Chapter 8

She stretched out on the bed as she woke up, yawning. Clouds danced in her vision as she tried to stand up and she groaned, collapsing back into the bed. She felt nauseous, bile threatening to spew out of her mouth and she practiced the slow inhale and exhale game she always did whenever she felt tired. She must have eaten what was not good for her body the previous night and she had also had a busy day at work, she thought, explaining to herself the reasons for her fatigue.

"Uh!" She jumped off from the bed and ran to the toilet, just in time to spew out the rebellious content of her stomach. She sagged against the toilet seat,  breathing low. She raised herself up, rinsed her mouth at the tap and flushed the toilet.

She sighed as she watched her vomit go down the drain. Feeling the weird aftermath of vomit in her mouth, she decided to brush her mouth before going back to her room. She felt better and nodded to herself, moving out of the toilet.

"Thank God it is Saturday." She breathed in relief as she sat back in bed, scooting backwards to lean against the rest. She didn't have to rush out of the house for any meeting and she could rest for the whole of the weekend till she had to get back to work.

She picked her phone from the top of the dresser where she had placed it the previous night and frowned at seeing two missed calls. Knowing one would be her father probably trying to maneuver her into another way of being with Adam, she wondered who the next person would be.

As expected, the first call was her father. He had called her thirty minutes ago. The second call which had been around ten minutes ago brought a smile to her face and she quickly dialed back the person.

"Hey, girlfriend." She said as soon as Sandra picked the call.

"Veronica Hussey." Sandra beamed. "The new bride to be."

Veronica snorted at her childhood best friend. "Are you trying to tease me as well? It's bad enough that I have to endure it everyday from my father."

Sandra chuckled. "My bad, you know I will never do that to you."

"How is the blog?" Veronica asked.

"Fine." Sandra giggled. "As long as wealthy people like you get into scandals, my gossip blog would always have contents."

Veronica gave a mock shudder. "It must be refreshing to have a friend who knows the whole hot news in town. I hope I never get talked about on your blog."

"Of course you know you won't, you silly girl." Sandra laughed. Veronica was her first friend and they had been tight since middle school. She had become friends with Veronica when other students mocked her for being a welfare student and coming from a humble background as compared to the other rich students in the school. Veronica had stood up for her against the other students and Sandra had sworn her loyalty to her even though she had never asked for it.

"I know you won't."

"Speaking of blogs, have you read one recently?" Sandra asked.

Veronica snorted. "Not really. I have been crazily busy lately."

Sandra scoffed. "As if you would check the blogs even if you were less busy. I know you only check my blog because I am your friend."

Veronica laughed. "Why would I check out blogs when I have you to tell me all the gossip going on in town?"

"Jerk." Sandra laughed. "Does this mean you know nothing about what is going on with your beau to be?"

"What happened to him again?" Veronica rolled her eyes. It seemed it was always bad news one after the other anytime she heard of him.

"You know how he broke up with his girlfriend, Erica and no one knows what happened?"

"Okay?" Veronica urged her to continue.

"An anonymous person narrated what happened. She cheated on Adam with his best friend and he caught them in bed."

She gasped, feeling pity for him. She marveled at how good he was at hiding his pain. He was dealing with the ruin and loss of his business and also heartbreak and yet he didn't go around moping like he had inherited the troubles of the whole world.

"Why are you telling me this?" She snorted, hating the pull the information had had on her heart. She didn't want to start feeling sorry for him.

Sandra laughed. "So you go easy on him, girl. He has a wounded heart."

Veronica snorted. "I am not a nurse."

Sandra laughed. "You wicked soul. News on the line, the guy seems like a good man. I think your father actually did his research."

Veronica sighed, rolling her eyes. "Why are you being on Adam's side lately? Have you been paid by him?"

Sandra chortled. "You wound my heart. You know there is no amount of money that will turn me against you. What are your plans for the day? Are you going out? I would like to come over."

Veronica sighed. "So you can keep telling me of how good a man and how much of a great catch Adam is." She snorted. "No, thank you."

"I will bring pizza." Sandra said, trying to coax her.

At the mention of the food, Veronica gulped loudly, the need to retch strong in her. She gritted her teeth, counting to a hundred before she could finally talk. She heaved, having dry hiccups.

Sandra had heard her belch, trying to suppress her vomit and she frowned at the phone. "Babe, what is wrong?"

Veronica shook her head, dizzy and moaning in pain. "I don't feel good at all. I feel tired. I think I ate something bad yesterday and coupled with the stress of the week, my body feels weird."

Sandra jumped to her feet where she was lazing on the couch. "I am on my way to your apartment right now."

Veronica groaned, having no strength in her to persuade Sandra not to do that. "Okay, babes."

Sandra affirmed. "See you in thirty." She said and disconnected the call.

Twenty minutes later, Sandra burst through Veronica's apartment, looking like she barely dressed before she hopped into her car.

