6. Liberty hotel

GIANNA

~•~

I lied about visiting my parents.

I felt sick and was going to the hospital. I was still mad at Brandon so I didn’t feel like telling him the truth. He would fuss over me and make me forget that I currently hated him for getting his best friend pregnant while we were married.

Brandon’s family was very high profile so I had to wear a baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses to avert attention from me. It was very easy for them to make up a story when they saw me entering the hospital.

I pulled over at the parking lot and came down from the car, heading straight inside the building. I didn’t have an appointment so I had to wait in line for the available doctor for diagnosis.

I spent almost an hour waiting and throughout then, I was wondering what my life would look like after I divorced Brandon. Definitely, the media would take the news but where would I go from there? I didn’t have a job. I had only two friends who were busy with work. How would I even start over? Brandon and I got married immediately after I graduated college. I didn’t know how to be a regular adult without him.

I couldn’t deny that I still loved him, but he also knew that which was why he was taking advantage of it. In what world did he think it would be okay to get another woman pregnant and I wouldn’t be furious? Even worse, it was the woman he kept telling me not to worry about.

I hated Bailey. I hated Brandon. I hated Bernice. I hated that their names all started with B. I felt like the odd one out. They had so many childhood memories together and always made me feel left out. Now I was going to erase myself from the equation completely. I was only twenty-four. I was still young. I could definitely get my life together.

When the person in front of me finally came out from the doctor’s office, it was my turn to go in.

I recited all my symptoms to the doctor and the lady stared at me with thin lips.

“Is something very wrong with me?” I panicked when she didn’t say anything else.

“When last did you get your period?”

I frowned and tried to think back. We were in the middle of May and I could only remember getting my period in the early days of April. I gasped as I realized I was late.

“Mmhmm,” the doctor nodded. “But we have to do a scan to be certain if you’re pregnant.”

I couldn’t be pregnant. Brandon and I weren’t trying for a baby. I couldn’t be pregnant when I just served him divorce papers. It was impossible!

“Are you sure, doctor? It’s not just a fever?”

“We’ll find out after the test.”

I nodded, scared to do the test. If I was truly pregnant, I didn’t know what to do or how to act. Would I tell Brandon even if we would get divorced anyway? Would he beg me to stay? Would he have to be a father to my and Bailey’s children? Will my kid be a sibling to Bailey’s?

As I contemplated all these and the doctor prepared for a scan, I got a call and was surprised to see that it was from Bernice. Why the hell was she calling me? Did she just find out about me and her brother? What did she have to say? I didn’t even want to know. She was one of the primary causes of my problems with her brother. She knew what she was doing whenever she invited Bailey into Brandon’s place. She was trying to get them closer. She tried her best to ruin our marriage. Was she calling to gloat?

I ignored the call and put my phone on silent. She called one more time before she resorted to texting.

[Bernice: It’s me, Bernice. I’m calling because I know I’ve caused a strain on you and Brandon’s relationship. I don’t want to be the reason you leave my brother. Can we meet up?]

I couldn’t stop myself from replying.

[Me: meet up for what?]

My words were harsh, but I didn’t care. I wouldn’t be part of her family anymore so I had no reason to be nice to her, especially when she was usually a bitch to me.

[Bernice: I want us to talk. I don’t want you to misunderstand me. Brandon said you aren’t home or I would have come over. I’m at the Liberty Hotel, we can meet in the dining area if you want]

I didn’t want to go but I was curious to know what she wanted to say. My tongue poked the inside of my cheek as I contemplated my decision. It wouldn’t be bad to give her a piece of my mind after all.

[Me: be there in an hour]

[Bernice: alright, I’ll be waiting]

“Mrs. Baker, come lie on the bed.”

I almost laughed at the name, Mrs. Baker. I’d be going back to Windsor in a few months. It was crazy how my life was about to change. Adding a baby to the mix would be insane.

I held my breath as she raised my top and applied gel to my stomach. The procedure didn’t take long and in a few minutes, I was able to find out the results.

“Our suspicions are correct, Ma’am. You're five weeks pregnant.”

I gasped even if I already expected that. Life was so fucking cruel! I had two whole years to get pregnant but I didn’t. Now that I was about to get divorced… fuck, this was crazy.

I took my test results and left the hospital, going straight to the hotel. I didn’t want to go back home. I didn’t want to see Brandon. I didn’t know how I would face him. I didn’t intend to tell him about our child. I wanted him to focus on raising Bailey’s child. He couldn’t focus on two women at once, could he?

When I got to the dining area of The Liberty Hotel, I saw Bernice already sitting at a table. Clutching my bag that contained my test results, I went to the table.

Her lips quickly formed a smile when she saw me but I didn’t bother to return it. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Can we get something to drink first? Is wine okay with you?”

I subconsciously touched my stomach. Even if I never planned for a child at the moment, I wasn’t going to kill them with alcohol. Besides, alcohol was the same reason Brandon was going to be a dad to another woman’s child. I was going to avoid that shit for the rest of my life. “Juice is fine.”

She nodded. “I’ll go get it.”

I watched her as she went to the counter, ordered a jug of orange juice and two glasses, and set them in front of me. She poured the juice into both glasses and allowed me to take a sip before she started speaking.

“I know things have been weird between you and Brandon, especially after the bomb Bailey dropped.”

I rolled my eyes. Was that what she called me to talk about?

“Hear me out, hear me out.” She pleaded when she saw my expression. “Things have been weird between both of you and I’ve been adding to it. I wanted to apologize for that. I know you’re insecure about Bailey but I still bring her around. I’m sorry.”

Insecure? She was acting like I complained for nothing. I felt like blowing up on her but I didn’t want to cause a scene so I just took a gulp of my juice to calm myself down. “What am I supposed to do with your apology? The deed has been done already.”

“But that doesn’t have to affect your marriage. A lot of women are single moms these days. There’s no shame in that. I’m sure Bailey wouldn’t mind being a single mom. Brandon can provide for the child but he’ll still be with you.”

I bit the inside of my cheek as I stared at her. I was already tired and I wanted to leave. “Did Brandon send you here?” He was reluctant to sign the papers so I wouldn’t put it past him. Besides, Bernice wasn’t the type to apologize without being pressured to do so.

“Of course not. He’s mad at me at the moment, but I just thought of helping him by speaking with you.”

I shook my head. There was no need to come here. It was a complete waste of time. “It’s too late to help,” I said as I stood up, feeling extremely tired all of a sudden. “Like I said, the damage has already been done.”

I tried to walk away but my legs gave out beneath me and soon, I found myself falling over.