CHAPTER 10
Kelsey
I slipped into a sundress, admiring myself in the mirror. The light yellow fabric was tight around the middle, but it was okay because there was a reason for it. I no longer have to beat myself up about eating too much or eating the wrong things. Instead, now I eat everything in sight, including strawberry shortcake, ice cream, and my favorite, fudge brownies, without a shred of guilt.
Because the pregnancy test I took this morning came back positive, and I couldn’t wait to tell Trent. My billionaire was going to be over the moon, and the proud papa of a little boy or little girl in about six months. Turning this way and that before my reflection, I admired the little bump I had going, even if it was still more poochy stomach than an actual baby.
Because I’m so excited to be expecting Trent’s child. It wasn’t supposed to happen, but at the same time, we could have taken precautions but we didn’t. Trent came in me on multiple occasions knowing that I often forget my birth control, his virile sperm blasting into my fertile pussy.
So here we are now. My man’s promised to stop by to take me to a fancy dinner, and I’m going to tell him the news then. We’ll laugh, cry and hold hands, before putting our heads together to make plans. Everything’s going to work out perfectly, and I can hardly wait to tell him the big surprise.
On cue, my buzzer rang and I scampered over to let him in.
“Come on up,” I sang into the intercom. “I’m ready.”
Within a minute or so, there was the heavy tread of male footsteps outside, and I flung open the door, expecting to see my handsome billionaire. But instead, it was my ex-boyfriend Rick, looking worse for the wear. The dude was slouched over with greasy black hair. And for some ungodly reason, his pasty flesh was sweaty and puffy-looking.
“Um hey,” I stammered, not knowing what else to say. “What are you doing here?”
To be honest, I hadn’t seen Rick since he bailed on me months ago to go to the firing range his friends. After that debacle, I made some excuse about being really busy at my job before breaking up. And to be frank, he didn’t seem to mind. Rick was all understanding nods, saying that “it was probably for the better.”
But he was here now, that greasy form literally on my doorstep.
“Hey Kels,” he squeaked, leaning against the door frame. “What’s up with you?”
“Not much,” I said, trying to seem cool and casual. “This is a surprise. What brings you around?”
His eyebrows lifted.
“Not a lot,” he smirked. “Mind if I come in?”
In fact, I did mind. Trent was going to be here soon, and I wanted Rick gone. So I put my hands up across the doorway, making like I was stretching. But in fact, it was a barrier so that he couldn’t enter my tiny living room.
“Um sorry,” I said in a light voice. “I’m expecting a visitor, so this isn’t a good time. I’ll call you later?”
But Rick’s expression turned nasty then.
“What kind of visitor?”
My face shuttered itself closed.
“Just a friend,” came my neutral tone. “No one you know.”
But Rick couldn’t be dissuaded and I remembered now why I didn’t like him. It wasn’t just that he’d lied to me and bailed on our six month anniversary plans. It was because there was something oily and sleazy about him, from the lank black hair to the visible sweat stains below each armpit.
“This isn’t a great time,” I said firmly, standing my ground, arms still braced across the door frame. “I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
Fortunately, Rick didn’t try to force himself in. He just stood there, cocking his head while shooting me a sly smile.
“Oh really?” he asked. “May I ask what’s so important?”
“No,” was my immediate reply. “It’s private. Besides, what’s so urgent? I haven’t seen you for months. So why are you even here now?”
Immediately, the man changed tactics and a look of sorrow came over his face.
“I know things ended kind of quickly between us,” he mumbled apologetically. “That was my fault. But after I got the flu, it seemed like you didn’t want to see me anymore. Why? Everyone gets sick once in a while, Kels,” he whined. “I know I was out of commission for a few weeks, but I expected you to wait while I got better,” he said defensively.
This was thick. I straightened, shooting him a sharp look.
“Rick, I know you weren’t sick during our anniversary lunch. I know that’s not why you bailed. It’s because you had plans to go to the shooting range and then ATV driving with your buddies. In fact, you put a deposit down weeks before, so don’t give me this ‘flu’ stuff.”
He brightened immediately.
“Yeah, that’s it!” was his excited reply. “I went to the shooting range and had fun with my friends, but I was too embarrassed to tell you,” he added in a sorrowful manner. “Like you said, I put a huge deposit down ahead of time, and was going to be out two hundred bucks if I didn’t show up.”
My head shook with impatience.
“But why did you lie?” I pressed. “Why didn’t you just say that? I know two hundred bucks is a lot, but still. We could have gone somewhere else afterwards,” was my exasperated answer. “What was the point of lying like that?”
He bit his lip, that thin form keeling to the left as if caught in a gust of wind.
