Chapter 24: Hiding.
Valarie's POV.
"You know you could have worded that sentence differently." I tell Zachary as his hand traces circles around my thigh.
"I had to give it to her straight. You know how my mother is. She likes having hope and there's no hope for having children with Sabrina." He says and I stare at him.
"Still. You left her on the verge of tears and I think she needs you right now." I tell him, placing my arm on top of his.
"She doesn't. She gets like this every time I talk about her fertility issues. I'm not saying it to be a bad guy, it's just facts." I tell him.
"Go talk to her." I say looking at him. He rolls his eyes before he lets go of my hand and stands up. He excuses himself from the table before he walks outside the tent.
Sabrina's POV.
I'm sitting on the sand beside the water. The tent the rehearsal dinner is being held at is beside the beach. We chose this location because we know it would be windy and we needed the air.
Planning this wedding has taken a toll on me mentally and physically. And getting embarrassed at that dinner is my fucking reward? I'm sick and tired of this shit.
"Hey." I hear Zachary say beside me.
I don't respond.
"Stand up." He orders, but I remain seated, boring my legs into the sand.
"Stop being a brat." He says and that sends me over the edge.
"You're fucking abusive." I tell him, standing up as I look him in the eye.
"I have never laid a finger on you." He says, looking hurt by my comment.
"It's not physical abuse I speak of. You have caused me so much emotional distress." I tell him.
"Not as much as I've caused that woman in there." He says, pointing at the tent.
"That doesn't make it okay, Zach. You can't just invalidate the pain you've caused me just because the pain you've caused someone else is greater than mine." I yell.
"I've been nothing but good to you." He says, touching my shoulders.
"Yet I am measured by the scale of your ex-girlfriend. I'm constantly compared to her." I tell him feeling tears in my eyes.
"By the media. Not me." He says, wiping the tears away with his thumb. "This whole argument is stupid. You're the one I'm with. We're getting married tomorrow. You shouldn't be crying a day to your wedding." He says, rubbing my lower back.
"Are you sure you don't have any feelings for Valarie?" I ask him.
"I-" He is interrupted by Hannah.
"Zach, Valarie fainted and she's not breathing. Get in here." She yells from the front of the tent.
He lets me go, unwrapping his hands from my waist as he sprints towards the tent.
Guess that's my answer.
Valarie's POV.
"Wake up." I hear someone screaming in my ear.
I open my eyes and I am blinded by the flashlight in my eye.
"She's awake." I hear Maddison say.
"Guys, what's going on?" I ask them. My body is soaked in water and I am laying on the floor.
"You fainted and you stopped breathing for like ten seconds." Hannah tells me.
These fainting spells are getting out of hand. They started shortly after I entered my second trimester. The doctor told me that it would go away within the course of my pregnancy, but I didn't think that it would get this bad.
"Are you okay?" Zachary says beside me. He has my hand in his as he stares at me.
"I'm fine." I say, trying to stand up.
"Are you sure?" He asks, a worried look on his face.
"Yeah, it's just fainting spells. I'm fine." I tell him.
"We have to get you to the house." Zachary's father, Felix, tells me and I nod.
Zachary helps me stand up from the ground as Sabrina walks into the tent.
"I'll drive you to the house." He tells me, but I shake my head.
"No. I'll go with the driver. It's your rehearsal dinner. You need to enjoy this." I tell him, touching his cheek.
"Okay. See you when I get back." He says, kissing my forehead.
I flash him a small smile before I walk over to Zachary's father and he leads me to the car.
The ride to the Henderson mansion is nostalgic. As the car passes by the sidewalks I've trailed and the stores I've patronized, I can't help but remember High School and all its glory.
Langston is a shitty town, but it's good to be back. I met up with Adam's mother before I came for the rehearsal dinner. It was nice to see her. Especially since Adam told me she's been fighting arthritis.
My eyes start closing on their own and I know it's my cue to fall asleep. I close my eyes and lean on the window, I fall asleep shortly after.
The knocking on the door wakes me up. I open my eyes and look at my surroundings, I'm in a room. It's the guest room in Zachary's house. I check the clock beside me and I see that it's 8am. The curtains in the room are open wide, letting sunlight in.
I don't even remember how I got into this room or this pajama set. Guess I was pretty tired.
"Valarie are you awake?" Zachary asks me from the other side of the door.
"Yeah." I say, softly.
"Can I come in?" He asks me and I say yes.
"Good morning." He says, with a wide grin.
What's he so happy about?
"It's his wedding day, of course he's happy." My subconscious tells me.
"Morning." I reply, stretching in the bed. "Shouldn't you be getting ready? Your mother told me the ceremony was scheduled for ten." I ask him.
"Yeah, it was, but the wedding's off." He tells me and my heart skips a beat.
"What? Why?" I ask him, concerned. "Is Sabrina okay with that?"
"She'll live." He tells me, brushing my question off.
"Zachary if it's because of me-" I start but he places his index finger over my lips.
"Sabrina is the one that called it off actually. Not me." He shrugs.
"I think I know why." I tell him, playing with my fingers.
"You do?" He asks me and I nod.
I start tearing up and he holds my face. I'm so scared right now. I don't know how Zachary will react to this news. But I have to do this. It's for the best.
"The baby is yours." I tell him, staring into his eyes.
He looks like he's about to shit his pants. He looks so terrified.
"T-this one?" He asks, touching my stomach.
"Yeah." I say, laughing nervously.
"Wow." He says, staring at me in shock.
"I didn't tell you the day I found out because I didn't want to ruin your relationship and you guys were already planning the wedding. I felt it was best if you moved on with your life." I tell him and he runs his fingers through his hair.
