Chapter 4 The Second Betrayal

• Norman.
• “Did you find out all the stuff I asked about Yvaine Stewart? What did you figure out?” I asked Jason, my helper.
• “Yvaine Stewart is not dating anyone right now. Sadly, her parents died in a car crash. She’s connected to Marcus Campbell, who runs Campbell Construction – he’s her uncle-in-law. Oddly, she doesn’t have a good relationship with her aunt. At work, she designs scholarships for Walter Designe.
• Now, when it comes to her love life, she’s with a guy who’s supposed to inherit a company. But, word is, he’s a bit of a player and not very reliable. Also, he got a house in Forest Gill, Queens, from his dad.”
• She has a total of $27,500 in her account and also owns a black sedan car from ’67. She studied design at the university and is still paying off the student loans that her career generated. Lately, there has been a rumor that she had a disagreement with her boyfriend and they broke up, which led her to resign from her position as a designer at Walther Designe.
• She is a very hardworking young woman, with no known illegal activities or relationships outside of her previous one with Harry Walter, heir of the Walter Designe companies, whom she met at university while studying design. That’s all, Mr. President,” Jason finished giving me the information.
• “So, am I the reason she broke up with her boyfriend? Or maybe she liked my suggestion? It’s important that you keep an eye on her. If Miss Stewart goes for any medical appointments in the next few weeks, especially if it’s for a gynecology check-up, I have a feeling my Alicia is planning to get away from me, and I won’t let that happen,” I stated very seriously. My assistant, who has been with me for a long time, blinked in response, but he didn’t ask any questions. We’ve worked together for so many years that he understands my ways without the need for explanations.
• Yvaine.
• Three weeks have passed since the incident at the hotel and since I discovered the betrayal of my cousin and my ex-boyfriend. I soon found out that Harry had interfered with my chances of getting a new job as a designer, as all the job agencies in New York City always gave me excuses or found reasons not to hire me
• To make matters worse, my aunt and cousin had been spreading lies about me to all my friends and acquaintances. So, I still hadn’t found a job and had the feeling that I wouldn’t find one for a long time.
• On top of that, my period hadn’t arrived yet. It was always very punctual, and although I didn’t want to imagine that I was pregnant, that feeling that something serious had happened was starting to settle in my heart.
• The next morning, I decided to take a pregnancy test. I was hysterical. I went to the pharmacy and bought the test. I made the decision to take it at night.
• “You know what? You’re just a whore! You played innocent so well with your angelic face. Your cousin spilled the beans; you weren’t the innocent girl you pretended to be. Since university, you’ve been with anyone who asked. Did you think I wouldn’t find out? I waited, hoping you’d make space for me in your life, only to find out a whole bunch of people have been through," I glared at him and retorted.
• “I don’t care about the lies you and my cousin made up or the bad things they say about me. Between us, there’s nothing. Who I share my bed with is none of your business. I won’t deny anything or try to fix things because, to me, you’re not important anymore; you mean nothing to me. Go back to the person you share your bed with and never come back to my house. Leave, right now!” I said, pointing strongly to the door.
• In the beginning, he seemed not to care about what I was saying and was even advancing towards me, and I wasn’t sure what his intentions were. However, as soon as he noticed the pregnancy test box in my hand, his eyes widened with anger. Without uttering a word, he swiftly stormed out, slamming the door behind him. I let out a sigh, adjusted my hair, and then made my way to the bathroom to take the pregnancy test.
• While waiting for the results to appear in three minutes, I decided to check my emails to see if I had received any job offers. Due to Harry’s family’s influence, I hadn’t been able to find any work in New York, so I had sent my resume to other international companies.
• All of them, of course, outside the sphere of Walter Designe’s influence. I noticed that I had received three offers, two of which didn’t seem interesting to me because they were below the level of my expertise. But the other one was in Los Angeles as an interior designer for a department store. I sent my response, expressing my interest and confirming that I would attend the interview on the agreed-upon date in two days.
• When I finally looked at the results, I felt my legs go weak. I was pregnant!
• “Oh my God!” I thought. “What am I going to do now?”
• During those two days, I went through hell. I didn’t know whether to have an abortion or start a family. What I did know for sure was that the father of my child would never find out.
• To do that, I had to accelerate my escape, because there was no other way to describe it but running away. I didn’t know why, call it intuition, but I was sure that if I stayed in New York, at some point, Norman Miller would find out that he was going to be a father, and I definitely didn’t plan on fulfilling his demand to be his wife. Nor did I want my child to become a commodity in a court battle.
• Furthermore, knowing from what I had read and heard in the news how ruthless he could be, the father of my future child, I knew that I had everything to lose.
• The truth is, after he left me alone in the hotel, I hadn’t heard a peep from him. But deep down, I sensed it was just a matter of time, and I shouldn’t put my trust in him. Adding to my troubles, my aunt and cousin had made it their mission to spread baseless and malicious rumors among all my friends. Right now, except for the neighbors who knew my parents, I had no one in my corner.
• To make matters worse, that wretched Harry had circulated the rumor that I was pregnant, and I didn’t even know who the father was. Of course, it certainly wasn’t him, as upon discovering my true self, he decided to distance himself from me and even fired me from the company.
• So, with everything falling apart, I had all I needed to make a clean break. When I aced the interview in Los Angeles, I gathered all my money, entrusted my parents’ house to the neighbors, and quietly decided to embark on a new life in Los Angeles. To avoid any trace, I changed my last name to my mother’s.
• Two months flew by since I arrived in Los Angeles when I went for my first ultrasound and gynecological check-up. Here's where the bombshell dropped: not only was I pregnant, but I was expecting twins.
• Summing it up, my first sexual encounter happened under the worst circumstances – drugged, with a stranger, begging for something I didn’t fully understand. And on top of that, I found out I was pregnant by that man, and not just with one, but two babies. It couldn’t have been worse.
• I’m hopeful that things will take a turn for the better from now on because I don’t know if I’m mentally prepared for any more surprises.
• And that’s how my new life unfolded – a single mother, a designer, with my only sexual encounter being with a stranger, a memory that still haunts my dreams.