The Russian Billionaire’s Secret(66)
However, all of this internal discussion was pointless, Naomi realized, when she didn’t even know whether she was pregnant or not. Hence, she decided to go out and get herself a home pregnancy test. When she went out to get them, she got four just in case one of them was faulty or gave her the wrong reading.
When she got back home, she rushed to the bathroom. After using the home pregnancy test, she anxiously waited for the result. When she saw what it was, she threw the test in the bin and frantically reached for another one. She ended up using all four pregnancy tests but the result remained the same no matter how many times she did it or double checked.
Naomi sat on the edge of her bed, trying to grasp the gravity of what was happening. She did not know whether she was sad or happy, whether this was what she wanted or not. She did not know what she was going to do. All she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, was that she was pregnant.
Chapter 6
Avoiding the Problem
Naomi had taken a few days off work to process what was going on and how she was going to handle it. Never in her life had she been so indecisive. She realized that, if she was going to keep the baby, there was so much that she had to do. She had to start eating properly in order to keep the baby inside her healthy, she had to purchase baby clothes and a crib, she had to go and visit a doctor.
The first thing she decided to do was go to the doctor and get a proper test done. When that came back positive, she realized that she had another enormous problem that she had not thought of when she got a call from Ryan. Although she ignored his call, he texted her a few minutes later asking how she was. She had no idea how she was going to respond.
She hadn’t thought about the fact that Ryan would want to know if she was pregnant or not. It was his right, after all. In thinking that Ryan would want nothing to do with the baby, Naomi hadn’t realized that that didn’t change the fact that he had a right to know that she was pregnant with his child.
Naomi decided that she simply couldn’t handle this right now. She would talk to him later. However, that later never seemed to come. Over the next few weeks as she began preparing herself for her nine month ordeal, Ryan called and texted constantly, and even came to her apartment a few times. In all instances she did not respond, and when he rang her doorbell she pretended that she wasn’t home.
However, she realized that she couldn’t avoid him forever. She just wasn’t ready for the conversation that they were going to have, wasn’t ready to face the rejection that he would give her by telling her that he wanted nothing to do with a baby that he didn’t want, didn’t plan, with a woman that he barely even knew.
As she continued to avoid Ryan, Naomi continued to set up her apartment in preparation for the baby that was on the way. She realized that her colleagues at work would notice her stomach soon, and decided that that conversation was unavoidable.
She told Carla and Sylvia, both of whom respected her decision to keep the baby. They commended her for being brave and told her that it wasn’t her fault, that mistakes happened, and that in the end it would all be for the best.
As she went home, Naomi picked up a few groceries, looking longingly at the wine she would not be able to have for a very long time. As she entered her apartment building, she got a call from Ryan which she ignored. However, when she exited the lift she saw a thing which she could not quite ignore.
Ryan was standing in front of her apartment.
“Naomi,” said Ryan, looking at her as if he couldn’t believe she was there.
“Ryan,” said Naomi, “I’m sorry, I…”
She was lost for words. Ryan’s eyes travelled to Naomi’s belly which was visibly swollen. That, along with her firm breasts and glowing skin was all the proof that Ryan needed.
“Are you…” he began to ask, “I mean… I had a feeling when you weren’t answering your phone but I…”
Naomi sighed and unlocked her door. “Come in, Ryan,” she said, “I’ve been avoiding this for so long but I can’t anymore. We need to talk.”
Chapter 7
Reunited
“How long have you known?” said Ryan, sitting on the sofa next to Naomi.
“About six weeks now,” said Naomi, “I got tested the very next day.”
“Well…” said Ryan, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m so sorry, Ryan,” said Naomi, placing a hand upon Ryan’s. He was sitting before her, the father of her child. “I know that it was your right to know,” she continued, “I know that it was wrong not to tell you, but I just couldn’t have that conversation. I didn’t know how I would start, I didn’t know how it would end.”
“What do you mean by you didn’t know how it would end?” asked Ryan.
Naomi sighed, tears welling up in her eyes, as she said, “Look, we both know you don’t want this, and I understand. I understand completely, and I don’t blame you for it. I just want to tell you that I don’t expect anything from you. I won’t judge you if you walk out the door right now. This baby, it’s my mistake. I was the one who should have been on the pill, I’m the one that got you so wild that you couldn’t pull out before you came.”
Ryan looked at Naomi in a very odd way. His eyes were strange, shiny almost. It was then that Naomi realized that there were tears in his eyes as well. “Oh sweetie,” said Ryan, putting an arm around Naomi, “I’m so sorry you felt that way. You do realize that this isn’t your mistake, it’s our mistake. I should have put a condom on, I should have been careful. This isn’t on you, babe, it’s on us.”