Inara had barely slept at night due to her fears about the next day. She was about to pin a fake pregnancy on Mr. High and Mighty, the model with hazel eyes, a guy who barely knew her. It was scary and she had no choice but to go through with it.
By morning, she was quickly dressed in a pair of black jeans and black T-shirt. Then she pulled her hair back in a ponytail and slipped her legs into a pair of black sneakers.
The colors of her outfit reflected her state of mind, which was beyond melancholy. Hence, physically, she was prepared for the day but inside, she was lost and wished that she could run away. Her sister had come to see her, advised her to be strong and left for the gym.
She had also heard her parents arguing afterwards with her mom saying that they didn’t need to force their daughter into a man’s home if the girl was unwilling to go. Her father was of the opinion that if that daughter was willing to sleep with the said man, then she should be willing to be with him.
Inara had thrown her palms tightly over her ears in order to try and keep out their voices. She could not bear the fact that she was the source of their disagreement.
Her phone rang and it was a video call from Zee. Somehow, she was grateful for the distraction. When she answered it, she was a bit relieved that Zee had gone from looking seventy-eight to late forties.
“Happy birthday.” Zee wished her but Inara was not excited about any birthday wish because of her troubles.
“Thank you. Glad you’re recovering.” she said solemnly.
“Yeah. So what’s up dear? Have you done it?”
“I’ve told my parents that I’m pregnant. They are taking me to confront the res...responsible supposed res...”
“I know what you mean dear.” Zee cut in, relieving her of the awkward sounding explanation.
“This is all your fault, Zee.”
“We’re past that stage, Inny. This is not the time to point fingers.”
There was a bit of discomfited silence.
“So who did you pin it on? What if they run a pregnancy test?”
“My mum ran one last night. She is a non- practicing nurse. It was positive. That is the scariest part. I could hardly sleep last night. Right now, I feel like I have dug my own grave. I guess I have no choice but to fall inside.”
“I am really sorry Inny.”
“It is too late for that.” Inara responded and Zee sighed lamentably.
“So who did you pin it on? Anyone I know?” she asked.
Inara’s heart thundered at the question as she remembered the reality on ground with trepidation.
“Le...Lemuel.” she whispered realizing that she always said his name in a whisper. She did not have the courage to say it well. Zee gasped at the information.
“Gosh, not everyone in your class is your mate, Inny. This isn’t a child’s game. Couldn’t you have picked a lesser target? What were you thinking? Do you know the perfume brand, Men’s Aura?”
Inara had no idea, so her expression was blank.
“Well, you’re going to be accusing its CEO. And for starters, his nick name is bastard
and he revels in it. Even I as crazy as I am would not have picked him.”Inara’s eyes watered and she had no words to say. She was miserable about everything, including seeing Zee admonishing her and looking more than two decades her age.
She was also heartbroken, knowing that the same fate awaited her if she didn’t jump between the devil and the deep blue sea.
Indeed, she was in serious trouble and had no idea about how to get out of it.
Another thing that saddened her was that, it was her birthday and while her sister had told her happy birthday and her friends had texted her, her parents had not bothered to wish her happy birthday. And the worst thing about it was that she felt like she didn’t deserve any birthday wish from them because of how deeply she had disappointed them.
“Good luck Inny, you will need it.” Zee told her solemnly.
Inara nodded and Zee went offline.
Tears rolled down her face and she quickly wiped them off with the back of her palm and pocketed her phone. Then she heard the horn of her dad’s car outside, which said that her parents were already waiting for her.
Another impatient horn blared from her father’s car and she hurried outside the house to join them, putting herself quietly behind them in the back seat of the car.
“Happy birthday.” they both said. It was forced but it pleased her.
“Thank you dad, thank you mum.”
“Inara, you’re twenty now. And you’ve chosen your path. We didn’t choose it for you but I will only try to do what is right. You simply will not have an illegitimate child in my house. The father of the child must take responsibility.” Her father said conclusively. “Do you understand me?”
“Yes father.”
And with that, her father started the car and zoomed off, taking her to a future that simply was desolate.
