Fated to Wed (English)

Chapter Twelve

Aunt Brenda's voice echoed throughout the living room, relentless and harsh. “How could you let this happen, Delilah? Pregnant? Do you even realize what this means for our family?”

I sat there, my head down, rubbing my temples. The scolding was endless, and with each word, I felt smaller and smaller.

Linda, standing next to me, finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Mom, stop! Delilah is pregnant, you’re stressing her out!”

Aunt Brenda froze, her face softening slightly as guilt crept into her expression. She glanced at me, noticing how I was massaging my temples, trying to soothe the headache that her yelling had caused. For a moment, there was silence.

Then, Aunt Brenda, in a much calmer voice, asked, “Who’s the father?”

I hesitated, knowing what was coming. “It’s… it’s Theo.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, Aunt Brenda’s voice exploded again, louder than before. “Theo?! THEO FONTALVA? That boy! By tomorrow morning, mark my words, I’ll be at his house!”

Linda and I exchanged looks, both of us realizing that this was a disaster in the making. There was no stopping Aunt Brenda when she made up her mind. And sure enough, the very next morning, she was true to her word.

Aunt Brenda was out the door before sunrise, her determination clear. I tried to stop her, but there was no reasoning with her when she got like this. Linda and I had no choice but to follow her to the Fontalvas’ mansion. The entire way there, my stomach was in knots. This wasn’t going to end well.

As soon as we arrived, Aunt Brenda marched straight to the gates, screaming for Theo. Her voice was so loud that it drew attention from the surrounding houses, neighbors peeking out of their windows to see what the commotion was about. Before long, Mr. Fontalva came to the gate, looking confused and concerned.

“What’s going on here?” he asked, eyeing Aunt Brenda.

Aunt Brenda didn’t hesitate. “Your son got my niece pregnant!”

Mr. Fontalva blinked, clearly caught off guard. “Who?” he asked, turning his gaze toward me.

Aunt Brenda grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. “Her! Delilah.”

Mr. Fontalva’s face went pale with shock. With all the neighbors starting to gather, he quickly ushered us inside the mansion, desperate to avoid a scene. The moment we were inside, Mrs. Fontalva appeared, her eyes landing on me immediately.

“Delilah? What are you doing here? You weren’t supposed to come back for two more days.”

Before I could answer, Aunt Brenda cut in. “Your son impregnated her, that’s why! And if you don’t do something about it, I’ll make sure the whole city knows.”

The color drained from Mrs. Fontalva’s face. She and Mr. Fontalva exchanged nervous glances. As the owners of a large, prestigious company, their image was everything to them. If word got out that Theo had gotten their maid pregnant, it could cause serious damage to their reputation.

Mr. Fontalva tried to calm the situation. “Is there anything we can do to settle this quietly?”

Aunt Brenda bristled, her voice rising again. “I don’t want your money! I want Theo to take responsibility and marry Delilah.”

I was too shocked to speak, but Mrs. Fontalva was skeptical. “This doesn’t make sense,” she said, shaking her head. “Theo and Delilah are just friends. There’s no way this is true.”

She called for Theo, and moments later, he appeared, looking disheveled. When he heard what was happening, his eyes widened in disbelief. “That’s not true!” he protested. “Delilah and I are just friends. Nothing like that ever happened!”

Aunt Brenda, furious, pulled out the pregnancy test from her bag. “You don’t believe me? Then call an OB-Gyne and have Delilah examined right now.”

Mrs. Fontalva, not one to take chances, immediately called a friend of hers who was an OB-Gyne. Within minutes, the doctor arrived and took me into a separate room. I was handed two pregnancy test kits. I used both, and just like before, they were positive.

When we returned to the room, Mrs. Fontalva’s face was pale, and Aunt Brenda looked more determined than ever. “Now what do you have to say?” she demanded.

Mrs. Fontalva was quiet for a moment before turning to her husband. “What do we do now?”

Aunt Brenda crossed her arms. “Like I said, I want Theo to marry Delilah. That’s the only solution.”

Theo and I both spoke at once, “What?!”

“We can’t get married!” I protested. “We’re just friends! We never even—”

But Aunt Brenda and Theo’s parents weren’t listening. It was clear they had already made up their minds.

Later that day, Theo and I found a moment to talk in private. He seemed distant, his expression cold. “Why did you tell them you’re pregnant with my child?” he asked, his voice sharp.

I looked at him, confused by the sudden hostility. “Because it’s the truth, Theo. I couldn’t lie to Aunt Brenda, not after everything she’s done for me.”

He shook his head, his eyes narrowing. “Liana was right.”

I blinked. “What?”

“She told me this was your plan all along. That you were jealous of her because you had feelings for me. You blackmailed her into that whole cheating setup so you could have me to yourself.”

My heart stopped. “Liana… said that?”

Theo nodded, his lips twisting into a bitter smile. “Yeah. She said you were obsessed with me, that you’ve been trying to tear us apart.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You… you believe her? After everything she’s done?”

“Yes,” he said firmly. “And if you think you can use this pregnancy to trap me, you’re wrong. If you go through with this ‘plan’ of yours, I’ll make your life hell, Delilah. I swear.”

I stood there, speechless, as the boy I thought was my friend threatened me for something I never did. The weight of betrayal hung in the air, and for the first time, I realized just how far gone Theo was. He wasn’t the same person I thought he was, and Liana’s lies had completely poisoned his mind.

Tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I wouldn’t break in front of him.

“You don’t know me at all, Theo,” I said quietly. And with that, I turned and walked away, feeling the pieces of my heart shattering.