CHAPTER ONE
Brielle huddled at the far end of a dilapidated warehouse with faded wall paint at the back of the Walton Microfinance Tower; the building was vacant save for rods of iron thrown freely over the ground. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she glanced at the pregnancy strip she was clutching. There were used tissue pieces all around her, and her tissue box was by her side.
"How on earth did a one-night stand result in this?" Brielle asked herself, sobbing harder.
"How was I so stupid and dumb to lay with my best friend's boyfriend and go further to get pregnant?" She continued to soliloquize while she berated herself.
"How am I supposed to explain this to Everly?"
"Is Devan going to believe I'm carrying his child after we made out in the office?"
She stood up and paced about the building restlessly, her mind racing with ideas.
"I can't keep this away from him and go through this battle alone, I have to tell him" As she searched her pocket for her mobile, she said.
She shakily scribbled a short note in her message box, her pulse racing with fear and anxiety. She stared at her phone screen for a long time, unable to send the message. It took her a long time to come to a decision with herself, and she finally tapped the send button. Brielle returned to where she was sitting, dragging a piece of tissue from the box, wiped her tears away, and sniffed into another piece of tissue.
Brielle kept staring at her phone as time passed into seconds and seconds into minutes, hoping for feedback from Devan. At this point, she would have preferred it if he had responded by denying the child rather than the silent treatment he was giving, because the silence was piercing through her heart like a sharp dagger, loaded with anxiety about what would happen next, and the silence was causing her imagination to go wild. As she continued to stare at her phone, waiting for his message or call, tears began to form in her eyes, and her vision got blurry as the tears eventually made their way out, pouring freely down her cheeks.
As she struggled to overcome the agony of being neglected by Davin on such an important and crucial matter, she began to reconsider going to see him in his office to discuss things with him personally. Brielle was still considering her option when the Warehouse door flung open. "Brielle Gavin, you b***h" A voice yelled through the empty warehouse. Brielle felt a cold shudder run down her spine as she recognized the voice.
"How dare you?" Everly screamed, storming in her direction filled with fury and disdain, she hauled her up from where she was sitting and slapped her hard across her cheek, the sound echoing throughout the warehouse.
Placing her hands on her cheek that was stinging and burning from the slap, "Everly, it is not what you think", Brielle said, finally finding her voice.
"Shut up you slut, I know you have always had eyes for him, but I least expected you to stoop so low and start having an affair behind my back", Everly thundered.
Still holding her cheeks, "I wasn't having an affair with him, it happened just once and it was a mistake" Brielle replied. "A mistake? You mistakenly had s*x with my boyfriend, is that what you are saying?" "It was the day you left the office early, for your mum's birthday party. We decided to stay back and hang out in the office to have a glass or two drinks and that was how we talked into the night, getting drunk in the process and..."
"And you decided to find comfort in his arms," Everly cut in sharply, creasing her brows tighter.
"It was a mistake Everly, I never wanted any of this to happen, the s*x, the pregnancy" she remarked.
"Don't call it a mistake; you had a choice; you could have gone home instead of staying and hanging out with him, you could have refused to drink with him, but instead you stuffed yourself and got drunk.You had the option, but you chose this"
"And I regret it, Everly, I regret every single second of that day," Brielle sobbed.
A thick cloud of silence and anxiety hung over the warehouse, except for the gentle sobbing of Brielle while Everly pondered what to do.
"You have to leave town and never return here again", Everly finally spoke up with authority.
"What?" Brielle asked, surprised, her voice choked up with tears.
"You have me loud and clear Brielle, I want you to leave town and never show your ugly face here" Everly repeated.
"I can't do that; why would you even say something like that? How do you want me to vanish into thin air and raise this child on my own?" Brielled inquired about touching her stomach.
"You should have thought of that while riding him," Everly retorted angrily.
"Everly, please understand that I am also in a state of confusion and pain. I know I have betrayed you, but please let us sort this out in a better way."
"I can't do that; why would you even say something like that? How do you want me to vanish into thin air and raise this child on my own?" Brielled inquired about touching her stomach.
"You should have thought of that while riding him," Everly retorted angrily.
"Everly, please understand that I am also in a state of confusion and pain. I know I have betrayed you, but please let us sort this out."
"You not only betrayed me, Brielle, but you also hurt my feelings, and I don't think I'll ever forgive you, or myself, for ever trusting you."
Everly said, tears welling up in her eyes. Moving closer to Everly, attempting to hold her hand.
"Please Everly, I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I am sincerely sorry. I never planned on hurting you this way", Brielle said in a quiet voice.
