“Just to be clear, Mr. Singh… You speak English, right?” Stephen asked after exchanging handshakes with the Indian man who had just arrived at their house.

“Yes Sir, I am bilingual,” the man replied in a funny accent and Stephen chuckled.

“Well, that is fair enough,” he replied, ignoring the fact that the man had missed “am”. As long as he could pass the message correctly, Stephen had no problem with his English.

Come to think of it, weren’t the Indians colonized by the British? Doesn’t that automatically make English an official language in their country, or so the billionaire CEO thought.

“Please come with me, Mr. Singh. You are here at the right time, my family is waiting to meet you.” he announced as he turned back towards the house.

“It will be my pleasure, Mr. Gay.” He replied.

Stephen coughed immediately. “Um… sorry, but it is Mr. Gray.” He turned back and corrected immediately.

“Yeah, that’s what I said.” The man replied with a smile.

Stephen scratched his head and turned awkwardly. Okay, maybe he should also overlook this one, but he was certain he heard the word gay, and not like he was homophobic or something, but he would prefer his last name to be called appropriately.

“Okay, you know what? Just call me Stephen; that should do just fine,” he instructed and Mr. Singh nodded with a smile.

“Sure, I will call you whatever you want, Mr. Gay.” He said.

“Oh shit! Never mind, just come with me,” Stephen said hurriedly and then headed towards the building, the man followed him immediately.

Domenic better be sure that this man here was the professional he claims to be, because how does he not know how to pronounce the word Gray? If all Indians sounded that way, then Stephen knew for a fact that he would ever be stepping foot in that country. Maybe it was just something with the man’s tongue. If it was a disability, then maybe it should be ignored.

Stephen walked into the family’s major sitting room and met everyone there, his mother, his father and his fiancée, as well as his little sister who had chosen to join the crew; surprisingly, she was sober today.

“Alright everyone, this is Mr. Singh Maharaja or something like that, I am not familiar with the last name. Just call him Mr. Singh for short, he is going to be the event planner for the upcoming wedding.”

“What wedding?” Laura asked immediately and furrowed her eyebrows.

“Huh?” My Singh gasped with wide eyes. “There is no wedding? I thought you said there was a wedding? I flew all the way from New York city down to this place.”

Stephen sighed and rubbed his forehead; these two were going to give him a fucking migraine. “Yes, Mr. Singh, there is a wedding. Don’t mind my sister, her memory works best when she is drunk.” He replied.

“Oh… Okay, I am glad that there is one, because if there is no wedding, then I will just have to make one happen anyway,” he uttered in that hilarious accent and the family burst into laughter.

“Oh, I like this one,” Laura said immediately with a smile.

“Yeah, whatever… just don’t distract him, he is here to work… you know how important this wedding is to me,” Stephen warned her.

“Well, it isn’t to me. I don’t even like her.” Laura announced.

“Hey, I am right here!!” Jenny yelled.

“Oh, sorry your highness, I didn’t see you there.” Laura taunted in mockery.

“Okay, enough you two. Laura, you either behave or leave us alone.” Mrs. Gray warned.

“Oh, I was going to grab a bottle anyway. Apparently, I am only useful when I am drunk,” Laura said and scoffed at Stephen. She walked towards Jenny and flung her hair at Jenny’s face before going up the stairs.

Stephen sighed and turned back to the wedding planner. “Um, I am sorry you had to see that, Mr. Singh”

“Huh? What are you sorry about? I love family drama? This is just perfect, I will choose it over a boring wedding any day and any time,” he replied and laughed childishly.

Stephen growled softly and clenched his fist. Where did Domenic find this man? If he was wrong about Mr. Singh here being the best of the best, then he might have his Mexican ass kicked back to Sicily.

“Anyway, meet my family. This queen over here is my mother, the quiet old man beside her is my father, and this princess is my soon to be Queen. She is the bride, so please work with them to achieve the best results ever. I want this wedding to be talked about for decades, okay?” he instructed.

“Wow, what a beautiful family you have got here.” Mr. Singh said jovially and blew a kiss at them.

Jenny blushed. “Okay, I might have to agree with you sister on this one, he is cute, I like him!”

“Good, then I guess things are going in the right direction.” Stephen uttered.

Mr. Grey senior sighed and stood up, he walked to Mr. Singh and extended his hand for a handshake. “Welcome to our home, Mr. Singh, and forgive my son’s manners. He only knows how to do business, but is very terrible at treating guests. Please have a seat while I ask the servants to get you some juice or alcohol if you prefer.” He said with a smile and pointed to a cushion after the handshake.

