Chapter 34 Unhinged Mistresses
Zita
I watched the video coverage of Kian and I’s engagement photoshoot, and my stomach twisted at the way he glared at me—like I was some dirty pest he couldn't get rid of—when I wasn’t watching. However, when the camera panned to us, those blue eyes softened as a smile brightened his face and then he would gaze at me as if I meant the world to him.
If he were an actor, he would have a shelf full of Oscars. I clicked pause, admiring the way he held me in his arms. Why couldn’t he just be this way with me when the cameras weren't watching? Even if it meant putting on an act, I would take it.
I shut the laptop, moving from the bed as anger slowly surged inside of me because of Verena. Why would she call to ask about Kian? I thought she mentioned that she didn’t want to see either of us again?
I thought we ended things already?
I shook my head, squashing the thoughts about Verena before they could spiral into an endless loop and throw me into a state of depression. I had other important issues at hand than paying attention to Verena and her endless mind games.
Pushing my knitted sweater up, I rubbed my stomach and smiled at my reflection in the mirror before turning to grab my phone from the bed.
I rolled my eyes at Verena’s contact and didn’t even hesitate to block her. Good riddance! I placed a call through my best friend.
Ring! Ring!
Before I could gnaw on my fingers, Quinn answered the phone and my eyes lit up in excitement. “Hi, bestie”
She received me with that equally excited tone. “Hi, love. I don’t want to hear anything except the exact date you’re returning to London!”
Soft chuckles escaped from my mouth, hand still moving in an up and down motion on my stomach. “You are in for a big disappointment”
She tsked. “I have no words for you, Zita”
“You know I love you, Quinn. Are you on a shift?”
She munched on something over the phone. “Just checked out of the hospital. Is there anything that you need my help with, bestie”
My pupils dilated and I sucked in a deep breath, rushing to close the door to the bedroom but not without peeking through the hallway to be sure that no one was eavesdropping. “Yeah, I am in dire need of your help”
“Listening…”
I forced out an awkward laugh. “I told Kian that I am pregnant and want to know when pregnant women’s stomachs usually start to show? I want to be sure of when to get a silicone belly to show that I am indeed pregnant”
Silence.
Another long stretch of silence. I could imagine those hazel eyes almost bulging out of their sockets, with her jaw nearly dropping to the floor and just when—
She yelled over the phone. “Are you out of your mind, Zita? You are faking pregnancy! This is Fraud!”
My hands moved to the back of my neck, nervously. “Please don’t judge me, Quinn”
She scoffed out of disbelief. “What is wrong with you, Zita? Why would you go this far”
Tears almost brimmed in my eyes. “He is telling me to return to London”
“And if he tells you he doesn’t want you, you come back home. There is nothing bad in calling off an engagement,”
“I can’t, I can’t. It is complicated. I have loved him for seven years and now that he is on the verge of divorce with his wife, I am never letting him go. Kian is my first love. I have told you so many times”
Quinn was having none of my words. “But he doesn’t love you back! So all those engagement pictures were…”
I countered. “They are real and…”
She cut in. “You told me you were going back home to make peace with your family and familiarize with the family’s business. You told me Kian was already divorced and now, you are saying that he isn’t divorced yet. You are also lying to him about being pregnant!” she sounded alarmed.
A tear slid down my face and my voice broke. “If I told you he was still married and I was going out with him, you would be disappointed in me!”
“I am. You ruined that woman’s marriage”
“I didn’t! She took what was mine first” I almost shouted.
“Oh, good lord! Putting all of that aside, what are you going to do about this current mess? By the time he finds out that you aren’t pregnant, he will kick you out,”
“This will backfire, Zita”
I sprang to my feet, pacing up and down. “That would never happen. We will get married soon and I could just fake a miscarriage after some months”
“I feel like I have been transported into a soap opera with unhinged evil mistresses”
“Quinn!”
“I don’t know, Zita. I don’t really know. I am still trying to process all of this”
“I know,” I sighed, sniffling while collapsing on the bed. “But, I really want him despite how he has been misbehaving. I believe that I can change him”
Quinn sighed heavily over the phone. “This man doesn’t want you, babe and you don't change people”
“He will, later on and I will change him”
“How can you be so confident?
I sat upright, beating a hand on my chest. “Because I am sure of what I can do with him. Let me share this with you, Kian hates my cooking—”
She cut in. “You cook now?”
I responded. “For him”
“Oh, Zita! You hate cooking”
“Please just listen to me. Like I said, he always complained about my food but for days now, he hasn’t been home because the situation in the company is slightly bad. So, he has been working hard to put things back to normal,”
“I would send breakfast, lunch, and dinner to Kian at work, and guess what, Kian would respond with an image of an empty plate with the text ‘I enjoyed it.’ Like he enjoys my food—” Excitement sparked in my eyes and butterflies fluttered in my stomach.
“—so I am making progress, Quinn. I believe that I am,”
Quinn exhaled sharply and I could have sworn that she muttered. “Oh my God”
“Zita, this is madness, desperation, and straight delusion”
“I am madly in love with Kian,”
For the umpteenth time, she sighed again. “Get the prosthetic belly in three months. Before that, I will be sending someone’s office address to you?”
“Who?”
“My therapist friend. She should be able to help with whatever is wrong with you. I have to go. All of this is too much”
“Quinn—” She hung up on me.
She just didn’t get it but then…
An unnerving feeling took me aback, squeezing my chest. Something was weird. And it wasn’t with Quinn but Kian. I had caught Kian dumping my food into the trash many times, eating takeout in his car before coming in.
So, how could he have changed in less than two weeks?
And Verena’s call…
Nah. I had to see Kian. Right now.