"Moved on with my life? How was that gonna be possible when you're pregnant with my child?" He asks me and I don't say anything.
"Look, everyone already hates me and if they found out that I was pregnant with your child, Sabrina's whole fanbase of horrors would literally come for my head. So, I hid it for a few weeks and then when I went on vacation with Max, I got tired of hiding. Then the blogs said it was Max's baby and I was actually okay with that. Because that way you wouldn't suspect anything and you'd go on and marry the woman you're in love with." I tell him.
"First of all, fuck social media. And second, we know who the love of my life is and it's not Sabrina. The fact that you were okay with people thinking that my baby was Max's makes me want to fight him." He says and I laugh.
"Max and I are just friends. And even if something were to happen between the two of us, I wouldn't let it because he has a country to rule. And long distance isn't really my thing." I say, sitting up on the bed. The covers slip from my stomach and my bare baby bump is in full view.
Zachary places his hands on my stomach and he rubs it.
"Do you know what you're having yet?" He asks me and I nod.
"A boy." I say, placing my hand on his.
"Wow, I still can't believe that I'm gonna be a father again." He says and my heart hurts when he says that.
I am instantly reminded of Drew. I miss that boy everyday.
"You'll do great." I tell him.
"Thank you." He says, kissing my stomach.
"For what?" I ask laughing.
"For keeping him." He says as I run my fingers through his hair.
"I would never get rid of my own child. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding his conception." I tell him.
"This is the happiest day of my life." Zachary says and I smile.
"Glad I could make that happen." I say, chuckling.
"Who else knows?" He asks me.
"Alicia, Maddison, Adam, Riley and Tobias. Just the five of them." I tell him. "Oh, and my parents." I add.
"So, you'd rather tell them than tell me?" He asks.
"I was scared, okay." I tell him and he nods.
"I get it. I'm just messing with you." He says, tracing circles around my stomach.
"I'm gonna take a shower." I say, getting out of bed.
He stands up and adjusts his pants.
"Is that a boner?" I ask him and he doesn't respond.
"Pervert." I quip.
"Only the best for you, my love." He retorts.
I walk over to my suitcase and I open it. Grabbing my body wash and loofah from it.
"I'll see you after your shower, Vee. Let me give you some alone time." He says, hugging me from behind before he leaves the room.
I shake my head as I pick an outfit for the day. Since the wedding is off I can't wear the dress I had planned to wear. So, I pick a pair of jeans and a cream colored cashmere sweater.
I quickly head to the shower and I do my business. When I get out, I dry my body with my towel before I apply my peach body lotion that I forgot to throw out and ended up packing instead. I wear my outfit and a pair of sandals. I brush my hair and put it in a ponytail before I leave the room.
I hear chatter coming from the living room and I walk in.
"Good morning everyone." I greet and Maddison gets up from her seat and walks towards me. She hugs me and touches my stomach.
"You look beautiful." She tells me and I thank her.
"Valarie, honey may I have a word with you?" Zachary's mother says and I nod. I walk towards the sofa she is sitting on and I sit down beside her.
"Zachary told us that you are with child. His child. I just wanted to personally say congratulations. On behalf of Felix and I." She says, smiling at me.
I thought this woman hated my guts, why is she smiling in my face right now?
"Thank you." I say before I hug her.
I see Courtney staring at the window recording something on her phone. I tell her I'll be right back and I walk to where Courtney is standing. I see Zachary and Sabrina in a heated argument outside and I immediately feel bad. This is all my fault.
I head to the front door and I open it, walking down the front porch to where they are standing.
"You're having a baby with someone else, what did you expect me to do?" Sabrina says, yelling at him.
"It's not like I planned it. I'm sorry I've caused you so much pain and embarrassment, but you're the one who called the wedding off." He tells her.
"I had to. It's not like you wanted to marry me in the first place, you just acted like you wanted to because you wanted to prove that you're over Valarie. Which you obviously aren't." She yells.
They still haven't noticed me standing here.
"Hey, Sabrina. Can we talk for a second?" I ask her and she glares at me.
"I don't want to talk to you. You got what you wanted, didn't you? You slept with my boyfriend, disrespected my entire relationship and now you want to talk?" She asks, moving closer to me. She stands in front of me, glaring at me.
"Some woman you are." She says and then she slaps me. I stumble backward as I touch my cheek.
I hear Zachary call out her name as he grabs a hold of her. Marcy and Felix rush out of the house with Hannah and Courtney trailing behind them.
"What is going on?" Marcy asks as Sabrina tries to struggle out of Zachary's grip.
"Sabrina slapped Valarie." Zachary tells his mother.
"Good heavens, why on earth would you do that?" Marcy asks Sabrina.
Sabrina doesn't reply instead she gets out of Zachary's grip and she charges towards me. I deliver a hard blow to her nose. She literally runs into my fist. I hear a crack and a smile of satisfaction appears on my face.
That's what she gets for putting her hands on a pregnant woman.
"This is a mess." Marcy says and I massage my fingers.
"Take care of this." Felix tells Zachary and he nods.
"And scene." Courtney says as she stops recording. "The blogs are gonna love this one." She says before she starts walking toward the house and I roll my eyes.
Zachary grabs Sabrina who is holding her bleeding nose and he walks her to his car. He places her in the passenger seat and he gets in and drives out of the driveway.
"Come on, Vee. Let's go inside." Hannah says and I don't answer her.
I haven't spoken to Hannah since spring break in freshman year of college. And I'm not going to start now.
Massaging my wrist as I walk back into the Henderson mansion, I head to the kitchen and I make a bowl of cereal. No matter the circumstance, this baby always finds an opportunity to make me eat.