Baby I'm Yours Read online

“Go away. I don’t want to talk to anyone,” Clarice mumbled from under her duvet.

  “Clarice, open this door right now. We have to talk,” Whitney emphasized again.

  “There’s nothing to talk about, guys,” Clarice shouted back. “I want to sleep. Go home. We can talk later.”

  “No. We have to get this straightened out now,” Whitney shouted. “Who’s this Hunter you’ve kissed? I thought it was Anton?”

  “Does that mean the father of your baby is this Hunter guy?” Elise asked quietly.

  This prompted Clarice to open the door and stare at both of her friends with her puffy red eyes. “I don’t care anymore. I have my baby, so please, could you just leave me alone and go away?” she shouted, then shut the door in her friends’ faces.

  But Whitney was quick to wedge her foot in the door and shove her way in, followed closely by Elise.

  “Cupcake, your eyes.” Whitney came to hug her.

  “Oh, Clarice, let me get you a cup of soup,” Elise said, then went downstairs to raid her friend’s kitchen for that soup her friend liked whenever she was feeling down.

  “Tell me what happened,” Whitney prompted.

  All Clarice could do was wail like a baby on Whitney’s shoulder.

  “He confessed, Whitney,” Clarice said between her sobs. “He confessed.”

  “Who confessed?” Whitney asked, rubbing her friend’s back to soothe her.

  “Hunter!” Clarice cried even louder. “I can’t believe he confessed to me in front of everyone like that. He shouted out for the whole world to know. Now how am I going to show my face?”

  “Clarice, are you telling me it’s really this Hunter guy that slept with you and not Anton?”

  “Mmmm.” Clarice nodded and sneezed into the tissue Whitney gave her.

  By this time, Elise came back in with the cup of hot noodles for her.

  “Thanks, Elise. You always know what I need most.” Clarice sniffled, then started drinking her noodles, sighing in satisfaction before she rushed to the bathroom to empty her stomach again.

  Damn this morning sickness! Why now?

  “Clarice!” both her friends shouted at the same time, rushing to rub her back.

  Once her stomach was empty, she was tucked into bed with both her friends on either side. Then she explained the whole situation to her friends, why she was stuck in this state, her eyes puffed out like a bee had stung her.

  “Did Max call you?” Elise asked, holding her hand after Clarice completed her tale.

  “He did, but I ignored it. It’s great he’s still on campus because if I see him, I’ll strangle his neck for sure.”

  “Oh, Clarice, I’m sure he didn’t mean it like that,” Whitney said, rubbing her friend’s hand for comfort.

  “Has the witch gone all soft on little Max?” Clarice asked with a weak smile on her lips.

  “I know he loves you, that’s all. And he had the best intentions.”

  “I know.” Clarice sniffled again, but she willed herself not to cry. She was an adult after all. And adults don’t cry.

  “I agree with Whitney,” Elise said. “Are you going to hate him now?”

  “Of course not,” Clarice uttered, digging herself deeper into her pillows. “I’m just in my moment of madness right now. He’s still going to be my cousin after all. And to tell you the truth, I think it’s all my fault. I was the one who drummed it into you guys that I wanted Anton’s sperm. Max was just helping me out. Plus…”

  “Plus?” Both Whitney and Elise were intrigued.

  “Plus… I was too consumed with lust.”

  “What?” Whitney and Elise gaped in horror.

  “For real?” Whitney asked.

  “Yes.” Clarice nodded. “I couldn’t control myself. I should have realized something was off, but it didn’t register. And all this time, I thought it was always Anton.”

  “Wow, that’s a revelation,” Whitney commented.

  “So what about your baby, then?” Elise breached the subject that was on the tip of all of their tongues. “What are you going to do about it now, now that you know your baby belongs to this Hunter and not Anton?”

  “My baby will still be my baby,” Clarice answered. “My baby is still a part of me. So no matter what, I’ll still love my baby. Wasn’t that my goal from the very beginning?”

  “Oh, Clarice,” both her friends said happily.

