Anna watched in silence as her grandparents talked with Lexus and made marriage arrangements without asking her opinion. She wanted to cry so badly that her grandparents had betrayed her.
They were too excited when they saw the test result and realized that the father of the child actually wanted to marry her. She was sure they also liked his educational attainment, most especially since he was the CEO of a big and stable company. They were thinking that she would have a secure future.
She gasped when she recollected a story one of her colleagues had told her.
'Are they trying to make sure that I'm not alone before they pass away?!'
She recalled that one of her workmates told her that she personally experienced it. Her grandparents wedded her to a good man and after that, they passed away consecutively.
'That can't be it, right?!' she wanted to cry even more. Her grandparents were dear to her and even though she got tired of their daily hounding for a grandchild, she loved them. She loved them much more than her parents. And they were closer to her. It would be a nightmare if they passed away after she got married.
But watching her Grandma so excited, she could no longer stop them. She let them be and just ate her apples, biding her time. She couldn't argue with her Grandma and risk her wellbeing. Her Grandma was still recuperating.
She glared at Lexus who was readily making plans with her grandparents and ignoring the icy glares she was giving him.
'Just wait. You bastard!' she cursed in her mind.
When they were done with their plans, she watched until her grandparents had left the vicinity before she finally unleashed her wrath.
Slap. The sound echoed in the silent room. And her victim just stared at her wide-eyed.
"Are you happy now?!!" she hissed at him. He was speechless for a few seconds before replying.
"I swear, I panicked at first," he reasoned after recovering from her slap.
"You liar. Didn't you just say that you were going to give me time and wait until before the baby was born? You're all the same," she laughed sarcastically as tears spilled from her eyes.
"Anna . . ." she cut him off.
"I clearly told you I don't want to get married. How dare you use my grandparents!" she was now trembling as tears kept streaming down her cheeks for reasons she herself did not understand. She just felt so bad and had to let it out.
"Anna, please calm down," Lexus reminded her.
"Calm down your ass! Get out of here. I don't want to ever see you again," she hissed at him but tried to take deep breaths to calm herself for the sake of her baby.
"I'm sorry," he apologized and it rang in her ears instead of calming her. It made her even angrier. Another slap resounded in the room.
"If you are sorry, you shouldn't have done it in the first place. You clearly took the opportunity when it came."
He looked like was going to say something else but turned silent and apologized again instead.
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault," he said and hugged her. She pushed him off but he held her tighter. "I'm sorry."
"The doctor is here," he whispered in her ear as he held her tight. Anna instantly froze at that and all her anger was replaced with shame and self-consciousness.
'Did the doctor see all that?' she wondered in embarrassment. She looked up and finally felt guilty when she saw her handprints on both of Lexus' cheeks.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it twice," she apologized for the second one. She still believed he deserved the first.
"It's alright. I deserved it," Lexus said with a weird smile on his face.
'Did I slap him too hard that he had gone nuts?' she narrowed her eyes. Her palms were actually aching from slapping him. But she had no more time to ponder over it as she recalled the doctor.
"Is your lovers' quarrel finally over," the doctor asked and Anna instantly separated herself from Lexus and greeted the elderly doctor.
"I'm so sorry you had to see that, Doctor," she apologized in embarrassment.
"It's alright. I'm used to it. I understand your emotions are unstable due to all the changes going on in your body and the pressures of parenthood. But do keep your emotions in check. Look at your hands. You've injured yourself," the doctor pointed out and had the nurse put something on both her palms. They also gave Lexus something for his cheeks.
She had a good lecture from the doctor and all she could do was listen and apologize.
The doctor conducted another checkup and agreed to discharge her after he discussed a lot of things about pregnancy.
. . .
"I'll take you home," Lexus offered and Anna realized that her car was still at the clinic's park so she had no choice but to accept his offer. It felt awkward to speak with him after they had another fight and she slapped him twice so she remained silent.
"Shall we have dinner first? You must be hungry after everything," he offered. Anna thought about it and realized that she was indeed hungry. But she doesn't want to be seen with him while his face was still a bit red from her slaps.
"I don't want to. Everyone will know I did that," she pointed at his face. If her workmates saw her with him at that state, she would be the gossip of the week. He laughed when she said that.
'Is he crazy? Isn't it embarrassing to have a slap mark on your face?'
Now that she was calm, she felt bad for hurting his pretty face. She was usually calm so she wondered why she slapped him. She hadn't slapped someone in so long. She sighed and looked at the road instead.
Today was a rollercoaster of emotions and she'd loved to destress somewhere. She had the urge to have a good drink but she's not allowed to drink alcohol now.
"I've booked a private room," he suddenly said.
"Huh?"
"We can eat without other people seeing us," he explained.
'Just when did he do that? I looked away for just a few minutes while he was driving.'