Kiara woke up about two hours earlier than her usual waking up time, and she ran to the bathroom. On the previous night, she had worn a pad, since she was expecting her period. She quickly checked the pad, only to see that it was pure white, with no stain on it.
Calming herself, she quickly she jumped into the shower and started to bath. If it was under normal situations, Kiara would have been happy that the period had delayed, for she did not like the pain and discomfort associated with it. On this day however, she was praying for it to just come.
She was still getting used to her new workplace, and getting late was one thing she really did not like. She hurried up in order to be in time for work.
"Kiara! Are you ready yet?" her father called out for her.
"A few more minutes, dad!" she answered back.
In a short while, Kiara and her dad were on their way to work. The father dropped her off before he proceeded to his own workplace.
At work, Kiara took countless bathroom breaks, as she continued to check on her pad. There was nothing.
"Where is the period?" she spoke to herself. She looked at herself in the restroom mirrors, and tried to be strong.
"The day is not yet over," she told herself.
Slowly she walked out and went back to her work station.
Until the end of the day, there was nothing at all. Kiara was becoming seriously worried. She did not know what to say or do. On the following day, she woke up expecting to feel the period cramps, but there was nothing.
On the third day, a tearful Kiara sat in her bedroom, entering in her diary:
Dear Kimmy
I bought a pregnancy test today, and it is positive. I am still in shock, and I wish to just collapse and die. I have been seriously careless, and I have no one to blame but myself.
Dear Kimmy, my greatest worry is I do not even know whose child this is. I have been intimate with Jeremy many times, but there is still a chance that this child might be Vine's.
Dear Kimmy, what should I do?
She closed the diary and put it back in its hiding place, and she broke into tears.
On the next day, Kiara, visited the pharmacy during her lunch hour.
"How may I help you?" the man smiled at her.
"I…I need something a bit personal. I…I need a pill or something that will help, because I need to have an abortion," she stammered.
"An abortion?" the man seemed to be in a bit of a shock.
"What's so shocking? Am I the first person to make such a request?" she said in a low voice.
Before the man could say anything, Jeremy's voice called out, "Kiara! Kiara, my love. What are you doing here?" Jeremy walked into the pharmacy and hugged Kiara from behind.
"What are you doing here?" the young lady asked.
"I was taking some photos down the flower shop. I was driving past, on my way back to the university now, and I saw you walking into this pharmacy. I decided to say hallo. Are you not well? What are you buying?" he asked.
"I…I just have a headache," she lied.
"Oh, get something for it, then. Do you think you may need to go and see a doctor?" Jeremy asked with concern.
"No. It's just period pain, I guess. I will be fine," Kiara smiled.
She asked the pharmacist to give her something for a headache, and after paying, they both immediately left the place.
When Jeremy dropped her off at her workplace, Kiara walked in and sat at her work station. She typed in her laptop password and stared blankly at the machine.
A baby. Oh no! Who was the father of that baby? She swore to herself that she needed to abort that child. If only she could be 100% sure that the child was Jeremy's she was going to happily keep that child.
But she was not sure. There was a 50% chance that the child could be Vine's. Vine. Oh how she detested that name. Just the name itself made her furious. The Pinkertons were very rich yes, but they had too many dark stories associated with their name. Employees were reported to have vanished without a trace. Some rumors said they bought and sold human organs on the underground market. There were all sorts of serious crimes with that family, and Kiara hated it a lot.
"I only love Jeremy. Jeremy is the only man I can ever love," she said to herself, not realizing that she spoke out loud.
"Sorry, what did you say?" a colleague asked.
"Oh it was nothing, I'm sorry," she chuckled and started working on her laptop.
Kiara worked for a short while but soon started searching online for abortion clinics. She searched the dangers involved with having an abortion.
The more she read about abortion, the more sick she became. She was not too sure what she wanted.
"You look troubled," her colleague commented.
Kiara forced a smile before saying, "It's my friend. We have been friends since childhood, and she just discovered that she is pregnant. Yet she is not in love with the man who made her pregnant. I bumped into her during lunch time, and she spoke something about having an abortion."
"An abortion?" the lady asked.
"Yes," Kiara responded.
"What led her to have sex with the guy anyway, the one that she doesn't love?" the lady seemed to give the matter much more care than Kiara had anticipated.
"Actually she…she was sort of…sort of…" Kiara was silent.
"Sort of what?" the workmate stood up and came closer to Kiara's desk.
"I don't know. From what she says, she was raped." Kiara said while facing her laptop screen.
"Raped? And she did not report the matter to the police?" the lady failed to hide her shock.
"The person…the rapist is one of those people who….I mean, they are those very rich and corrupt people. He will walk free, and the girl, my friend, she fears that after making such a report, the boy's family will be after her. Who knows, they may even want her dead."
Kiara's workmate laughed out loud and said, "Who is the man? How powerful can he be? Just report the matter to the police. If it were me, I would have reported it long back, unless of course if the guy was a Pinkerton. I mean, from what I have heard, that family can get away with murder. Literally."
Kiara nervously licked her lips and ran her fingers through her hair. She shifted in her chair and let out a tense giggle.
"Is he rich?" her colleague asked casually.
"Who?" Kiara was immediately brought back to reality, for she was deep in thought.
"The guy. Your friend's guy. The one who got her pregnant."
"Yes, but she doesn't love him. She loves her other boyfriend."
"Is he rich?" the lady walked back to her chair.
"He is very hardworking. He may not be filthy rich but he does his best. He has loved her since they were kids. He will go out of his way for her. He has never loved anyone else in his entire life, except for my cousin…."
"I thought you said it was your friend." The colleague corrected.
"Yes, she…she is both a distant relative and a friend."
"OK," the workmate nodded her head. "So you said she loves this poor guy?"
"He's not poor!" Kiara snapped. "He is the best man alive! He may not have much money, but he has love. He is true to his word, he may not be able to give money, but he gives his all. He is everything a lady can ever wish for!"
The colleague let out a sharp laughter and commented, "If I didn't know any better, I would say you are in love with this man, your relative's boyfriend."
"I'm not!"
"You should see how guilty you look right now," she laughed out all the more.
"I don't look guilty! I am just worried about a member of my family who is in deep trouble."
"It's not a big issue. Let her choose between love and money. I would choose money, I don't believe in love! Not after being cheated on by countless guys. If she chooses love, let her come clean with the boyfriend. Tell him that the child is not his."
"The thing is…she…she is not sure who the father of the child is." Kiara stammered.
"Oh no! This cousin of yours is truly something else!! And she's so lucky! She has two guys running after her; a good one and a rich one! Anyway, it's easy. Just tell the poor true love guy that the child may not be yours. If he can't forgive, leave him. He's poor anyway. And then go tell the rich dude that the child is yours. Whether he chooses to marry the girl or not does not matter. The important thing is he will fork out the money for child support, and your relative will live happily ever after! Simple! There really is no need to kill that child!"
Kiara thought carefully over the words. It sounded like a good plan.
***.
Dear Kimmy
I have decided to tell Jeremy. I will give him a full month to think over this. If he fails to forgive me, I will find Vine, and I will tell him that the child is his.
But, dear Kimmy, I don't even know if I can do this. It is easier to say it, than to do it.
Kimmy, sometimes I wish you could talk to me. I wish you were more than just a diary.
I don't have a friend. My closest friend, Jeremy, the one I would have shared with all the issues of my heart, is the one I betrayed the most.
Will he ever forgive me?
Dear Kimmy, I know that just now, I said I will tell Jeremy, but I am not sure if I can do this...