PREGNANT AFTER ONE NIGHT STAND

She remains silent. Her eyes gaze at me intensely. I take both of her hands, holding them tightly, making sure she doesn’t feel alone anymore. “Before we get out of the car and meet your mother, there’s something you need to know first.”

Then I tell her in detail about my search that I didn’t inform her about beforehand. I told her that waiting for her to find answers where she wasn’t making any effort to search would only haunt her with questions like ‘why’ and ‘whose fault is it,’ and I didn’t want that.

So, I decided to find out about the whereabouts of her parents. Even though Anya said that Nek Sumi never informed her about her parents’ condition, I didn’t believe it. The pressure that Daska put on Anya’s uncle, who became her legal guardian – which also required a significant financial bribe – yielded results. But I didn’t mind.

Finally, the uncle told the truth about the situation. I drew a big conclusion that Anya’s mother, whom I found out was named Fiona Oliver, had an affair with another man. Just like Anya said when her father left for the last time. It was also what Mrs. Sumi told her. This revelation shocked her father. His love, the affection he had given, made Anya’s father lose control. He did the same thing as his wife. He left, leaving a young Anya drowning in sadness and immense loss. When I heard this story, I felt so sorry. Love shouldn’t leave someone behind. If you no longer match or find it more enjoyable with someone else, then let go. No need to make the child the victim.

And I hate that the child was my wife, who was now looking at me with tearful eyes. My heart ached so much. I felt what Anya felt. Even my hug couldn’t stop her tears.

“Your mother lived with her lover. It only lasted for fifteen years, Joice. She also has a child. I got the detailed information from that child. You could say that she’s like a sister to you.”

Anya wiped her damp face roughly. “Then where is she now?”

“Let’s get out, okay? Do you want to greet her directly?” I extended my hand for her to hold again. I knew she was a little hesitant when giving me her hand, but I made sure she wouldn’t feel alone facing this.

I led Anya to one of the rather old graves. Only given a boundary of concrete, it was already cracked here and there. The name Fiona Oliver was written but had started to fade. Maybe it was rarely visited or something, I don’t know. What’s clear is that the grave I was heading for was in a corner a bit far from the others.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

The corner of my eye kept glancing at Anya, who fell silent as she gazed at her mother’s grave. There were no tears like before; her eyes were fixed on the tombstone.

“So… my mother is already dead, huh?” Her voice was filled with immense pain.

I didn’t respond. It was heartbreaking to hear her pain.

“I often considered my mother dead, Cedric. Seriously. It seems like my prayers have been answered by God.”

There was nothing I could do but give her a tight embrace while gently rubbing her shoulder. “If you want to cry again, it’s okay, Joice. I’m here.”

She smiled faintly. “I cry not because of her existence, Cedric. All this time, whenever I think of my mother, the question of why, which I’ve never found an answer to, always comes to mind. I’m her child, right? Why did she leave me?”

I chose to wait for her to continue speaking.

“If my mother is indeed dead, so be it. I don’t mind. In my heart, she’s already dead.”

I never blamed her for any decision, even if it was wrong.

“But I realize, just like you said earlier. If I keep burying these feelings, there will come a time when I’ll question again, ‘why was I abandoned?’ Right?”

I released the hug slowly. Then Anya moved closer and knelt before the grave. Her graceful fingers gently caressed the nameplate. Her eyes began to well up with tears. I felt that this was the moment she was letting go of everything that troubled her regarding the meaning of her mother in her life.

“Anya is here, Mom. Unfortunately, we can’t meet face to face, but Anya believes that you can hear her voice, right?”

The rustling of the wind mixing with the leaves accompanied the silence between us.

“However, it may be, Anya is grateful to have been born by you. Anya is strong, Mom.”

Her shoulders started to tremble, and I moved closer to her.

“Anya believes that you have your own reasons for leaving her. Hopefully, it’s not because you didn’t love Anya, as I feared.”

We were interrupted by approaching footsteps, and when we turned, a young man I had met before appeared. He smiled awkwardly as he saw me and Anya.

“You must be… Sis Anya, right?”

