Billonaires heirs choice

Chapter5

Haunted by the past.

It's been 8 days since the ugly incident occurred and Anabel still hasn't moved on. She would shut herself inside her room and cry all day. Lois tried to unravel the hidden truth behind her plight, but she would rather not spill. He once deprived her of the opportunity to express how she felt, but now, she'd rather die than disclose to anyone. Her conscience is rebelling against her, and if she doesn't fight it, she might end up losing her sanity.

"Anabel, you've locked yourself Inside your room all day. What's wrong? You are refusing to speak to me. You stopped eating your food. This isn't you. What's happening? You can trust me. I'm your father. Let's trash this talk. I don't like seeing you this way.” Lois knocked on the door of her room. Anabel wouldn't step out, as her situation was getting worse every day. She stopped going to work and automatically terminated the life-changing contract with the grant record label.

"I'm fine, Dad. I just wish to be left alone. I don't need you or the food. I can take care of myself. I just need some moments to be alone with my thoughts. I hope I can get that. Thank you,” Anabel whispered from the bathroom after throwing up countless times. She's been feeling clumsy lately and can't decipher what's wrong. She eats a lot and shuts her eyes at the slightest opportunity. She falls weak every time and can't even concentrate on house chores anymore.

"I think I need to go see a doctor. I don't wanna fall sick. Not in this difficult moment. I need proper treatment,” Anabel agreed as she surveyed everywhere to be certain her father wasn't watching before sneaking out to the hospital. With nervousness, she requested to see the Doctor and was directed to his office.

"Hi, I'm Anabel Griffin. Can you please run a quick check on me? I've been feeling awkward lately. I've got this constant weakness. I barely fall sick, but this is quite strange. Haven't felt this way before,” she explained.

"Your temperature is a bit high. Please stay back while I take your blood samples to the laboratory for some tests. It'll be ready in an hour. Once it's out, I'll know how to administer some medications to you,” the doctor assured after extracting her blood samples with injection.

****************

"How long do I have to wait for him to show up? I'm getting fed up already! It's past noon and

the Doctor still hasn't shown up yet.” She ranted. Anxiety has liquefied her heart as she feared the worst to happen. She got tired of waiting and dozed off. Unannounced, the doctor stepped in and caught her snoring like a dragon. "Hey, wake up. The test results are out. I'm sorry it took this long to come out. Here you go.” He woke Anabel and gave her a brown envelope. From his disposition, she could discern catastrophe looming over her. Calmly, she opened the envelope and bent her head down after going over the test results. “Doctor, this isn't happening. This is nothing but a mad joke. Am I dreaming?

I only had unprotected s*x once, and that was 8 days ago. How can I get pregnant within a short stint? I thought it takes countless reoccurring s*x to get pregnant?" She pondered and displayed her disapproval of the pregnancy test result.

"It's only natural for you to think that way. Well, it doesn't matter. We always advise against unprotected s*x for unmarried couples. It may lead to early pregnancy or sexually transmitted infection (STI).

Still, you may wonder how long it requires to conceive after having s*x. The short explanation is that the egg and sperm can meet within minutes up to 19 hours after ejaculation. When the egg is fertilized by the sperm; can take place three minutes or 7 days after s*x, hence the quick pregnancy. Thank your stars there was no sexually transmitted disease, just the pregnancy,” he further illustrated.

Anabel was flabbergasted. Her eyes have seen enough in the last few days. She feels like donating them to charity. She paid the doctor and stood up to leave for her father's house.

"I guess my Dad won this time. Everyone will slander me for getting pregnant out of wedlock. I am not ready for that travesty. Now is the ideal time to finalize the wedding with Pedro and put the pregnancy on him. No one would find out I got pregnant before the wedding. After the wedding, we have s*x then I pretend he's the father. This hurt but I don't have a choice. I can't raise this child alone. Anabel asserted and drove home. She had the urge to disclose the news to her father but feared for the worst. So, she decided to hide the news from everyone who ever mattered to her.

With confidence, she got home and approached her father who was watching a football game in the living room, "Dad, call the Leon's. We are meeting with them tonight to finalize the wedding. I've accepted their proposal. I guess you're happy now.” With teary eyes, she uttered and scampered to her room and shut the door.

"You've agreed to marry Pedro? Wow! This is quite surprising. I didn't see that coming. Why the sudden change of mind?” Confused, but excited, Lois mumbled. The last time he checked, Anabel refused, and now she has accepted the marriage proposal.

