PREGNANT AFTER ONE NIGHT STAND

For three days, I ignored, avoided, and disregarded Cedric, I don’t care what you call it. The point is, I treated him as if he didn’t exist, even though he never left my side. He sticks to me at the office like a leech, always following me around as if deliberately showing everyone that I belong to him.

No one is allowed to get close, and I think now even Henry feels more hesitant around me. I’m okay with that. It’s actually a relief not to have extra burdens on my mind. Our interactions are limited to work-related matters only, nothing more. Even the messages and calls that used to be frequent are now nonexistent.

I think what happened on Monday really made Henry realize who he’s dealing with when he approaches me. Maybe. I don’t care to inquire further. I’m still unwilling to face Cedric right now.

“What do you want to eat, Joice?”

We’ve arrived at the apartment. I didn’t speak throughout the journey back, just like the days before. He chatted away, and I gave half-hearted responses, sometimes only after being asked two or three times. He doesn’t give up trying to engage me in conversation. Sometimes I hear him sigh, probably trying to contain his frustration at being ignored. I couldn’t care less.

At the office, I try my best to suppress all my feelings towards him, especially my anger. I act professionally as a personal assistant to Krystal Blaxton. Soon, when a new person qualifies to replace Sarman as Krystal’s assistant, Cedric will be moved to the 22nd floor. I’m lucky we won’t be on the same floor anymore. If we were, I can’t even imagine how I’d manage to work peacefully.

Even on separate floors, I still get bothered by him all the time! I don’t know why, suddenly he’s in Krystal’s room. He spends so much time there, discussing who knows what. And then they call me in. They talk about things that I don’t think I need to be there for, but they insist on making me attend! What surprises me is that Krystal acts like we’re collaborating on something important, even though all the decisions still rest with her or… Cedric. Ugh! They’re truly extraordinary!

I hate being put in such situations! And it’s not just for a day or two, it’s three days in a row, just like when I ignored him.

“Joice? Are you spacing out?” Cedric asks softly. I was going to take a shower, but since Cedric is still in the living room, I decide to postpone it. I don’t want him to linger here for too long. I’m still mad.

“Go home,” I tell him without looking up. I start unpacking my bag and take out my phone. I scroll through social media and read the latest news-some celebrity is being investigated for a scandalous video. Crazy, right? The real crazy thing is the people who are passing judgments, in my opinion. Dona says the celebrity is a victim, but they’re being treated like a criminal. It’s really ridiculous.

“Your phone looks really cool, huh, that you’re staring at it like that?”

“Well, of course! It’s extremely cool!”

I know he’s smiling, but I still refuse to look at him. Whatever! Suddenly, he pulls me into a half-forced embrace, making me scream in protest and push him away relentlessly. But it seems my strength is nothing compared to his, because instead of letting go, Cedric only tightens his grip.

“I can’t breathe, Cedric!!!”

“Just be quiet.”

I revolted! He had no right to force me like that! I was already angry, and the scent of Cedric’s perfume never stopped interrupting my thoughts and feelings, not to mention Baby, who seemed to understand and had become his ally, often making me suddenly feel uncomfortable. But when his father is around, Baby behaves perfectly.

Isn’t that frustrating?!

“Joice, please. You’ll get more suffocated like this.”

“Well, if I die, you’ll be the suspect!” I yelled while still trying to free myself from his embrace. He relented and loosened his hold, but his hands quickly cupped my cheeks. I couldn’t avert my gaze, only staring into his eyes.

“Don’t do this. I can’t handle it.”

I remained silent, even though his eyes were starting to influence my brain.

“I miss you.”

“Move aside!” I tried once again to break free.

“Aren’t you going to forgive me after more than three days? Isn’t this enough, Joice?”

“NO!”

“What if I miss Baby?”

My eyes narrowed sharply at him. I didn’t care that Cedric was looking at me with a mournful expression. “Oh, you only care about Baby, don’t you? Not me. Fine. I’m not stupid, you know. I still have the heart to take care of your child.” I emphasized the words “your child.” “Is that all you think about?”

I heard Cedric sigh again. “It’s not like that. Baby and you both mean a lot to me.”

“Oh, really? So important that you couldn’t even be honest with me from the beginning?”

Cedric’s lips seemed like they wanted to say something, but he held back.

“You played the role so well, Cedric. Maybe if there was an award for the best actor disguised as a commoner, you’d win it hands down.”

I took a deep breath. I couldn’t hold back my frustration anymore. “Can you imagine how hurt and angry I am? To be deceived like this? Have you even thought about it?” I wiped away tears that suddenly fell uncontrollably. “I don’t think so.”

“Joice, it’s not like that.”

“Better go home. I’m still angry.” I stood up, ignoring his attempts to hold me back. I pushed away his hands that tried to reach me and sat back down. The pain in my stomach returned, but I ignored it. I felt like Baby knew that I was scolding his father and that’s why my stomach hurt.

