Chapter 74: Chapter 74

I felt something hot shot in me, I knew what that was, Jade just filled me with his semen. I felt a burning rage in me, not only did he just rape me, he didn't use protection which means I could get pregnant. "get off me Jade," I screamed and pushed him with all the strength I could summon. He released his grip on my wrist and rolled off breathing heavily. I laid there feeling all used and bruised, I couldn't stop crying, Jade had ruined me.

"Goddammit! what have I done? oh no UK I'm really sorry I don't know what came over me," Jade said as he came to me

"get away from me!" I screamed "go away!"

"UK please, I... I don't know what got into me," he said

"get outta here, I don't wanna see you. I begged you, I cried but... you still did it. you still forced yourself on me and now you're sorry? just get out of here now, I don't want you anywhere near me."

"UK please, I'm sorry, I don't want to lose you again please," he pleaded

I didn't answer, tears rolled down my cheeks, how could he do this to me?

"UK please... I'm sorry, I... I don't know what came over me, it felt like I was possessed, I... I would never intentionally hurt you," he said holding my arms

‘‘Don't you dare touch me Jaden, you have no right to touch me, ever. You…disgust me’’ I said

He looked horrified, he didn't say anything else but leave the room. I curled up on the bed, bringing my knees to my chin and hugging my legs, ‘‘Mummy!’’ I cried silently.

Few minutes later Jade came into my room, ‘‘UK I am sorry and I'll keep apologising until you forgive me, I brought medicine for you just in case you might become…you know…pregnant. What ever you decide to do is completely your choice, I'll support you. Again I am very sorry,’’ he said and dropped the medicine and a glass of water on the table and left the room.

Pregnant? The last thing I wanted right now was to be pregnant, I'll destroy it before it even forms, I thought and slowly drew myself to the table to take the medicine. It was a birth control pills, it was only one tablet in the pack. I took it out and swallowed it, few minutes later I started having stomach pains. I laid on my bed cringing in pain, the medicine was doing its work in my body but I was in severe pain. This pain could not be worse than the shame of being heavy with a child for nine months, it could not be worse than the pain of giving birth before finishing school, before my older siblings who were actually married.

By the time Natalie came back, the pain had ceased, "UK are you alright? you're looking a bit off," she said

"I'm fine, I just have a slight headache," I said placing my palm on my forehead

"oh my God! why is there a bruise mark on your wrist?" she asked

I looked at my wrist, it looked slightly pink but it was obvious that I had an injury there. I hadn't even noticed that the mark was there, "oh this? it's nothing I tried making coffee and spilled hot water on my wrist," I lied. Even if I hated Jade for what he did to me, I couldn't tell anyone that he raped me, especially not his employee.

Either Natalie believed what I said or she decided to keep quiet, "alright, be more careful," she said and left the room.

I went to bed, I may have acted cool in front of Natalie but inwardly, I was not the same person. What Jade did will forever haunt me, I'll never forget it in a long time. From the moment he forced himself on me, I lost all respect for Jaden Kale. He's a monster!

My exams came and went in a week and I was waiting for the results, Natalie and I just got home from a successful meeting with the owner of "What's Trending" a popular fashion magazine in New York, to see the mailman dropping an envelope in the mailbox. Out of curiosity, I went to check who it was for. The mail was sent to me from Emy, I tore the envelope open to see it's content, it was an invitation card to the wedding ceremony of her daughter, Eva.

"what is it about?" Natalie asked

"oh it's a wedding invitation from Emy," I answered

"Emy? Which Emy is that?" she asked

"the owner of Emy's fashion house," I replied

"interesting, are you going with a plus one?" she asked

"you know the answer already, you don't need to sweet talk me, you'll be my plus one. After all, I'll need my assistant to be with me all the time," I said wrapping my arms around her neck

"I wasn't talking about me, I meant Jade. He's your boyfriend right?" she said

"yeah, that is something only family and close friends know, not the entire world." I said, thank God for that excuse, I didn't want a reason to be with Jade.