Stephen sighed and rolled his eyes. How would he remember to offer a seat when there is so much drama in the family? He had other things to think about; that was his defense but of course he kept it all to himself.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Gay… it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Jenny burst into laughter immediately and Stephen sighed. “Just ignore that father, I already had that conversation, nothing is going to change.” Stephen said immediately as he knew his father intended to correct that last name.

Mr. Gray senior smiled and then nodded. “Sure, please have a seat Mr. Singh,” he offered again and the wedding planner did as instructed.

Stephen also found himself a seat to avoid being the only one standing, his father signaled the butler who wasn’t standing far away to serve them drinks and off he went without hesitating.

“So, like I was saying… I want this wedding to be the talk of the town, so mom and Jenny, please work hand in hand with Mr. Singh and his team, which I believe will be arriving soon, will provide everything that is required. Do not hesitate to inform me or Domenic of whatever that is needed, because as you know, I won't always be around in the following weeks. Mr. Singh here has assured me that his team will take care of everything, starting from the venue to the food and drinks and entertainment, all we need to do is provide the finance which thankfully is not a problem.” Stephen announced.

“I know that Son, you don’t have to worry; this wedding will be a blast! Also, you should begin to reduce your responsibility in the office, you are getting married now and so you would need to cut off your workload and concentrate more on family building so your wife wouldn’t feel neglected. You are the CEO, so you can assign some of your duties to other staff members or higher new people to do them. I must warn you, things are going to change after you get married, you better be prepared for the baggage of trouble that awaits you because that is exactly what marriage is all about.” Mr. Gray senior instructed.

“Huh? Are you saying that women are bags of trouble?” Mrs. Gray queried immediately, feigning anger.

“Come on honey, you can't pretend like your gender isn’t the reason for all the drama in marriage.” Mr. Gray replied with a smirk.

“Oh, so we are in trouble, huh? It is fine, just know that you are sleeping in the Dog house today,” Mrs. Gray fired.

Jenny burst into laughter immediately while Stephen smiled. He was glad that his parents still shared this bond ever since their marriage three decades ago. He began to imagine if his own would be like theirs, he very much wanted it to, but was Jenny really the right girl? Was he making the right choice?

Slowly, his mind drifted off to a place of imagination that he was completely lost and unconscious of his environment. He then began to think of the last two weeks, the scene with Ana was still fresh in his mind and it hasn’t stopped bothering him. He was getting married like he hadn’t just raped a girl two weeks ago. What if word about his actions spread out before his marriage day and ruin it, forget about his marriage, what about the girl herself?

According to her, he had ruined her life and that bothered him. Just three days ago, he had checked in with the hotel to know if she resumed work but the manager says differently, she never returned to that place ever since. A part of him was eager to know how she was doing, he couldn’t stop thinking about her, he couldn’t get that blurry night out of his head, nor the morning that followed. Her screams, her pleads to not be raped, her tears, it kept getting clearer with every new day, or maybe it was just his imaginative abilities adding more color to the scene, making it seem more realistic. In summary, he was being troubled by his actions and feared what the reactions might be.

“Stephen!!” he suddenly heard his father scream his name, jotting him back to consciousness.

“Yes Father.”

“Wow, you seemed really lost back there, what is going on? I know I said marriage was a baggage of trouble but it is not that bad,” his father teased.

Stephen smiled as a cover up and then he chuckled and nodded his head. “Sure father, I will try not to think much about it.” He replied.

“You are eating a lot these days, Ana. Ever since you quit your job, you tend to eat a lot, forgetting that you don’t do any jobs all day long.” Mrs. McCurry grumbled.

Ana sighed and looked down, cutting the piece of bread slowly; as much as she felt bad about her mother’s words, she knew her mom was right. She was eating a lot these days and growing fat as well. It has been a month since she quit her job and all she did all day was eat and sleep. Now she was growing so lazy that she could barely get up in the morning without persuasion.

“Mom, I am going to find a job, you don’t have to remind me of that all the time,” she replied softly.

“How do you expect me not to complain when you left the job that you had for no valid reason, you asked me to trust you but it has been a month already and all you do is eat and sleep while your father is toiling out there. You know you are over twenty years old, you shouldn’t even be in my husband’s house at this time. You should either be in your house or your husband’s house but since you do not want to find a good man but rather stick with that lowlife kid who can hardly take care of himself, this is what you will get from me all day, nagging!!” she said.

Anastasia sighed and decided to ignore her, she took a spoon and tried to scoop the hot soup but the moment the scent hit her nose, she felt sick in the stomach and put it down, and then she felt nauseous and ran off to the bathroom.

