Fated to Wed (English)

Chapter Eleven

After we finally made it home, Theo and I sat in the living room, the awkwardness from earlier still hanging heavy in the air. Neither of us had spoken much on the drive back. I didn’t know where to begin, but I knew we had to talk about it. Theo broke the silence first.

“So, uh… what do we do if… you know, you end up pregnant?” His voice was cautious, as if he didn’t really want to ask, but knew he had to.

I leaned back against the couch, crossing my arms. “If I am pregnant, then I guess we deal with it,” I said. “But don’t worry, I’m not going to make you marry me or anything.”

Theo let out a breath, and then he chuckled. “Marry you? Yeah, that would be something.”

I laughed along, but it was hollow. “Yeah, imagine us married,” I joked, even though part of me wondered if that’s what would happen if things got more complicated.

Then, to my surprise, Theo’s smile faded. “I wouldn’t marry you,” he said, his voice serious.

I blinked, trying to hide the sudden sting in my chest. “Oh?”

“It’s not you, Delilah,” he added quickly, sensing the tension. “It’s just… I still love Liana. And I can’t… I can’t love you. Not like that.”

I forced a laugh. “Don’t worry about it, Theo. Like I said, I’m not going to force you into anything. If I’m pregnant, I’ll handle it.”

We both fell silent for a moment, and then, as if we shared the same thought, we remembered the reason this all started—Liana’s betrayal.

Theo rubbed his face with his hands and sighed. “I’m breaking up with her.”

That caught my attention. “But you just said you still love her.”

“I do,” he admitted, his eyes filled with sadness. “But loving her doesn’t mean I can let her disrespect me like this.”

I nodded, understanding more than I wanted to. “Yeah, you deserve better.”

“And,” Theo continued, his voice firm, “if you don’t end up pregnant, can we just… pretend this never happened? You and me, I mean. It was a mistake.”

My heart sank again. There it was—the reminder that what happened between us meant nothing to him. I plastered on a smile, trying to hide how hurt I felt. “Sure, Theo. Let’s just forget about it.”

The words tasted bitter in my mouth, but I swallowed them down.

One month passed, and just like Theo said, he broke up with Liana. But it didn’t feel like it ended anything. I still saw her hovering around him, begging him to take her back. Liana even came to me once, as if we were still friends.

“Delilah,” she said, her voice sounding almost desperate. “Can you help me? Please. I need to get Theo back.”

I stared at her blankly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Come on, we’re friends, right? You can help me.” Her eyes were wide, and her voice had that pleading edge to it.

“No, Liana,” I said firmly. “We aren’t friends anymore. I can’t be friends with someone who hurt the person I care about.”

She looked stunned for a moment, and then angry, but I walked away before she could say anything else.

The academic break finally came, and though it was only two weeks, I was eager to spend it with my family. Theo’s parents were more than understanding when I told them I wanted to go home. So I packed up and left, craving the comfort of home, hoping to shake off the heaviness of everything that had happened in the last month.

But things didn’t get better once I got there. Instead, they got worse.

I woke up every morning feeling sick, my stomach turning before I even managed to get out of bed. Then came the dizziness, and my sense of smell became ridiculous. I couldn’t stand the smell of my cousin Linda’s cologne—it made me nauseous every time she walked into the room. And the cravings. Out of nowhere, I started craving durian, a fruit I hated before, especially because of its smell.

Linda noticed, of course. “Delilah, are you okay?” she asked one morning after I ran to the bathroom for what felt like the hundredth time.

“I’m fine,” I lied, but she wasn’t buying it.

“I don’t think so.” She reached into her bag and handed me something small. “Here.”

I glanced down and nearly dropped it. A pregnancy test. “Linda, what are you—”

“Don’t even try to deny it,” she said, crossing her arms. “You and I always have our periods at the same time. Mine’s already come and gone, but I haven’t seen you open a single sanitary pad.”

I sighed, feeling cornered. “Okay, fine. I’ll take it.”

The moments after taking the test felt like hours. I sat on the toilet seat, staring at the small plastic stick. When the result came in, my world stopped.

Two red lines.

Positive.

I stepped out of the bathroom, feeling weak. “It’s positive,” I muttered.

Linda’s eyes widened. “Oh no. Delilah, this is bad. My mom is going to kill you if she finds out.”

I groaned, knowing she was right. “I know.”

Linda hesitated, then asked, “Who’s the father? I’ve never seen you with a guy… except Theo.”

I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of everything all over again. “It’s Theo.”

Her jaw dropped. “But… wasn’t he with Liana then?”

“It was an accident,” I said, my voice strained. “We didn’t mean for it to happen. It just… did.”

Linda sighed, shaking her head. “What a mess.”

She tried to cheer me up by taking me out for ice cream, but even that couldn’t shake the heavy feeling that sat in my chest. After we finished, we headed home, only to walk in and find Aunt Brenda standing there, holding something in her hand.

It was the pregnancy test.

Her face was flushed with anger as she glared at us. “Which one of you is pregnant?!”

My heart raced, and I felt the walls closing in.