“Well, you know, I just didn’t know what to say,” he hemmed and hawed. “Plus, you’re always so busy and Amber told me you’d gone out that night, anyways. So I figured you didn’t want to see me, and when after a few weeks, we broke up, it was just easier to leave things as they were.”
I rolled my eyes again.
“You know I can’t put up with lying, and that’s what you did,” was my tired sentence. “I’m sorry Rick, but it’s over between us. It was over months ago, and there’s no possibility of reconciliation. We’re done.”
This guy was unstable because he went from zero to sixty in two seconds flat, becoming a hissing, boiling engine of anger.
“Oh yeah? Well, I wasn’t trying to get back with you anyways,” he spat. “That’s all your imagination.”
I rolled my eyes again.
“Could’ve fooled me,” was my dry reply. “After all, why else are you here?”
And the true reason came out then. Once again, Rick did a one eighty, making my head spin.
“It wasn’t for real,” he pleaded. “It was just a mistake, and I was never happy with her, Kelsey. It’s always been you, I swear.”
My eyes squinted at him, hardly daring to believe my ears.
“I’m sorry?” was my stilted reply. “What’s going on?”
The full story burst forth then, along the lines of “the dog ate my homework” combined with a heavy dose of self-pity.
“Well, I met this girl at the shooting range that day, and she was soooo amazing,” he wailed, cheeks flushing red as his Adam’s apple bobbed. “She was sooo pretty and cute, and thin too. You’ve always had trouble being thin, and Britney is naturally that way,” he said, levelling me with an accusing glare while letting out a sniffle.
Honestly, his insults couldn’t even touch me now. I rolled my eyes again impatiently.
“So what’s with this girl? I get it. You went to the shooting range and met a girl who likes guns.”
Rick sniffled again, even wiping at his eyes this time.
“Well yeah, because you’ve never liked guns. You would never go to the shooting range with me, so when I met Britney, I thought she was amazing,” he confessed. “But the thing is after Britney and I started going out, I realized she isn’t half the woman you are, Kelsey. You’re the one, and I fucked it up,” he said with another self-pitying sniffle.
This was news to me, frankly, but I didn’t feel anything. Because Rick meant so little to me now that his games seems childish and dumb.
“It’s going to be okay,” I said soothingly, putting a small hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to be okay. There are lots of women in the world, and Britney just wasn’t the right one for you. But you know what? You’ll meet someone else, and it’ll work out.”
What I hadn’t anticipated was Rick pressing his advantage. Because the moment I touched his shoulder, he managed to swing around and grab me, pressing my curvy form against his before smashing my mouth into a disgusting kiss.
“It’s you,” he groaned against my lips, his fishy smell surrounding us. “It’s always been you, Kelsey.”
I screamed then, opening my mouth while trying to push him away. But Rick has a wiry strength in those narrow arms, and he locked me even tighter against his flabby form.
“It’s always been you,” he moaned again, licking my mouth even as I tried to fight him off. “It’s you Kelsey. Please forgive me.”
This time, I managed to get a good hit to his shoulder, my feet kicking and flailing as I tried to get away.
“Get off of me, you giant fuck!” was my scream. “Unnnh!”
Because suddenly, Rick had a big hand tangled in my curls, but this wasn’t a lover’s friendly tug. He pulled my hair like I was a misbehaving child, jerking my head back so that my neck cracked.
“Ow!” I shrieked. And the real Rick came out then.
“Shut the fuck up,” he hissed, that oily face mere inches from mine. I could see gaping pores on his nose, not to mention the man’s spittle flying onto my cheeks in sticky droplets. “Shut the fuck up,” he hissed again. “I hear you’ve been making a lot of money lately. Where’s that coming from, Kels? You got any for Daddy-O?”
I opened my mouth to scream again, but suddenly Rick was yanked off me with a mighty heave, landing in a messy heap on the floor about five feet away. Trent towered over the sniveling beta male, his expression furious.
“You shut the fuck up,” my man hissed, rage on that handsome face. “You ever touch her again, and you’re history, hear?”
Rick curled into a ball with his hands over his head like a possum trying to play defense.
“No, no!” he squealed. “There’s been a misunderstanding! Kelsey loves me! I know it!”
But I’d had enough, and with hitch of my breath, I let go then.
“Get away from me!” was my scream. “You ever come near me and my baby again and I’ll call the cops. Not to mention the FBI, the CIA and the Billionaires Club itself. Don’t ever come near me again!”
And with that, I collapsed into Trent’s arms because the drama had been too much. As a pregnant woman, this type of excitement was overwhelming, and looking into the bright blue eyes of my man, I fainted … because he was the love of my life, and I’d just given my secret away.