“Ana, are you okay?” her mother asked as she was running off but she ignored the lady completely and ran into the bathroom.

Ana got into the bathroom just in time to throw up, she was vomiting yellow liquid and felt pain in her abdomen. This was the second time today, and fifth time this week. What could be wrong with her? Was she sick or something? Maybe it is because she wasn’t used to staying at home.

After spending minutes in the bathroom, Anastasia opened the door to meet her mother standing outside with a long face. “What is wrong with you, Ana?” she asked softly with a very suspicious look on her face.

Ana sighed and shook her head. “It is nothing mom, I am fine.” She replied.

“What do you mean you are fine? I saw you throwing up in the backyard last night, and now again today. What is wrong with you? Are you sick?” Mrs. McCurry queried.

Ana wiped the saliva off her lips and took a deep breath in for relaxation of her body, and then she looked up to her mom. “I don’t know, Ma. I have been feeling a bit feverish, very weak and nauseous these past days.” She announced.

“Days? And you never mentioned it to me? What other symptoms have you noticed, let's see if I can go get you some drugs at the nearby pharmacy.” She asked.

Ana once again sighed, “Um… I think fatigue and increased urination. Also, hot food seems to make me throw up, just like right now.” She answered innocently.

Her mother’s face dropped and a look of worry was etched on it, she carefully examined Ana from head to toe and back up to her chest. “Did you say hot food makes you throw up?” she asked, like she hadn’t heard it the first time.

Ana was hesitant at first, trying to understand the look on her mother’s face, she knew it wasn’t a good one, something had gone wrong. “Um… Yeah… yes mom, I think so.” She replied.

“Oh no, Anastasia has killed me,” she muttered and took a few steps backwards.

“What are you talking about, mom?” Ana asked and took a step forward.

Mrs. McCurry touched her breasts and gently squeezed it, Ana groaned softly in pleasurable pain. Once again, the middle aged woman shook her head and stepped back. “Did you see your menstrual cycle last month?” she asked softly.

“Um…No, but it is just four days late, there is nothing to be worried about.” Ana uttered immediately as she realized where her mother’s thoughts were going. She didn’t think it was the case; No! How can she be pregnant? It was just one time and she doubted he poured his seed in her. Also, this was not her first time of experiencing delayed period flow.

“Dress up, we are going to the hospital for a lab test immediately.” Her mother instructed.

“What? No mom, I will just get some drugs in the pharmacy and I will be fine,” Ana replied immediately as fear gripped her, she didn’t even want to think of the possibility that she was pregnant, it can’t be possible.

“I am not asking, Anastasia… I said "get dressed and follow me to the hospital right now, that is an instruction.” Mrs. McCurry half-yelled with a terrorizing look on her face.

Ana doubted she had ever seen her mother that scared before, but she understood why she was reacting that way. Mrs. McCurry had given up on her job in order to be a full housewife and focus on child raising. She wanted her daughter to make the family proud and be the breadwinner someday since she didn’t have a male son.

All she wanted was for Ana to attend all levels of education, get a good job and find a rich lovely husband. When Ana began to date Jake a few months back, she didn’t approve of it but Ana convinced her that she would do nothing to ruin the family name or bring disgrace to them. Mrs. McCurry trusted her upbringing, so she let her hang with him.

If it turns out that Ana was really pregnant, then it meant that all of her sacrifices had been in vain, not only had her daughter’s dignity been lost but her future too might be on its way down the drain. Everything the poor woman had worked hard to fight against; this wasn’t the life she wanted for her child.

Anastasia nodded and headed to her room to get dressed, her heart was beating vehemently in fear of the unknown. She hoped the lab test casts away her fear, because if it proved her mom right, then her life was ruined.

The silence in the McCurry house was haunting, Anastasia and her mom sat distances away but she could still feel the heat of the moment, the tension. As much as she was scared of her mom’s screams back at the hospital after the discovery, she was more scared of her mother’s silence.

Mrs. McCurry had been staring silently at her for the past thirty minutes and Anastasia suddenly wished that her mother was rather screaming, she knew what that silence meant; her mother was pissed beyond measure, she was disappointed and heartbroken, but did Anastasia feel any better?

She had just discovered or rather confirmed from the lab test that she was a month pregnant, and she knew it could only mean one thing; she was carrying the Billionaire CEO’s baby. Her baby’s daddy was Mr. CEO, the so-called most eligible bachelor of the city. How would she explain it to anyone? What would she tell her curious mother?

