Chapter 29: Chapter 29

Part Ten

A New Leaf

Refreshed

Reinvigorated

Reformed.

Chapter Twenty Six

"How is Victoria?" Darrell asked Felicity minutes after he'd entered her office.

Felicity shook her head negatively, "Darrell there is no improvement at all, I'm getting really scared for her, for you, Halal, for all of us. I mean who do you think did it? I talked with Doctor Harvey yesterday. Apart from what he got from Femi, we've found nothing else" Felicity sighed with resignation.

Darrell tapped his head thoughtfully but couldn't think of anything to say. They were at a dead end, Victoria was their only hope.

Felicity groaned "I have an idea, I'm not sure doctor Harvey will buy it but it's our best bet right now" Felicity said

Darrell eyed her curiously, "What's going on in that head of yours?" he asked.

"What if we made them believe Halal was pregnant?" Felicity asked. Darrell rolled his eyes "And how will that be possible, we can't even tell Halal the truth. How do you intend to get her pretend to be pregnant?" Darrell asked.

"We don't have to get her to pretend to be pregnant, borrow a leaf from Victoria's book. We could spread rumors about a fake pregnancy, nurses gossip. Before you know it, everyone will be talking about it. Whoever is responsible will come snooping" Felicity suggested.

Darrell shook his head "What if Halal shows up at the hospital and they start congratulating her. That will not only expose us but hurt Halal too" Darrell protested.

Felicity twisted her lips as she tried to think of a possible solution. "What if we said she was keeping it secret and didn't want anyone to know. The nurses will be wise enough not to mention it to her when they see her, that could work" Felicity said.

Darrell frowned "It's a good plan Felicity but I don't want to bring Halal into this" Darrell said.

"She is already in the middle of it, as a matter of fact everything is happening because of her. Someone wants to hurt her, that person has hurt doctor Femi and Victoria now. Who do you think is next?" Felicity asked.

Darrell remained silent, Felicity had a point but a lot could go wrong. He hated lying to Halal, he hated secrets but recently that's all he'd been doing.

It's been a week since Halal had forgiven him for hiding the truth about her father and now this. Halal might never forgive him when she finds out, even if he was doing all these things for her own good.

"And this time they can't hurt Halal because she's not pregnant. Please, let's do this Darrell" Felicity begged.

"Do you know the danger of what we'll be doing, if we decide to do this? When the killer finds out we lied and it was all a plan, they'll come after us" Darrell said. He could defend himself but what about Felicity?

"Do you know the difference between we, Femi and Victoria?" Felicity asked.

Darrell didn't answer her, he just let her continue. "We know better, Femi was killed because he wasn't careful, Victoria also" Felicity said.

Darrell cocked his head thoughtfully "This plan is a very careless act that could land us in trouble. It's you I worry about, you and Halal" Darrell said.

Felicity nodded "Just trust me" she said. "I'm a big girl, and Halal can defend herself. I saw what she did with Victoria, no one will dare mess with her like they did with Victoria. She's strong" Felicity said.

Darrell smiled "And she has you to protect her" Felicity said smiling.

Darrell nodded "Okay, we'll talk to Harvey about it" Darrell said.

"That's a good idea, He's in his office at the moment" Felicity said getting up from her seat. Darrell followed her lead hoping that this foolhardy plan of theirs would work out.

Halal received a text from Jacques when she woke up. She checked the time, it was past eleven. She groaned before getting out of bed, as usual she'd overslept.

She picked up her phone and checked Jacques' message. She'd not decided whether to go back to work, the air was still awkward between them. Jacques understood that and agreed to wait for her to make up her mind.

Halal dialed Jacques after reading his message. He answered the phone on the first ring. "Hello dear" Jacques said warmly.

"Good morning, I got your text. You said I should call you when I have spare time. What's up?" Halal asked.

"I would like you to go out with me today, nowhere special. I just want to go shopping, it'd be nice to have you around" Jacques said.

