Chapter 1 Gerald

Gerald Pov

The pattering sounds of rain on the restaurant's glass windows kept me company while I waited for her.

The sound was becoming increasingly unsettling, bringing back memories as I gazed out the window, far out into the outer area, observing the dark night that appeared to have been miraculously lit by the porch lights that stood out.

My fingers pounded on the circular table as I glanced out the window, wondering why Caroline had decided to meet me here at this hour.

We'd been dating for about two years, and she knew I'd rather meet with her at my house or workplace than in a public setting like this.

I carefully pulled at my neck tie, realising that it had been choking me for the past 10 minutes as I sat here gulping saliva just to get by.

The waitress with the tag name "Celeste" approaches me for the second time since I entered, a large inescapable smile forming across her thin lips.

"Would you like to order now, sir?" She asks gently.

I returned her grin before responding, "No thanks, I'm actually waiting for someone." I knew I should have informed her I was waiting for someone when she initially asked, rather than the 'no, I'm fine' response I gave her earlier.

I noted her disappointed expression as her lips curled into a surprised 'Oh', her smile slipping down her lips before she immediately brought them back and gave me a beautiful smile.

"Okay, sir," she said with a little bow of her head before turning around and leaving. I refocused my sight on the table, debating whether to finally browse through the menu.

I had no idea why I was excited this evening. It was customary to go out to dine with your girlfriend, but it took on a different meaning when she called you in the middle of the night and asked you to meet her at some odd restaurant.

That was not Caroline at all. She was usually straightforward and startling.

Just as Celeste's thudding heels faded away from the room, I heard another familiar shoe clicking from up ahead.

It was difficult to miss that sound; I could recognise those footfalls anywhere, at any time. I slowly looked up to see her standing at the restaurant's glass doors, one hand pushing the door closed and the other clutching her purse tightly in front of her.

She looked lovely, and I couldn't take my gaze away from her. The red gown she wore highlighted her body curves in the ideal places, with her cleavage on full display as the long V-neckline of her dress stood out.

Her lips are covered in vivid red lipstick, and her eyelashes are thick with black mascara.

Her blond hair is styled such that the right side falls over her right eye in a wavy manner, with the ends reaching her slender, pointed shoulders.

Caroline was always a fashionable woman when we started dating, and I never had any issues with her dress or makeup choices.

She could dress up in a bra and underwear and stroll into an estate mall, and I'd still love her. She looked across the room, attempting to pick me out, and when her eyes met mine, I couldn't help but see the despair in them.

She moves quickly towards our table, her hand reaching up to smooth back her falling hair as she closes in on me.

She pulls back a chair before I can even jump up and retrieve it for her, her gaze directed away from me. I knew right away that something was awry.

Caroline has always enjoyed receiving attention, particularly from her partner in public places. I couldn't quite grasp why she was acting so strangely tonight.

"Hey," I said anxiously, "are you okay?" She finally glances up at me and smiles before nodding her head and saying, "Yeah." I nodded gently before sitting back into my chair and inhaling softly.

"What would you like to have?" I asked, intending to call the waitress over.

"Don't, Gerald," she adds, holding up her hand. "I. . . . . I actually came here to tell you something important"

The moment the words left her mouth, I felt like I'd been hit by a space brick. Was she going to break up with me? Tell me she can't do it anymore because I don't meet her ideal boyfriend profile? She had flown to Chicago just three weeks before for a business meeting. She had been OK the night before she went, as had we.

I still couldn't get the unending love making we had that night before she went away the next morning out of my head.

We made love as if it were our first and last. I stared into her eyes and told her how much I loved her, and she responded.

She had returned from Chicago yesterday evening, and I only found out when she called and requested us to meet at this restaurant.

She had told me she just wanted to see me. I was wondering what was so urgent that she couldn't wait to come by the office or my house today and had to pull me down here.

I tried to slow down my thoughts. Maybe she just had a rough day and wasn't up for tiny formals, and she'd rather I ordered for her. I knew what she preferred.

"Okay," I said, my lips lined, "how was your business trip?"

