CHAPTER 9

"Jands. Hey, Jandie."

I woke up to a gentle tap on my shoulder. I opened my eyes slowly and saw Serah curiously looking at me.

"Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

My forehead furrowed, and everything gradually entered my mind. I got up and looked at my wristwatch.

"Fuck!" I swore weakly when I saw it was about to go home.

"These past few weeks, you've always been drowsy here in the office. Are you okay?" Freya asked curiously.

I quickly arranged the remaining papers on my desk and turned on my PC to encode them.

"I also don't know what is happening to myself; I didn't even stay up all night these past few days," I replied while keeping my eyes on my computer.

"Maybe your blood pressure is going low, so you're always feeling drowsy," Serah said.

I shrugged and typed quickly. "It's a good thing Achet—Boss doesn't come out of his den. If he does, I am doomed," I whispered softly.

"Yeah, right!" the two quickly agreed.

I still felt like I wanted to sleep, but I restrained myself from doing it. Aside from the fact that there were people waiting for my work, I also feared that Achetbir would come out anytime soon.

That one wasn't just a tiger; h was a monster.

I never talked to my two companions again to speed up what I was doing. Luckily, Achetbir didn't give me a bunch of files this time. His torture was focused on ordering me to buy something at the store outside. Sometimes, I couldn’t help but think of bringing stocks and building a grocery store here in the department since he always wanted to try local products.

"Come here."

His deep baritone voice lingered in the speaker.

I rested deeply and set my table.

"I'm also really impressed with that one. He is not cutting your salary, but he's cutting your name," Freya murmured.

I chuckled at her statement. I noticed that too: as time went on, he gradually lost his formality with me. Even if there was a little pain in my chest because of that, I just chose to ignore it.

"All right, go there; I'll finish this so you can go home with us." Serah pushed me away.

I sparingly smiled and thanked them before standing up. I walked toward Achetbir’s office. As I normally did, I first knocked three times before going inside.

I bowed my head before looking at him. "What can I do, Sir?" I asked my polite and formal question.

"Buy me some fried wrapped bananas, the freshly cooked ones."

Back then, it always surprised me every time he'd make me buy something. Now, I was used to it.

If I were out of my mind, I'd think that he was practicing being a poor citizen.

"Is that all?" I asked and waited for a second at the door that was behind me due to a sudden dizziness.

I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them up quickly so that he would not notice my situation.

Did I eat this afternoon?

I saw his left eyebrow lifted as he stared at me, then let out a heavy breath. "That's all; go buy it," he said.

I bowed again in respect before leaving the room. I peeked at my friends' stalls and signaled that I would just be outside. They both rolled their eyes as annoyance flashed through their faces. They nodded, causing me to turn my back on them and start walking.

A few minutes had passed, and I finally found a stall where I could buy what he wanted. Once again, I felt dizzy, so I closed my eyes and rested. Fortunately, I was able to rest then; otherwise, my legs would have been broken now because of walking every time he ordered something.

"I should eat too. Maybe a snack will do,” I whispered into the air before I approached the saleswoman.

I bought Achetbir's snack; I also bought one for myself before walking back to the company again. I didn't know why my dizziness had become more frequent lately, as well as my urination and drowsiness. I also thought that maybe it was an aftereffect of the medicine that the Doctor had given me in the past, so I just shrugged everything off.

About fifteen minutes passed before I was able to get back inside Achetbir’s office. Patriza would not be lingering in the company for three days due to her photoshoot abroad.

I quietly put down the snack beside him. I put it on a saucer and fitted it with a fork as well as a small knife.

He looked at it before returning his eyes to the paperwork. "You eat that," he whispered.

I was stunned in my place. "What?" I repeated.

He stopped doing his thing and took a deep breath before giving me a cold stare. "I told you to eat that; I've lost my hunger," he explained without any emotion.

I wanted to show him my anger, but I tried to hide it. I could do nothing but pick up the food again and bow in respect.

"Do you need anything else?" I avoided being sarcastic, but the annoyance really went through my system.

He raised his left eyebrow at me and leaned on his swivel chair. "Will you give me what I ask for?" There was a playful tone in his voice.

I secretly gritted my teeth. This one was playing with me again.

