Two weeks later,Phoebe actually opened the boutique. She was able to get money off her other lovers and it was a big venture. She had made contacts all over Europe to get her the choicest materials and the latest fashions.

She did not want to star small. She knew that the success of her venture depended on how big the venture and diverse her goods were. Because of the calibre of clientele she was after. With her cusmetics business. It was an instant hit.

At least this was one good thing that had come from the encounter with Richard.

The memory of that day was like a nightmare she never wanted to remember. She still had apprehensions about Richard but after two long weeks and her busy schedule, she did not think much about him or the threat he posted too often.

She was busy making money and getting more clients and enjoying herself. She did not feel now the need to force Jason into marrying her but it had been her goal for so long that she decided she must still give it a try.

She had also noticed that Rebecca his ex wife was now working closely with him. She seemed to be working on a business deal with him. Their closeness did not disturb her like it used to.

Her opportunity came one day when Phoebe collapsed in her inner office after attending a client that was hard to please. It had been an exerting experience.

Her sales girl who had come to tell her about another client they were finding difficult to handle, saw her sprawled on the floor and called for help.

After checking on her, the doctor that had been summoned certified her pregnant.

Phoebe could not believe bot. How had it happened? And how was she to know who the father was?

But she did t need to think for too long when she was told how old the baby was.

' Congratulations. You are three weeks pregnant', the doctor had informed her when they were alone.

She knew that Romeo was responsible. She had become careless with her contraceptive since meeting with him and had not really been with her other lovers. She could not tell the reason for the life of her, except that she enjoyed his company quite a lot and his being poor did not faze her in any way.

'No one else must know this'. She whispered fiercely to the doctor.

'Of course. There is doctor - patient confidentiality. The news is yours to disperse as you do deem fit', the doctor smiled in understanding.

Phoebe smiled as well, in appreciation.

After the doctor left, Phoebe thought hard about what to do

She had previously planned to fake her pregnancy and tell Jason that he was responsible and convince him that when she found out, she decided to keep her distance but that she reconsidered that he had a right to know about his baby.

Of he ask her how she was sure it was his,she knew the answer to give him as well.

Now she didn't need to fake her pregnancy. It was real

The hitch was that it was not Jason's and she had to devise a means to make him accept it as his and do the right thing by her.

She felt her heart skip a beat be ause it would mean not seeing Romeo anymore and denying him his right to his child but Phoebe didn't think he would mind. She was actually sparing him the responsibility of being a dad because she was sure he was not ready yet to shoulder that particular responsibility.

She was enjoying her new business and if she could have spared herself this pregnancy then she would have but since it had already happened, she was going to use it to her advantage.

She was still contemplating this when Romeo stepped into the shop and her office and pulled her into his arms.

'What are you doing here?' she asked shocked that he may have overheard something. She didn't want him to know anything until she had finalized her plans and put it in motion.

'What's wrong?'

'You know that I have asked you not to come to this place. You can go anywhere you please and wait for me in the house of you please but you are not permitted to come here'.

'Is that so? And why is that? You enjoy my company both in and out of bed and yet you seem to be ashamed of me? You would rather not be seen with me? If you feel so strongly about it, why don't you call it quits with me? According to you, you really do not have a steady relationship and as far as I know,you really do not. Then what the heck?'

'That may be so, but you also know that I am planning on pinning Jason down and if he finds me with the likes of you, then my plans would be ruined. I thought that we spoke about this and had an understanding'.She said in her most reasonable tone.

Romeo was really hurt but was damned if he was going to let her know just how much her words had hurt him.

The past week, his feelings for her had increased. They had drawn closer to each other and he had started to habour the thought that maybe,just maybe she had forgotten all about Jason and would concentrate on having a serious relationship with him that could lead to anywhere. but he had been wrong to hope that she would forget about her obsession to become the lady of the manor and concentrate on love.

Yes,love. He didn't know if what he felt for her was love but he knew that he felt really strongly for her.

He had wanted to kiss her thoroughly because he had missed her terribly and it had been just a few hours since they had last been in bed together but her utterance had ruined his mood. His hands fell off her.

'You still have your cap set on Jason? Someone who does not feel anything for you? You would rather died trying to get him to make a commitment to you be it against his will or not, than find real love elsewhere? Is money really that important to you?'

he asked and could not mask the pain in his voice.

Phoebe heard it and was scared. She was not ready for another Richard because she felt that was what it would be. She was done with that episode in her life. Right now, she wanted to use the men for her ends and not allow herself to be used.

To discourage him and put herself right on track, she revealed what she had not wanted him to know at least not yet.

'It is not really the money. You see, I am carrying his child!' she blurted.

Romeo looked at her as though he had been struck by thunder. He could feel his hopes dashing.

'What did you say?' he whispered.

'I am pregnant with his child', she said softly.

Now that she had said it, she realised that there was no turning back.

Romeo was thunderstruck. This could not be.

'Did you say that you were pregnant with Jason's child?'