"I'm pregnant, Gerald," she explained.

The words flowed naturally from her mouth, but there was more to them as I studied her huge ocean blue eyes.

The words had an effect on me, instilling a terror in me that I could not recall ever experiencing before.

It wasn't a negative fear; it was a nice one since I felt great. I attempted to speak but couldn't; nothing appeared to make sense.

So my gaze wandered down her flat stomach, lingering, as if hoping to spot some little movement there; movement of my unborn child.

A smile spread across my lips as my gaze returned to hers and settled there. This was the best news I had ever received in my life.

Everything was perfect. I knew Caroline was the professional type of woman, which was one of the reasons I hadn't had the courage to propose to her before, but this seemed to come at the perfect time!

"Oh my God, Caroline, are you sure?" I asked joyfully, but when I saw how she arched her eyebrows in question, I knew it wasn't the finest thing to say.

I hastily shook my head, attempting to rectify myself. "I mean, I'm so thrilled! This is the best.... "

"We can't keep it, Gerald," she stops me off, her words hitting me across the face and causing my smile to fade.

"I just can't keep it" " What? Why? I mean, we've been together for about two years, and... I closed my eyes as I lost sight of words and shuffled in my chair.

"We should get married, Caroline."

" No! " Her explosion astonished me, and I rapidly attempted to understand her actions. Didn't she want us to marry?

The nasty sight in her eyes left me dumbfounded. How could I be so soft for this woman that she dared to disobey my orders? This was my baby legally, and I had the same rights to it as she had.

It may have been unplanned, but it is certainly worth altering everything for.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do this right now. I can't be a mother right now. I'm doing so many things, and.... "

"Your career, huh?," I stopped her off. "Your job and everything right? When will anything else ever matter to you? This baby is growing in your stomach, for example."

"You wouldn't understand this, Gerald, you never have"

"Could you please do this for me?" Just this once, okay? Listen, we can make this work; all we need to do is marry.

"I'm not going to tie my life down for some baby, okay? I'm getting rid of the baby, with or without your agreement." She pulls her chair aside, attempting to rise up.

"I'm leaving the country"

"Caroline. . ." Before I could say her name, she was already at the door, wrenching it open and racing out.

I felt rage pour over me as I sat still. Why was I doing nothing to stop her? I knew Caroline better than I knew myself. She would do everything she set her mind to, and nobody could stop her.

Not even God, if he were to descend from above.

Angrily, I sprang to my feet and dashed out. But the coast was clear of her. She was gone. She was going to abort my baby, and I wasn't doing anything to stop it.

I knew people all across the country and could easily get her back here before she boarded one of her private flights, but I knew it would be a waste of time. She'd still do it.

I stepped into my car, and my driver sped away towards my mansion. As we approached my house, I realised I was being stupid.

I was the cold-hearted monster everyone feared when they saw me; how could I subject myself to a simple woman's trickery? I frowned and told myself I didn't care what she did with the baby.

It was her blasted body, and she could use as many needles as she wanted to get rid of the baby. I didn't care.

And I hoped she died from it because I never wanted to see her face again. I got home and sought to distract myself with work in my office space, attempting to forget about my unborn child.

I slept abnormally and awoke with a severe headache.

I remained up longer than usual at work, trying hard to ignore Caroline's name flashing across the screen of my phone every time I tried to call her.

But I never do. I always pushed my phone away and invited my best friend Carlos Williams out for a drink instead. She never called, and as the months passed, I lost interest in hope.

I hoped she'd be on my doorstep one day with her burgeoning baby bump. I was hoping she'd tell me it was all a prank and that she'd love to marry and have a baby together.

But she did appear in my sitting room one morning as I was flying down the stairs, her makeup in place, her eyes gleaming deliciously, her hair properly done, and her clothing clinging to the right curves.

She had not changed at all. I tried not to make it clear that I was inspecting her tummy for a pregnancy bump.

She raises her hand and waves a five at me, her grin bright and beautiful, saying, "It's good to see you again, Gerald."