Anastasia could stop the tears from rolling down her eyes, she might have found a way to stay silent but there was no stopping the tears; her life had just taken a turn for the worse. After everything that happened to her last month, she thought she had seen the worst that could possibly happen to her, but little did she know that it was just the beginning of her misfortune.

Now she had not only lost her job, she had not only lost her dignity as a woman, her pride and honor, but she was carrying a baby for a man whose full name she didn’t even know, a man she had only seen once in daylight. A man she had no feelings for, nor did she know anything about him.

How would she explain to the world that she didn’t ask for any of this? How would she make them believe that she is not the disappointment her mother thinks her to be, and what about her father who is doing two shifts to put food on the table for an adult like herself and her mother. How would he have to deal with the arrival of another human into the family, the shame of having a pregnant unmarried daughter and the burden of it all?

The more she thought about these things, the more the tears flowed down her eyes. After what seemed like ages, her mother stood up from the cushion and walked up to her.

“Who is responsible for that thing you are carrying?” she asked in a solemn voice, one that terrified Ana regardless. Her mother was calm, and that wasn’t a good thing.

Ana swallowed hard and opened her mouth to speak but no words came out, she couldn’t find the courage to say it, and even if she did, would her mother believe her?

“It is that jobless kid, isn’t it? What is his name, Jake?” Mrs. McCurry queried.

Ana waved her head sideways immediately to signify a negative response to the question. “No Ma,” she replied with her head bowed, unable to look her mother in the eyes.

“What do you mean No? If it wasn’t Jake that got you pregnant, then perhaps I do not know you at all. When did my beautiful daughter become a whore? Why would you open your legs for any man? I know it is that useless kid, why are you trying to protect him at the cost of your own dignity. If you must have sex with him, why didn’t you do it with protection? Was he also too poor to buy a pack of condoms? Couldn’t he keep his stupid penis away till he was ready to marry you?” she fired.

“Mother!” Ana half yelled and then found the courage to look up. “I told you it wasn’t Jake, he isn’t the father of the baby,” she announced.

“What? If Jake isn’t, then who is?” she queried. “Tell me Ann, I really want to know what my daughter has been up to.” Mrs. McCurry insisted and folded her arms with curiosity etched on her face.

“It is complicated, mother.” Ana replied and wiped the tears off her face.

“Then you better simplify it and start talking right away.” She ordered.

Ana sniffed in and looked down to the floor once again, she was quiet while trying to summon the courage to break the news to her mother.

“It… it’s…. His name is…”

“Tell me the Bastard’s name already Ann, if it wasn’t Jake, who would you sell your dignity to?” Mrs. McCurry asked with a look of disgust on her face.

Ana burst into tears, she had never seen her mother talk to her that way before, she had really broken the woman’s heart and pushed her to the walls. From the tone of voice, she could tell her mother was pained by her actions, and who wouldn’t be? Only if they knew the true story.

“It is Stephen Gray, he is the father of my baby.” She finally summoned the courage to announce.

“Who is the bloody Stephen Gray and how did you meet him? Why did you allow him to use you? Why could you not close your legs to him? Did I raise you in this manner? I know you are an adult but you don’t get to do whatever you want while you live under my roof, so why have you done this to me, Ann?” she finally broke down in tears.

“I am sorry, mom… it wasn’t intentional,” Ana pleaded as she fell to her knees and crawled closer to her mom’s legs.

“I said tell me who this Stephen Gray is? Answer my questions, Ann.” The middle aged woman ordered.

“He… he is… He is…” Ana stuttered endlessly.

Mrs. McCurry sighed and shook her head. “I am disappointed in you, Anna. I regret every decision I have taken that displeased me in order to give you a better life. I will leave you to your father, you better be ready to talk when he returns.” She spat and walked away from the sitting room.

Ana lay on the floor and cried. She didn’t know how to tell her mother that she was sexually assaulted by one of the most successful young men in the country. It would cause a lot of drama if she said the truth. How would her mother react to knowing that she was raped and she kept it all to herself? How would her mother react to the fact that she quit her job for this reason and was silent about it the whole time? This would not sit well with her family, and they might choose to start a case against the Gray family which will only cost them more.

Ana has watched too many movies to know that a lawsuit against Stephen Gray would not favor her. These people owned the court and the police department, they had all the power and influence they needed to turn the story around.

Before she realizes it, the headline might read. “Lowlife miscreant tries to force pregnancy on billionaire CEO” she knew for a fact that what is left of her family image would be tarnished and they would suffer a huge blow financially. The law only works for the rich and so it was useless trying to start a fire that would burn them all.