CHAPTER FOUR

Chris stared at his mom for a while, trying to understand what she was saying. "What are you talking about, Mom?" 

"That, that..." Chris looked to the side and realized that his mother was talking about Mia.

"You mean Mia? You know her?" Chris cocked his head to the side confused. 

There was no way his mother knew Mia.

She'd been in France all her life, and his mother had never smelt the border of France, not to talk of ever visiting, so how would she.

"Of course I do. You're always posting her all over social media. She's a model, is she not?" Mrs White asked her son. 

Chris sighed with relief, "Of course. Yes mom. I'd like you to meet Mia, my girlfriend." He said with a lot of love shining in his eyes. 

"That's a joke right?" Mrs White cocked her head to the side and Mia could see the resemblance between mother and son. 

"Pardon?" Mia asked. 

"It's a joke. There's no way she is your girlfriend." Mrs White tried to clarify with her son. 

Chris nodded with a smile, "Apologies, my mistake. I mean, fiancee." 

"Very well then, let's get to know the lady."

They made their way to the dining area and started ordering. 

The waiter came and served them and they were all discussing Mia's life and so far were impressed.

"So Mia..." Mr White trailed off.

"Are your parents also from France?" He asked l.

Before she could reply, Mia felt something and started coughing it out. "OMG!" She gasped. "Is there meat in this? I can't have meat."

Chris looked at her with a confused expression on his face and replied, "The food you ordered had to have meat in it, Mia."

She scoffed, "You know I can't have meat."

"Are you a vegetarian?" Mrs White asked.

"No, I have a cover shoot and I have to look great. Do you want me looking all chubby like you or something?" She asked and Chris's eyes opened wide.

"Mia!" He called.

"What? She looks great but I can't look like her. I would lose everything I've worked for. And can someone get me a waiter?"

Mrs White was trying to maintain her composure and Chris was feeling embarrassed at the moment. The waiter arrived.

"How may I help you?"

"Why did you serve this with meat?" She inquired.

He laughed. "The dish you ordered needs meat in it. You can't eat it without meat in it," he explained.

"False," she responded. "Back in France, I never had this dish with meat. Do you know that you almost ruined my career? You know I can get you fired for it."

"Mia, stop it!" Chris cautioned her.

"Baby, he tried to ruin everything I worked for. He deserves to rot in jail in fact this restaurant deserves to close -"

"For the last time, stop it!"

She realized he was being serious and decided to stop it. "You got lucky," she scowled at the waiter.

Mia grinned at Chris and Mrs. White was just brewing with silent anger. 

"If you're trying to play ignorant, I understand but that lady can't be your fiance." 

Chris looked at his mother with a frown, "I don't think I understand, mother." 

"When your father asked you to come back home, it was to take over the business and settle down. We both have the perfect image of our daughter in-law and this woman doesn't cut it." 

Mia felt her heart sink to the bottom of her stomach. 

Chris glared at his mother, "She has a name, it's Mia. And yes I will marry her." 

"No, you will not." It was his father's turn to speak now. "Are you trying to argue with your mother?" 

"Yes I am. If it's about Mia, I will." He deadpanned. 

Mia placed her hand in Chris's trying to show his parents that they were a united front but that was a mistake.

Mrs White immediately saw it as Mia controlling her son against her, "Can't you see it? She's not meant for you! She doesn't have the grace or the aura of a Daughter of the White family. No matter how rich we are, we've always been humble and we preferred that legacy be carried on."

"Mom, you just met her. You haven't even given yourself the chance to know her yet." Chris argued. 

"I don't need to. If I do, I'm sure I'll hate what I find beneath her beautiful skin and fake smile the most." 

Chris sighed. "Today was a very hectic day for me and I did not expect to come back home to this. So excuse me, I'd like to go to my room. We can have this discussion tomorrow when you're calm. Goodnight." Chris clutched Mia's hand tighter and pulled her along with him as he stormed to his bedroom. 

Mia felt like her entire world was crashing, she was on the verge of tears. 

