I Was Fated to Love You (5 page)

“ Oh..
that is so smart of you!”

The railway ride was so beautiful as Abby caught sight
of all the old towns and the beautiful greenery. Thankfully, the pair had much
to talk about, since they both loved perfumes and had common friends in high
school.

 
When they had arrived, they saw people
hard at work, digging up the ground with their cranes and filling with cement.

“ Hey
stop what you are doing right now! I have got proof that this area has species
of flowers and trees which are under the conservation act! Look at this! This
species is called the Meza. That alone is enough to prove that you have to stop
what you are doing right now!”

 
The workers looked around puzzled, unsure
as to what to do next. Who was this stranger who was making such a commotion?
One of them dialled a number and within minutes, they heard footsteps
approaching them from behind.

 
Abby spun around. She was shocked. So
shocked that her heart skipped a beat. And she gasped.

 
It was.. that man..

That
man.. whom she had mistakenly slept with during that fateful cruise trip..

 
It was the father of her baby.

 
Plans to develop the land had been
stalled. Matthew and Abby’s efforts had been successful.

 
The father of her baby had totally
ignored her presence. He didn’t really want to have anything to do with her. He
merely went over to Matthew, shook his hand and congratulated him for stalling
the company’s efforts, using words dripping with sarcasm. When the construction
workers had left, Abby nudged Matthew and asked him for the identity of that
man whom he had a handshake with. Matthew chuckled and replied that it was the
CEO of their own company and that his name had been Darren Bell.

 
Abby just did not know what to do. Should
she walk up to him and tell him that she had been pregnant with his child? She
knew it wasn’t his fault, and he didn’t really have to be responsible for her
own mistake but she felt so helpless and felt that the father of the child
should at least have the right to know of the child’s existence.

 
She couldn’t bear it anymore. That night,
she spilled the truth to Matthew and poured out her heart to him. She had been
feeling so alone and helpless. She had told him that she had been pregnant with
Darren Bell’s child.

 
“ I just don’t know what to do. I don’t
want to interfere in his life like that. I feel so guilty. Oh I feel so bad. I
know he has a girlfriend and that he seems to love her so much.. I never wanted
to be a third party.. Oh Matthew! Tell me what to do…”

 
Abby was caught in between her sobs. The
moonlight had cast a glow onto her tear-striken face as she wept miserably.

“ I don’t
want to destroy their relationship, Matthew! Please tell me what should I do? I
don’t know what to do about the baby…”

 
Matthew felt for her. Abby was so
kind-hearted. It would be hard to tell her what to do.

“ You
should definitely inform Darren about this. He is the father afterall. He
deserves the right to know”

“
Tomorrow… is the first day… of February.. I.. I .. I have a check-up for the
foetus tomorrow morning. I will think about it more in the morning.. Thank you
so much, Matthew”

Chapter 7

Letting him know

Through
the cardiotocography, Abby could hear the rhythmic heartbeats of her very own
baby. It was then when she first experienced the sheer joy of motherhood. It
was a very strange and inexplicable sensation. She had been feeling so worried
over her baby, but the sounds of the baby’s heartbeat seemed to have a surreal
calming effect on Abby.

 
“ Your baby’s heartbeat sounds healthy.”

 
The young obstetrician smiled assuredly.

 
“As you can see from the ultrasound, your
baby looks like a healthy one. Congratulations!”

 
Abby left the clinic, holding on to an
ultrasound photo which showed her little baby curling up like a ball. She was
so adorable, Abby thought. She felt an instant connection to the baby.

 
It was as if her baby had guided her to
the place she had been brooding over whether she should visit. Within much
realization, Abby had walked to the office of the CEO. She hesitated entering.
Everyone was staring at her. She wondered if she should even communicate the
news to him. Afterall, they were strangers. Would he care about the baby at
all? Would he be upset at her for being pregnant?

 
She lifted her hand up and knocked on the
door timidly.

“Come in”

 
Abby took in a deep breath and she walked
into his office. Regardless of the outcome, she felt that she had a need to
inform him about it.

“It’s
you”

His voice
was cold, with a tinge of perplexity and uneasiness.

“I.. came
to tell you.. something”

“What is
it?”

There was
a rising element of concern in his tone, and he felt embarrassed by it.

She
didn’t know how to break it to him. How was she to break the news to him? It
was so difficult. Abby opened her purse and she placed the ultrasound photo
onto his desk. She looked away ashamed, avoiding his eyes all the while.

Darren
reached out for the photo, his hands quivering albeit. He had sensed that
something ominous had happened, and couldn’t shake the bad feelings off him.

When he
laid his eyes on the ultrasound photo, his eyes widened, his face turned pale
white, his body stiffened and he felt goosebumps. An icy sensation hit him.

“Whose…whose..baby…”

His voice
was shaky and it sounded dry and coarse.

“It
is..yours..and mine”

THUD!

Darren
slammed his fist against the table and he took in a deep breath before he
stared at Abby, with a look of both despair and frustration.

“How can
you be sure..that.. it is mine?”

Abby broke down. She was sobbing so hard that she
found it hard to breath and she was gasping for air.

“Because
you were my only one!”

