CHAPTER 19

“M-Mom,” I stammered.

“I am asking you, Jandie,” she said.

“Can we please talk inside my room, Mom?”

Her left eyebrow raised in confusion. “Why do we need to go inside? It is much better if we talk about this matter right here, right now, with the father of that child,” my mother said seriously.

I pulled in my breath as my chest pounded. I tremblingly straightened my position and cleared my throat to speak.

“He is not the father…” I lied.

I wanted to tell my mother the truth, but I just couldn’t spill the tea because Achetbir was with us. My mother widened her eyes and barely opened her mouth in astonishment.

“Then, whose child is that? Is it that man you were always talking with over the phone in your room?” she accused.

I bit my lower lip when Achetbir stopped caressing my arm. Even though I wasn’t looking at him, I knew that he was giving me sharp looks in this moment.

She was referring to Caster. He usually called to ask how my condition was. I secretly picked up his calls in Blair’s room because I didn’t want Achetbir to change the way he treated me. I was sweating viciously due to nervousness and frustrations. I looked at my mother with teary eyes and nodded once as an answer.

“You got pregnant with someone while you are in a relationship with this man?” she asked directly while pointing her finger at Achetbir.

My jaw dropped, and I stared at my mother, who was now dead serious. “W-what kind of question is that?” I asked in return.

“I am not a fool, Jandie. I can't ignore that there is something between you and your boss. That is why I am puzzled how you get pregnant, and he is not the father. Don’t tell me that in your 28 years of existence, you just thought of sailing on two rivers,” she said without stopping.

I felt like I was going to faint anytime. I knew that her accusations were not true, but in Achetbir’s eyes, what she described seemed to be the truth.

“We’re not in a relationship,” Achetbir interrupted.

My mother looked at him in great confusion.

“I am only taking care of her to make up for the errors I made at the company. She almost lost her child because of the heavy workload that I gave her.”

My heart crumpled after hearing those words. It was like I was being hit with a rock that woke me up from my daydreaming these past few days.

“I am also engaged to someone else,” he said in baritone.

No one dared to speak afterward until the silence shattered because Achetbir’s phone was ringing.

“Sorry, I’ll just take this call." He bid us goodbye and took his phone out.

We just nodded before he left. “Patriza…” I heard him speak as he walked away.

Yeah, I almost forgot. He was not mine anymore.

“You love him, don’t you?

My mother caught my attention when she spoke. She looked at me seriously though I could still sense her concern from her eyes.

I cleared my throat and nodded as a response. There was no need for me to deny my feelings to my mother, now that Achetbir left the room.

“I’ll ask you once again: Jandie, who is the father?”

I stared at my mother and looked away. My tears would nearly betray me at this point. “I-it’s his,” I stammered as I started to cry.

Mom quickly pulled me toward her to give me a hug. “I have no idea what happened between the two of you. But always remember that your sister and I are here for you no matter what, supporting you in your every battle,” she said, concerned.

I sobbed quietly and hugged my mother back tightly. “Sorry, Mom. I lied earlier,” I whispered.

“Shh… I understand,” she said while caressing my hair.

She cupped my face with her hands and looked at me. She wiped away my tears and smiled at me.

“You’re a grown-up, dear. I know that you can decide according to your own logic. I know you have your own reasons for why you’re doing such actions. I will just wait for the right time when you are ready enough to tell it to me truthfully."

I just nodded as an answer. I can’t help but be amazed that she could understand my situation, though I couldn't tell her everything. Perhaps mothers are just like that—you haven’t spoken, yet they can sense your grief.

I unconsciously touched my stomach. “He will be out in a few months. Can I be a good mother to my child?” I whispered and smiled bitterly.

“No mother has been perfect when it comes to her child, Jandie. Everyone makes mistakes and lacks something, but that doesn’t mean you are not a good mother,” my mother explained.

I just smiled and hugged her again. “Thank you so much, Mom. I do now fully understand why you disciplined us so much when we were young.”

She chuckled and parted herself from me. “You seem pretty emotional. You are also having a sensitive pregnancy,” she noticed.

I sniffed and didn’t dare to deny it.

“We do have beliefs from our time that you can pass your cravings on to your husband when you lean over him,” she said while softly laughing.

My eyes grew bigger in amazement.

“But don’t dare to do it. I was just telling stories about pregnancy,” she reminded me.

“Yes,” I said.

“Sorry to butt in. I just need to go to Manila,” Achetbir said as he entered the kitchen.

“That’s fine, hijo. I have caused you a lot of trouble,” my mother said before looking at me. “How about you, Jandie? It is better if you go with him so that someone can look after you instead of commuting all by yourself,” she said seriously, though I could sense a little smirk on her lips.

I bit my tongue inside my mouth because of how mischievously my mother acted. I slowly turned my eyes to Achetbir, who was glaring at me coldly.

“C-can I come along?” I hesitantly asked.

“Pack your things. We’ll be going in ten minutes. I’ll just call the helicopter,” he said which, made my eyes grew bigger.

“S-sir? I can ride in any land transportation,” I insisted.

He lazily glanced at me and looked at my womb. “The baby might get stressed due to heavy traffic. Air travel is the better option. Now, go and pack your things. That’s an order, Miss Mendoza.”

I pouted and nodded. I could even see my mother giggling secretly, so I rolled my eyes.

It’s really different when you're rich. Just in one call, you already have a helicopter to ride on.

We were quietly sitting next to each other inside the helicopter. I avoided looking at him due to the fear and nervousness from earlier. My phone rang so I took it out to see who sent a message. I immediately saw Caster’s name in my thread messages. I was about to open it, but Achetbir quickly grabbed my phone.

“You are not allowed to use your phone inside this helicopter,” he said coldly.

I sniffed and just let him keep my phone. I sat straight and played with my fingers.

“So you’re still talking to him,” he said mockingly.

I looked at him in confusion. “Is there something wrong with that?” I asked innocently.

He laughed sarcastically and muttered a curse before leaning on his seat and shutting his eyes. “Yeah, I almost forgot. He’s the father.”

I had no idea about what he was saying, so I didn’t even dare to speak. He seemed to go back to having mood swings—or, in other words, we were back again to what we used to be. I bitterly smiled and leaned back in my seat until I fell asleep.

I woke up thirsty, so I looked for water. Unfortunately, I saw mineral water on the other side of a sleeping Achetbir. I deeply sighed and quietly leaned over him to get the water without disturbing him. I shouted when I almost slipped off. Thankfully, Achetbir responded, quickly catching me and stopping me from falling.

“FUCK! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” he exclaimed angrily.

I almost cried when I looked at him. “I-I just want to drink. Why are you shouting at me?” I said with great emotion.

He shut his eyes tightly and placed me on his lap properly. “Damn, woman, you’ll be the death of me,” he whispered.

He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes slowly. “Fine, just drink,” he stated and wrapped his arms around my waist.

I stiffened in my spot. I just realized that I was sitting on his lap.

“I-I can sit back on my seat,” I said and was about to stand up.

“Stop moving, Mendoza, and drink that fucking water,” he threatened coldly.

I gulped and sweated as I opened the bottled water. I just processed my emotions through drinking until I noticed that I finished it all.

“I’m done. I can now go back to my seat,” I mumbled.

He quickly shook his head no. “No, you might trip again. Just stay here until we landed,” he said.

My mouth parted with disbelief. 

I think I would be under house arrest if he knew that it was his child that I was bearing.