Chapter4
1283 Words
A Present With A Bad Side
Marie's POV
“Where are you coming from?!”
That was the first thing I heard the moment I stepped inside the house. Merry Christmas to me.
I froze by the door, still holding my heels in my hand with my hair probably looking like a bird had nested inside it. My dad stood in the living room with his arms crossed, wearing his old Christmas sweater with a reindeer on it.
“Dad, can we not do this now?” I asked tiredly.
“Oh, we are doing it right now!” he shouted. “You lied to me, Marie. You said you were hanging out with Dana, but Dana’s mother called this morning to ask if you had seen Dana! So where were you?!”
I swallowed. Wow. Santa’s gift came with a heavy side of consequences.
“Dad, calm down. I... I just… I went to a party and...”
“A party! So you were out all night at a party?! On Christmas Eve?!” he fired back.
I sighed and dropped my heels on the floor.
“Yes, Dad. I’m sorry. I didn’t plan to stay out. Things just happened.”
“Things just happened?!” He looked at me like I had confessed to burning the house down. “You lied. You slept out. You didn’t call. Do you know how worried I was?!”
“I’m not a child,” I snapped.
“Then stop acting like one!” he shot back.
That one stung. My chest tightened with heat burning behind my eyes.
“You know what? I’m done,” I said and marched toward my room.
“Oh yes, walk away! As always!” he yelled.
“I’m not walking... I’m escaping!” I yelled back, then slammed the front door behind me and stepped out to the porch.
Perfect. Just perfect. Merry Christmas, Marie.
But I stopped dead when I saw someone standing there.
Ryan.
He was leaning on the porch post with his hands in his pockets, his jaw tight and he didn’t look like he came to say Merry Christmas.
“Ryan?” I asked.
He lifted his head slowly with his eyes cold.
“So… had fun last night?”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
He pulled his phone from his pocket and held it out.
“Look.”
On the screen was a picture of me and Rhett at the bar last night... laughing, talking with my hand touching his arm. We looked… intimate.
My heart sank.
“Where did you get this?”
“Someone I know was serving at the party,” he replied sharply. “He said you and Rhett Harrington were pretty cozy.”
“It’s not what you think,” I said quickly.
Ryan scoffed.
“Really? Because he also told me you left with him. Followed him to his hotel room. And that people on that floor heard moans later… so what was it then? Bible study?”
I felt something inside me crack.
“Ryan, listen...”
“No,” he cut me off. “You listen. You keep running after rich guys like they’re going to save you. But all you do is make yourself look cheap.”
My breath caught.
“Ryan… don’t say that.”
“Why not? It’s the truth,” he snapped. “You think you’re special to him? You’re not. You’re just one more girl on his list. And everyone knows it but you.”
“That’s not fair,” I whispered.
He shook his head, disgusted.
“You know what? I’m done. I can’t watch you throw yourself at wealthy men and pretend it’s love.”
Then he brushed past me and walked away without another word and I stood there like an i***t, freezing in the morning cold and feeling like someone had ripped open my chest.
Merry Christmas, Marie. What a joke…!
A FEW WEEKS LATER
If Christmas was a disaster, the weeks after were… worse.
I honestly thought Rhett would call.. or text… or send a “hey, last night was amazing” or “meet me again.” but nothing ever came.. not even a “seen” on i********:.
I even checked if I had his name spelled wrongly. Nope. I didn’t and I felt like a clown.
Then came the genius idea nobody asked for... I decided to go look for him. In person, like some desperate woman in a movie who should’ve stayed at home.
His father’s company, Harrington Dynamics... a big fancy building in the city that looked like it didn’t allow broke people inside, but I went anyway.
The moment I entered the lobby, I felt out of place and I felt like everyone could see my bank account balance written on my forehead.
I walked up to the front desk.
The receptionist looked up... a tall woman with perfect eyeliner and the face of someone who didn’t smile for free.
“Good afternoon,” I said politely. “I’m here to see Rhett Harrington.”
Her eyebrow lifted.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“Um… no. But it’s important. He knows me.”
“Right,” she said with a slow smirk.
Before I could say more, another lady at the desk beside her leaned in and whispered loudly, “Another one?”
The receptionist whispered back, not-so-quietly, “They keep coming.”
I blinked.
“Another what?”
Neither of them answered me directly, which made it worse.
The second woman chuckled under her breath.
“At least this one looks calmer than the last girl.”
“Yeah,” the receptionist agreed. “The last one had to be dragged out. Security actually carried her.”
Both of them laughed, and I felt my face go hot... like my cheeks were on fire.
“Oh my God,” I whispered. “Please tell me you’re not talking about… women coming to see Rhett.”
“Oh honey,” the second woman said with a teasing smile. “Rhett Harrington is… popular. You’re not the first girl who came running here after a night with him.”
My heart dropped to my knees. Popular. Not the first. A night with him?!
My stomach twisted, and I felt like someone had punched me.
“So,” the receptionist said, leaning back in her chair, “if you don’t have an appointment, you can’t go up.”
I nodded slowly, feeling the shame crawl all over me.
“Okay,” I whispered. “I… I’ll just go.”
I walked out quickly before my tears betrayed me. No way was I crying in front of those two bitches.
I felt relieved once outside, but not enough to stop the nausea that had been creeping up on me since morning. My stomach felt weird, like it was protesting everything and by the time I reached the bus stop, I felt dizzy.
“Great,” I muttered. “If heartbreak doesn’t kill me, this sickness will.”
I decided to stop at a hospital. Just to check… Just to be safe.
I sat in the waiting room afterward, tapping my foot, staring at the white walls and praying that whatever was wrong wasn’t something expensive.
Finally, the nurse called my name and I followed her into the doctor’s office. A middle-aged woman with glasses looked up from a file.
“You didn’t know?” the doctor asked immediately.
I paused.
“Know what?”
She gave me a gentle smile... the kind of smile doctors use before they ruin your life softly.
“Marie… you’re three weeks pregnant…”
- Writer