  “Let me be your baby’s godmother,” Elise offered, happy that her friend didn’t inflict self-harm like she tried three and a half years ago.

  “Me too,” Whitney added.

  “Of course, of course,” Clarice said, smiling while receiving a crushing hug from her friends.

  “And… um… about Hunter, then?” Elise asked.

  Clarice paused. “What about Hunter?”

  “What are your feelings for him?”

  “Feelings?”

  What did she feel for Hunter? She knew she was attracted to him, but never in her life could she imagine him raising a child with her. And from the way he was calling her avocado all the time, there was no way he was in love with her. That night of passionate lovemaking back in Queenstown was a product of misunderstanding and lust. It would never amount to anything like love. Yes, she had decided. Her child would be hers alone. She would raise her child alone. If the father of her baby was a Casanova, she preferred not to have one at all. For the next seven months, her baby would be her first priority, the only thing that would occupy her thoughts.

  Chapter 3

  This wasn’t how she envisioned her day. It was supposed to be filled with baby thoughts. Waking up to be bombarded by her friends was fine. Then having morning sickness was fine too, since it was the normal symptoms of pregnancy. But receiving the call from Anton’s assistant stating that the presentation she was to give that afternoon was to be postponed—it had ruined all her plans. And then the true icing on the cake, just to ruin her mood even further, she’d also discovered she was on the front cover of E Magazine, her face smooched up to Hunter’s.

  Ahhhhh. How embarrassing. Headache, headache, headache. It was all that Casanova’s fault. If he hadn’t blasted out his confession on the microphone for the whole world to hear, then she wouldn’t be in this predicament.

  But why was she blaming him? It was her fault too. If she hadn’t succumbed to his temptation that night, she wouldn’t be in this mess.

  Looking at her image now, she couldn’t believe how a desire for one single sperm ended up producing this kind of result.

  Why E Magazine? Why the world-renowned magazine? Now everyone was going to know she was that Casanova’s latest conquest. She was sure Hunter wouldn’t be affected by this drama since he was labeled the number one Casanova of the year in Australasia, but it was her, the innocent thirty-year-old woman who had always led a sheltered life. Now how was she to show her face? And what of her reputation? The dental community was a tightknit society, and one flicker of flame, like her news right now, would spread like wildfire, even across to Australia. And her parents, what would they think of her when they found out? Their only daughter was now some young man’s paramour.

  And then there was Max.

  Max, that rascal cousin of hers, had been texting her every three minutes, apologizing, and had even threatened that if she didn’t reply he would start calling instead.

  Ah, she doubted it. Max was away on campus, thank heavens. Otherwise, there would be no peace and quiet.

  Clarice massaged her temples to dispel the headache that was coming on.

  Baby thoughts, baby thoughts—she should focus on baby thoughts instead of this wasteful drama. What to buy? Where to buy? There were so many stores that sold baby accessories nowadays. Maybe she should start first with stocking up on nappies.

  Suddenly, her phone rang.

  “Cuz!”

  “What?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re forgiven.”

  Then she slammed the phone down.

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nbsp; She swore if there were another distraction right now, she would breathe fire. Now back to baby thoughts and more massaging of her temples.

  Should I start buying those ABC books? Maybe I should start collecting them now so when my baby comes into the world, I’m all prepared. She chuckled at the thought.

  At that moment, the phone rang again. And she snapped.

  That’s it, Max. You’re getting it now.

  “What is it? Didn’t I tell you to leave me alone?”

  “Chantee, is that you?”

  Oh, help! It was her mum.

  “Mum, is that you?” She spoke softly again, remembering it was her mum and not her cousin that had caused this havoc.

  “Chantee, what happened?” her mum asked, her voice slightly breaking due to the phone service in the remote part of Cambodia. “How did you end up all over the internet?”

  My news is all over the internet now? She swallowed in fright.

  Of course, why wouldn’t her news be on the internet? It was the twenty-first century, for heaven sake. If her news had been published on E Magazine, of course the media would post it up online.

