“Do you want to test me?” he challenges.
I shake my head quickly. No, I definitely won’t challenge him on this one. I swallow heavily.
“So, you’ll keep that to yourself…if I break up with Lyle?” I ask.
Shit, what sort of ultimatum is that? Break up with my boyfriend, or my father will use the media to ruin him? No, it’s disgusting.
But what else am I meant to do? I feel absolutely hopeless.
“Yes,” my father says, returning to work. “And, while you’re at it, get rid of that thing, too.”
“Thing?” I ask, confused.
“That thing,” he snorts, gesturing at my stomach.
I gasp and curl my arms protectively around my stomach.
“You want me to abort?” I ask, feeling sick.
“Yes,” he says.
“No!” I burst out.
“Are you sure?” he asks warningly, tapping the folder.
But, this time, I’m not going to be swayed. I back away, horrified by everything that’s happening. I feel sick.
“I won’t,” I croak. “Absolutely not. I’ll break up with Lyle. I’ll do your paperwork for a whole week. But I’m not aborting this baby. It’s mine.”
Huh, look at that… I do want this baby. The sheer protectiveness that went through me at his words took even me by surprise. The tiny figure in my stomach has barely started to form, but this baby is still as good as any other person in life.
My father looks at me. He’s searching my face.
“Fine,” he says after a moment. Grab your things and then head home. There’s no need for you to be here today.”
I swallow the lump in my throat and stand.
“Yeah, sounds good,” I say.
Somewhat. It’s hard to forget that I still have to break up with Lyle. But at least I keep the child. Everything else isn’t permanent. But this is.
Still…
What do I do now?
“What are you still doing here?” my father asks sharply. “You can go. We’ve said everything that needs to be said.”
“Right,” I say numbly.
I leave the office. I stumble into the elevator. It doesn’t feel quite real. I hear my phone ring out with a message, and I glance down. It’s from my mother.
“Everything okay?”
Tears come to my eyes, but I hold it together. I lift my chin and march through reception, nodding at the employees as I go. I make it all the way to the nearby bus stop.
And then I fall on the bench and cry.
People stare at me as they go past, but I can’t bring myself to care. My world is falling down around my ears. I have to break up with Lyle. My father would never accept a relationship with him. That means I have to choose between the company I’ve always dreamed of taking over, and a man I’ve only been together with for a few weeks, but a man I’m falling in love and who I’m having a child with.