Chapter 218 - Mole (3)

"There is no way you mean that." She turned to glance at Theodore. "Wait. You don't mean that, right?" 

"Honey, calm down." He held both of her shoulders. The last thing she could do right now was calm. 

"Please tell me you are joking." She demanded, even though she knew that he was serious about his speculation. She didn't even wait for him to speak before she rushed upstairs and locked herself in her room. 

Theodore followed her and knocked softly. "Zaria." 

She neither heard the knock or his voice, her mind going crazy with the possibility. She was pregnant? She tried to remember how long ago she had her last period and the thought of it made her head hurt. 

"How could I be pregnant?" She pulled at her hair as she paced the room in distress. It was definitely a dream. It had to be, or she was having a hallucination and it would be over with a snap of someone's fingers. 

That was not what she got. 

"If you don't open the door, I'm giving Desmond a call to tell him the good news." Theodore threatened after knocking for what felt like an eternity and not getting a reaction from her. 

Zaria heard the threat with a jolt and hurriedly opened the door. "You can't do that."

"I will if you don't tell me what's wrong." Theodore cupped her face in concern. "You are not a child, Zaria. You are an adult and so is Desmond. The two of you decided to be in a relationship with the intention of getting married someday. What's wrong with you getting pregnant?" 

"I don't want kids." She looked at him pitifully and looked away. She waited for him to tell her that she should have used protection if she didn't want kids. He didn't, thankfully. 

"Tell me the truth." He insisted, not believing a word of what she said. "It's about Desmond, isn't it?" 

She chose not to answer him, but he took it as a yes nonetheless. 

"Are you going to take a test?" He asked. 

"Dad," She purred, feeling awkward. "That's not the kind of thing you discuss with your father." 

"There is no such thing between a father and a daughter. I need to know about such important matters. If you need me, how would I know if you hid it from me?" He argued, and she felt emotional. 

"I thought you were going to scold me."

"I would never." He hugged her, and she was glad that she would have him on her side if things went south. 

"Ximena just called me. She is worried about you." He added.

"Oh my God! She must have called and couldn't get through to me." She suddenly remembered her broken phone. "Can I please use your phone to call her back?" 

"If you break your phone, I'm not going to give you mine." He warned sternly. Her response was to look up at him with teary puppy dog eyes. He couldn't stand it. "Fine. I'll give it to you this once." 

… 

"Are you trying to kill me with worry? What happened to your phone?" Ximena screeched as soon as she answered the call. 

"Can you come over, Xim?" She was on the verge of tears for some reason. Ximena must have guessed as much from her voice, because she lowered hers. 

"Of course, honey. I'll be there in a flash." She promised, and she really arrived in a flash. 

Zaria was trying to explain everything to Theodore while trying to make him understand things he thought were her childish fears when the doorbell rang three times in a row. 

"That must be Ximena." She shuffled off the couch where she was sitting with Theodore and rushed to open the door. 

"Slow down." Theodore warned again. Zaria was yet to take the test but he seemed to have subconsciously believed that she was pregnant. 

"Zaria! What's going on? What happened?" Ximena hugged her as soon as the door was opened. "Are you alright?" 

"Yes. I'm alright. Just a little tired." She smiled helplessly and pulled her friend in.

"Uncle Theo, is everything okay with Zaria?" Ximena asked Theodore who looked displeased, obviously not believing her friend.

"Yes, I'm alright for the millionth time, Xim." She answered for him and pulled Ximena towards the staircase. "We will be in my room, dad." She wiggled her fingers in a dramatic sign of goodbye. That was code for "Let the ladies handle this, we've got it." 

As soon as they got to her room, Ximena pushed the door closed and locked it, then dragged Zaria to the velvet couch and sat her down, crossing her arms like a figure in authority. "Spill it." 

Zaria chuckled. "I did. You tell me. What happened between you and Liam?" 

Ximena narrowed her eyes on her, and Zaria recoiled. "I'm really alright, Xim. I promise. I was just overwhelmed and it made me break things. My phone fell victim. But I'm okay now. I promise." She lied. 

"Oh Zaria." Ximena sat beside her, half believing her lie. "It has never been like you to break things when you feel distressed. Did anything happen?" 

That made her feel worse. She had not been herself lately. She was probably just hormonal—if she was actually pregnant—and there was no way to say that to Ximena. She didn't want to hurt her feelings. 

"So, I will feel much better if I have something fun to listen to. Like you and Liam." She nudged.

Ximena chuckled at her roundabout way of changing the topic. "If you say so. But Liam and I have nothing interesting going on." 

"So you have something boring going on." Zaria teased her. 

"I wish we had something. Anything. I wouldn't care whether it would be boring or remotely fun. I would be ready to explore it regardless." 

"That's not how it seemed. I met Liam and he had an entertaining mark on his cheek." She tried not to sound like she was prying too much. "If my guess is right, you are responsible for the palm print." 

"I couldn't control myself." Ximena looked embarrassed. 

"You may have to learn how to control your temper. Clearly." Zaria pulled her legs up under her and looked like she wanted to grab a bucket of popcorn. "Was it something he did?" 

Ximena shook her head. "I don't want to be with him knowing that one day it will have to end." 

"You are not the one who decided that. Fate does." Zaria berated her. 

"I know that. But I already know what fate did to make me unable to be with him. Why would I continue to waste my time, Zaria?" 

"That's not…" 

"Family is an important thing to every man. Sometimes, it is even the most important. Every man will want to marry a woman who will complete him, with whom they will have a family together with kids and pets." She sighed. "Liam evidently wants a family. How can I be with him even while knowing that I will never be able to give him one?" She lamented. 

Zaria facepalmed. Just how was fate twisted? Ximena wanted to be a mother but couldn't, while she was probably going to be one even though she was certain that her boyfriend was not ready for kids. The irony. 

She was not against having kids. That was definitely not what was bothering her. It was the fact that the timing was so wrong. With Nathaniel still lurking, how could she be certain that she and her baby were alright? Besides, how would Desmond take the news? The possibility of him preferring that she had an abortion hung at the back of her mind, eating her up inch by inch. 

"Hey, you zoned out again." Ximena called her out.

"Sorry, I got distracted." She looked at Ximena and felt even guiltier. Her friend had never hesitated to open up anything to her, yet here she was, hiding something so important from her. But how could she bear to tell Ximena what she suspected, and possibly shatter her entire being into pieces? 

No matter what, Ximena's feelings were the most important. She was certain that Ximena would be happy for her if she was actually pregnant but she had to reveal it in the least emotionally damaging way possible. Of course, she would show a bump if… "Urgh, I want to die." She groaned at the thought of it.

_____

AN. 

What do you think? Will Ximena be happy for Zaria, or will she be jealous/hate her?