"Are you throwing a party?" Mia asked when she walked out of her bedroom and saw Jeff setting the dining table.
She had stayed locked up in her bedroom all morning since she had no reason to leave the house.
"No. I was just going to call you after setting the table. You haven't had anything to eat all day, have you?" Jeff asked, without looking at her.
He had overheard her crying in the middle of the night, and he suspected it was because the pregnancy test had turned out positive.
For someone who was pregnant, she wasn't taking care of herself at all. He wondered if she was deliberately starving because she didn't want to keep the baby.
"No, I haven't. Don't tell me you prepared all this," Mia set as she dropped her phone on the table and picked up a chicken wing.
"I did. Sit down and eat," Jeff ordered as he drew out a chair for himself and sat down, while Mia looked at him through narrowed eyes.
"Hm. This tastes nice. Why are you being nice to me all of a sudden?" she asked suspiciously as she ate.
"Has there ever been a time I wasn't nice to you?" Jeff retorted, and she paused as she thought about it.
"I guess not," Mia said as she sat down.
Mia watched in puzzlement as Jeff set a glass of fruit juice in front of her, "What is going on? It's not my birthday," she said as she picked up the glass and took a sip.
"It doesn't have to be your birthday for you to eat healthily, does it? Enough of all that junk. I will do the cooking," Jeff offered, and Mia frowned.
"You won't have the time for that when Bryan resumes, and you know it. We can just find someone to do the cooking for us," Mia said as she watched Jeff, and then paused when it occurred to her that he had not once stared at her since she joined him in the living room.
"I don't like other people preparing my food," Jeff said as he sat down, and then he paused when he glanced at her and noticed she was staring at him with interest.
"What?" he asked, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.
"What what?" Mia asked, slightly amused as he looked away from her.
"Why are you staring at me that way?" Jeff asked, looking down at his plate as he focused on his meal.
"I don't quite understand how you can talk to someone without looking at them. So let's just say I'm staring for two. You and me," she said with a grin and then glanced at her phone when it vibrated with a message notification.
She picked it up, and smiled once she read the message, "Great! I have a blind date tonight. I might not come back early. It's fifty-fifty," she said as she continued to eat, and Jeff looked at her but said nothing.
"I never knew you were such a terrific cook," Mia said between mouthfuls.
"There are lots of things you don't know," Jeff said quietly.
"Huh?" Mia asked, wondering what he had said.
"Thanks," Jeff said, and Mia smiled.
"I should be thanking you. It's been over two years since I last had any home-cooked meal," she said casually as she sipped from the juice.
"I suppose you don't visit your family often?" Jeff asked, and Mia hesitated a bit before shaking her head.
"I don't. What about you? Do you visit your family often?" She asked, subtly shifting the subject to him.
"I do when I have the chance. Why don't you visit your family often? Are you on bad terms with them?" Jeff asked, and Mia sighed as she pushed away from the table, losing her appetite.
"Something like that. Thanks for the meal. I need to get ready for my date," Mia said as she picked up her dish, and without waiting for him she headed for the kitchen while Jeff followed her with his gaze, wondering why she always had her defenses up whenever her family was brought up.
He stood up and followed her into the kitchen, wanting to know exactly what her plan was for her pregnancy since they were housemates.
"Mia?" he called from the doorway, and she turned around surprised to see him standing in the middle of the kitchen by the little island.
"Yeah? Don't tell me you're done eating already," she asked with an easy smile.
Jeff shifted awkwardly on his feet, "Yesterday while searching for the key in your handbag I saw something... A pregnancy test kit," Jeff explained, and Mia sighed inwardly.
"I wondered if you saw that," she said, looking at him with interest as she waited to hear what he had to say and why he had brought it up.
"I'm not going to ask you how it happened or judge you. You are an adult and I'm sure you're perfectly capable of making your own decisions, but since we live together, I will like to know what you plan to do. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to tell me," he rushed to add and then frowned when Mia tittered with laughter.
"What's funny?" Jeff asked in confusion.
"You, Jeff. You are cute. Your face is burning," Mia said with a grin.
"Don't tell me you assumed I'm pregnant simply because you saw an unused pregnancy kit?" Mia asked, and Jeff shrugged.
"Well, I'm not pregnant...."
"I heard you crying at night," Jeff said, and Mia winced as she dried her hands.
"Okay, I get the picture, Jeff. But I cried because of something entirely different which I can't tell you about. Trust me, I'm not pregnant. Is that why you prepared all that food?" she asked, and Jeff scratched the back of his ear awkwardly making her giggle.
"You're so sweet, Jeff. I'm happy to know if I ever become pregnant I have such a wonderful person like you to look out for me. Thanks," Mia said as she walked towards him and kissed his cheek.