Halal sighed "Oh...." she began and tried to think of a suitable excuse but her brain failed her. "Sure..... When should we meet up?" Halal asked.

"I'll pick you up by one, thank you. Take care of yourself till then, you're at Darrell's right?" Jacques asked.

"Yes, I'll see you then" Halal said and ended the call. She wondered if it was wrong of her to build up a relationship with Jacques, it felt wrong to her. Like she was betraying her late father.

She got up and went about her morning routine of tidying up the house. After she cleaned, she made a little breakfast of toast. That was all she could stomach nowadays, every other thing made her nauseous.

It was almost one o'clock when she finally got dressed in a cream silk top and a faded blue jeans shorts . She wrapped her hair in a scarf before picking up her phone to text Darrell that she wouldn't be meeting him for lunch at his office because she would be out with Jacques.

Halal threw in a few bars of soap into the cart. "So what was she like?" Halal asked. Jacques smiled knowing she was referring to her mother, Marilyn. "She was strong, bold, willful, she was the sweetest person. We were going to get married before she..." Jacques stopped and shook his head.

"Before she got pregnant with me and ruined your plans" Halal completed stonily. Jacques shook his head "That's not it Halal, your mother's parents abandoned her. If she'd been with me, she probably would have survived. We'd still be married now, you would have siblings too" Jacques smiled.

Halal forced herself to smile back, she couldn't tell him she was grateful that her mother had died. That she'd been raised by the Abrahams. She couldn't imagine a world without Darrell.

"There are reasons for every happenings in the world Halal, I doubt I would have been the best father for you. I'm glad the Abrahams raised you" Jacques dropped a hand on her shoulder.

Halal turned to him again and smiled, her smile faltered when she saw the items behind him. Jacques noticed the change in her expression, it worried him.

"Halal are you okay?" he asked. Halal shook her head before reaching out to take a pack of sanitary pads off the shelf.

Her heart pounded furiously, when was the last time she had her period?

"I'm fine..." Halal whispered before returning the pack of sanitary pads to the shelf.

"You don't look fine" Jacques said concerned. "No, really....I'm fine" Halal said.

"Why don't you continue shopping, I want to use the restroom. I'll be back in a few minutes" Halal said faking a smile that didn't fool Jacques one bit.

She reminded him a lot of her mother every time, expressions and all. It was like dealing with Marilyn all over again.

"Okay" Jacques said before pushing the cart away.

Halal sighed before turning back to the shelf, she tried to remember the last time she had seen her period.

"God, I'm so stupid. Sleeping with Darrell without protection, I mean what did I expect?" she asked herself.

"It doesn't mean I'm pregnant, it could just be late or something" she murmured to herself. She face palmed herself before checking the racks for a pregnancy test kit.

She finally found a brand and picked it up. For years  now, all she'd wanted was a child and now she was dreading this one.

Losing Valentino's children was one thing, losing Darrell's would be worse. She wondered if Darrell would also hate her like Valentino did after she lost their children.

She walked into the restroom, her entire body was shaking with nerves. She tried to calm her nerves as she opened the pack.  She didn't want a baby now, not when things were just starting out well for her.

She would be finalizing her divorce the following week and things were going so well between her and Darrell.  A baby would just ruin everything, the thought of her being pregnant again brought tears to her eyes.

She didn't want to carry a baby long term and lose it again. She didn't want another miscarriage again, getting pregnant would only drain her happiness.

About an hour later,  she got a text from Jacques. 'Where are you? I'm getting worried'. Halal sighed before texting him 'Almost done, what are aisle are you in?' she asked. Her eyes were wet with tears as she looked at the test sticks on the floor, all five sticks positive.

She wiped the tears off her face and gathered the test sticks in her palm before throwing it into the dust bin. She got another text from Jacques, he was already in the parking lot.