"If I can."

He smirked and continued focusing on his work. "You can now leave," he said.

I quickly obeyed his command because I might not be able to stop myself from speaking and showing my annoyance.

"Oh, why are you carrying that?" Serah noticed.

I gave out a deep breath and sat on my chair. "That jerk had lost his appetite and now is telling me to eat what I've bought," I replied.

She frowned because of that. “If he weren’t just a tiger, I would think he just really wanted to feed you, but that case is impossible,” she said.

I laughed softly at what she said. "Impossible," I agreed.

I set aside the other papers so they wouldn't get dirtied when I ate. I split the banana and stabbed a small part, and then I was about to swallow it, but I quickly let go of it as I covered my mouth at the same time.

What a freaking smell!

"Hey, are you okay?" Serah asked me worriedly while stroking my back.

I couldn't speak because I was keeping myself from vomiting. I tearfully set the plate aside in the distance. Serah probably noticed that, so she moved it to her desk.

"Hello, Jandie; are you pregnant?" Freya's words startled a curiosity in me that made me stop.

My system lost the urge to vomit because of that. I looked at her at the same time as my lips parted.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, chilled at an idea she had entered into my mind.

"You're always sleepy. I also notice that you pee often, and now—here, you seem to be disgusted by the smell of the banana," she detailed.

Serah quickly took the banana and sniffed; she was still not satisfied with it, so she bit a little. "It's okay," she said.

“I’m not pregnant; that’s impossible,” I told them.

"How can you say that? You had a boyfriend. Aren't you having sex with your boyfriend?" Freya asked directly.

I blushed because of her directness. Even though we were at the right age, I still couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

"Caster and I are not in a romantic relationship; I don't have a boyfriend, so it's impossible for me to get pregnant."

"But I'm sure you're pregnant, Jandie," Freya insisted.

Serah, on the other hand, just silently watched me.

"How could that happen? It's also impossible for someone to rape me without my knowledge."

"Get PT when you get home," Serah suggested.

I was quiet and nervous. I couldn’t help but hold onto my stomach and relive the strange things that had been happening to me lately.

I just nodded.

They both sighed and patted my shoulder at the same time.

"We're just here," Serah said and gave me a sincere smile the same way Freya did.

"But I don't really understand. It's really impossible," I whispered softly.

“Right now, we first need to find out if you’re pregnant or not before we find out how it all happened,” Freya said; Serah quickly nodded in agreement.

Stunned, I just rested deeply by my monitor.

It was time for us to go home, and I still couldn't help but think about my situation.

What if it was true that I was pregnant?

I seemed to lose blood when I thought about it. I dismissed it in my mind and tried to convince myself that stress was the only reason for everything. I hadn't had sex since Achetbir and I broke up. It was also impossible for anyone to enter the condo because the security was tight there. Another thing was that only Achetbir and I knew the door password.

Nor could I escape the feeling that if someone raped me, with the size of his thing, it would be impossible for me not to wake up.

"Come on, Jandie, come with us," Freya cheered.

I could do nothing but accompany them down the building because I felt dizzy again. I was currently fixing my equipment when I heard Achetbir’s office open.

"Mendoza," he called.

That was when I looked up at him.

"Look, that one is in his tiger mode again," I heard Serah whisper.

I quickly put my things away and walked closer to Achetbir.

"Sir," I said with my gentle nod.

"Staple the files in my office," he said, then turned his back at me.

I just sighed deeply and looked in Freya's direction.

"You go home first..." I mouthed and went inside the boss's office.

I was thankful there wasn’t that much, so I immediately finished it in five minutes as well. I was even propped up on Achetbir's table when I felt dizzy again.

"Fuck." I cursed and took a deep breath.

When I had fixed myself, I left the office and took my belongings before leaving the department to go home.

I was starting to sweat while waiting for a taxi to pick me up. I felt like I was running out of breath at the same time as my vision rotated. I was in such a situation when a red car parked in front. Slowly, his window went down, and from there, I saw Caster smiling.

"Want a ride?" I listened to his words, but I couldn't follow what he said next because my vision gradually darkened. "Jandie!" I heard him shout as my body dropped on the cold road.