Moments later, Nidia, whose nose was hurt, stepped back. Tears from the pain caused by the crash welled up in her eyes. Jackson had just finished a meeting with a group of men, and the smell of cigarettes lingered on him. It wasn't exactly putrid, but in fact amplified his charm.
Nidia hadn't worked for long. She was respectful to her managers, and was gentle towards her colleagues. However, she never understood how to handle mature men like Jackson Cunningham.
She couldn't treat him with utmost respect, let alone be gentle towards him.
To be frank, she was very much terrified of him.
One decision from him could ruin her life forever.
Feeling stressed out, Nidia suppressed her anger and said dejectedly, "Why are you here? I said I was going to bring the milk when I go check up on the baby."
She was worried she wouldn't be able to see her baby anymore.
Jackson turned to the side and returned the frame back on the desk.
He asked, "I thought you wanted to wait till you win custody to see him."
Nidia could feel her heart drop to her stomach.
The summer wind flowed into her room through the window. Her harmonious room was being invaded by this tall, cold adult man. It seemed out of place, so surreal and dangerous.
Jackson was still as calm as ever. He glanced at Nidia, who was clearly stubborn and upset. He asked, "Do you mind if I smoke in your room?"
Nidia stared at his beautifully defined face. Without giving a damn, she snapped, "I don't. Smoke more if you will. Don't smoke too much. Though, I'd be extremely happy when I see the business tycoon Jackson Cunninghan die young on the news one day."
Then, her child will be hers and hers alone. Her state of panic made her relentless.
She didn't care if her words were too harsh.
Jackson, however, did not get angry. Instead, he turned to her with a smile. He took out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth. Like a jerk trying to tease young girls, Jackson looked down at her and lit his cigarette. He stared at her, his intentions unreadable. "Too bad that won't be happening any time sooner."
He walked towards her, and Nidia took a step back instinctively. The room was small and she was soon backed up against the door. The loud bang from her body colliding against the door startled her. To her dismay, Jackson was already standing right in front of her.
Jackson lowered his head, as if he was going to whisper something into her ear. His thin lips inched closer to her fair neck.
The man huffed gently near her ear, and whispered teasingly, "You would know how healthy my body is. It only took me one night to have you sent to the hospital, after all."
What a jerk!
Nidia felt a heavy lump in her throat. She raised her arm, about to slap him across the face.
However, Jackson grabbed her wrist before she could do anything. "If Grandma were to see this, you'd be lectured again."
Nidia didn't want to cause a ruckus, and she was worried that Grandma would overhear them. As they locked eyes, Nidia kneed him in the groin.
Jackson furrowed his eyebrows and scrutinized her clear, fair skin. He said softly, "It had previously worn you out for one night. Can't you be a little more loving towards it?"
Nidia's cheeks were now painted a bright shade of red. Instinctively, she closed her legs tightly. She was different from him. It was her first time, even if she did end up getting pregnant with the baby...
"You're still young, so I won't hold a grudge. Just don't worry your grandmother too much." Jackson said, glancing at her thighs. He let her go immediately.
Nidia's wrist was slightly red from his grip, exceptionally red on her fair, white skin...
Jackson opened the bedroom door and exited the room, hand on his cigarette. He turned to Grandma, who was still in the kitchen, and said, "Grandma, I'm sorry I can't stay for lunch. I have other things to tend to. I'll be off now."
....
Grandma wiped her hands and came out of the kitchen. She tried convincing Jackson to stay, but failed. Jackson took all the milk Nidia had prepared, bid his goodbyes, and went downstairs.
Only Grandma and Nidia remained in the apartment.
"Did you and Jackson have a fight?" Grandma asked.
Nidia served Grandma's homemade lunch to the dining table and replied, "Oh, no.
He said that he had a meeting later. Maybe he's upset about work."
She wouldn't dare tell Grandma that she kneed him in the groin. Grandma stared at her with suspicion. Nidia wanted to say something, but stopped herself.
Just then, Grandma advised, "Jackson is a married man. Please don't cause his wife pain, especially when you two are alone..." Nidia then realized what Grandma was implying.
Grandma's advice left Nidia slightly stunned. She asked, "Grandma, what are you saying?"
Grandma actually suspected that she and Jackson had done something in the bedroom?
Nidia finished her lunch in extreme awkwardness.
Grandma went out for a stroll in the evening, while Nidia tried to contact lawyers with her laptop. She proceeded to immediately tell them that she was going against Jackson Cunningham. To her dismay, all of them refused to help. Their answers were similar.
"Miss, if what you're saying is true, I'd advise you to not go along with what you're planning."
"What? Sue Jackson Cunningham? I don't think there's anyone on this planet who could do that..."
"Jackson Cunningham is the father of your child? What are you daydreaming about? What a dumbass."
They didn't believe her, and some even went as far as to insult her.
Nidia switched off her laptop, filled with despair.
She decided to take a nap, but that nap lasted for hours. It was already dark outside.
She was woken up by the notifications on her phone. It seemed like there was a new group chat formed, named 'Class of 94s'.
"Niddie, a lot of our junior high classmates asked about you, so I added you to the group chat. Say hi to everyone! We've missed you!"
