“That bas*tard. At least he should be man enough to listen to your story,” Sophia felt sorry for her crying friend who was seated on the couch in front of her, “he should have given you a fair chance.”

Marissa crashed at her only friend’s apartment last night because she didn’t know where else to go.

“I don’t know, Sophie,” Marissa’s legs were folded up, and her chin was leaning on her knees, “How is it possible that Valerie was there right after the surgery? It seems… it seems like … she was keeping the tabs on Rafael.”

“Or maybe there was someone else from the family who was giving her all the information,” Sophia said meaningfully.

Marissa didn’t remark. She didn’t even need a divorce as her marriage was registered as Valerie Aaron.

At the time of the wedding, Nina didn’t let the priest speak her name.

“What are your plans, Marissa?” Sophia asked her and passed over the plate that had apple pieces.

“I need to get out of here, Sophia. My kids might be in danger.” Then she told everything to her friend who was horrified when she heard about Nina Sinclaire.

“Two years back, this lady acted as if she had the best interests for you. You better make it quick. But where will you go, my friend?” Marissa chuckled softly not knowing what to say.

She didn’t know anyone outside the Sangua city.

Just then Sophia straightened with excitement and snapped her fingers, “Why don’t you move to Kanderton?”

“Kanderton? But I don’t have anyone there.”

“Silly. My grandfather lives there. Start a new life. Let’s go together and make a fresh start.” Marissa was already shaking her head,

“No! You can’t risk your life because of me. Your clinic is doing very good here. Why would you make the move?”

“OK. Then maybe go there and I can join you later!” Sophia raised her one shoulder and that made Marissa smile.

“By the way,” Sophia placed her Coke can on the table and looked at her, “I sent my clinic rider to deliver the ultrasound report to you. Did you receive it?”

Marissa shook her head with a frown, “I have my pregnancy report in my purse but there is no…” she held her breath, “what do you mean by … you sent a rider?”

She got up from the couch.

Sophia was also on her feet. She quickly dialed a number and waited for the call to be received, “Don’t worry. Let me ask the rider. Maybe when he didn’t find you, he kept the report envelope with him.”

Just then the call was received, ”

“Hey! Mike. I asked you to deliver that envelope to Mrs. Sinclair. Do you have it with you?” she asked him, crossing her fingers.

“Yes. I dropped it on my way home. Mrs. Sinclair received it with a smile.” before Sophia could ask more, the man’s voice appeared on speaker, “She seems to be the mother-in-law of your friend, she was very sweet and thanked me a lot.”

Marissa’s face had gone pale.

“I … I think… Nina received it.” She said in a breathless whisper, “If she knows about this pregnancy then her men will definitely come after me.”

Sophia was fidgeting her fingers with worry, “Listen, love.” She made Marissa sit on the couch and crouched close to her, “I’m calling my grandpa. You just pack your bags and catch the earliest flight.”

***

Rafael looked at his wife lovingly who was giggling while reading something on her phone.

“What’s so funny?” Nina Sinclair asked her with a smile admiring internally how they looked perfect together.

“Oh. These memes keep popping up and most of them are hilarious,” she placed her phone aside and leaned her head on Rafael’s shoulder.

“Now you two are together. Just take care of each other. I need to return to my house,” Nina made the announcement.

“Oh, mom. You should stay some more.” Valerie said with a pout, but Nina dismissed it with a wave of her hand,

“My business needs me. Now it’s time, you two take on the responsibilities and bring a Sinclair heir.” Nina had her own boutique business that was quite established.

Just then Valerie’s eyes fell on a silver tray placed on the center table, “Is it today’s mail?”

“No,” Nina shrugged carelessly, “some of it came last night. I was having a splitting headache, so I just placed them all together after receiving them. They all are for Rafael if I remember correctly,” Grabbing her bag she got to her feet.

Rafael and Valerie also stood up.

“I’ll walk her to the car,” Valerie squeezed his hand, and he kissed her lips. He saw his favorite women walking out of the door and smiled.

He was blessed with everything in life.

The woman he loved was here, he had gotten back his eyesight.

His gaze fell back on the stack of envelopes lying on the silver platter. He casually walked up and picked them up.

Most of them were from his office, just some printed sh*it that was not that important. Two envelopes were from the banks who wanted him to give them a chance to invest. However, the last envelope was a light lemon color and was not sealed.

He flipped it to see the name.

Marissa Aaron.

Several lines appeared on his forehead.

Why was Marissa’s envelope delivered here?

He tried reading the logo on the envelope.

Sophia James MD: Head of Gynecology Clinic.

He took out the folded sheet from the envelope and opened it.

“Dr Sophia is Valerie’s doctor and was treating her for cysts.” He mumbled running his gaze on the paper.

There were small black-and-white graphics of something that seemed strange to his eyes. What was it?

A cyst?

Maybe just like Valerie she also had these. When he was blind, Valerie used to visit her gynecologist friend Dr. Sophia to get checked.

And that was when his eyes fell on the words written on the bottom of the paper.

‘Based on ultrasound examination, the images depict the presence of two distinct fetal sacs indicative of twins.’

He felt disturbed after reading those words. Was Marissa expecting twins? Was it the reason she was upset?

Pregnancy hormones?

He felt guilt taking place in his heart. He could show her more empathy.

Maybe the father wasn’t ready to take the responsibility.

“What are you reading, babe?” Valerie asked him, closing the living door behind her.

“Nothing. Just an official letter.”

“Put it away right now. Have you forgotten? Doctors haven’t allowed you to do reading this soon.”

He abruptly dropped the envelope on the table with a twitch of the corner of his lips.

“Are you joining me in the bedroom?” she asked kissing his lips.

“Umm hmm. In a while,” he saw her climbing the stairs and when he was sure she had gone inside the bedroom, he took out his phone to make a call.

The phone rang twice before his call was received, “Marissa. Where are you?”

He could hear different voices in the background and a distant announcement on the mic, she seemed to be in a crowded place.

Like an airport.

He wanted to offer her, his support.

He wanted to tell her that he would be there for her.

“Y…you called? You at last called me?” he felt her hopes getting high and had to roll his eyes.

Damn. He hated crying women.

“For God’s sake, Marissa. Can you stop being this dramatic? I called you for my support. I just saw your report. Let me offer some help. Let me know about your account details. Tell me who is the father so that I can beat him to a pulp.”

He got a little frustrated when she fell silent.

“Marissa! You there?”

In answer, he heard her teary laughter, “Listen, Simba. Hakuna Matata. Ok? Bye.”

She had disconnected the call without accepting his financial aid. She didn’t even bother to tell him about the father of the baby. Or was she planning to pin it on him? And then he felt his body freezing.

Simba? Hakuna Matata?

These were the same words Valerie used to tease him when he was blind. A popular phrase from Lion King … meant ‘no problems’ … ‘no worries’.

How did Marissa know about these? Or did Valerie share it with her?Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

There was something extremely wrong, but his mind couldn’t register what it was.

“Babe. Are you coming up?” he jilted a little when heard Valerie’s voice.

“I’m coming, love.” He called out and started taking slow steps to the staircase.

“You might regret it too once I’m gone.” Marissa’s words echoed in his head. Without realizing what he was doing, he clutched the ultrasound report to his chest. Like it was something very precious.

He needed to find out what was going on and for that, he was willing to hire the best private investigators.

He made a quick call to someone, “I need to know everything about Marissa within twelve hours. Keep an eye on her.”