The Billionaire's Bundle of Joy

Chapter 2

RIZ

I CAN’T feel my cheek, and when I got to my room, I went straight to the bathroom. In the mirror, I saw that my cheek was starting to swell in addition to being red. I’m not angry with my father. I’m just disappointed that he didn’t even let me explain.

My tears were threatening to fall, but I immediately looked up to stop them from falling. I quickly took a shower, got dressed, and started packing my things. I couldn’t bring everything, and by the looks of my things, I also couldn’t take the car that Dad gave me. Actually, I don’t want to take anything he gave me. I have personal items that I bought from my allowance.

I’m not a materialistic person, and although Dad used to give me my allowance, I also worked at the university as a student assistant, so I saved up. Surely, Dad wouldn’t scold me for borrowing this small luggage to pack my necessities. I also left the jewelry he gave me. There were only a few, but even the necklace he gave me on my sixteenth birthday, I returned to the drawer.

I was currently zipping up the luggage when I heard the door open. I was hoping my father had a change of heart, but when I saw that his wife was the one who came through the door, I felt embarrassed. Why did I ever think my father would change his mind?

“It’s good that you’re already packed. Did you bring anything that you can sell here?” She smirked.

She walked around my room and stopped near the drawer. When I saw her, she opened it and looked at my jewelry box, then glanced at me.

“At least you have the sense of leaving your jewelry here.” She closed it and walked back toward the door. “Good luck finding the man who got you pregnant. Who knows, he might already have a wife; maybe you’ll get lucky and become a mistress.” She laughed mockingly.

“Madam, if you don’t have anything else to say, could you please leave me alone so I can finish packing?”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Are you trying to dismiss me in my own house?”

I took a deep breath. “I’m not—”

“You know, I never thought highly of you and always thought you would end up like your mother. Look at you; I was right about you. I guess the only thing I was wrong about is that you would graduate. But then again, who knows if you’ve slept with your professors to pass.”

“I’m not that kind of woman.” I couldn’t hold back anymore because I was crushed. If she couldn’t respect me as the child of her husband, at least she should treat me as a human being.

“And yet you’re pregnant?” she shot back at me.

With people like her, no matter how I explained, she wouldn’t understand because she didn’t want to. Sometimes, it’s exhausting to do the right thing.

“I’m leaving in a few minutes. Please . . . just let me be.”

She turned her back but looked back at me and spoke again. “I hope you never find the father of your child so you can never come back here again. You are the biggest mistake your father made in his life.”

I bit my lip to keep myself from answering her back harshly. Still, it hurt to hear words that belittled my existence. If I responded to her, I would be no different from her behavior. I am not going to stoop down to her level.

I also heard her footsteps and the slamming of the door. Exhausted, I sat on the bed and let my eyes wander around my room, which had witnessed all the exhaustion, sleepless nights, heartaches, and joys over the many years I lived here. But now, it’s time to leave.

I had planned to leave; it just wasn’t supposed to be at this moment. My belly was already two months along, and even though there were times I felt dizzy, I tried to calm myself so they wouldn’t notice. No one else knew except our family doctor. Who knows what my stepmother did to get that information? It’s also possible that the doctor himself broke his oath. Every patient’s record is confidential. Sadly, when money is involved, oaths seem to melt away.

Since I didn’t have much to carry, I managed to take my things down without asking the house staff for help. My father was currently on the phone. When he saw me, he excused himself from his call and hung up.

“Is that all you’re bringing with you?” he asked me coldly. I couldn’t read his face. His voice was as cold as the expression on his face.

“This is all.”

He didn’t say anything else and was about to dial the phone again when his wife came in with juice.

“Here’s your juice, to cool your head. I don’t know why some people are so stubborn. You’ve done good for her, given her all the luxuries, a nice home, expensive clothes and jewelry, and some people are just too ungrateful!” Her jabs were excessive, but I wanted to say goodbye properly to Dad, so I didn’t engage with her.

“Dad, I just want to say thank you for taking care of me all these years. And I am sorry for causing you disappointment. I will make everything right when I return. I will introduce you to the father of my child.”

My father didn’t say anything to me nor acknowledge what I said. I took a deep breath and understood his feelings. He is mad at me. Dad took the juice and walked towards the kitchen. I watched him walk away until he disappeared from my sight. That’s when I started to leave. But just as I took a few steps out the door, my stepmother had one last thing to say.

“Are you not going to thank me? This is my house too, the money I spent on the food you ate, and everything he gave you, I have a share in it. It’s conjugal.”

I faced her and looked her in the eyes. “Madam, you may be my father’s wife, but everything he did for me is his obligation. I should be grateful to you for letting me share your home, but you lost that right when you insulted me from the day I set foot here. Still, I want to say thank you.”

She smiled mockingly. “Ah, finally. You’re going to thank me after all; you said so much.”

“Thank you . . . for showing me the person I don’t want to be. I’m leaving now.”

She was left fuming in the living room. Believe it or not, it felt good to say those words to her even on my last day in their house.