I'm Not Signing The Papers

ADRIENNE

Arlene was adamant that I needed to do a pregnancy test. After telling her about my recent dizzy spells and most recently, nausea she concluded that I could be sick or worse, pregnant and advised I did a pregnancy test.

Now, that result was sitting in my hand and a look of shock plastered on both our faces. Arlene looked from me to the test strip in my hand, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

“You’re pregnant!” she muttered finally.

Yes, I was pregnant. The dozens of tests we’d carried out in the last one hour confirmed that I was pregnant with Eddie’ child at the worst possible moment. Tears fell from my eyes, soaking the strip and smudging the result.

What does it matter? Eddie’ heart didn’t belong to me. Another woman was carrying his child, he reminded me of that just recently. I wiped my face dry and threw the test in the trash. Eddie didn’t know that walking out of this relationship was the final thing I’d do for him.

I was giving him back whatever I owed him – not money or power, but in three years of my life. I will never love him again.

“What will you do?” Arlene asked after a while, the look of surprise on her face finally melting into resigned acceptance. “You have to let Eddie know. This could change the dynamics of your relationship for the better.”

I shook my head. “Even I am not that shameless, Arly. It’ll feel like I’m trying to use this pregnancy to hold him down and I can’t do that neither do I want that. Lydia is already pregnant for him and –”

“You still need to let him know,” Arlene cut in. “Its his baby too. If he rejects it, then we can think of something to do. You’re meeting him today, right?”

I nodded. But I was also meeting my date today. The one my grandmother had set up for me. I didn’t tell her that though. I was going to wait until after the date to tell her but now this was happening.

“Do you know why Eddie wants to meet you though?”

Arlene asked again and I shrugged.

“He said he wanted to talk about something important.” I sighed. “I guess I could use it as an opportunity to broach the subject about the pregnancy. Because you’re right, it’s his child too. Even if we aren’t together, we could take care of it, together.”

Arlene nodded. “Let me know how it goes and what you’ve decided after that.”

I nodded. The time for our meeting was close and the location was close to where I was to meet my date.

I could kill two birds with one stone.

I had almost cancelled the date, but then I recalled that I’d promised my grandmother to at least see him. After spending three unfruitful years with Eddie, thinking of and getting into another relationship was the last thing on my mind. This was just for Grandma.

The time for the meeting came quickly and I left the house looking my best. I’d chosen to dress in a simple sundress, sunglasses and a pair of simple heels. I’d decided to dye my hair back to their original red color and started growing it out but it still wasn’t past my shoulders, still, I felt a little different from the meek Adrienne that Eddie wanted me to be.

Eddie was already waiting in the café when I slipped inside and his eyes quickly snapped up to me. There was a frown on his face that I didn’t care about.

“You’re late.” He spat as soon as I eased into the seat across from him.

I glanced away. “I’m not late.” I answered quietly. I was simply no longer the girl who would always arrive early and then wait hours for him. I watched the slight change in his expression, the narrowing of his eyes as he studied me.

“My grandparents have been pestering me to bring you to the estate. I was just talking to them before walked in,” he shifted closer, halving the distance between us. “You can’t tell them out our separation, do you understand? They’re too old to handle it, you know how they like you.”

I tried not to roll my eyes. “Why do they want to see me?”

“They want us to have a baby.” Eddie did flatly and I couldn’t help but notice the flicker of irritation on his face. “It is not going to happen though. Lydia is already pregnant for me and one day, they’ll come to accept her and her child. I’m counting on that. Until then, you and I just have to pretend to them that we’re still together and in love.”

My heart squeezed tight in my chest. It was as though he held it in his hand and squeezed but I laughed. The sound shocked him. His hands curled into fists on the table and his jaw clicked.

“What is so funny?”

I shook my head. “Nothing.” Only that I’d come here with the intention of telling you that I was pregnant with your child. But what did it even matter? I was not the woman he loved. I was not the woman he wanted to have a child with.

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a file which he slid to me. “This was the agreement we had when our families initiated this relationship. I wanted us to update it because of the recent… situation.”

I tilted my head. “We could just annul it completely. I’ll inform my parents that it didn’t work out and we’ve mutually decided to go out separate way and you’ll do same. There’s no need for this.”

Eddie stared at me blankly. “We’re not separating. You’re still my fiancée, Adrienne. At least, our families need to keep thinking that.” He nodded at the files. “The updated terms is that it will stay that way until Lydia gives birth to her child, then we can annul it and go out separate ways because by then my grandparents would have accepted her.”

I simply stared at him.

“I’ll keep transferring money to your account during the next eight months,” he continued undauntedly. “All you have to do is keep out arrangement a secret from our families and pretend we’re still together.”

“No,” I replied firmly after a while.

“What?”

“You heard me, Eddie. I refuse to do sign whatever this is. If you’ve made a decision, then you should have the courage to follow through. You and I are nothing to each other now and if our families ask, I’ll tell them what I am telling you now. Eddie, you and I are over.”

I stood to my feet without waiting for a reply, picked my purse and stormed out of the café. I had no idea how I had stayed calm until that point, but I felt like if I sat there a minute longer, I’d lose it. And I didn’t know what I’d do if I did.

Outside, I pressed a hand to my flat stomach, trying to feel the life that was growing inside of me.