"If that's the reason you offered to do the cooking, you don't have to," Mia said as she walked past him back and Jeff followed her out.
"No. That's not it."
"Alright then. I can take care of grocery shopping if you give me a list of the things you need and I will do my best to assist you in the kitchen whenever I can. By that I don't mean I'm going to cook," she rushed to add, and Jeff smiled.
"I know."
"Thanks, Jeff. You are such a lifesaver. I need to get ready for my date now," Mia said, blowing him a kiss as she headed for her bedroom, and Jeff returned to the dining to finish his meal, relieved that she wasn't pregnant, but now curious to know the reason she had cried.
Away from there, at the cinema, Bryan tried to fight back his irritation as he glanced at Sonia for what seemed like the tenth time and noticed as usual that she still wasn't staring at the screen.
After picking her up from the company he had asked her if she still wanted to see a movie or go home, and she had insisted on seeing the movie.
She had been quiet and distracted all through the drive and he had asked her several times if she was okay and what the problem was, but each time he asked she had said the same damn thing.
"Nothing serious. Just a slight headache. I'm fine."
He had suggested they postpone seeing the movie and just go back home instead so she could get some rest, but she had insisted they see the movie as planned, so why was she not even paying attention to the movie?
What was the point of coming to see a movie with her if she was just going to zone out that way? They could have as well just stayed back at home.
"Let's go home," Bryan said, and Sonia looked at the screen before turning to him with a slight frown.
"Why? The movie is not over yet," she pointed out.
"I'm no longer interested in seeing the movie. Let's leave," Bryan said and stood up before she could protest and walked away, letting the popcorn spill on the floor.
Sonia rose and hurried after him, "Are you okay?" she asked, but before he could respond someone recognized him.
"Bryan Hank? Oh, my God! Look, it's Bryan and Sonia!"
And just like that they were surrounded by fans wanting to get pictures of them and with them and get autographs from both of them.
Bryan tried to fight back his irritation as he obliged his fans until they were able to get away from the crowd.
Immediately they got into the car, Sonia turned to Bryan, "I'm sorry," she murmured, knowing he was pissed.
She couldn't blame him for being pissed. She was at fault. She was yet to take the pills and was already feeling guilty not just about the abortion but also about keeping it from him.
The thought of taking the pills and terminating the life that was growing inside her was breaking her heart. What if the baby was a girl like she has always wanted? Even if it was a boy, killing the baby was just wrong. She felt like folding up on her bed and just crying.
"If you're just going to apologize without telling me what the problem is, I'd rather you don't," Bryan said quietly and waited a bit for her to say something.
When she said nothing, he started the car and drove off.
"I don't understand you, Sonia. I really don't. I'm doing my best to be understanding right now but you're not helping. What exactly do you want?" Bryan asked irritably after driving for a while.
"I don't know," Sonia cried, and just like that she broke into a sob, startling Bryan.
Bryan turned to look at her in confusion wondering where the tears came from as he quickly found a spot to pull over by the roadside, "What is wrong?" he asked in confusion as he watched her cry, not knowing what to do.
"Did I do or say something to upset you?" he asked feeling both worried and confused as he reached out to comfort her.
"No, it's not you. You didn't do anything," Sonia said amidst her tears.
"Give me a minute, okay? I need a minute," Sonia said, and got out of the car, needing to breathe.
Her heart kept beating very fast, and being with Bryan wasn't making it any less easy on her.
Bryan sighed as he watched her get out of the car. He thought about giving Lucy a call to find out if she knew what was up with Sonia, but before he could do that, Sonia's phone vibrated and he took it out of her handbag.
She had three missed call notifications and two texts. Without considering whether or not he was doing the right thing he checked to see who had called, and his brows pulled together when he saw they were all from Lucy.
Why was she calling Sonia when Sonia had left her office less than two hours ago? Bryan mused as he clicked on the texts. One was a spam message and the other was from Lucy.
[I hope you haven't done anything. I love you, Sony. I'm sorry I'm going back on my words, but I can't let you do something you are going to regret. You either tell Bryan about it or I will tell him myself.]
Bryan's brows pulled together as he read the text, trying to understand what it meant. It was obvious there was something he needed to know about, but why did Lucy start the text with those words? What was Sonia planning to do? Bryan mused and turned to the door as Sonia opened it and got into the car.
"You missed Lucy's call. And you have a text from her," Bryan said as he handed her the phone.
She didn't bother to ask him why he had her phone since they both did not make a big deal out of respecting each other's privacy. That was the reason they both could access each other's phones after all.
Sonia sighed as she read Lucy's text and then she met Bryan's burning gaze. Sonia's heart skipped a beat when it occurred to her that Bryan might have read the text.
"What are you keeping from me, Sonia? What is Lucy talking about?" Bryan asked, making it clear he had read her text and was unapologetic about it.
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