“What changed? This is rather strange,” Rhetorically, he asked again.

He quit imagining and accepted the situation as a miracle. He has always wanted this to happen. Without wasting time, he reached out to Rafael over the phone. “Sir, I brought good news. Guess what?'

Excitedly, her father asked over the phone.

"Quit the suspense and asked the damn question. I don't have the whole day," Rafael yelled over the phone as though he was having a bad day.

"My daughter has agreed to carry on with the marriage. We coming tonight to finalize the wedding preparations. Great news, huh...," He was even done talking when Rafael hissed and terminated the telephone conversation.

Lois gazed at his phone as shook his head in self-pity. "This was bound to happen. But I'm happy I won't be going to jail anymore."

*************************

One big worry is the possibility they will find themselves driving at night during heavy tropical rain, causing glare and sparkle that could affect visibility. It was just 7:30 p.m., yet the street was already dark with no electricity, and the houses were often still made of palm. Lamplighters used to light street lamps every night before the accursed electricity came along.

After a few minutes, of driving, Lois and his daughter finally arrived at the Leon's. Anabel looked gorgeous in her beautiful red gown and her hair, neatly packed. One would have thought she had a dinner date with Barack Obama or Lil Wayne. As they approached the doorstep, she halted and gasped for breath, “Are we doing the right thing? I'm scared. I feel we should go back home. Don't you think?”

“We have come a long way. We can't afford to turn back now.

We don't have a choice. Just give it time, you'll pass. Let's just do this. You'll be fine,” Lois assured as they knocked and were welcomed by Pedro himself, who hissed and shunned them. She wasn't upset, she expected such a reaction and knew whom she was getting married to.

With satisfaction lingering on Rafael's face, he gladly received his guests and invited them over for a special dinner, while Pedro frowned at the gesture. “Hey, b***h. The truth is difficult to accept right?

You're not made for this s**t. You're so local, can't even use the cutlery. I'm pretty sure you haven't tasted this meal before. Poor pathetic-smelling b***h. Guess you having a good time, huh? Courtesy of my Dad's generosity! You should be forever indebted to him for exposing you to the real world.” irritated by Anabel's inability to utilize the cutlery, Pedro mocked her.

“Stop that attitude of yours. She doesn't deserve this treatment. I invited them over for a crucial discussion. Show some respect to our guests. You two should start getting along. In a few days, you'd be happily married. And you know what that means? You both will be spending the rest of your life with each other as one.” Rafael cautioned his son.

"Did you say, guests? Dad, you just cracked me up. When did you start lying? All I see are starved peasants who are malnourished. You just rescued them from starvation. You should be considered a national hero” Pedro taunted.

Suddenly, Anabel lost her appetite. She knew he was an asshole, but to humiliate her in the presence of everyone was what she couldn't tolerate. A few minutes later, Vanessa stepped in and joined them.

“Finally, a consolation for the torment and torture. For a second, I thought you wouldn't show up. Just when I thought I was gonna die of boredom, you came through for me. You're such a darling. Please come sit next to me,” Pedro welcomed Vanessa with a broad smile.

"What's she doing here? I never invited her to my home. Ask her to leave now,” Angered by his actions, Rafael whispered to Pedro.

“Leave? That's not gonna happen.

I invited her myself and she's not going anywhere. Dad, I demand that you respect my guest. Show some respect,” Pedro defended his action and focused all attention on Vanessa just to spite Anabel. Deep down, Vanessa wants to choke Anabel for stealing her man, but then she figures out a better plan to get rid of her to avoid suspicion.

"The wedding comes up in two days. Just a brief church thing with a few people in attendance. Once the wedding is over, Lois will have his job back at the company while we seek means to sort out the stolen equipment,” Rafael made the shocking announcement as no one reacted. They appeared to be against it, except for Lois, due to the jail term awaiting him if the wedding fails.

***********************

Another day has come. The sun shone bright and warm with its cool breeze. The leaves of

the plants are covered from the dew drops.

Anabel slammed the alarm with her left hand. She didn't intend to wake. It's her wedding, yet she doesn't feel like it. She never imagined a day like this in her life. In just a blink of an eye, she gets to sacrifice her career for the everlasting bondage of a so-called “marriage”. A thousand times, the record label company has texted, and not once did she reply.

"Anabel, it's almost 9:30 a.m. You're gonna be late for your wedding. I am sure you don't wanna give a bad impression right?” Lois screamed from the living room, waiting to walk his daughter down the aisle. The wedding lives rent-free in his head. He wasn't a coffee drinker, but he lost sleep last night thinking about it. A few minutes later, Anabel showed up in her beautiful wedding dress wearing a long face.