Chris cupped her cheeks and placed his forehead against hers, "Please don't cry. You know I can't handle it." 

"I'm sorry." Mia said, trying to control her tears, "It's just that...I didn't expect your mom to not like me. Is it my attitude or job? I can quit-" 

"You will not quit." Mia said with a low hum. He would never tell Mia to quit something that made her happy. 

It was her lifelong dream to be a model and he would support her every step of the way. She still didn't understand that it was her attitude that cost her the privilege of making a first impression.

"Don't worry, my parents are not exactly open-minded. I'm sure that the more time you spend with them, the more they'll get to see the real you. I fell in love with you." He pecked her lips and pulled her in for a hug. "For now, let's ignore them and focus on us. Why don't you cuddle me tonight, hmm? Your husband-to-be is extremely tired." He said with a smirk and she giggled shyly. 

That night they slept in each other's arms feeling good about the next day. 

But what Chris promised Mia never came. Mr and Mrs. White still hadn't warmed up to her after a week of her arrival. Mia tried everything she could but the old couple were just hell bent on making life hard for her and Ben. 

Chris didn't have a day of rest, his mom or his fiancee always had something to complain about and it was starting to mess with his head. 

_________________

"I'm moving out!" He announced one day during dinner. 

"What!" All three of them at the table chorused. 

"What do you mean by moving out son? Don't you like the mansion?" Mr. White asked. 

"It's not the mansion. It's the energy around it. 

Mia isn't welcome here and it's obvious that you will not be accepting our relationship anytime soon and I can't deal with the constant bickering. 

So I'm moving out. I already got my own apartment ready and I'll move in with Mia. 

You're free to visit whenever you like but you have to put your disdain for our relationship outside before you walk in.

"Are you seriously setting rules for me and your mother?" His father glared at him and Chris glared right back. 

"Yes I am. I will not stand by and watch you both hurt the woman I love." Chris replied, cutting through his steak. 

Mrs White sighed, "Alright. If that is what you want, we won't stop you anymore." 

"We won't?" Mr. White asked. 

He trusted his wife's instinct and he was shocked to see that she was backing down easily. 

"Yes, we won't. I just hope it doesn't become too late for you to realize just how much of a mistake you're making." She smiled at her son and stood up from the dining heading to her bedroom, her husband following right behind her. 

"Did we do the right thing?" Mia asked as she stared at Ben with concern. 

"We didn't do the wrong thing." He replied

CHAPTER 5

Two weeks! Two weeks of successfully avoiding Mr. White, my boss and fate slaps her in the back with a fucking 'pick-me' tag. Although it wasn't that hard because he was always cooped up in his office with his girlfriend, Mia, a super hot model with an hourglass figure that would shame even an hourglass itself. 

She was always visiting him and walking around with this air of pride and making everyone else feel like the gum beneath her shoes, at least Mary was the one feeling attacked the most. 

The lady was always trying to get Mr.White's attention, it was so obvious and soon, she'll probably get fired. Not even her sugar daddy, Andre will be able to save her. 

She was on her way from getting extra hard papers for letterheads from the storage room when Brian a fellow co-worker, stopped her. Brian is a cute guy with your regular boy-next-door vibes.

 His charming looks and dimple smile would melt any girl's heart. Perhaps she just saw too much into him and hated his narcissistic behavior, the reason for her regular decline every time he asked her out on a date. 

"I understand that you're playing hard to get, but it's been months, Sophia. Will you really not give me a chance? Don't I meet your standards?" He asked and he was oozing so many red flags she could make a whole bucket of red paint. 

"I'm not playing hard to get. You're the one with a hard skull that can't seem to understand the word 'NO'. Stop bothering me, Brian. I don't want to receive a query because of you." 

She tried to walk away from him but he held her hand and pulled her back, causing her to crash against him. Their chest presses together and his hand wrapped around her waist. 

"What the hell are you doing! Let go!" She whisper-yelled.

"I don't-"

"Hey! What do you guys think you're doing!" 