"oh yeah, I forgot about that. When are you guys planning on making the announcement?" she asked

"not anytime soon. come on I need to take a nap, I need to be awake all night," I said changing the subject

"why do you need to stay up all night?" she asked as we went up to my room

"because I rented the complete season of The Screamer and I want to complete them tonight" I said

"are you forgetting that the movie is 5 seasons and each season is about 19 to 20 episodes, how would you finish them in one night?" she asked

"I can finish it, no biggie. I just need a favour," I said

"no I am not watching that scary movie with you," she said

"please... I'll make lots and lots of popcorn and potato chips,"

"no, I don't want to have haunted dreams for a month"

"please Natalie, I'll order pizza," I said giving her a sweet pleading face.

"my answer is still no,"

"alright, if you say so, I won't disturb you," I said.

I took a shower, had lunch and went to bed. I woke up with a strong urge to use the bathroom, after relieving myself I checked the time on my phone, it was 8.13pm. About an hour later than the time I set for my alarm to ring, I was surprised that I didn't hear it ring. Was I really exhausted or I didn't increase the volume of the alarm before going to bed? I thought. I went downstairs to see Jade watching a baseball game, I groaned in frustration and went back to my room. I had completely forgot that he loves watching baseball games from 6.30pm to 8.30pm every Thursday evening.

An idea came to me, while waiting for his stupid game to end, I could make snacks for my movie night. I went to the kitchen and started making them.

"UK what are you doing?" Hannah asked

‘‘oh hey Hannah, I'm making snacks’’ I told her

‘‘i see that, but why are you making them at this hour?’’ she asked

"Oh I'm having movie night, these snacks are meant for that," I said

"Oh, have fun," she said and went away.

9 o'clock I finished making the snacks and went to the living to keep them, I was happy to see that nobody was there. I hurried up to my room to get the movies, when I got down, Natalie was stuffing popcorn in her mouth.

"Hey!"I called out and she jumped in fright spilling popcorn on the floor, "what are you doing?"

"Oh goodness UK you scared me," she said

"That popcorn is only for the person watching movie and that person is me," I said

"Can I eat I watch the movie with you?" She asked

"Fine but when this bowl of popcorn finishes, you'll make the next one," I said.

We switched off the lights in the living room, making it look like the cinema, and then the movie started.

Towards the end of the first episode, I ran upstairs to use the bathroom. As the movie progressed, I had used the bathroom more than I could count. "UK are you ok?" Natalie asked

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think the cold weather plus the large amount of soda I'm consuming is making me use the bathroom frequently," I said

1.17am we finished the first season of the movie, Natalie had gone to her room because the movie was too frightening but I kept watching until I dozed off sometimes between 4am and 5am. I woke up to see myself lying on the couch with a blanket over my body and a pillow under my head, maybe Jade brought them. I wanted to smile but then I remembered how I screamed and begged him that day and my anger towards him was ignited.

My birthday was the following day and I had no plans to throw a party, all I might do is take a few selfies and post them on my Instagram page with a "happy birthday to me" caption. I didn't plan on going anywhere, lately I've been feeling too tired and lazy to do anything. If not for Natalie, I'm not sure I would have taken any job. Another thing I'd noticed this past few days is that I didn't have appetite to eat anything

Xiao Ling called to know where I was, "I am at home, where else am I supposed to be?"

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" She asked

"Nothing"

‘‘what do you mean by ‘nothing’? have you forgotten that tomorrow is your birthday?’’

‘‘i have not forgotten, it's just that I have no plans to celebrate it this year.’’ I told her

‘‘nonsense, you just wait for me’’ she said and ended the call

I was having a slight headache and I needed to sleep, I picked up my phone and sent an SMS to Natalie, "please get me an aspirin," I texted before going to bed.

I tossed and turned but couldn't fall asleep and my headache was not getting any better. I would have gone outside for a stroll but the temperature had dropped outside and the snow was about a foot deep. I took out my diary and wrote, "dear diary, it's been two weeks since that terrible incident, I know I took the pills but I'm really scared. I can feel things changing in my body, they are too much to be coincidences. I hope by the time my birthday comes tomorrow, I'll get rid of my greatest fear."