"Cheer up, dear. Why the sad face?

It's your wedding. You should be the happiest person in this room,” Lois embraces Anabel and encourages her.

"I feel kinda different. I can't believe I'll be getting married more bizarrely. How do I look? Awkward, strange, or absurd?"

"You're the prettiest being I've seen. I'm sure your husband will be licking his lips seductively when he sees you." He complimented her dress and further apologized for putting her through the stress. “You can hate me now. But I wanna assure you, it'll pass. Just give it time. Now, if you don't mind, we got your wedding to attend.” Lois urged as they both stepped out and found a cab to the wedding venue.

Anabel noticed a bizarre situation and called her father's attention. ”Dad, look behind you. I think we're being followed by a strange vehicle. Are they kidnappers? What do we do now? I'm so scared. I don't wanna die,” she freaked out and grasped her father's shirt firmly.

"Stay calm while I speak with the cab driver. Can you please take a different route? We are being followed by a strange vehicle,” Lois pleaded with the cab man as he obeyed immediately. Fortunately for them, the strange vehicle lost track of them.

"s**t! We've lost them. How did they escape from us? I thought we already had this planned out.

Ma'am Vanessa would be so mad at us. She ordered us to capture them alive now we lost them. How do we get a refund?” One of the suspected kidnappers lamented after Anabel and Lois survived the scare.

"We failed in the mission. What do we do now?" Asked one of them.

"There's nothing we can do.

Guess we have to call her immediately. She needs to know,” suggested one of the gang leaders.

"Are you stupid? After bragging about a perfect job? No, I can't accept this. Let's find a way to get the target." One of them suggested.

"Are you gonna teach me how to do this? I f*****g brought you into this game and you must obey me. We are telling Vanessa everything and that's final. Anyone that disagrees with me should signify," the leader threatened and pointed a gun at everyone but no one responded. They all sealed their lips and frowned.

"Good! I guess it's all settled then," he brought the gun down and called Vanessa to explain how they failed.

"You just ruined my perfect plan. How did you allow this to happen? I thought you were professionals. Now you've messed up everything.

You bloody bastards. I've always known y'all to be big disappointments. How do I get my sweet revenge,” Vanessa ranted over the phone. Despite her failure on the first attempt, Vanessa wasn't ready to give up just yet and vowed to continue her revenge on Anabel and everyone who hurt her.

************************

Despite escaping the kidnap, Lois and Anabel arrived on time and met Rafael talking to some man. As they approached him, Rafael hurriedly did a brief introduction. “Hey, Anna. Are you aware Pedro has a younger brother? Well, I understand if he hasn't told you yet. Here he is. Meet my second son, and Pedro's kid brother, Danny. He lives in a different apartment. He would be Pedro's best man. You two need to start getting along with each other. Soon, he's gonna be your brother-in-law.” Rafael departed and left Anabel in the company of Danny.

"Danny? That's your name? How on earth are you related to Pedro?

What you doing here, you jerk? You never told me you had a brother.” Anabel questioned as her heart continued to beat faster.

"Well, you never asked. You left without saying goodbye. I searched everywhere but couldn't find you. Somehow, I knew I was gonna find someday, and guess what? I did! I've been waiting for this moment all my life," Danny got so excited sn attempted to hug Anabel, but she objected and pushed him away.

"What are you doing? Do you realize we are in a public place? People are watching. I'm getting married to your elder brother today. Enough reason for you to abolish any thoughts lingering in your head," she warned.

"Quite impressive! I've never seen you this active before. You were drunk the first time we met. Good to see you in a different kind of mode," Danny poked fun at Anabel and mimicked the moment she was drunk.

"Enough of this. Stop making a mockery of my situation. We both know I was drunk. That's why we had s*x. You know I wouldn't dare so that if I was in my right senses. I'm not a cheap w***e. Can we pretend the s*x never happened? Can we just act like we never met? I don't want anything to ruin my marriage with Pedro." Anabel pleaded.

"You must love my brother so much. Lucky him." Danny mimicked her.

"This isn't a joke. I'm serious about this. Can you keep this little secret between us?" "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me,” Danny chuckled and promised.

"What secret are two talking about?" A deep voice spoke from afar. Looking back, behold they saw Pedro approaching them frowning his face. He flickered his gaze at them, expecting a response.

There is a deep concern that he heard everything.