Veronica burst out laughing at the sight of her. "Did you not remember to change from your sleep wears?"

Sandra snorted. "How can I be bothered with fashion when my only best friend is sick?"

Veronica scoffed. "I am not sick. I am a little bit tired."

"Which you shouldn't be." Sandra huffed. "Come here."

Veronica smiled but did as Sandra wanted. "Okay, doctor."

Sandra scoffed. "Are you mocking me?"

"Not at all, ma'am." Veronica smiled with a shake of her head.

"How do you feel?"

"Tired. Bloated. Like shit."

Sandra nodded. "You definitely sound like shit."

Veronica laughed as she swiped at her hands playfully. "Get out of here, you mischievous one."

"You know you don't mean that."

"I mean it." Veronica giggled. She stopped laughing as a wave of nausea threatened to overcome her. Her hands flew to her mouth and she ran to the bathroom.

Sandra watched as she walked back into the living room, sagging with fatigue. She rolled her eyes as she settled into the chair opposite her. She pursed her lips, her thoughts roaming as she gave Veronica the chance to compose herself.

"Why are you looking at me that way?" Veronica chuckled. "It's just a little bit of stress. I will be fine."

Sandra smirked. "When was the last time you had sex, girlfriend?" She blurted out.

Veronica choked. "Sandra!"

"What?" Sandra glared at her. "You are an adult, it's possible. That is the first question you would get asked when I get to the hospital with all these symptoms I have seen so far."

"Oh! You are a doctor now." Veronica teased.

Sandra scoffed. "Of course not. But did you forget that I am a blogger? I earn money watching for scandals of the likes of you so I know if a woman is pregnant."

Veronica paled, praying Sandra was wrong. "Do you think I am pregnant?"

"The possibility is there as you look too pale for a healthy woman but it could also mean different things. After all, I am not a doctor."

Veronica sighed. I better not be pregnant. She thought, fidgeting. That would mean more disaster than she could cope with.

"Answer the question, girlfriend." Sandra urged her.

She thought long and gasped in horror. Uh oh, this was bad. Even before she said it out loud, she knew it sounded stupid.

"What is it?" Sandra asked, worried at the expression on Veronica's face. "What do you remember?"

"This is bad, girl." Veronica wailed.

"When?"

"Remember the holiday I had recently?"

"Yes?"

Veronica swallowed. "Yes, that was it. I had sex then and I haven't had anything else apart from that."

"Okay, will you like to call the guy? Maybe he would like to know about his baby." Sandra advised.

Veronica snorted. "It was a one night stand. We were both wasted, I don't even know his name neither do I remember his face." She was already hyperventilating. "What do I do, Sandra? My father must not know of this and I don't want to abort my baby." She held her hand against her stomach, rubbing it, already feeling protective towards the baby there.

Sandra gasped, shaking her head. "It's truly a dilemma but calm down, this might not be a pregnancy."

Veronica nodded. "Exactly. I pray it isn't."

Sharon rummaged through her purse and gave her a pregnancy test kit. "Let's confirm if it is actually pregnancy."

Veronica grinned. "Did you come knowing I was already pregnant?"

"Not at all." Sandra shook her head. "But I couldn't overrule the possibility and I can't go out or have you go out to buy a kit. Someone might be watching and blow a scandal we don't want."

"Thanks for watching out for me." Veronica smiled at her as she collected the kit and headed to the bathroom.

"Anytime, babe." Sandra replied and watched with her heart in her mouth as Veronica made her way to the bathroom.

Few minutes later, Veronica was back, her countenance fallen. Sandra heaved a sigh. She didn't need her to tell her what the result was.

Veronica slumped as she sat beside her. "What do I do, Sandra?" Tears fell down as she spoke. "My father will kill me. I can't just go to any hospital to abort it because of scandals and my father will eventually find out if I use the family hospital."

Sandra bit her lips, an idea forming in her mind but she wondered if her friend was going to like it. "I have an idea."

Veronica sat up, wiping the tears off her face. "Tell me. Anything to save me from this mess I am in."

"Why not get married to Adam?"

"What!" She screeched. "I don't want to get married and definitely not to him."

Sandra chuckled. "I am not asking you to fall in love with him. Don't you think it's better you get married before you start showing? It's better people think you were dating Adam and both of you got married to each other because you got pregnant than the world knowing you got pregnant for a man you can't recognize."

Veronica winced. "It sounds bad when you say it like that." She shook her head. "But I don't want to get married to Adam."

Sharon scoffed. "I see no available man you can get married to. He needs you to get married to him so your father can help him with his business, you need him to get married to you so you can keep the scandal of your pregnancy away from the world."

"That's true." Veronica replied, grudgingly.

Sharon nodded. "You know I am right. It is a good marriage of convenience. Call him and tell him to start picking out his wedding tux." She grinned