'Yes. How many times must I repeat myself? I know that this must have come as a shock to you but there it is. I was shocked myself when I found out. I had not really planned it's, she said and bit her tongue because she felt that she had just revealed herself to him. By her utterance, he must know that she wasn't sure who the father of the baby was.

'Stupid me. Instead of keeping my mouth shut. Now I have to answer more questions', she thought to herself. But aloud she said, 'I had wanted to get pregnant and trap Jason into marriage but I didn't know when it had actually happened until I fainted this afternoon and the doctor had to be sent for and she confirmed that I was a month pregnant'.

'A month? Are you sure of that?' he asked, hope shinning in his eyes.

'What do you mean, 'Are you sure? Of course I am sure. I just told you that the doctor just confir...'

'Yes the doctor confirmed that you are pregnant but are you sure she said you were a month gone? Are you certain it is not just a few weeks?'

'I do not know what you are driving at. A month, a few weeks, What difference does it make?'

'It makes all the difference. Now, how sure are you that the pregnancy is Jason's?'

'A woman always knows these things', she said getting scared. 'Snd I told you that I had been trying to get pregnant for him for sometime now. Do I take precautions with others but him'.

'And he who didn't want any commitment from you allowed that?'

'He was under the impression that I was on the pill. Which I was,just that I do not use it with him'.

'And that is how you knew that it is his? Have you considered the possibility that the baby could be mine?'

Now, Phoebe was really scared. This man was more shrewd than she had given him credit for bit she was not going to back down. She had not come all this way to be defeated' by another Richard.

'You think too highly of yourself. How do you suppose that I would allow myself to get pregnant for you?'

It hurt. It hurt really badly to hear her say that and Romeo wondered why he even bothered but he wanted this woman more than he had ever wanted any other in his life.

'Well, why not? What does Jason have that I do not apart from money and affluence?'

'There you go. I am tired of being poor. I have realised that a poor person is looked down on and trampled on even but one only has to be rich to get all the love and respect of the populace. Wealth gives one immunity against alot of things and I am done with poverty and anything that reminds me of that'.

'But with your business and my job, we could get by!'

:I don't want to just get by. I want to live a life of luxury'

'And if he tejects the baby or deny being responsible? Have you thought of that?'

'Then, the second phase of my plan will have to be initiated. I hope it does not come to that but then, I will make it go viral that he got me pregnant and denied any responsibility towards me. He wouldn't want that. Reputation is everything to him and he would not want anything affecting his business. Do he would have no option but to comply'.

'Are you really this cold hearted that you could plot this way against somebody and be ready to live with him in a loveless marriage? Because whatever little feelings he had got you will definitely flu out the window if you do what you are planning'.

'That is where you are wrong. And even if that were the case,the child would bind us

It would bring us together. How could he remain cold hearted after seeing his son or daughter?'

Romeo knew that she was right. It was only a devil who would see his child and still remain aloof.

He stormed off the office and went back home in anger.

Phoebe heaved a sigh of relief.

'That was close!' she said.

'She had to make preparations on how to visit Jason that evening with the good news. His reaction would determine her next line of action.

She could barely concentrate on her business that day. Her thoughts kept wandering.

She kept considering many scenario.

What if Jason jumps and hugs her at the news that he was going to be a father and proposes to her immediately?

Of course she would be filled with joy and know that her mission had been a very successful one.

What if he demanded proof that the child was his given their peculiar kind of relationship?

What would she do then? Agree to a DNA test? Paternity tests would reveal the truth and she would be exposed and her plans ruined.

We hat if he outright refuses to accept the paternity of the child on the ground as that he did not want a child out of any affair he had not committed himself to? Then she would make true her threat to go viral with the news but she would intimate him about it and would only go to the social media if he refuses to bulge and she did not care what the consequences were going to be.

And if he accepts paternity of the child but refuses to marry her but agrees to take full financial responsibility for the child?

That was good. At least she would have a money minting machine for a child that was not even his. It was good but not good enough but it was better that than outright rejection, wasn't it?

Then a really scary thought occured to her. What if he takes care of her till she gave birth but takes the child from her and pays her off. After all, the baby was his, according to the other of the baby.

And she knew that if he were to sue her for the custody of the child, he would definitely win. Except she decided to expose herself and reveal the truth. In which case all her plotting will have gone down the drain.

And of he ask her to get an abortion? She had no answer to that but she hoped that he would not even think about that.

Her lack of focus seemed to be hampering the sales, so she decided to leave the shop for her girls and go home to prepare with her whole being filled with apprehension, for the confrontation with Jason.

Dear Readers,

I wish to thank you for your continued patronage. I am very grateful.

Let me use this opportunity to introduce you to my other book, A Tragic Obsession. It is a must read. Set in Nigeria. About a girl with a sexual obsession and how she broke the hearts of alot of men that fell in love with her. She later went back after her first love but he had fallen in love with another woman. And she tries to do away with the competition.

