.
“I’m fine,” she muttered.
Ayisha blinked at her. “Liar.”
Dorcas glared weakly. “I’m serious. It’s nothing, ma.”
“You’re throwing up your intestines. That is not ‘nothing.’”
Dorcas groaned and shut her eyes. “It’s just stress.”
Ayisha folded her arms. “You weren’t throwing up earlier today?”
“…maybe.”
“So this has been happening?”
Dorcas didn’t answer.
Ayisha’s worry deepened. She pressed the back of her hand to Dorcas’ forehead. “You’re warm.”
Dorcas brushed her hand away. “Please stop fussing.”
“I’ll fuss if I want to fuss,” Ayisha snapped softly. “What’s going on with you?”
Dorcas took a slow breath. Then another. Her stomach still churned, but the worst of it was easing. She braced a hand against the wall and pushed herself up. Ayisha helped her even though Dorcas tried to pretend she didn’t need it.
Then Dorcas turned to the sink, rinsed her mouth, and wiped her face with a trembling hand.
Her reflection stared back at her. She looked pale. Tired. Anxious. Ayisha watched her closely. When Dorcas stepped out of the bathroom, Ayisha followed.
Ayisha shrugged. “The way you keep hiding your phone. The way you avoided dinner. The way you’ve been nauseous for… how long? Days? Weeks?”
Dorcas’ eyes shifted, Ayisha caught it.
“Aha.” Ayisha pointed at her. “That face. What’s that face?”
Dorcas groaned. “Please, I’m begging you.”
Ayisha stepped closer. “Dorcas… tell me what’s happening.”
“Nothing,” Dorcas said quickly. “Please I am fine.”
Ayisha narrowed her eyes again. “Fine.”
Ayisha didn’t bother knocking when she reached Tessa’s room. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Tessa stood at her vanity, fingers trembling slightly as she removed her earrings. Her expression was tight, haunted from the earlier confrontation. She looked exhausted in a way makeup couldn’t hide.
Ayisha closed the door behind her.
“Tessa.”
Tessa turned slowly. “Yeah?”
Ayisha walked toward her with purpose. “We need to talk.”
Tessa arched a brow, instantly alert. “About what?”
“Dorcas.”
Tessa blinked. “Dorcas? Is she okay?”
Ayisha hesitated. Not long. Just enough for Tessa to sense something was wrong.
Tessa set her earrings down and faced her fully. “Ayisha. What happened?”
Ayisha sighed, rubbing her forehead. “She’s been throwing up. Like, violently. She’s shaky, pale… and she won’t tell me what’s wrong.”
Tessa frowned. “Maybe she caught a bug.”
“Maybe,” Ayisha said, voice low. “But she’s been acting weird for weeks.”
Tessa’s eyes sharpened. “Weird how?”
“Hiding her phone. Sneaking off. Missing meals. Getting dizzy a lot.” Ayisha held Tessa’s gaze. “Tessa… I think something’s up.”
Tessa remained silent for a moment.
“Up how?” She finally asked.
Ayisha took a step closer, voice dropping even lower. “I think… Dorcas might be pregnant.”
Tessa stared at Ayisha as if she had just spoken in another language.
“…Pregnant?” Tessa repeated, almost whispering.
Ayisha nodded once. “You see it too, right? Or at least tell me I’m not crazy.”
Tessa just stood there shocked, speechless.
Her mind spinning through every possible implication and crashing into the next.
Dorcas. Pregnant? For who?
Tessa shook her head slowly. “Ayisha… no.”
Ayisha raised a brow. “No?”
“No,” Tessa said again, firmer this time. “There’s no way Dorcas is pregnant.”
Ayisha folded her arms. “And you know this how? She’s a grown woman.”
“Because she would have told me,” Tessa said. “She told me she doesn’t have a boyfriend and she’s a virgin.”
Ayisha’s eyes widened. “Tessa. Be serious.”
“I am,” Tessa insisted. “Dorcas tells me everything. If she were pregnant, she wouldn’t be hiding it.”
Ayisha gave her a long, pointed stare.
“People hide stuff when they’re scared.”
Tessa opened her mouth. Closed it. Then opened it again. “No. Dorcas isn’t stupid. She knows how dangerous this house is already. She wouldn’t add… that… into the mix.”
Ayisha stepped closer. “You didn’t see her just now. She looked terrified. Like she didn’t want me asking questions.”
Tessa swallowed hard.
Ayisha continued, “She’s sick every morning. She barely eats. She’s dizzy all the time. Her emotions are all over the place.”
Tessa shook her head quickly. “No. No, no, no. You’re overthinking this.”
Ayisha sighed. “Then tell me what else it could be.”
Tessa froze.
Ayisha lifted her chin. “Exactly.”
Tessa looked away, her mind racing faster than she could control.