"Nidia, it's Julie Jenkins! Do you still remember me? Aww, don't tell me you've already forgotten about me! I missed you... Especially your answers! Hahaha!"
Nidia smiled as she read the texts. She hadn't smiled genuinely in ages.
Of course Nidia remembered Julie Jenkins. She had been in the same class with Julie since primary school. Nidia remembered that she had to help Julie cheat in every exam. They were even punished by their teachers for this. They had a very unique friendship.
Nidia pressed on a voice message.
"Hey, do you still remember me? I'm Amy, the class representative. If you do, please come to this pub. We're having a gathering here, and you're the only one who's not here yet!"
Underneath the message was a shared location.
Nidia then informed her grandmother about the gathering and headed to the pub.
"Three shots for being late!"
Someone poured alcohol for Nidia, who had just arrived, and loudly exclaimed, "You left without a word back then! Lily almost cried her eyes out. It was different without you in class okay? We were so sad!"
Nidia picked up the glass. In three gulps, she downed all three shots.
Lily pulled Nidia close and pointed at her chest area, "But, what about your..." The pub was extremely noisy. Nidia whispered into Lily's ears, "Don't worry, I already stocked up on a week's milk. After drinking tonight, hic- I just need to throw away the milk produced in the next three days. After that, the milk will be just fine... Doctor's words!"
Lily let out a chuckle of relief.
There were nine people present at the gathering, seven girls and two boys. Although not everyone was present, it was a nice little gathering for those who were particularly close with each other.
Out of the six girls, Nidia was fairly acquainted with the other three. She was close with Lily, Julie and Amy. After a few rounds of drinking, the girls took a group photo together.
One of the girls was named Minthe. She posted the photo on Instagram, and someone immediately liked the picture.
Minthe only noticed after she went to the bathroom to apply lip gloss.
Abby had liked her post and commented below, "Min, is this a gathering with your junior high classmates? Which pub is this? I really like the aesthetic! Send me the address, I'd like to go some day!"
Minthe replied to Abby's comment and privately sent Abby the address.
....
After replying to Abby, Minthe glanced at the post to check if everything looked good.
Looking at Nidia, Minthe remembered her close friend in university, Abby. Minthe turned to her friend Mary, who was still applying makeup. "Hey, Mary, don't Nidia and Abby look alike...?"
Mary continued to apply mascara and said, "Minthe, are you drunk? You can't say that just because their last names are South."
"But they do look alike!"
Mary ran her fingers through her hair and murmured, "They're both just so different people, who cares if they look alike? If Abby heard any of this, she would flip!"
After she finished applying her makeup, Minthe leaned against the wall to wait for Mary. She continued, "There's no use comparing between the two. Our families are pretty okay, but Nidia's background is just tragic! She wasn't just raised by a single mom, she's very poor too! She ended up not being able to pay her tuition fees and went back to San Caj with her mom. She couldn't continue studying in Baile City."
"Yeah," Mary said. "They're both Souths, but Abby was born with a silver spoon. She had chauffeurs to send her to and from school. Her father is a businessman, and I heard her grandfather was involved in politics too."
"Her grandfather went to jail, didn't he?" Minthe asked curiously.
"Who cares? The verdict was reversed. The Souths are still just as powerful as before." Mary said, putting her mascara back into her purse. "That reminds me.
Abby's mom is a legend, unlike Nidia's mom who was born in the countryside! Ugh, I wish I had a mom who would hold art exhibitions around the world too! It must be such an honor!"
Minthe disagreed. "I wouldn't want that, though. My mom may just be a housewife, but she's never left my side! Abby's mom doesn't even carry out her duties as a mother!"
At the other side, Abby reached the pub Minthe had told her.
In the parking lot, Abby sat in her car and prepared herself mentally. She switched on her phone and scrolled through Whatsapp. She opened the chat with the name 'Fiance'.
"Hubby~~ I need your help now, can you come over?" Abby typed out the message and hit send.
Suddenly, her phone started ringing. Abby answered the call immediately. "Hello?
Auntie...."
"Do you really want to do this?" The woman on the phone asked.
Abby stared at the pub entrance and said coldly, "I have to. I'd rather ruin our relationship now than let Nidia threaten me later on. Don't worry, auntie. Nidia was never my match to begin with. I'll cause a scene for my fiance. He'll think I'm the good sister and Nidia's the greedy one!"
"Abby, you have to think this through. If your fiance found out your mother was born in the countryside, his family will look down on you! They'll think you have a lowly background."
Abby scoffed. She was determined. "Don't worry about that, auntie. I won't admit we have the same mother. My mom died anyway, so Nidia can't prove anything. I'll just say that Nidia was trying to manipulate me into giving her money. I'm his fiance, so he would totally believe me! It's not like he knows Nidia. Who's going to believe her bullsh*t?"
"Okay, then. Be careful!" Her aunt hung up the call.
Under the best care in the Cunningham mansion, the one month-old baby was soon as healthy as a normal child.
Jackson had decided to drop by and stay for a night.
"Jackson, look at the baby's features. He's literally your carbon copy!" Jackson's mother, Angelica Chandler said with a gentle voice.
She wore a beautiful qipao and a shawl with delicate embroidery. A sweet smile rested on her face as she studied her grandson lying on the bed.