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear UK... happy birthday to you" Xiao Ling, Darren, Ariel, Natalie, Tiffany, Hannah, Elizabeth, Sandra and even Max and Juliet sang for me. Natalie dragged me to accompany her as she got something from the store, Max took us but instead of driving to the store, he turned to Darren's place. on reaching there, I realized that I was tricked. I saw everyone clapping and cheering at me, all the happy faces, they sang the birthday song as Natalie and Max helped me in. I was beaming with smile, I didn't want a part but then they organized a small feast to celebrate my birthday.

As we were eating, Jade came in holding a medium sized chocolate cake. "Happy Birthday UK" was written on it and a candle on it.

"so UK, who would be your partner in blowing out your candle this year?" Ariel asked

"I'm picking... Juliet," I said

"Juliet?" everyone asked at the same time

"yeah! wait, why me?" Juliet asked

"can't I picked Juliet? Is there anything wrong with that?" I asked

"no, no, nothing is wrong," they chorused

Tiffany was looking at me keenly, she must have suspected that all was not well. Juliet and I blew out the candle, I cut a slice and gave it to her first, it looked awkward because the past two years that I celebrated my birthday, the first person I gave the cake to was Jade.

"come on guys, dig in," I said.

I dropped the knife and went towards the bathroom but Tiffany stopped me, "can I have a word with you UK?" she asked

"sure, let me just use the bathroom," I said

"wait, it won't take long," she said

"I really can't hold it in," I said and dashed into Darren's bathroom.

When I came out, Tiffany was standing there waiting for me, "is everything alright?" she asked

"yeah, everything is great. Why'd you ask?"

"you've not been here for 30 minutes and you've been to the bathroom three times"

"it's perfectly normal and besides I had a drink," I answered

"just a glass of water since you came, that's not enough to make you use the bathroom frequently," she said

"relax Tiff, everything is fine, you don't have to worry," I said to her. Let me be the one to worry, I said in my mind.

As the party progressed, Hannah and her staff went home with Juliet, they had work to do at home and Juliet had a dance class to attend. Jade left for a meeting while Darren and Max went to play cards, turning the party to a girls party. Tiffany, Ariel, Xiao Ling and Natalie were playing Monopoly while I sat watching them as I tried to understand what shoe and car and the rest meant.

"come on UK, it's your birthday, don't isolate yourself," Xiao Ling called

"don't worry about me, you guys have fun." I said

"you sure?" she pressed

"yeah"

not so long I had a strong urge to throw up "guys, I... I... don't feel so good," I covered my mouth with my hand and ran to the bathroom, squatted in front of the toilet seat and emptied my stomach.

"oh my God, UK are you alright?" Natalie asked

"she is not" Tiffany said "Max! come over we're going to the hospital,"

"guys, there's no need to go to the hospital," I said

"don't argue with me, UK. Natalie call with Dr Kimberly and let him know that we're on our way, Max get the car ready, Darren call Jade to meet us at the hospital, Ling go get our things, Ariel and I will help UK," Tiffany said and they all got to work. Ariel held up my hair and I kept throwing up. They assisted me into the car, Natalie and Xiao Ling sat at the back with me while Darren got in front with Max. Ariel joined Tiffany on her motorcycle and we sped up off to the hospital.

"guys I can walk on my own," I said as Tiffany called a nurse to bring wheelchair for me.

"alright, no problem," she said and we went in. we were waiting for Dr Kimberly when Jade ran in with Scott right behind him

"what happened to UK?" he asked

"nothing!" I snapped

"Miss Udofia?" a nurse called

"that's me," I answered

"Dr Kimberly is ready to see you"

Tiffany and I went in and Jade joined, I didn't want to create a scene by telling him to leave so I ignored him.

"UK, what's wrong with you?" Dr Kimberly asked

"I'll tell you what is wrong because she'll say nothing. she's always sleeping or complaining of tiredness, she doesn't eat much as before, she uses the bathroom frequently and she just threw up. Is that normal? she asked

"yes, I need to examine her," Dr Kimberly said. I was told to pee into a small container and then I joined others outside. 15 minutes later he came out smiling, "congratulations Miss Udofia, you are having a baby,"

"I am what?"