Chapter Three- Congratulations Rose.

“The fun we had, did it mean nothing to him?” “Was it just a ploy to sleep with me?” Rose asked herself aloud.

“Or should I reach out to him to find out?” She questioned again. 

“Oh no…” she muttered, placing her hand on her forehead. She then remembered she didn’t even get his phone number. She bit her nails nervously.

Rose packed her things and left the room. When she got to the reception downstairs, she needed to drop off the room’s access cards with the receptionist.

“Hey sir, please fill in your name in the other register to check in,” the receptionist said, turning the book toward a new guest.

Then turning to Rose, she added “Ma’am please, hold on” 

Rose waited, planning to explain that Austin had been the one who checked in, but he had already left.

“Please put your phone number in this box sir,” the receptionist said to the guest.

Immediately, Rose remembered Austin had checked in too, so his phone number should be there. She glanced at the register and saw his name. Right next to it, his phone number was neatly written. 

As the other guest filled in his details. She stylishly crams his phone number and dialed it on her phone.

She felt relieved, at least she could reach out to him and clear her curiosity.

“Ma’am do you wanna check out or what?” the receptionist asked.

“Oh yes, but I wasn’t the one who checked in” she responded, describing Austin. 

“He’s about 6 feet tall and has a chiseled jawline,” Rose added.

“I remember him,” the receptionist said, "he left in a hurry and told me he was coming back.”

“No, he’s not. His car is gone,” Rose replied.

“Okay ma’am,” the receptionist said, collecting the access card from Rose.

Rose wrote her number on a piece of paper and handed it to the receptionist. “Please, if he returns, tell him to call me.”

Rose couldn’t believe what just happened, she replayed the events of the previous night and asked herself, “Why would he just leave with no trace?” 

She was about five minutes away from home when her phone rang. Her heart pounded instantly. “Could it be Austin?”

She quickly looked at her phone with hope, it was her boss, the manager. 

Rose got so angry. That wasn’t the call she was expecting.

She picked up and answered. “Hello?”

“It’s 9:30 a.m Rose, why aren’t you at work?” he snapped. “You’ll lose this job very soon!”

“I’m on my way sir.” 

She told the cab driver to stop because her workplace wasn’t on that route. She got down, and got another cab.

“Please hurry, I’m headed to Cemex Victorville” Rose panicked.

Luckily, she had left her work clothes in the locker room the day before.

While she was at work, she couldn’t concentrate, the loud and clanky noise in the cement factory irritated her. That was not what she wanted to hear. She was too upset, and all she could think of was Austin.

She kept checking her phone, hoping it might ring, or Austin might finally reach out. Unfortunately, nothing from him.

She couldn’t wait anymore, the thought of Austin distracted her at work.

She left the noisy workspace and went to the locker room. Rose took a deep breath before she dialed his number.

“Hey Austin, it’s me, Rose.” She said gently. 

“And how did you get my number?” Austin asked, his tone filled with irritation. 

“I got it from the hotel register, but does that really matter? You left with no trace. Why?” 

“How could you be so desperate, you stole my number from the register?” He asked. 

“No, let me explain…” Rose began, before she could finish, Austin interrupted,

“Please, I don’t have time for this. Some of us have actual jobs that feed us well”. He continued, "whatever happened yesterday night was a mistake.” 

“Wait, but..” before Rose began, he interrupted her again.

“Don’t ever call me again,” he snapped and ended the call.

Rose stood there in shock, “How could someone so sweet yesterday now sound so cold?” 

“Did he think I was a hoe when he saw me at the club?”  She asked herself while she returned to work.

For weeks, memories of that night replayed in her head. 

Days turned into weeks and Rose wasn’t still able to forget him. 

Now, every time she thought of him, Will you still love me tomorrow by Amy Winehouse played in her head.  

She thought she had finally found the right man after Mike lied and broke her heart. But this was worse, it shattered her completely.

Rose noticed something odd, she hadn’t seen her period in over a month. That wasn’t normal.

Rose finished her shift early and stopped by the hospital to take a pregnancy test to confirm.

The doctor came toward her smiling. Rose silently prayed that what she suspected wasn’t true.

“Congratulations Rose”. Your pregnancy test came out positive, you’re a month pregnant.” 

Rose’s eyes widened, her mind was preoccupied with different thoughts as the doctor started lecturing her on the importance of prenatal care.

“How am I going to take care of a child when I’m barely surviving?”

 “How am I going to break this news to Austin?”

“How is Austin going to feel about it?” 

She asked herself, she was so lost in thoughts, she didn’t hear the doctor.

“Ma’am, are you alright? “Did you hear anything I said?” The doctor asked Rose, gently tapping her.

 Rose nodded, still trying to process the news. 

She wasn’t financially or mentally ready to cater for a child. And she didn’t know how Austin would feel about it.

“He abandoned me already, but if I tell him I have his child, he might accept me,” she said to herself with hope.

That night, Rose tried Austin’s number several times to break the news to him, but unfortunately his line was not reachable.

On her way to work the next morning, she saw a telephone booth and quickly stopped by, she dialed the number again.

It rang.

But then it hit her. Austin had blocked her from calling him. 

“Hey, it’s Rose. It’s urgent, I know you said I shouldn’t call you again, but please, don’t hang up.” 

“Woman, what do you want from me?”  Austin asked cruelly. “I’m at work, preparing for an important meeting. I honestly don’t have time for any chit-chat.”

“What did I do wrong,” “What came over you all of a sudden”? Rose asked, her voice shaking. 

“Well, I noticed I haven’t seen my period in a long time, so I went for a test yesterday.” 

“And?” Austin replied.

“I’m pregnant,” Rose said.

Austin chuckled “So? What am I supposed to do with that information?” Father the child of a hoe?”

“Austin, I’m not a hoe. That’s your child. We had sex,” Rose said, tears streaming down her face.

“That’s how you prostitutes behave, you sleep around and pin it on a man because he is wealthy.” He hissed.

He added, “I advise you abort that baby, because I’m not ready to raise a child of a hoe”

“Austin, I can’t believe you’re saying this,” Rose said, her voice breaking. “I’m not aborting my child” 

“Hey woman,” Austin snapped. “I don't want a baby from a hoe, I have a reputation to keep.” 

He scoffed, then added, “How do you even plan to raise a child as an ordinary laborer barely making ends meet?” 

Rose went silent on the call.

“I thought as much,” he said. “Isn’t it obvious that aborting this pregnancy is a win-win situation for both of us?” 

Just then, his office door opened.

“Sir.” A huge man said as he walked into Austin’s office.

“Yes Robin” Austin responded, as he quickly cut the call.

“We’ve done the job, who else do you want us to kill?”