The Affair Baby

I stole a woman's fiancé in three days.

On the first day he was my knight in shining armour.

On the second day he was my friend.

And on the third day I was moaning in his bed.

So, it was no surprise that she would want me dead when I showed up pregnant a few months later.

But unlike other women who only screamed blue murder and never had the will or money to back it up, Ophelia, the only daughter of the National leader, was different.

And Ophelia never made empty threats.

But the naive twenty two years old that I was at that time did not know this. 

Not even that day I was sitting in a tense room, sharing a table with the local trillionaires.

I had no idea that before the night was over, four people would be murdered and my life would change forever.

“Father. I cannot believe you are doing this.”

The old Mr Tucker looked away from his son, down at me, sitting at the end of the table. 

He smiled, and then winked. I smiled back. 

His son looked at the both of us in horror. 

Mr Tucker Snr was our country'’s Elon Musk, and at least eighty years old.

He finally turned lazy eyes to his son, “Sit, or get out.” He spat.

“Sorry, Father.” His son bowed deeply in apology, shot me a dirty look and sat beside his father. 

The rest of the Tucker clan began to file into the large room, each holding less love in their heart for me, till the woman who downright hated me walked in. 

“Who asked the dogs to the master’s table?” She looked from me to my mother sitting beside me, in disgust. 

I looked away, down at my hands clenched tightly in my lap.

“There is nothing to be ashamed about. Hold your head high," My mother whispered fiercely to me, then she stood up.

“What breed is your favorite nephew then? Only a dog f*cks a dog.” She spat angrily.

Everyone around the table gasped. 

Women never spoke such profanity in public here, unlike in the US where I was mostly raised. 

But my mother did not give a darn. She had never been one to care.

Blaine’s sister-in-law, Aoi Tucker, looked at my mother with a sneer. 

“Still as vulgar as ever.” She said, "I thought you would feel a little shame after your daughter got pregnant by the same man who you claimed was her father over twenty years ago.” 

The other family members at the table began to whisper among themselves.

“But I guess I was expecting too much from a classless wh*re.” She continued. 

“I would feel shame when Blaine does. If he had stuck to women his age, we would not be here.” My mother fired back.

I hated this.

I hated this so much. 

I did not want to be here. I would have quietly slipped away after I found out I was pregnant. 

I would have done so successfully if only I had not told my mother.

She had come down from the US to confront Blaine, my boss, right there in the office. 

Even recognizing him as her high school boyfriend, the man who should have been my father, did not make her back down.

Aoi Tucker  waved her hand at my mother dismissively.

She bowed deeply to old Mr Tucker, the head of the Tucker family, and attempted to sit, but he stopped her.

“No.. You said you cannot share tables with dogs. Step outside.” Mr Tucker said.

“Father .” Aoi said in shock.

“Go, your husband will tell you all that was discussed when we are done,” he said.

Aoi stared in horror, her face burning in embarrassment.

She finally bowed deeply and left. 

On her way out, she walked past Blaine and his fianceé who had just arrived.

I looked away. Blaine was finally here. 

We did not look at each other as he bowed to his grandfather and all the older people at the table before he took his seat with Ophelia.

Mr Tucker glanced at his lawyer, then turned back to the table, and smiled.

“It has been a while since I saw my whole family gathered in one place. The talk of my money got you all running here, eh.” The old man laughed merrily. 

His lawyer smiled politely beside him.

“You are all even actually sitting like you like each other.” He laughed again. 

No one moved.

I tried to keep my head down, and only occasionally stole glances up.

“Let’s not waste more time, so you can all get back to work. Mõshon is currently in the hands of strangers.” Mr Tucker stretched out his hand to his lawyer. 

His lawyer placed a sheet of paper I recognized well in his hand.

“I had a DNA test conducted. I went to the hospital myself with Ariel. The baby is yours Blaine.” Mr Tucker smiled, and shook his head.

Blaine looked at me from across the table, and I immediately looked down. 

My heart was beating fast, and I felt a flutter in my belly. I was not sure if it was the babies in my still flat belly, or the butterflies I still got whenever Blaine looked at me.

“The test was not exactly the safest thing to do, but it had to be done,” Mr Tucker continued. “For all her troubles, I decided to give her my shares.” He said.

The table went silent for one minute, and then there was commotion.

A stranger

Father, how could you

A loose woman

The Tucker  name will be ruined

“Shares are never supposed to go outside the family.” Blaine’s uncle’s voice finally broke through the noise.

Mr Tucker turned to him. 

“That is exactly why I gave it to her. She has my great-grandson in her belly.” He said, as the table went silent again to listen to him.

I glanced up at him and wondered how he had not slipped yet. 

Only he and I knew there were two babies. That was another thing that had swayed the old man’s decisions. 

But it was our little secret. He warned me not to tell anyone about it.

“But father,” Blaine’s uncle started to say.

“I am not done.” Mr Tucker raised his hand.

The table went silent again, watching him, waiting.

“This afternoon I made her son my legal heir. As soon as he turns six, his guardian will begin to make the company’s decisions on his behalf and, at eighteen, he will become the head of the Tucker estate.”

This came as a shock even to me. 

I had no idea that the old man would do this. 

Blaine had been his heir since he lost his father when he was younger. And Blaine still had many uncles, aunties and cousins alive and well.

Blaine was staring at his grandfather in shock.

“So, Ariel Grigor has officially become the lady of the Tucker estate, and you will all treat her as such.” 

He turned to Blaine. 

“It is totally your decision to make her a Tucker, and keep it all in the family or not.”

“You would disinherit me?” Blaine looked at his grandfather in disbelief.

“I did not. I simply gave my money to your first son.”

“This must be a joke.” One of Blaine’s cousins laughed. 

Mr Tucker laughed with him and then turned to his lawyer.

“My grandson thinks it is a joke.”

“It is not, Sir.” The lawyer said.

“He is not even your first great-grandchild.” Another woman sitting not very far from me shouted in frustration.

“And we cannot be sure he will survive till term.” I clearly heard a whisper. 

I looked around me in fright as my blood went cold. 

I could not tell who had said that. 

Was I imagining things? Even my mother who sat beside me did not look like she had heard. She had all her attention on Mr Tucker.

I instinctively placed my hand on my belly.

“Father .” I heard Blaine’s uncle say, pulling my attention again. “I understand you may be outraged at the scandal this has caused in the last few months. But she is not even of our class. The Sullivans may use this opportunity to finally get their hands on our shares.”

“That is exactly what I am preventing.”

“Father . This is not the best way to go about it.”

“What is?” Mr Tucker finally exploded. “You expect me to let Turner’s granddaughter get everything?” He pointed angrily at Ophelia sitting beside Blaine. 

“You expect me to watch my sweat go to the daughter of the man who said nothing while Sullivan bullied me and tried to steal my company?”

He stood up shakily.

“There will be no more talks about this. If you don’t like it, get Blaine to marry her.”

He sighed.

“She deserves the company better than you lots, anyway. I found my gift of design in her, the same gift that made the empire you all are now grasping at when not even one of you bothered to inherit or learn the art.”