Read on and find out if she succeeded.

Jason was not sleeping well these days. He could not believe that he was feeling this way about a woman who apparently did not feel the same way for him and who had been avoiding him.

He had been the one to avoid her before but the tables were turned now.

He wanted to see her more but she was not ready for that.

On one occasion, he had asked her if she was scared of him and she had denied it but that was the only logical explanation for the way she was acting towards him.

Another source of concern was that Rebecca was now working closely with him. She had come up with another business deal. He had at first been sceptical. thinking that, that was another way she was trying to get close to her but it turned out to be real and his competitors had been eyeing such a contract.

He had to accept to do it for her and those she was representing.

It had been very profitable this far. He had worked on the project relentlessly. Not only because that was how seriously he handled his business but because he also wanted to be distracted from his emotional turmoil.

On the one hand, Rebecca was still trying to get him into her bed while they worked together on the project and he could not wait to finish it so that she could be gone from him but most times he had had to smile and pretend that he enjoyed working with and for her.

Any on looker would think that they made a good team. He was careful though when they were not within prying eyes to put her in her place.

Having deduced this, she took advantage of making him feel very uncomfortable by getting close to him when they were in public. Making the press and others draw whatever conclusions they wanted.

This helped his business but kept him miserable. He tried to adopt a non challant attitude but the irritation of her constantly throwing herself at him in public places where he wanted to main his image of an impeccable gentleman held him back from embarrassing her but he did not know how long he would keep himself from making a scene. That was why he was anxious for the project to end as soon as possible.

On the other hand, was Nancy who must think that he was the flirt of the century.

'There is nothing between Rebecca and me. It is plainly business and work. Nothing personal', he had tried to explain to her one day after seeing her reaction at the way Rebecca had been a ting towards him in public.

He knew how it must look to her and getting her to trust him was already difficult. Add Rebecca's behaviour and one would understand that the distrust would only increase.

'It is none of my business what you do with her or with your personal life. It is your life and I cannot tell you how to live it'. She had said smiling and it had felt like a slap on the cheek.

He got home that fateful day, very tired. The time he had spent working on the project was really exhausting with Rebecca wiles.

He had made it clear to her times without number that she was just wasting her time but she just seem not to get it. She probably thought that if she kept coming close to him, it would rekindle the flame they,no he once foolishly felt for her.

A thought once occured to him. And that was that Rebecca must have noticed that he felt strongly for Nancy and was trying hard to make her jealous and come between then, hence ending any relationship they may have going. She would of course think that she, Rebecca had an edge over other women,having been married to him before and knowing it was like to be loved by him.

After his shower, he wanted to go straight to bed but found out that he was famished.

He was the type that rarely goes for lunch break.

He came downstairs and ring the bell for his dinner and was served immediately.

The cook and her help had been waiting for his summons.

He had barely finished his meal, when Phoebe was announced.

'Oh God. Not this too!' he thought to himself.

He felt that it was time he broke off with her. He was no longer interested in the relationship with her.

She came in and they exchanged pleasantries.

'Jason, it has really been so long. You seem to be avoiding me and I keep asking myself what I have done wrong'. she said.

'Well you know it is business and you of all people should know that, having started one of your own. You see how he tic it can be if you want to succeed. You have to put in your very best.

But what brings you here, I was just about to retire for the evening. I am more than exhausted'. He said yawning to drive home his point.

'Well then,I must not waste your time. I just have to say what I have come to say to you and leave so that you can have your rest'.

Jason thought that she was referring to the loan he had given her.

'If you are going to talk about the loan, you are free to use it till you are able to refund it. Afterall what are friends for but there is something that I seriously need to tell you'

It gave Phoebe pause and she decided to listen to him first before throwing her bombshell.

'What is it Jason, hope it is nothing to be concerned about?'

'Of course not. It is just that I would like for us to change our relationship and be platonic friends. Let's stop seeing each other. I am not comfortable having any affair with you anymore. Let's just be friends from here on out. It is best. I do not think it is fair on you being in such relationship with me. You are still young and should find yourself a young man to get married to and have a family'.

Phoebe started thinking that he may know about Romeo. That must be the reason he was saying this. Setting her free to get married to her lover as though she wanted to be set free.

And Yes, she wanted to get married. Very much but not to just anybody but to him. To Jason. He had become her obsession.

'Why are you saying this? Have I done anything to annoy you?'

'No,no. You have not but this is a decision I have reached. Ours was a relationship that was open to other partners from the start. So now, I just don't feel inclined to continue and I thank God love is not involved, so that no heart is broken nor hopes crushed. We shall remain friends of course but that will be it and no more', he said decisively, not expecting any opposition.

'Well that's too bad because you see, I am already carrying your baby!' she said.

Nancy had come into the house and had wanted to talk to her boss about some issues about the office. As she opened the door to get in, she heard Phoebe's declaration and stood rooted to the spot.

Pregnant? With Jason's baby?