0002

~Rosa~

A cold sweat caught Rosa despite the air conditioning inside the packhouse. She straightened up and moved robotically away from a fallen flower vase and made her way through the sea of rowdy guests to find Kevin at the center with his hands crossed and glaring at his half sister’s mate 

 He spotted Rosa and his eyes up with determination, grabbing her by her arm and pulling her to his side.

 “My mate is pregnant,” he declared again, this time more firmly. Rosa's heart sank and she tugged on his arm, alarm ringing in her ears.

 Neither of them had confirmed anything. He was the one who had gone on about being cautious, so why was he now throwing caution out the window? 

 What if she wasn't with child? Then…

“What's going on?” The hairs on the back of Rosa’s neck stood on end, her body tensing up the moment she saw her mother-in-law.

 “Has everyone gone mute, who's pregnant?!” Magret looked in everyone's direction but Rosa and her chest squeezed with the pain of being overlooked like that.

 “Kevin said so,” His half sister Becca said, her tone shrouded in doubt. “Maybe he's just drunk,” Rosa could see that her husband's half sister was trying to quell the growing tension and give him a way out of the hole he was digging.

 But this only made Kevin more infuriated, his grip on Rosa grew firmer and more possessive.

 “I might have had a couple of drinks, but I'm sure of it.” Rosa was gently tugging on his shirt, but he ignored her. 

 Her mother-in-law’s face became blank. Then she shot Rosa a look. “Is this true?” 

 Rosa's throat got dry, “Well, I haven't seen my period for two weeks now and–”

“Which means you haven't confirmed anything?” She snapped, then pressed her forehead. She remained oddly quiet for a moment then she called out, “Remi!” A brunette with thick rimmed glasses popped from the other guests and walked over to her.

“Yes, Aunt Margaret.” She answered the call politely.

 “Check her,” Magret demanded, pointing a finger at Rosa who was already shaking. Remi was a healer and could understand the flow of energy in a body, identifying any obvious changes such as pregnancy.

 Rosa glanced sideways at her mate, wondering if he was going to save her at the last minute, but he was dreaming with confidence and didn't have half of her worries. 

 She took a deep breath and tried to be positive. Indeed, a lot of signs were pointing to pregnancy, and the doctors had never said anything was wrong with either of them. 

 So maybe…just maybe she is…

“Not pregnant,” Remi said mechanically, pulling her hands from Rosa’s belly.

“But her period…” Kevin was grasping at straws now. 

 “That can be caused by several things, including stress, maybe both of you shouldn't overthink. A baby is bound to come around eventually. Following Remi’s diagnosis, the entire living room got so quiet that a pin falling would have been ear-splitting.

 Rosa watched her husband's frozen reaction, then suddenly he released her and forced his way through the crowd marching up the stairs towards their bedroom. Unable to bear the weight of her in-laws' stares, she chased after him.

 He moved at the speed of light. Before she reached the hallway, he staggered out of their bedroom with a small, hastily packed bag.

 “Kevin, what are you doing?” She asked, her heart beginning to beat faster.

 He looked up from the floor and met her eyes, “Isn't it obvious?” He brushed past her and she followed him again, yelling when they reached the step.

 “Kevin, wait let's talk…” She managed to grab his hand but he shook her off with a grunt.

 “KEVIN!” She screamed, lost her balance, and her head nearly split in two, making contact with the top stair step.

 She remained there until the thumping vibrations of his steps faded and the stares from her in-laws got heavier. Tears gathered up in her eyes.

  The awkwardness was too much for the guests, and slowly they began to trickle out until the only ones left were Becca, cradling her newborn in her arms, and her mother-in-law. By this time, Rosa had sat on the stairs, her head hanging down dejectedly as her mother-in-law called her every word possible but her name. 

   Rosa took each verbal whip without retaliation, she was used to it. The abuse sent a familiar prickle on her skin and sank needles through her heart.

 Margret only stopped when her voice got hoarse and cracked, added with her daughter's plea. “George must be getting impatient waiting outside,” She said, referring to her mate. 

 She threw Rosa a look of pity then turned away. Soon, both of them were gone, but Rosa remained glued to the stairs, her mind blank while her heart was so heavy.

 There was no intention in her heart to deceive anyone. How could her own mate toss her like that to be torn into shreds? His maternal family already didn't have any respect for her. Now, this… well, this was just a cherry on top. 

 Even after everyone left, she remained on the stairs for what felt like hours, and the next day, she received what looked like an apology text from her mate.

It read; “Sorry, maybe I overreacted a bit. I'm at the office now, I'll see you soon.”

 A frown found its way to her face. It's been a while since he turned his office into a route for escape whenever things got too heated in their marriage. She, too, wished that she had a place to run off to, but she wasn't privileged enough to even have that. 

 Days passed by, and she had not even seen a glimpse of her husband's shadow. She got regular updates from his secretary until it became ridiculous to continue doing so. Four days later, without any warning, she dressed up and made her way to her mate's office, not to know that she was heading straight towards the worst surprise of her life.