  How stupid can you get, Clarice? She whacked herself on the forehead.

  “What news are you talking about?” she asked her mum, hoping it wasn’t her news about Hunter’s confession.

  “About the heir to Silverton Enterprises,” her mum told her. “What’s all that about sleeping again?”

  Oh dear, how was she going to tell her mum this? She hadn’t even told her yet about her pregnancy and now this. But before she could control her mouth, it stupidly decided to surprise her by saying, “I’m in love, Mum, and we’re having a baby together.”

  Dear heavens, shut your mouth, Clarice!

  “You’re in love?” her mum asked in astonishment. “And a baby on the way too?”

  Oh God, oh God, Mum is going to lash out at me now.

  She sat swallowing, her throat dry, waiting for that impending moment when her mum would reprimand her for sleeping with a man before marriage, since this wasn’t the traditional Cambodian way, but all she heard was the sound of laughter and giggling.

  “Chantee, I’m so happy for you, honey.” Her mum laughed. “I can’t wait to get back home to see you.”

  “Mum, you’re not mad?” she asked cautiously, just in case it was all an act before her mum came out with a tsunami of advice about getting pregnant before marriage.

  “Why would I be mad?” her mum asked. “You’re at the age now where you can decide for yourself. All that matters now is you love him and are faithful to him and him to you, of course. Oh, and my first grandchild too. I’m so excited. I can’t wait to come back to see you, Chantee, but your father and I have to go to another village and won’t be back for another four months. Is that okay? Could the girls and Max look after you for me? I promise to be quick and come back to help you.”

  “Oh, Mum, I’m fine. I’m only four weeks pregnant now,” Clarice replied.

  “Yes. Oh, you take care, Chantee. I have to go now. Your father is urging me again. We have to hurry. I have to tell your father all about the good news. I wonder what’s on the agenda next. Marriage?” she heard her mum mutter to herself randomly. And then with a quick, “Bye, dear, and I can’t wait to meet your partner,” her mum was gone, leaving her with mountain-sized guilt when she realized she’d just lied to her mum about being in love with Hunter.

  Oh, this was bad. Really bad. How was she supposed to bear this weight of guilt on her shoulders?

  Clarice sat silently on the couch, staring out into space, assessing her feelings for Hunter, all thoughts of baby books vanished to the back of her mind. There was definitely no denying it. She had a strong craving for Hunter.

  Yes, it was lust. Pure hormones. A byproduct of her imbalanced hormones wreaking havoc because she was pregnant. But could it also be love?

  No, of course not. How could someone love someone that much younger than them? Well, age was no factor in general, but it was to her. She wanted her man to be older than her. Then there was also the time factor. They’d only known each other less than four months. It was way too short for her to develop any sort of deep affection for him, especially since she despised all men that were Casanovas.

  Speaking of Casanovas, that guy should be given a trophy. She couldn’t picture herself raising a child with the likes of him. One night here, one night there. Oh, it was too much of a headache. She was sure a person like Hunter wouldn’t want to bind himself to her just for the sake of their baby.

  Clarice calmed down and her gaze flittered to the front cover of E Magazine. Suddenly she had the urge to kiss Hunter, even in his picture.

  “Oh, it’s all because of you.” She jolted awake from her delirium and jabbed her finger at Hunter’s face on the magazine. “You! You! You! You’re the one who made me feel like this. You’re the one who made me lie to my parents, and now Mum expects me to introduce you to them. What am I going to do?” She fumed at the magazine. “It’s all your damn fault.” And then because she was so pissed off with her own behavior, she threw the magazine across the room, wishing it would burst into flames. Except it didn’t. It only lay neatly on the floor.

  “Arrgghhhh.” She stomped to the pick up the magazine again and tossed it out the window.

  Be gone! Out of my sight!

  But then she heard a loud cry from outside, like someone had been hit with a flying object.

  Who is it? Who’s out there?

  Wanting to know who had trespassed on her property, Clarice wandered to the open window and poked her head out. Her eyes scanned the surroundings. There was no one. Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door.