Darren slumped backwards in his chair and he sighed
miserably. He believed Abby alright. She did look like she had pathetic love
experience. It was unlikely that any man would want to bed her with those specs
and clothings of hers. Yet, why had it been him? Him? Him of all people?

“It was
just a one night thing… WHY AM I SO UNLUCKY”

Darren had always just wanted to marry Tiffany, have a
family with her, work hard on his career, and he will be contented. With the
baby, that would change his life forever. It would change his fate. It would
change his relationship with Abby. It would change his whole life. He was so
miserable and he felt so confused. His mind was in a whirl.

 
He had
loved Tiffany so much, with all his heart. He was so devoted to her. He had
waited for her to finally agree to wanting to settle down with him. He had done
so much for her! And now what, he is a father? He hadn’t even learnt to be a
good husband to Tiffany, much less a father to a baby he bore with some lady
who had mistakenly entered the wrong room? How was he to face Tiffany?

“ I am
really sorry about it. I am really so sorry. I didn’t know why I had been so
unlucky that day as well.. I remembered feeling giddy.. and…and..”

“Enough!
I am tired of how helpless you always are!”

“What
should we do about the baby?”

He
hesitated and then fixated his glace on the floor.

“Abort
it”

“
A-bort…”

“Please..
I beg you to just abort it. If ever Tiffany finds out that you have
 
a baby with me, we will be over. You
will destroy a beautiful relationship. Do you understand me? It’s not that I
want to be cruel but I really do love Tiffany with all my heart. You are a kind
girl. I am sure you know what is the best for the child as well. Do you really
want the child to grow up without… a father?”

“It is a
life…”

“Yes I
know it will be hard. Look. If ever you need my help, here is my number where
you can contact me. Leave me your number as well”

She had
left the room, clutching on to the name card he had given her. She left,
feeling worse than before she had entered. She left, feeling even more confused
and she wished she hadn’t entered at all. He was right to an extent. Did she
really want to destroy someone else’s relationship? What about her child? Would
her child have a healthy childhood without a father? Would her child be happy,
knowing that his or her father had never wanted him or her?

 
After work, Abby sat on the bench outside
her home, and she spent hours there, thinking about the baby, thinking about
him, thinking about life. She continued this routine for a week and by then, it
was as if something had compelled her to follow his wishes.

Chapter 8

The Decision

 
On the steeling morning of the Monday on
the first week of February, Abigail Rowling had decided to go ahead with the
abortion. She was an emotional wreck. She had lost weight. She looked like a
living corpse who was soulless outside. She was haggard and her eyes had been
puffy. She could cry but there were no more tears when she did. Abby dragged
herself out of her bed, didn’t even bother to make herself breakfast, and took
those heavy steps towards her destination. Darren had messaged her regarding
the abortion some days back and she had replied that she would go for it.

 
There were a few patients at the abortion
clinic. Most of them were with their partners. She was the only one who was
alone. That day, she felt even more hollow inside. She touched her stomach, and
she felt her heart breaking. She would be losing the delicate thing, after she
had walked out of the clinic. She hadn’t told anyone other than Darren about
the abortion. There was a couple beside them who were conversing with the staff
that they had wanted an abortion because of health complications and that they
were terribly saddened by it.

 
“ Miss Abigail Rowling, please see the
doctor now. Room 3”

Abby got up very slowly and she had a grave expression
on her face. Her knees went so weak. She could hardly make her way to Room 3.
But she knew it was the right thing to do, for the child would never have a
happy childhood and she would be tearing someone else’s life apart.

 
At the room, the doctor gave a reassuring
smile and placed a hand over Abby.

“ Are you
sure you want to do this? I would advice that you think over it.”

 
Abby looked so hesitant but she nodded
her head reluctantly.

“ I will
be letting you watch a clip of the procedure for abortion. I really hope that
you will think through your decision and hopefully change your mind. Nothing is
ever impossible to solve. Life itself is a miracle”

The clip showed the entire process of the foetus being
sucked out by a suction device, and it was so traumatizing that Abby gave up
watching it halfway. She felt so sick to the stomach and wanted to puke.

“Alright..
after watching the clip, do you want to give it some more thought before we
proceed with it?”

“I
think.so..”

“Good.
Actually for our policies, we don’t conduct abortions at the first visit. The
first visit is just a preparation for what you will be going through and
putting the baby through, which we hope can change your minds. There is really
nothing too big a hurdle in life. Everything is solvable, so long as you are
ready to put in some extra effort in it”

 
After the whole ordeal, Abby heaved a
sigh of relief. She never knew how much she loved her baby until that visit.
She was now determined to keep the baby, even if she had to be a single mother.

 
Just as when she was about to leave the
clinic, Darren had rushed in and grabbed Abby by the wrist. He didn’t look
threatening. He just had a look of pure worry and concern.

 
“ Tell me.. did you?”

“No..I am
sorry.. I didn’t…I have decided to keep it..”

 
To Abby’s surprise, Darren had breathed a
huge sigh of relief and he wiped off the sweat off his forehead.

“Good.
Somehow my family knows of the fact that I have made you pregnant. They want me
to bear responsibility for taking care of you during these times and also the
baby.”

 
The aromatic scent of coffee waffled in
the air. Darren and Abby sat in Habitat Coffee café.