Anya frowned, rising slowly while holding my hand. She might have been a bit nervous because he had a somewhat intimidating appearance. Tattoos covered his right hand, and piercings were visible all over his body. He had a muscular build, like a typical gangster.

“I’m Jacob. Fiona’s son. And I suppose, Sis Anya, you are my half-sister from the same mother, right?”

Despite his tough appearance, when I first spoke with Jacob, I knew he wasn’t just an ordinary person. Intimidation was evident in the way he carried himself.

“Are you the result of my mother’s affair?”

This is what I was a bit afraid of. I already warned Jacob beforehand. My wife has a sharp tongue when she speaks, but luckily, he understood the situation.

“Can we sit down first? Maybe at a coffee shop? I’m sure you and your husband must be tired from the long journey here.”

I glanced at Anya, who seemed to consider the offer. “It’s okay, Joice. Let’s hear Jacob’s explanation.”

Finally, we agreed to talk at a nearby restaurant not far from the cemetery. On the way there, Anya didn’t say a word. I told my driver to follow Jacob’s old motorcycle, which didn’t match his large build.

“So, what do you want to say?” Although Anya had just sat down, she hadn’t even touched her strawberry juice. Jacob didn’t seem bothered by Anya’s provocation. He began telling his story. It started with the meeting between Fiona and Ryder, Jacob’s father. According to Jacob, Ryder was supposed to marry Fiona, but due to financial pressures and Robert’s cunning manipulation, Fiona gave up on the idea.

However, Fiona’s love for Ryder never truly died. Anya was born without love between them, but it didn’t make her mother cruel. Anya didn’t object to that part. Jacob added that living with Robert was filled with pressure, even though his mother was good. I assumed he referred to Nek Sumi. Whenever there was a flaw, Ryder waited for Fiona, but they eventually ran away. It was after a fierce confrontation that Anya probably didn’t know about.

Their divorce was simple. Fiona’s second marriage to Ryder was only witnessed by a few people. The divorce from Robert wasn’t easy, considering Robert’s over-possessive nature. Hurt by Fiona’s remarriage, Robert became enraged. He repeatedly attacked Ryder and Fiona’s residence, forcing them to move as far away from Robert as possible. This left Anya, whom Fiona found hard to leave.

Jacob said that since he learned and understood his mother’s story, Anya’s name was the only one mentioned. Her sister who lived in Beverly Hills, probably with their grandmother or father, was unknown to Fiona. The way his mother praised Anya and spoke about her efforts to take Anya back from her former in-laws was remarkable. However, Nek Sumi never wanted to hand Anya over so easily.

Fiona buried her sorrow and even though Jacob said his father knew about it, he himself was powerless. Since living in SunCity, they were no longer bothered by Robert’s presence until one day, out of nowhere, Robert appeared in front of the peaceful home Jacob had with his mother.

He brandished a machete with a fierce look. Screaming like a madman, especially when he saw his mother hysterically terrified, Robert became even more ferocious. Ryder tried to protect Fiona and Jacob. Young Jacob vividly remembered how Ryder fell, drenched in blood at the hands of the cruel Robert.

Jacob got angry, shouting and cursing, but his mother ignored him. Jacob said his mother ran as fast as she could with him. He got injured by shards of glass and thorns, but they were left behind because they lived near the forest, quite far from the residential area. When help arrived, Jacob felt that it was already too late.

Jacob didn’t know what happened between Robert and the police. What he knew was that his life was now just with his mother. Losing Ryder was what made his mother frail and succumb to illness. Three years later, she followed Ryder to the same realm.

“What about my father? Do you know now?”

Jacob grinned. “Yeah, I know now.”

“I don’t know if your story is true or just a cheesy drama-filled tale. What I want to know now is about my father,” Anya said.

“If only Mom hadn’t mentioned how much she regretted leaving her pride and joy, Anya Joice, with a despicable man like Robert, maybe I wouldn’t be willing to share this story,” Jacob replied.

Anya’s lips lifted slightly. I admired her. Despite Jacob’s attempts to pressurize her, it didn’t affect her at all. When I first met Jacob, he even pulled out a folding knife. But I didn’t like violence, so I managed to talk things out calmly, and this time, I brought someone who could make Jacob wary.