They both looked to their side and saw Chris ...fuming. Brian immediately let go of her and began to explain himself. 

"Save it. I'm guessing you have too much time on your hands. Report yourself to HR and tell them I said to give you the China project. I want the report on my desk by Monday, am I clear?" His voice boomed and she was thankful he didn't direct that impossible-to-achieve assignment to her

. 

"Yes sir." Brian stammered and he swore his legs looked jelly. 

"Good, failure to do that and be ready to tender your resignation letter. Get out of my sight!" 

Brian scurried away and she immediately glued my gaze to the floor when she felt Mr. White glaring at her.

"You, come with me." 

She didn't look up until she heard him walking away. She followed him until they got to his office. Thankfully, his girlfriend wasn't inside.

"If you have so much time on your hands to keep an office relationship then-"

She shouldn't have but she couldn't help herself, so she cut him off. "I'm not. He was forcing himself-"

"I don't care. From now on, you're my secretary and will only report to this floor and to my office." 

"Sec-secretary?" She stammered.

"Yes, do you have a problem with that?" 

His previous secretary got married and was moving to the other side of the country. Andre had asked everyone interested in the position to apply, she hadn't. 

"I didn't apply." She said, 

"You didn't have to. A lot of people recommended you. So go to my receptionist, she has thirty minutes to show you around, then report back with the shipping industry file." He said with a dismissive wave. 

And that is how she ended up working with Chris White till early dawn. 

She was too scared to sleep because she was worried he would fire her for slacking but after dousing more than ten cups of caffeine and yawning like she was making an album, she dozed off on the couch with different files scattered around her. 

___________________

It felt soft and wet and...

It felt like someone was kissing me and the realization made me snap my eyes open. I came eye to eye with Chris glaring down at me. 

"Sleeping on the job?" He curled an eyebrow and she stood up immediately bumping their foreheads together. 

"Ow!" She exclaimed, rubbing it hard. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I was-" 

"No excuses. I'll let you off this time. We're done anyway, you can leave." 

He said and walked into the room in his office while she touched my lips, it felt...moist. 

Had she imagined the kiss? She was starting to think she was going nuts. 

On my way home since Chris gave me three hours to get back to work, she kept thinking about her new position and how it would affect my work life with Chris.

She couldn't even reject it because he gave it to her and secondly, the pay was actually far better than her previous salary. 

She came up with a different plan to avoid him and so far, so good. 

The tension and awkwardness was still there but most times they were able to push it aside and focus on our jobs. On so many occasions, Mia would glare at me and sometimes she even asked Chris why Sophia was working in the same office as him.

Insecure much?

Sophia ignored her and her deadly stares and focused on her work. 

__________________

Weeks later and it was supposed to be her first pay after being promoted but she fell sick. 

She had been planning for months what she would do with the money and how she would spend the entire day shopping with her best friend but I ended up in the hospital instead. 

"What's wrong with her doc? Does she have the flu?" Kira, her bestie asked with that motherly concern of hers. 

"I'm sure it's nothing. Stop worrying so much." Sophia rolled my eyes at her and she glared at her.

"She's actually right, Miss. Your friend is fine. In fact, it's a thing of joy." The doctor said with a smile. 

Kira raised an eyebrow, "Her illness is a thing of joy?" 

He nodded, "Yes, because she's actually th

ree weeks pregnant." 

"What!" 

"What!" They chorused at the same time. 

Oh no!

CHAPTER 6

"And why do you want to abort it?" Kira asked, while I paced around the room.Im she couldn't believe that this was even a question.

She stared at her like she had grown two horns. "What do you want me to do? Go to Mr Chris's office and say: Hey sir, remember that night we fucked? Yeah, I'm pregnant now and you're the father."

She let out an awkward laughter, trying to calm herself down but nothing was working. Kira knew that she couldn't force Sophia to do what she doesn't want too but she believed Chris deserved to know.

Kira took a deep breath, sighed and touched her by the shoulder. "You should tell him about it and if he doesn't want it then you can decide whatever the hell you want to," she said.

