Chapter 64 The Betrayal
ARYA'S POV
I dropped the tray of the food, the food felt heavy in my hand as I dropped it.
I felt like I was going to choke on the one in my mouth already as I forced myself to gulp it down.
“Get these away from me.” I said to Stella as I pushed the food tray away.
That was when everything became clear.
The nurse must have known something, the change in her attitude towards me from the start was suspicious.
"Arya, listen to me," Stella pleaded as she tried to hold my hand. I snatched my hand back as if her touch was a burn.
"No, you listen," I hissed.
"You promised me. You were the one even against me telling him from the beginning . Stella, why will you do such a thing? You knew exactly why he couldn't know. What did he say? How did he react? Did he yell? Did he ask about the baby? Tell me everything. Right now! Don’t leave anything out." I demanded answers and an explanation as to why she did that.
“I just felt that he needed to know… at least that he had a child. I needed money from him to pay for your bills. I don't have enough money on me and Dave wouldn't give me such an amount without wanting to know what it's used for. I had no choice Arya other than to call him if I didn't want your secret exposed.” Stella tried to explain but I just scoffed.
“Exposed? Are you serious right now Stella? Couldn't you have asked me for money? Couldn't you have told me you didn't have it complete? You've screwed me big time.” I said in disappointment.
“I'm sorry.” Stella replied as she sniffled the tears she was holding back.
“What did he say?” I asked her with a straight face, ignoring her tears.
“He just sent the money. He was too sick to talk. He felt that something bad was going to happen to you and it made him sick to say much.” Stella replied.
"Too sick to talk? Or too angry to talk?" My voice cracked in disappointment and hurt.
"That doesn’t matter now. You’ve let the serpent into the garden, Stella. You thought you were helping, but you’ve just made everything a thousand times worse. You told the one person who absolutely, under no circumstances, could know this. Don't you understand the ripple effect? The consequences?"
I asked her where my phone was. She quickly got off the bed, relief washing over her face at the change of subject, and went to take it from her bag on the dressing mirror.
It felt cold and heavy in my palm. The moment I switched it on, the screen lit up with a blinding array of notifications. My breath hitched.
17 Missed Calls. Justin.
11 Missed Calls. Mike.
My eyes popped out in shock when I saw Mike’s missed calls.
“Mike?” I whispered in fear as the phone shook in my trembling hand.
“Why was Mike calling me? How does he know?" I looked at Stella, waiting for a reply from her.
"Did you tell Mike? Did you call him, too?"
“No! Never, Arya, I told you I only told one person and it's Justin. I swear on everything, I don’t even have Mike’s number. I wouldn’t do that to you." Stella quickly replied.
He told him then. The realization of that made my stomach twist.
"Then Justin told him," I stated.
"Justin must have told Mike. They're roommates, Stella. They're together, right now, in the same barracks. And now they both know I had an abortion. One of them is my step-brother and my lover, the other is his roommate and… also my lover. If both of them are aware of this, then I'm at the risk of losing both of them.” I spelt out the words for her to understand the damage that she had just done.
"I didn't think, Arya," Stella said as she buried her head in her palms.
"He was just the first person I thought of who could help. He has resources, he's your family—"
"But also a lover Stella, gosh!!
"Do you think Justin is going to keep this quiet? To his roommate? Mike is already calling. What did Justin tell him? Did he tell him it was his child? Or is he trying to protect me by blaming someone else? What if Mike thinks it was his?" I was outraged.
“Stop saying sorry! You're annoying me the most. You just ruined everything for me.”
Stella took a deep, shuddering breath, wiping her face with the back of her hand.
"What are you going to do now? You have to call one of them back. They'll worry themselves sick."
"Worry? They'll be planning their next move. That’s what they’ll be doing," I hissed as I scrolled through the missed calls.
"Justin will be playing the protective brother. Mike will be the wounded lover. And me? I’m stuck in the middle, still bleeding, still in pain, trying to figure out which lie to tell to which man just to cover up your mess.”
"Don't talk like that. They are grown men and won't try to hurt you." Stella said.
I didn't say a word to her, I just ignored everything she was saying.
I didn't expect such action from her actually. She was always smarter and wiser than this.
She really did put me in a mess.
I didn't know what to do. I kept wondering if I should call them back. I needed a break to clear my head from all of these dramas.
Or was I dreaming? This wasn't real right? Hot tears rushed down my cheeks as I sniffled them back, cleaning them with the back of my hand.
I didn't know what to do. I was just utterly confused. Everything seemed to blur before me.
I wanted to shout, I wanted to scream but I just had to keep my emotions in check.
Just as I was still trying to figure out what to do next, my phone began to ring.
“Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.” It rang.
Fear gripped me.
I didn't know what to do, I was so scared to even turn my phone to look at my screen at who is calling.
Stella, sending my dear, grabbed the phone from my hand slowly.
She looked at the screen then looked at me with a scared countenance.
I swallowed hard as I looked at her.
“Who?” I asked, choking on my words as I swallowed hard again.
I could feel the room was closing in on me. I could feel my head spinning.
Hope it's not who I was thinking, hope it's not Justin or Mike.
What was I going to do? Fear gripped me so much.
I was confused, I was scared.
“You need to pick it up.” Stella said quietly as she slowly pushed the phone towards me.
I didn't dare take a look at the screen to see the caller.
“Who is it?” I asked with my voice cracking.
My hands were literally trembling, my body was shivering as I suddenly felt cold.
My stomach churned as a tear rolled down the side of my eye.