At Future High, Lemuel knocked on the door of the Director’s office and let himself inside. There, he couldn’t quite figure out what he thought of the scene before him.The director, a somber faced man in his sixties, peeked at him from a pair of thick medicated glasses.A single seat was arranged at the left hand side of his table, while the right hand side was occupied by a couple and the plump girl from his class. What was she even doing here? he thought.There was a resemblance between the girl and the woman, so he figured that they could be a family. The woman was on the slim side though.Lemuel realized that he recognized the man as a Reverend who preached on Television. He generally didn’t like preachers because he had discovered that many of them twisted the scriptures to put money in their pockets. This one though had earned his respect when he heard whispers of how he lived an average lifestyle and spent most of his church funds on charity and missionary work.He also noticed
After the confrontation with Lemuel, Inara remained quiet and distant with a forced smile here and there as her family became cordial again. They were gradually accepting the state of affairs concerning her.Her father and Lemuel had exchanged phone numbers and he had told her that Lemuel said the wedding could take place in seven days and that he would formally have her engaged in two days. The information frightened Inara.Amara was excited but Inara didn’t share in her excitement for obvious reasons.***
In the evening, when Lemuel’s SUV pulled up at Inara’s place, she watched from her bedroom window, petrified.She was already dressed and pulled herself away from the window as her father entered to see her in her room the second time since she had gotten prepared for the evening.The first time was he informing her that they would be meeting Lemuel’s family a day after the engagement. It was an information she had received with trepidation, overwhelmed by how fast things were going, based on a single lie.
When she stepped out of the car, he shut the door and took her hand in his, leading her towards the cozy lit entrance of the restaurant.“Mr. Lemuel, Madam.” the Spanish attendant greeted them, handing a ticket to him, “Your reservation according to your expectations senor.”“Thank you Hugos.”“Anytime.”When they stepped inside the restaurant, she admired the ornate surroundings; elegant décor and sparkling chandeliers. The people inside looked affluent. A quiet, live piano music filled the room from one corner where a female musician was skillfully manipulating the keys. The guests were few and he led her to the table for two in the middle of the room. “You’re having lean tuna steak and vegetable salad without cream.” He said as they sat down. Inara wasn’t sure he was serious about what he had just said.“What?”“Just remember to recite it when the waiter gets here.” He said, studying one of the menu on the table.The waiter drew forward to attend to them.Inara stared at the secon
Inara slowly raised the glass to her lips and took a sip, praying that it wouldn’t be bitter because she had a sweet tooth.She didn’t like any drink that wasn’t sweet. Which was why when Zee would take all those bitter alcoholic drinks, she always went for any vodka or alcoholic drink that was at least sweet like Smirnoff Ice or Gordon’s Spark. She didn’t like red wine either. The ones that she had tasted were still not sweet. She would pick ice cream over it any day.Surprisingly, as she let the tiny quantity of wine she had sipped, flow over her taste buds, she found that the drink wasn’t bitter as she had suspected. Thankfully, she took another sip, before placing the glass on the table. Lemuel had his gaze on her the whole time, keeping her in a constant state of nerves.“Was that bad?” he asked.“No.” she answered, shaking her head.“Tell me why.”She lowered her g
There were five pictures inside the envelope. The first featured him on his knees, presenting the engagement ring to her.On the second picture, he had slipped the ring onto her finger. The third showed him kissing her engaged hand. The fourth was when he had her locked in his arms, his lips to her ear, whispering those dark words that had almost paralyzed her. And the last was when they waved at the people in the restaurant.The moment she had returned home, Inara had watched her family pass the pictures between them. They were pleased and happy about the feedback the photos presented.“I certainly approve.” Amara said. “He’s a gentleman and seems very confident.”You have no idea,Inara thought and returned Amara’s smile with a forced one of hers.“I am happy for you, baby sis.” Amara said excitedly, hugging her.“Thanks love.” Inara said, returning her hug.
Inara and her choir colleagues rose to the applause of the congregation, ready to present their piece for the evening Church Service.She loved the choir because it was where she could momentarily forget problems and just participate in being part of the music.Today was a free day before Lemuel’s family would meet hers the next day and nervous as she was about that, she had decided to forget about her present problems.She adjusted her robe, straightening it presentably and stepping up to the microphone as the keyboardist began playing the keys to the hymnI’ll Stand By Until The Morning (Fierce and Wild The Storm is Raging). When he cued her in, she sang;Fierce and wild the storm is ragingRound a helpless bark,On to doom ’tis swiftly driving,O’er the waters dark!The rest of the choir joined her at the chorus:Joy, behold the Savior,Joy, the message
Lemuel was reading a business email in his office when Suzy barged her way inside with a newspaper in hand.She flagged before him, a page that reported his recent engagement with a picture of him proposing.The CEO, Men’s Aura is Set to Tie The Knot it read. Then she started a tirade of complaints while he just listened to her, watching her complain.“Am I not good enough for you? I thought we were an item. Now she comes into the picture from nowhere. Gosh. I just can’t believe this. How did this happen? Just look at her. She doesn’t even look as good as I do.”Suzy stopped talking, her breath heaving with anger. Lemuel rose from his seat and approached her, seeing that she had stopped expressing herself, at least voc