  “Who is it?” she called out.

  “It’s me, Hunter. Open the door.”

  “Hunter?” Her heart jumped when she heard his voice. She ran to the door and peeked through the eyehole. Standing there drumming his feet like patience wasn’t one of his virtues was that playboy in the flesh.

  Help! Her pulse just shot through the roof. No, I’m fine. I’m just fine. She calmed herself down. The door was between them so she should be fine. She should be safe from that indecent yearning.

  She inhaled deeply, trying to calm her breathing pattern, and then yelled through the door, “What the hell are you doing here?” Oh my Lord, I swear. “What do you want? You’ve caused me enough damage already. Go away.”

  “Clarice, open your door right now,” Hunter demanded impatiently, banging on the door again.

  “No!” she shouted back.

  “I said open this door,” Hunter demanded again. “If you don’t, I’m going to smash it open with my bare hands.”

  “As if.” She laughed, knowing full well that Hunter could never break through her front door. “That’s pure mahogany,” she shouted. “Now go away. I don’t ever want to associate with you again.”

  “Open this door right now, Clarice,” Hunter repeated, his voice increasing by another octave. When Hunter only heard her laughing, he shouted, “Fine, I’m going to smash open this door now.”

  “Go ahead. Smash it,” Clarice challenged.

  “Okay. Here goes,” Hunter said. “One! Two!”

  He’s really going to come in? Clarice blinked at the startling realization. That man isn’t lying?

  As she waited for the third number to be called out, all she received was the sound of the wind howling. She waited for four more seconds. Well? A little piece inside her felt disappointed, such a contrast to what she should be feeling, which was a sense of relief, knowing now he was gone.

  So Hunter is nothing but a little coward, she thought when she opened the door to confirm her suspicion. And she was right. Hunter was nowhere to be seen.

  All words but no action. Typical of a classic Casanova.

  “Huff,” she puffed out in annoyance. “Stupid Casanova.”

  As she was about to turn back into the house, a hand came over to clamp her mouth shut and pulled her back inside the house
.

  “Let mmme go. I said let meee goooo.” Clarice managed to draw out her shout while being captured.

  Her captor wouldn’t let her go so she used the one ultimate woman strength she possessed: her teeth. Opening wide, she bit into flesh.

  “Owww,” her intruder howled. And when she turned around, it was none other than Hunter, standing right before her with no door or wall to separate them.

  Heaven help me! Like an unexpected shot jabbing into her forearm, she felt a sizzle electrocuting her when she looked at Hunter. This sensation tortured her so much that her heart jumped and started beating heavily against her ribcage, followed by a sudden yearning to touch those lips again.

  “Wh… what are you doing here? How did you get in?” she asked in surprise and agitation.

  “Your window, Avocado.” Hunter flicked his eyes to the open window while continuing to blow his hand gently. “God, you have such sharp fangs.”

  “I am a periodontist.”

  “More like a vampire lusting for her mate.”

  “What did you say?” she scolded. “And what are you doing here? I don’t remember giving you permission to enter my property. Didn’t I tell you I don’t want to see you again? You have embarrassed me enough.”

  “I’m here to claim what is rightfully mine. And I’m taking it with me,” Hunter declared.

  “What is rightfully yours?” she asked, aghast. “What belongs to you in this house?”

  “My baby,” he announced.

  Clarice gasped for breath.

  His baby? What does that Casanova mean by his baby? As in his baby in my womb?

  A sudden pink blush blossomed on her cheeks once she realized what he meant. Now wait a minute…

  “Your baby?” She giggled like she found the whole subject funny, which in truth, she was just trying to hide the uneasy feeling gnawing at her. That was so unexpected. Never in a million years could she imagine Hunter spouting a line like that. “Excuse me? But this baby belongs to me. And my baby stays with me.”

  No way, José, not in a million years would she give up her baby just because Hunter said so.

  “Well, then you’re coming with me,” Hunter said instead and went to grab her hand, dragging her towards the door again.