Sophia scoffed, walking away from her. "Are you saying that I need his permission? My body, my choice, Kira," she stated.

Kira knew there was no use fighting it. Her friend has made her decision and the best thing she could do was to support her and let her make her decisions.

"You're right. I'm sorry," she apologized. 

"You can go ahead and abort the baby. I would support whatever decision you make but I can't promise I won't do anything," she said.

A smirk formed on her lips. Sophia looked at her with an obscure expression, trying to figure out what kira meant. "What do you mean by that? What are you going to do?"

Kira shrugged. "You'd just have to find out."

Sophia didn't have time to worry about Kira. She called the hospital and scheduled an appointment for an abortion. Her heart kept racing fast at the thought of removing her child. A part of her wanted to go against all thoughts and tell Chris about it but she dismissed the thoughts quickly.

    Sophia woke up very early in the morning, doing her usual morning routine and then left for the hospital. She sat in the waiting room, waiting for her turn, her breath quickened as panic set in.

"You look very young to be aborting a baby," she heard someone say beside her. 

Sophia was trying her best to hide that she was pissed. The last thing she needed was a lecture. "And what are you? The moral police? You're here too, so why are you judging?" She snarled at her, much more to her surprise.

The lady was taken aback. Her stomach was starting to show and a little part of Sophia kept wondering why she wanted to abort if she kept the baby this long.

"You're wrong, dear. I'm not judging you, I don't know your story and I have nothing against abortion. I just wondered why you want to abort, especially since you look like you'd make an exceptional mother."

The lady stared at her, caressing her little bump softly. It was starting to creep Sophia out. "Why don't you tell that to yourself? You're pregnant too."

Her reaction changed, she tried to blink back her tears but Sophia could see her eyes getting moist. "It's not my choice to make and I don't want my baby to suffer. Sometimes, loving is letting go," she cried.

Sophia was dumbfounded, a million thoughts going through her head. "Is it financial trouble?" She inquired, intrigued by her story.

The lady shook her head. "No, in fact my husband and I are doing well financially," she responded. "But during an ultrasound we found out that my baby has a brain tumor with no cure. I couldn't bring him to the world knowing he'd suffer and it hurts me deeply to do this but I have too."

She didn't hold back anymore and started crying. Sophie went to her, caressing her back gently. She didn't realize when she started crying too.

"It's okay. You'd be fine. You'd get through it and I know your baby would be happy with your decision. He'd understand that you did it out of love," she consoled her.

Her sobs got calm. She let go of Sophia, wiping her tears. "My husband said the same. He didn't want any abortion but I convinced him, he's here but he's filling out the necessary documents at the counter," she explained.

Sophia felt a pang of pain in her heart. Although the woman was in pain, she had the best support system. She caressed her stomach gently. Was she really ready to be a mother?

Listening to the woman's story touched her and she decided to keep it. Maybe, just maybe it'd be worth it. She could raise her child on her own, she didn't need Chris.

"I think I'd keep my baby," she said, a smile appearing on the woman's face. "It's not going to be easy but I think I can handle it and my baby deserves to live. It's not his or her fault they're here, it was mine."

The lady clasped her hands in hers. "Whatever you choose to do. Do it for you and I'd support whatever you want," she told her.

Sophia smiled and got up. "I think you were God sent to me honestly," she chuckled softly. "And I'm glad we met."

"I pray everything goes well and I'm sure God will give you another baby soon, ma'am," she said.

The lady managed to smile. Sophia hugged her one last time and walked out of the hospital. Her heart was racing as thought of what to do next crossed her mind.

Then it hit her. She was really going to be a mother. It felt surreal and exciting at the same time, she couldn't wait to tell Kira. She didn't know how yet, but she was sure she'd be able to do it.

A call entered her phone and she saw that the caller was Kira. She picked it up. "Kira, guess what? I'm keeping the baby," she squealed.

"That's great news," Kira replied. "But I might have done something that you don't like but in my defense, I have you a heads up."

Sophia smiled vanished. "What did you do?"