Halal found him in the parking lot minutes later, the look of concern on his face when she got to him made her burst into tears.

"Halal, what's wrong?" Jacques pulled her into his arms. Halal shook her head but kept on sobbing.

"Sweetheart, you're not fine. Should I call Darrell?" Jacques asked. He didn't know how to handle a crying woman, especially when he didn't know the cause of her tears.

Halal shook her head again "Daria?" Jacques asked.  Halal pulled away, her nose was slightly red from all that sniffling.

"I'm fine, don't mind me. Let's go please" Halal said. "Alright" Jacques nodded not wanting to bug her for answers.

He walked her to the passenger side of the car and opened the door. Halal got in to the car and waited for him.

"Halal, you know you can talk to me about anything" Jacques said once he'd settled in beside her.

Halal turned to him, "I'm pregnant" she revealed. Jacques was surprised, he wasn't expecting that.

"For Darrell or your ex?" Jacques asked unable to think of something else.  "Darrell"  Halal replied.

"Well.....Are you keeping it?" Jacques asked.  Halal sighed "I don't think it matters whether I keep it or not, the baby is going to die anyway" Halal said.

"I don't think it's right for you to write off the future of your child just yet. Being pregnant is a good thing Halal,  don't you want babies?" Jacques asked.

"I wanted babies, not anymore. Other women might consider pregnancy a gift, mine is a curse" Halal wiped her nose.

"I can't mourn another child, Darrell....this won't be good for him either" Halal said. "Have you talked to him about it?" Jacques asked.

Halal shook her head, she'd only just discovered it herself.  She'd hoped the pregnancy test kit was wrong, but all five of them came out positive.

"I think you should talk to him about it first" Jacques advised gently.  He liked the idea of having a grand child, he couldn't understand why Halal didn't want children.

"You won't mention it to him right?" Halal asked. She didn't want Darrell or Daria to know anything about it yet.

"I won't, you can count on me.  I'm happy you trust me with your secret. It means a lot to me" Jacques said. Halal sent him a weak smile in return.

At the end of the week,  Halal still had not told Darrell that she was pregnant. If he noticed any odd habit,  he didn't mention it.

"Have you heard from Valentino?" Darrell asked one evening after dinner. "No, why?" Halal turned to him waiting for his response.

"With the divorce and everything, I thought you two would still be in contact, you two were married for eight years after all" Darrell said gently.

"I tried calling him, I couldn't get to him. There is nothing left for us to say, I'm glad he made things easier by leaving" Halal said. Her mind worried about other things, more important things. Darrell was a gynaecologist, how long till he figured it out himself?

Halal sighed "Would you hate me..... Would you hate if I  got pregnant for you and lose it months later?" Halal asked suddenly. She held her breath, it was a stupid question but she desperately wanted to hear his response.

Darrell paused "I don't believe that would ever happen Halal, don't worry about it" Darrell said. Some days, he wished he could just tell her the truth but he couldn't yet. He had to make sure she was safe first.

"What would never happen? Me getting pregnant or me losing the baby?" Halal asked.

"Our baby won't die when it comes, there will be no miscarriage or any other thing. Our child will survive, do you understand?" Darrell asked.

Halal shook her head "It wasn't Valentino's fault, it's my body. And you haven't found the problem yet, I just don't want you to be disappointed when the time comes" Halal said.

Darrell pulled her closer "Do you trust me?" He asked her softly.  "With my life" she responded. "Then believe me when I say that you won't lose our baby when it eventually comes" Darrell said.

She could tell him now,  tell him she was already pregnant but she chose not to. Rather she prayed for the child to go away, perhaps a painless miscarriage.

She wondered how long the seed had been growing inside of her, how could one want and hate something at the same time.

She willed herself not to cry till Darrell fell asleep, she didn't want to arouse suspicion. She didn't want him to start asking questions she wouldn't be able to answer.

For now, she would keep the news of the baby to herself.