Kimberly could never had imagined she'd ever be this angry, this infuriated till she met Nicholas Vice. The man was full of the vilest and most stupid stuff. She couldn't even begin to imagine how he had come up with such an idea, and nerve to rope her in on it.
Marry him and divorce him after a year? The plan was ridiculous and for some reason she couldn't stop laughing at it even though she was just as equally mad.
The silly conversation had looped through her mind all through her drive home, and as she walked through the door she knew without a doubt she had to call Caroline.
"Tell me you're not busy."
"I'm not busy," Caroline said even though she was getting ready for her date with Dr Cillian.
"Are you okay?" Caroline asked with a note of worry coating her voice as she paused before the mirror with a blouse in her hand.
It was obvious Caroline wouldn't stop worrying about her, and while Kimberly was grateful to have such care, she really wished Caroline could simply act normal. "I'm fine. You really have to stop worrying about me."
"I will, but only after you make a decision and start receiving treatment. Only and after then will I stop worrying." She told her, and since she was obviously not in pain or having an emergency, she let lose of that knot of worry that had formed the moment she saw Kimberly's call.
She held the magenta blouse over her body as she looked into the mirror in the on-call room. "So, what's up?"
Kimberly took a second to answer. It was obvious everyone was concerned about her, everyone except the man responsible for her predicament. "Guess what that idiot just said to me thirty minutes ago?"
"By idiot I'll assume I already know who that is. What did he say now?" Caroline asked, tossing down the magenta blouse and rummaging through her little go bag.
She was almost certain she had a camel dress she had intended to wear to a blind date her cousin had set her on few weeks ago, but had never gone.
The magenta blouse screamed of too much effort, and conspicuous wasn't her aim.
She needed something casual yet beautiful. She sighed out with relief when she found a perfect blouse to go with her pants.
She has no idea how much clothes she had in the hospital until now. She guessed everyone was right when they said she lived more in the hospital than she did her home. "What did he say?" She asked again.
"He asked me to have a marriage agreement with him."
"Huh?" That stopped Caroline from what she was doing. "Are you saying like a contract marriage?"
"Yeah, like a contract marriage." She confirmed. Kimberly quickly realized that only the mere call of it made her skin crawl. "The nerve he has." She drawled while Caroline softly chuckled.
She has never seen Kimberly as worked up as she was till now. Whoever this Nicholas guy was, she wondered what stuff he was made of. She walked back to the mirror with the shirt in hand. "And why did he even think you agree to that?"
Kimberly plopped down on her couch. "Exactly my question! Apparently, he thought he could blackmail me into it."
"Blackmail? With what? Does he plan to tell his father about your little adventure?"
"Not that. The pregnancy," Kimberly said and Caroline's eyes widened to a stretch.
"You told him you were pregnant for…"
"Of course, not."
"So, how did he find out?" She asked in disbelief.
Kimberly lolled back on the couch and sighed, her fingers pressing hardly on her temples. "He went through my desk and found the test results." She still couldn't believe he did that, but she was currently too tired to be angry.
"Why would you leave it there? Anyone could have found it, Kim," Caroline scolded.
"I know, but I was in a hurry to be rid of his presence and I forgot to take it with me." She still couldn't believe the mistake she made, and she was trying not to berate herself right now.
"For someone who's scared of people finding out about this, you made a big mistake."
Kimberly sighed. "I know."
Carol heard the exhaustion in her voice, and became repentant of her scolding Kimberly, she lowered her voice. "Did he also know he was the father?" She asked.
"No. He thought it was Ken's."
"Ken's? How did he know about Ken? Why did he even think so?"
Kimberly felt a shot of embarrassment as she remembered the events of that night. "Well, my uncontrollable drunken self told him about my two timing cheating boyfriend and his wedding. So, I guess he did the math."
"And he didn't think it could be his." Carol scoffed. "So what did you say?" She had a feeling Kimberly turned him down, hence her anger.
"What is there to say? I said the only thing there was to say, for him to go to hell with his stupid plan."
As expected, Caroline mused.
"The idiot wants to ruin my life more than he has already done. He'd end up with an enormous inheritance and the CEO position which I clearly believe he doesn't deserve, while I on the other hand will be a divorced single mother. That bastard is high on something cheap."
"You're the one pregnant for a cheap coke user, but I think you're missing the important part of things here."
"Which is?"
"Your job, Kim. His stupid idea will give you your job as well as the promotion you've been so scared of losing." She told her.
"Listen, I know this whole thing is a big stray from your big plans, but I also think you will have no plans if you endanger your life by risking an abortion with your frail health. And if you choose to keep the baby, which I think you should, wouldn't it be better if you didn't lose everything?"
"Everything like what? My job?"
"Yes, your job, your career you've worked for, your goals and plans." Carol listed, "Also, wouldn't it be better for you if you had your baby's father beside you? If you ask me, I think you should tell him he is responsible for the pregnancy and have him take responsibility for it," Caroline said and Kimberly shook her head.
"You don't know that idiot. The moment I tell him that, he is going to go accuse me of some grand scheme again. It's pointless," Kimberly said dismissively.
"Is it really?" Carol asked.
"Yes, it is. I won't tell him about it. I don't want to raise a child with him. Trust me, the last thing I want is for a child to tie me to that guy for the rest of my life. He's probably not going to want the child, anyway. So, yes, Carol. It's pointless."
"How about you just consider his proposal? Keep an open mind. You can give him your own terms. Negotiate with him…"
"I can't believe you're suggesting that I consider this," Kimberly said with a shake of her head.
"Yes, I am. Think about it, Kim. Really think."
"There's nothing to think about Carol. I will let you get back to work. Talk to you the next time I need to rant. Love you," Kimberly said before hanging up, and Carol shook her head, an amused smile on her lips.
Kimberly was too damned stubborn for own good. Carol hoped for Kimberly's sake that she would accept Nicholas' offer. She was a romantic at heart and from all the coincidences so far, she believed that they were most likely destined to be together.
Thinking about romance and being destined to be together, Caroline smiled as she remembered her date with Cillian. She couldn't wait to hear what he had to say.