I closed the bedroom door loudly, the sound echoing in my ears. If it broke, I’d ask Cedric to fix it. My anger was caused by him, and he had to take responsibility, right?

I chose to soak in the bathtub while thinking about what I wanted to eat. When I realized my phone was left in the living room, I was already half-naked. But whatever. I needed to relax my mind first before ordering food.

It didn’t take long for me to soak in the water. Unlike usual, my anger was slightly alleviated. I needed to be able to sleep. Closing my eyes while my heart was still filled with anger wouldn’t be pleasant. Sleep wouldn’t be restful, and I’d feel unsettled. It had been like that for the past few days. I couldn’t sleep soundly. When I opened the bedroom door, damn, Cedric was still there.

Sitting comfortably while eating pizza!

Oh, there’s nothing more annoying than this!

“I ordered lots of pizza, Joice. There’s spaghetti and others too. Come here. Eat first. It’s okay to have junk food occasionally.”

The aroma of pizza filling the room immediately assaulted my brain without mercy! Suddenly, my appetite surged so strongly. I wanted the pizza that Cedric was holding! The one he just took a bite of!!!

“Don’t eat it!” I shouted as I walked towards Cedric, who looked at me with confusion. “I want that one.”

“There’s more.”

I shook my head and immediately snatched the pizza from his hand. I sat down slowly because I remembered I was pregnant, and I needed to take good care of Baby. I didn’t want to be labeled as a careless or negligent mother again. I love Baby, after all. “I want this,” I said while taking a bite of the pizza with sausage. “Why? Don’t you like it?”

Cedric smiled. “I like it.” He gently patted the top of my half-dried head.

“Your hands just touched the pizza, Cedric!!! Oh my God! It’s dirty again!”

“I’ll wash them tomorrow, okay.”

“I don’t want to! After eating, I’ll wash my hair again!” I declared.

He nodded.

“Wash it thoroughly.”

Again, he nodded.

“If my hair still smells like pizza, I won’t hesitate to kick you out of my life!”

***

“Feeling better now?”

I shook my head. “My stomach still feels uncomfortable.” Even though I lied. Baby was fine, actually. Just a bit full. I finished a plate of spaghetti and four slices of pizza. Cedric had removed the cola, which he said was a bonus for buying in bulk so I wouldn’t drink it. But I wanted to. Just a little.

Cedric didn’t give in. He just threw it away without even asking me. Suddenly, I started crying, making him flustered. Once he found out the reason for my tears, he didn’t know what to do. He poured the cola down the kitchen sink, leaving only the canned bottle. My tears flowed even more.

“I shouldn’t have given in to your craving for cola earlier.”

I glared at him and said somewhat harshly, “Do you even know how sad it is for a pregnant woman not to have her cravings fulfilled? It’s heart-wrenching.”

“You can be quite dramatic, Joice.”

I gave his shoulder a hard punch. He winced slightly before resuming his gentle rubbing on my stomach, which was perfectly fine. I did have some cola, but only a little. Just to satisfy my curiosity after such a long time without soda.

“You should get pregnant too, so you’ll know what it feels like when your mood goes haywire!”

He laughed, and the way he playfully touched the tip of my chin with a look of fondness in his eyes annoyed me. I didn’t know why, but my anger returned, albeit slightly.

Earlier, while feeding me spaghetti, he seemed genuinely remorseful. He apologized repeatedly for keeping things from me. Even though he had a very valid reason, and I knew it for sure, the disappointment was still there. I was just an ordinary woman with a high level of ego. Should I thank Sarman for pushing me a little? If not for him, maybe Cedric wouldn’t have revealed his true self until the time he had planned. When I was officially his wife. He said it was so I wouldn’t be angry for too long. I scoffed and was annoyed at his reasoning.

“I’m tired. I want to sleep.” I adjusted myself to lie halfway on the bed. The clock on the wall showed it was already 11 PM. My hair was also dry thanks to the hairdryer. I seriously needed to get it washed again. It was dirty and still smelled like pizza because of Cedric’s hands. So careless!

“How do I look?” Cedric asked while fixing my blanket.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“Go home.”

He pouted. “You got my shirt wet earlier, Joice. Should I go home shirtless?”

I turned away, trying to suppress my amusement. I wanted to laugh, but then he’d know that I wasn’t too angry anymore. I still wanted to be angry and maintain a grumpy expression toward Cedric.

I still remembered quite clearly when Cedric followed me to the toilet inside the room. I wasn’t joking about threatening to wash my hair again because I felt it was dirty. Cedric had no say in it whatsoever. He could only surrender after trying to persuade me, which had no effect at all. He said he would redo it in the morning, but I refused! I didn’t like sleeping with dirty hair.

When we entered the bathroom, I dropped my kimono, which I was still wearing. I was only in my bra and very short pants. Slowly, I approached the dry bathtub. I was just going to wash my hair, right? I didn’t want to risk getting cold from taking a full shower again. Only my hair was dirty.

“Why are you just standing there?”