Chapter 5 Get her out of here
Karen searched Roger's eyes for a glimmer of emotion that was absent. He didn't seem angry, but he also didn't appear as happy as he did with the other woman or when he looked at Tonia.
Despite her desire to be with the man she loved and raise their child together, Karen knew it would only bring her pain, so she declined. "You don't like me, so why torture yourself with my presence?" she asked.
Roger scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself. This is just until the child is born, there won't be a wedding or anything."
Though expecting the worst, this revelation completely broke her. “You want me to be your baby mama, never?”
She tried to leave, to find a different doctor to remove the mistake. Her only guilt would be towards her unborn child.
The pressure from all sides made her feel incapable of keeping the baby, but Roger blocked her path, pushing her back until she gently bumped into the doctor's table.
His towering figure loomed over her, making her uneasy with the proximity. You believe you can terminate my child and escape the consequences? I don't want this, but my child will stay," he said coldly, making her feel like a mere breeder for him.
Was she expected to sacrifice her future for a man who only cared about her adopted sister? "What about me? What about my life? Don't I deserve love too, Ro...?"
"No, you don't," Roger interjected, fueling bitterness within her. With his wealth, he could have married any woman of his choice but he spent years waiting to meet someone with the ability to capture his heart.
When it finally happened, another obsessed female, just like the others, appeared and destroyed what had taken him close to a decade to achieve.
"Tonia made it clear that if I hadn't been with you, she would have agreed to marry me."
Karen let out a bitter chuckle. Tonia’s words were always like nectar to a bee. Her parents chose to believe Tonia, just like Roger did. What did she have left?
"Well, to you, maybe not, but just so you know, my parents have arranged a match for me," she revealed, instantly regretting her words as Roger responded with sarcastic laughter.
"Do you really think Hector will marry you, a deflowered woman?" he mocked. Karen was taken aback by the fact that he knew without her mentioning any names.
His demeaning question pierced her already shattered heart. Despite the pain, she managed to compose herself and stared at him. "How did you know?" Her voice came out as a whisper. He scoffed and pulled away from her as if she was insignificant to him.
"Don't give me that look. I'm a bodyguard, and my clients are high-profile. Hector doesn't want a woman who has already been intimate," he stated bluntly. Karen was about to respond, but before she could, a melodious voice called out from behind the door,
"Roger, are you there?" Roger's jaw clenched. "Coming, Lexi."
Without a second glance at Karen, he walked out of the room, leaving her to grapple with the insult he had hurled at her.
Karen couldn't fathom how she managed to make it back to her father's car that day. The words "a deflowered woman" kept echoing in her mind as she lay on her bed, tears clouding her vision.
"Karen, where have you been? Why haven't you been answering your phone?" Tonia asked impatiently, her slender finger flicking on the light switch, flooding the dark room with chandelier light.
She held a glass of milkshake in her hand. "Here, I made this for you." Karen’s initial excitement at Tonia’s kindness had faded, making her reluctant. “I don’t want to drink,” she said.
Tonia’s eyes showed a brief flicker of something, but it vanished before Karen could identify it. “Come on, you haven’t eaten. You need to be healthy.”
She brought the milk to Karen’s mouth and insisted she drink it. Karen felt nauseous after just a sip of the milk shake, but an angry voice called from downstairs.
“Karen, come down here!”
She hurried to the bathroom to empty her stomach, noticing a smirk on Tonia’s lips before she composed herself and followed Karen.
“What’s the matter?” Tonia asked.
Karen finished rinsing her mouth after vomiting. “Don’t bring that near me again. It makes me sick.”
Tonia's eyes briefly flashed with something, but then returned to normal. "Fine, I'll bring you a smoothie next time, but you have to help me with..."
Their father's voice interrupted again, causing Karen to rush out of the room. As she reached the middle of the stairs, she stopped in her tracks.
"Roger," she muttered under her breath, wondering why he was there. "I brought the marriage papers," he revealed, causing her heart to sink. However, when Roger saw Tonia behind her, his expression dulled.
"Roger, my sister is going to marry Hector," Tonia said with a smile. She knew that chance was already knew but had to bring it up to hint her availability to replace her Karen.
Karen felt her stomach churn and hurried to the bathroom in the hall.
