"Mrs. Barker,"the doctor began to say, "it appears that you're pregnant!”
Gina felt the wind push out of her. "It was the only one time he did not take any preventative measures!"she said, massaging her temples. "There's no way that this could…"
"That's how it is, Mrs. Barker,"the doctor turned the results of the medical examination to me. "The numbers have it. You'll be eating for two from now on!"
Gina tried to listen to the doctor's medical advice, but she was far too worried about what she was going to tell her husband.
When she stepped out, she clutched her phone to her chest.
'Should I tell him?' she wondered, staring at the black screen with her eyes threatening tears. 'Should I tell him that I'm pregnant with his child?'
Her thumb was hovering over his phone number, deciding as to whether or not she should call him.
Before she could even make a decision, a notification dropped down from the bottom of the screen from her news application.
The headline shocked her.
[Breaking News: CEO Bryce Barker seen on steamy date with heiress Rhonda Rodgers!]
'On a date!?' Gina was so angry, she felt her blood feel like it wanted to burst out of her skin.
That was her husband!
Bryce Barker was her husband!!!
Her conviction shifted. She had to call him and tell him about her pregnancy now!
How dare he!
Just as she was about to dial Bryce up, another call came through instead.
It was from an unsaved number.
'Who is this now?' Gina thought to herself as she tapped on the answer button.
"Hello? Who am I speaking to?"
"Is this Gina?"came a sultry, deep and feminine voice. Gina could picture this disembodied voice being attached to a beautiful temptress in a tight red dress like they often were in movies. "This is Rhonda Rodgers."
Gina's voice was caught in her throat. "Y-you…?”
"Exactly, yes,"Rhonda said, her tone aloof. "Can you meet me at the Scarlet Lily at eight? I would like to have a few words with you."
"The Scarlet Lily?"
"Yes, the restaurant, at eight. Goodness, you're slow.”
Gina was not sure what to do at the face of that obvious insult. All she could stammer was, "S-sure?"
"Great. Till then."
With that, Rhonda hung up.
Gina stood in the hallway of the hospital, just stunned, for what felt like a long time.
Did this Rhonda woman know?
Did she know about Bryce and Gina's secret marriage?
Why did she want to discuss it with her?
After some time, Gina snapped out of it. She realized from the time on her phone that it was nearing eight o' clock in the evening, so she quickly went outside and made the journey to the Scarlet Lily.
The whole time, questions raced in Gina's head.
'Bryce and Rhonda must know each other really well if she knows about our marriage.'
'Why did he tell her?'
'I thought keeping our marriage a secret was his idea!'
Gina soon arrived at the Scarlet Lily, a restaurant decorated with fiery red furniture and white satin silks the color of river lilies.
The host at the front had been expecting her, and led her to a private room within the restaurant. As soon as Gina opened the door, the scent of an acidic, sickeningly sweet perfume invaded her senses.
It was a horrible excuse for a perfume.
Inside, at a table by the window, was a gorgeous woman with ink black hair and a voluptuous figure wearing an expensive red, pinstripe suit.
The moment the door was opened, Rhonda Rodgers's lips curled into an arrogant smirk. "Nice of you to drop by, Gina. I was afraid that you wouldn't find the time to come.”
Gina gulped down her nervousness and sat down in front of her.
Fake pity filled the eyes of the beautifully made-up eyes of Rhonda Rodgers, and she parted her red lips to say, "I'm going to cut to the chase, Gina, since you look like you're going to throw up. Bryce and I have been… -- well, so as to not insult your intelligence -- dating, for a long time now."
Gina suppressed a choking sob. It felt like a knife had been shoved into her heart.
Rhonda continued callously, "You should know all too well by now that Bryce does not love you, my dear Gina, which obviously does not do your marriage any favors.”
"You know about our marriage?"Gina said, feeling wounded.
"I know all about it,"Rhonda said with a smirk. "I even know that he would absolutely hate it if you were to ever conceive his child."
As she said that, she glanced down at Gina's belly, as if she knew. Her red lips curled with a cruel grin.
"He also plans to divorce you as soon as his grandfather dies. When old Bill Barker's heart flatlines, it's over for your marriage, sweetie. Sorry."
Gina felt the knife in her heart twist the more Rhonda spoke.
She was right. William Barker, the founder of the Bank of Barker & Bentley and Bryce's grandfather has been physically deteriorating as of late.
And, if what Rhonda was saying was true, then it would be over for Bryce and Gina's marriage!
"Why…"Gina fought back tears; her throat felt like it was closing up. "Why are you telling me this?"
Rhonda smiled, the fake pity in her eyes becoming more obvious. "Girls should be helping other girls out, right? I love Bryce, with all my heart, and I do want to be his bride someday, and… Well, he deserves better than you, don't you think? I think he does.
"That doesn't mean I don't think you have your own defining qualities, Gina. You look innocent, and I'm sure hundreds, if not thousands, of men would come running for that, especially since you make your innocence look so… pathetic. You look like the kind of girl that men would love to save -- like a weak princess or a damsel in distress.
"So, like I said, I'm only telling you all this because I wanted to help you. When old Bill Barker finally kicks the bucket, you can get all your affairs in order. Prepare your demands for alimony and custody over property and all that. You married a rich man, so you should come out of it with something, thanks to me.
"Don't say I wasn't kind to you, Gina."
Each thing Rhonda said felt like a hailstorm of bullets, and Gina found it hard to breathe. She felt her eyes get misty with tears and her nose grow sore with grief.
'There's no way…' she thought as Rhonda kept speaking, 'There's no way all of this is true…'
* * *
Gina felt like she had blacked out.
The next thing she knew, she was back home, lying in bed.
Before she could even wonder how she got from the Scarlet Lily with Rhonda to home, she could only remember what Rhonda had said.
'Bryce hates me,' she recalled. 'He wants to divorce me the moment his grandfather is dead…'
Looking back on it, Gina felt like it should have made sense.
When old Bill Barker arranged for Bryce to marry Gina, Bryce had looked at her with such contempt and disgust that she actually felt it burn into her mind. She almost did not dare to speak to him for a few days.
In all the three years they had been married, Bryce had not even worn the wedding ring once, not even in the privacy of their own home.
He refused to even admit that she was his wife in public.
Hell, even when they shared a bed together for the first time, Bryce had even said, "I'm only doing this because my grandfather wants us to.”
Recalling all of that, Gina could believe that Bryce would willingly divorce her, and that it was not just Rhonda manipulating her thoughts.
He would never see Gina as his real wife, because he was not in love with her.
And now, she was pregnant with his child, and Bryce would not want her to be.
As Gina thought of all these things, and everything that Rhonda had told her at the Scarlet Lily, she became even more hesitant about telling Bryce about their baby.
In the quiet of her room all alone, Gina began to cry. Her shoulders shook with each sob, the darkness her only confidant and comfort.
How could she tell Bryce about the baby now?
Would telling him save their marriage?
Or would it only ruin it even more?
She had no idea what she was going to do…
