Fated To Be Hers

Chapter 2

It couldn't be anybody other than Andy, because she knew they'd been very careless.

Lily's hands trembled as she tucked the test into her pocket. She needed Andy.

The family dinner, hosted by Andy's parents, loomed ahead. The Moores' family would be there. Lily decided to reveal her secret to Andy during the dinner, hoping the familiar surroundings would soften the blow.

The evening for the dinner finally arrived. Laughter, small talk, and the clinking of glasses filled the air. The dinner table bustled with conversation, Lily's family and Andy's blending seamlessly.

Andy's father boomed out a toast. "To new beginnings!"

Lily mustered her courage.

"Andy, can I talk to you for a minute?" she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Somewhere private?"

Andy's brow furrowed. "Everything okay?"

Lily nodded. They excused themselves and stepped into the adjacent garden.

“Lily, what's going on?" Andy asked, his voice low and concerned.

She took a deep breath, the words tumbling out.

"Andy, I'm pregnant."

Andy's expression transformed – shock, surprise, and a hint of fear.

“Lily..." he whispered, his voice trailing off.

The moment she was hung, her voice was heavy with unspoken words. Suddenly, laughter and chatter from the dinner table faltered. Heads turned toward the garden, curiosity etched on faces.

“Lily, Andy, everything okay?" Lily's mother called out.

Andy's recovery was swift, but his tone chilled lily to the bone. "It's fine, Becky. Just a minor disagreement."

Andy's eyes, once filled with love, now conveyed rejection.

"This can't be happening," Andy whispered, his voice laced with panic. "I'm not ready for this."

Lily's heart shattered. "You're not ready? You're the one who kept saying 'I've got you.'"

Andy's expression hardened. "That was just passion, Lily. Not a commitment."

Lily's mortification boiled over. With a fierce cry, she stormed out of the garden, leaving Andy and her shattered dreams behind. The dinner party dissolved into chaos, with whispers and worried glances following Lily's retreat.

As she fled into the night, Lily realized:

She was alone.

And pregnant.

Lily could not believe that her life would eventually come to what it was. That the man she fell in love with would turn out to deny her because she was pregnant for him.

Well, what else did he expect after all their escapades of unprotected s*x?

But Andy had suddenly changed his feelings and wanted nothing to do with the pregnancy.

Lily felt her heart beating faster than normal. She was in the car and her hands were on the steering wheel, but all she could hear were the breaths coming out of her mouth.

If someone told her that her world was turning upside down, she would have believed it. At some point, she felt her hands leave the steering wheel, but she didn't have the power to put them back immediately.

Her head spun and she lost control of everything around her.

The other car approaching hers on the highway crashed into hers, hood first.

***

"lily? lily?"

The voice sounded far off like it was coming from a distance. Then it wasn't just one voice that she heard. There were others as well.

Lily's eyes fluttered open, and there was a familiar face staring down at her.

Her mouth found words to speak and she said, "Father?"

“Lily, are you all right?" Derrick asked, his face etched with a lot of concern.

Lily realized that she was lying on a sofa and when she tried to sit up, there was a sharp pain on her forehead that dropped her back. "Ouch," she said.

"What in the lord's name were you thinking, Lily? Driving off like that?" Derrick demanded.

Lily said nothing. She just looked around her. Back at the Livermore house, there were people around her. But it seemed that the party was already over.

The doctor, Gabe, came into her line of vision. "You hit your head against the steering wheel during the collision, Lily. The other driver happened to be someone who was on his way here. So Mr. Greaves called your father immediately and he called me. How do you feel?"

"Hurt," Lily replied, and she swallowed.

"You'll get something for the pain soon," Gabe said. "Other than that, you're all right."

But she wasn't. And Lily wasn't even referring to the throbbing on her forehead as the cause of her pain. She wanted to get herself far away from the house but she had ended up back there where the memory of Andy rejecting the pregnancy was still fresh. And it just multiplied the pain a hundred times more.

She should not even be in the house. In Andy's parents house. But since fate would not allow it, maybe she would have another chance to speak to him and try to get him to change his mind.

She needed to do.

Lily got to her feet, denying the help that came from observers. But she only had one question for them. "Where is Andy?"

She found him at the table, and he was laughing at something his mother had said as if he had nothing in the world to worry about. But when he looked up and saw her, that smile disappeared off his face.

Andy got up from the table and walked right to Lily. "What happened to you?" he asked, but he didn't show much concern as before.

"Andy, please," Lily begged. "Don't do this to me. Don't leave me this way."

"I am not leaving you this way, Lily," Andy claimed, his voice down to almost a whisper. "You can do away with the baby."

Lily stared at Andy as if he had suddenly gone mad. "No!" she blurted out.

That was when both families knew that something was amiss between the two. Derrick was the first to come closer because he had his suspicions first.

"What is it, lily?" Derrick demanded.

Lily turned to her father, and in a state of tears, she said, "I am pregnant for him!"

"Who's him?" Derrick asked, his face stolid, with a hint of alarm in his voice. If his daughter was pregnant for someone at the party, then why was she crying about it? Wasn't that supposed to be a happy thing?

"Andy, Dad," Lily revealed. "It's Andy."

Derrick looked at the man in question. But the look on Andy's face was nonchalant. It was as if he wasn't the one Lily was referring to.

"Are you responsible for my daughter's pregnancy, Andy?" Derrick asked.

Andy scoffed. "Of course not, sir."

Lily stared at Andy in shock.

Andy's parents flanked him on both sides.

"What is happening here?" Livermore asked.

The little dinner party was already over but the people who lingered about had their ears pricked and eyes open.

"I'm sorry, Rivermore," Derrick started. "My daughter here just said she's pregnant with your son. But he says it isn't true."

"Andy?" Livermore asked as he looked at his son.

"Dad, she was drunk the same night I saved her when she fell into the river. I saw her at my bar getting herself drunk later, and I took her to my hotel room because it was much closer. She thought we had s*x, but I can assure everyone that we didn't do anything."

"Andy, that's a lie, and you know it!" Lily said.

Andy didn't need to say anything else. The truth was plain to everyone. Lily had gotten herself drunk and she had thought Andy had slept with her when he hadn't even touched her.

Lily felt blame in the eyes of those who looked at her. There was a big lump in her throat and she could not stop the tears from falling.

Derrick shook his head from side to side, ashamed of the embarrassment that his daughter had brought upon the family. He turned to his hosts with an apologetic face and said, "I am very sorry for my daughter's behavior. Andy, forgive lily. I'll take her home right this minute and have this sorted out."

Derrick held Lily and took her out of the house. Before they went past the door, Lily heard Andy's mother whisper, "She doesn't even know who slept with her."

When they got back home, Derrick was furious with Lily. His voice was like thunder, and Julia stood beside him all the time, sneering at Lily.

"You have failed this family, Lily," Derrick accused. "But I will not let this stain of yours bring us down. You are to leave this house now and never come back since you have no idea who the father of that child inside you is! You have insulted this family and the family out there! And I will not take that from you."

Lily could feel her world tumbling down. She could not believe it.

"Father! Are you disowning me?" Lily questioned.

"Yes, I am!"