Instead of surprising her husband with the news of her pregnancy during his birthday party, he ends up surprising her withdivorce papers and a lurking ex in the background. Will she drown or level up?
Chapter 1 Surprise!
Clara's hand lightly touched the beautiful diamond necklace that highlighted her collar bone, as she walked along the corridor taking one last look at the decorations. Jaden,her husband loved brown , hence the backdrops and every other decoration was in all shades of brown. She felt her soft palms dampen with sweat, her pulse raced, and her eyes blinked nervously as she heard his voice, responding to the butler's greetings. She looked at her reflection in the livingroom vanity one last time before proceeding to meet him.
"Surprise!" Everyone's voice echoed " Happy birthday!". Jaden smiled softly. Mrs Williams gave her son a warm embrace and patted his back "Wish you many more years son". He turned to look at Clara briefly, his blue icy stare scaring and mesmerising her all at once. His gaze went back to his mother and his sister, Arya, who'd also joined their mother and they teased him.
Clara felt invisible, as if she was an intruder, infiltrating and disturbing a happy family. She cleared her throat slowly, drawing their attention to her. Everyone went silent, even the music stopped playing. "Happy birthday honey" her voice was very low. She saw Jaden's smile change into a smirk as he sized her up from her toes to her head and down to her toes again. She felt her legs give way but she smiled bravely, her beautiful lips spreading on her equally cute face. "Thanks" Jaden muttered under his breath. "Dinner's served" the butler announced.
"Let's proceed to the table then" Arya said cheekily leading the rest to the elaborate dining room . They soon settled down to eat. Clara was still in the living room. Her legs felt as heavy as a log. The blanket of loneliness and dejection covered her. He didn't even acknowledge her efforts to pull off a surprise party for him despite her just being discharged from the hospital two days ago. Her mother inlaw and sister in law had taken all the glory and right now she felt like an invisible fool. So much for a marraige of security. She touched her belly lightly.
A smile crept on her face as she felt hope reignite inside her. There was one more thing left , to make Jaden appreciate and pamper her; she was pregnant and this was the perfect time to break the news. With this thought, went to join them.
She felt her husband's glare follow her slow movements. He winced as soon as her hand rubbed his as she got seated. Dinner was soon over and everyone was about to leave the table."Jaden, I need to talk to you", Clara's voice resounded. She knew it'd be difficult to have a private moment with him, so it was better to say ot in front of everyone. He sighed .okay what is it. His jaw tightened abit , highlighting his handsome face. "Wait, I'll go first." He added quickly as motioned to Brown,the butler and asked him to pass him his briefcase. Clara hesitated for a moment her heart racing, she managed to force the words from her mouth "I'm pregnant" her voice was so low, but it couldn't be any louder, as the entire livingroom went quiet, everyone gazed at her. Jaden had already brought the document out of the briefcase, but his wife's announcement hit him like a thunderbolt.
With the divorce papers in his hand, he couldn't stop himself from wondering how this woman that he hated so much was carrying his child after just one accidental encounter, which he was certain she'd taken advantage of his drunken state. He could see the shocked expressions on his mother's face, his sister and even the prying butler.
Clara felt her anxiety slip away , as a new wave of confidence washed over her. She couldn't believe that after two gruesome years, her beloved was smiling at her. She felt her exuberance peak as she imagined the man she fell inlove with cherish her like never before.
Jaden's phone beeped with a new message. He picked it up and scanned through it briefly, his smile spreading. He quickly regained his composure and faced Clara, reading her face briefly. He gave her the document from the briefcase and then sat on one of the luxurious sofas that adorned the living room, with one of his legs resting on the Hermes coffee table. Clara observed how devilishly attractive he looked in his bad boy posture.
She looked at the document and immediately she felt darkness envelope her, but she didn't faint. Her heart sank to the bottom of her body , while her hands trembled. She looked at the paper once again, as if hoping its contents would change. She wasn't surprised though, she'd expected it , but she'd hoped the news of her pregnancy would avert their separation.
"Why Jaden?" He voice shook, her eyes filling with warm wetness. " We were getting better, things started working out" . As the tears swept her cheeks, she could see him battling with his emotions. She could feel that her tears moved him, and that he'd give their ,marriage a chance. Just then the door bell rang. Brown, now completely immersed in the family's drama, rushed to answer the door.
In less than three minutes the sound of her kitten heels and the scent of her seductive feminine perfume filled the air as she walked in majestically. Her dress was modest yet elegant, her make up blended with her blond hair and blue eyes. Clara's mouth hung open, her heart constricted her eyes quickly went to her husband who was now walking towards this goddess, Cindy, his love, his heartthrob, his ex!