No one followed her as Roger casually responded, "I work for Hector now, and he won't marry a pregnant woman.
" You!" Gordon exclaimed, his hand raised as he advanced towards Roger, but the latter swiftly evaded, causing the middle-aged man to lose his balance. Despite this, Roger managed to catch him to prevent a fall.
Karen returned, feeling sick as she collapsed onto the sofa. "You promised to have an abortion. I should have gone with you," her father said bitterly. Roger's gaze darkened, and his tone turned sharp.
"If she had aborted that child, you all would have been dead."
"Such bold words for a bodyguard," Tonia mocked, but Roger's focus shifted back to the document in his hand. "She's carrying my child, so I'm taking responsibility."
The joy in Tonia's eyes was evident. Finally, Karen would be out of the family, married to the humble bodyguard, and she would find a way into Hector's life.
Still, she needed Karen’s help to pass her final papers and interrupted, saying, “She’s still in school, so she can’t get married.”
Gordon cut in before Roger could speak, saying, “No, I have to talk to Hector.” He shook his head, dialed the number, but as he stayed on the phone, a shadow of darkness covered his face, and his feet trembled.
“What do you mean we lied to you?”
Tonia panicked, asking, “Wait, Dad, what’s going on?”
Gordon sadly lowered his phone and said, “Hector’s father claims we deceived him and wants nothing to do with us.”
“It’s all her fault,” Katherine lunged at Karen on the couch, but before she could reach her, Roger pulled her back forcefully, saying, “Not under my watch. She’s carrying my child.”
“Then we want nothing to do with her. She’s your responsibility from today," Katherine said, adding, "What will my friends think? It would be better not to have a daughter like her."
Karen's heart sank, but she felt too weak to speak a word, possibly due to her pregnancy symptoms. Tonia should have been happy that everything was going according to her plans, but she wasn't.
The collaboration with the Davises was already broken, as was her chance with Hector.
"Are you disowning your daughter because she's carrying my child?" Roger sounded bitter, but no one paid attention to him. Gordon was still trying helplessly to reach Hector.
“Happy now? You've ruined our family," Tonia barked, but Roger gazed at her.
"Tonia, do you really feel nothing for me? You are the only woman I love." He made a statement that felt like knives stabbing Karen's heart.
Despite all she was enduring for him, he shamelessly continued to pursue Tonia.
Even if I wanted to, you can't take care of me, and my sister is pregnant with your child," Tonia shrugged. As much as she wanted Roger to marry Karen, she also wanted to ensure that Karen never enjoyed it.
"Your words are confusing. Is it about the money or your pregnant sister?" Roger asked, ready to make the correction.
As someone who wasn’t used to losing, it was painful for him to lose his first chance at love.
"Enough, get her out of here," Gordon roared, glaring daggers at Karen. "From this moment on, she ceases to be a Fletcher, and we shall send her the necessary documents."
Roger couldn't bring himself to feel pity for Karen. She had brought this situation upon herself and had ruined his chances with Tonia.
"In that case, there is nothing more to say. Go and pack your bags," he told Karen, who was bitter. "I'm sorry I loved you, Roger, but please leave me alone. Dad, please don't send me away," she pleaded, tears blurring her eyes, but it all fell on deaf ears.
Seeing her reluctance to follow him, which he suspected was because she wanted an abortion, Roger lifted her in his arms. Strangely, his body desires came alive at the closeness, and as he looked into her tear-filled eyes, his gaze softened.
The drive to his newly rented apartment was quiet, both lost in thought until Roger's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"I'm not petty. After the child is born, I will make sure you have your life back," he said to her. She gazed at him for a moment, wiping away a lone tear.
Why won’t anyone believe her? Is it wrong to love? Despite feeling sick from the milkshake Tonia gave her, Roger wouldn't accept any excuses after cooking for her. “You have to eat for the sake of the baby.”
There was no maid, but the apartment was small and didn't require one.
Karen, who had no appetite before, felt like a glutton the moment she bit into the chicken tortilla. “This is good.”
Roger smiled proudly. “I’m glad you like it.” Cooking was something he learned from his mother.
“I noticed there’s only one bedroom. I can sleep on the couch,” Karen suggested after doing the dishes, but Roger's response stunned her.