Thalia’s Pov
We slept in late, I was so exhausted from the trip. I believe I was overdoing it and stressing out the baby.
Brandon was correct, but the good news was that my prototype was progressing; the next step was to test my guinea pigs. All I could do was hope for the best. I was so exhausted and restarting was out of the options.
But first, there was the pointless fundraiser, which Brandon was insisting I attended. I didn’t want to go, but he demanded that I do so.
I never told him I wanted to take over; in fact, I turned down his offer on the first day we met, but he mistook my lying for wanting to take over.
I couldn’t blame him because I had agreed to attend all of the covert indoor meetups when, in reality, I was using them as a shield to keep track of everything I needed in my lab or who to consult. That was what happened when one was a bumbling liar.
There was no way out of the labyrinth of lies I had created for myself. But I was going to go along with it. I still needed a barrier to hide behind until my guinea pigs were satisfactorily tested.
But I agreed to attend and I had previously chosen a dress for myself, and Nestor was scheduled to pick me up at 7:00 p.m.
My mission was simple: show up, be introduced, mingle for a few minutes, and then leave on the guise of being exhausted. To be honest, I was exhausted, but there was one thing that terrified me.
The press or whatever lies were going to print the next morning, but Brandon assured me that there was no press invitation, it was a press-free fundraising event. I had no idea such a thing existed but dealing with Brandon Fraiser anything was possible.
I turned and found he was awake, he had his new usual face on. I recently noticed it, it was like he was trying to figure me out. “How are you this morning?” I spoke first.
“Good morning, you were snoring,” he replied.
I got up, embarrassed, and covered my mouth. “No way, you’re lying,” I said.
“Yes, you were; I’m sure I can hear you in other rooms. And you can snore for all Americans,” he added. While holding my pregnant tummy I moved to him and gave him a pinch.
“What was that for?” He asked.
“For your colossal grin,” I replied and I patted his hair and said, “I think I shouldn’t go to this party; we haven’t had a movie night in a long time.”
He swiftly stood up without allowing me to object, saying, “No, you must attend, we can do movie night tomorrow.” He stated it In a way that suggested that he was ordering me around.
He seemed to be commanding me. He walked into the bathroom and I could hear him vomiting.
It was the new normal every morning, he would vomit everything he ate, followed by blood. It was awful to watch him go through it day after day.
I got up and went into the restroom to assist him, but it was locked. I was perplexed and scratched my head.
He always puked with the door open all the time. Perhaps he wanted to be alone. I went to the kitchen and decided to begin making breakfast eggs, it was his favorite but was stopped when the door opened.
“You can go rest, I’ll do the cooking,” he remarked when the door opened and he strolled in.
Without looking at him, I said, “You need to rest.”
“I always do the cooking,” he replied.
“Brandon, please quit commanding me. I’m not sick, but I’m pregnant, and you need more rest than I do,” I screamed.
I turned to see him staring at me, surprised; he had black circles under his eyes and his skin appeared to be peeling away. He turned and walked away in silence.
I hurriedly shut off the stove and followed him. “I’m sorry, Brandon; I didn’t mean to offend you; it’s just that I’m under a lot of stress.”
“That’s why I want you to unwind and let me prepare meals for you,” he remarked, feigning a smile. I was very familiar with his fake smile, I had spent much too much time and picked on some of his traits. I approached him and hugged him.
“Are you alright? You do not look good” I enquired.
“I’m fine,” he said, but before I could respond, the baby kicked inside of me. Brandon felt it, and as I raised his eyes to look at him, he questioned, “Is that little Brandon?”
“No, it’s Thalia, and I believe we should conduct a gender test,” I responded. I just didn’t get why he changed his stand in knowing the sex of the baby.
“No, no, that’s what motivates me to get up in the morning,” he swiftly responded and changed the subject. But I let go; if that’s what got him out of bed, I was going to let go.
“You must prepare yourself; I texted Nestor to pick you up early, and you can use my other residence in the city,” he muttered and stood up.
I was left with my mouth open but I reminded myself that it was just a single night. I struggled to get out of bed and proceeded to take a bath. After that, I ate my breakfast, which he, of course, prepared.
Brandon was too busy with his tablet so I slept for the entire day, the pregnancy was taking its toll on me, and all I wanted to do was oversleep and miss the party.
However, as soon as Nestor arrived, Brandon awoke me. I was furious, I found he had packed me a small bag “You have to look good,” he stated but I ignored him and walked out of the house with Nestor trailing behind.
“Is the machine making any progress?
He enquired
“I’ll do the first test tomorrow,” I responded.
“You must succeed; all of these lies should be worth it,” he replied.
I merely gave him a passing glance before continuing on my route. We were at the salon in a matter of minutes, and I was so bored that I didn’t even notice what he did to my hair. I wanted to finish it as quickly as possible.
I showered and changed into my dress. I checked my watch; it was only a few hours until eight o’clock. I was really late, so I dashed out the door and was greeted by Nestor, who was dressed in a tuxedo.
He explained, “I’ll be your plus two.”
I merely stared at him, the man needed to get a life or say no. He complimented me on your appearance, but I ignored him and handed him an orange to peel as I headed to my car.
He chuckled, but he peeled it and handed it to me in the car. We left for the party and when we arrived, the place was completely full.
I checked in with Brandon before following Nestor who led me to a rear door, and he led me to the stairwell, which provided a panoramic view of the entire Gala.
I stood on the stairwell, peering down at the parting crowd. The Rich, both young and old wore costly suits and beautiful dresses that if combined cost millions. I bet all the smiles were fake, It was all tedious and not my cup of tea.
Nestor began introducing me to a group of men on my right and began the formal introductions. Everything was going great, and I soon relaxed and met some of the company’s top executives.
Some of the faces were recognizable since I had met them at meetings, but others were unfamiliar, and it was those who were staring at my tummy.
I could hear them making snide remarks and asking inane questions, but I chose to ignore them. I told Nestor to hurry up and finish what he was working on.
Soon after, the organizer took up her mic and began welcoming everyone to the Gala; she quickly gained everyone’s attention, and to my surprise, she introduced me as Brandon’s fiancee.
The room became small as nearly everyone looked up at me. I nearly lost balanced, but Nestor was there for me lean-to, “put yourself together, you are needed for a speech,” Nestor whispered to me
“Didn’t you hear her introduce me as Brandon’s fiancee?” I asked, turning around.
“Don’t you two share a bed?” He muttered something. “Pay attention now, for they have been awaiting your arrival,” he expressed.
I looked around and I noticed that the room was unusually quiet and that everyone was staring at me, undoubtedly perplexed. Instead of meeting Brandon, they were introduced to a heavily pregnant fiancee.
I walked down the stairs after clearing my throat. All eyes were on me, waiting for me to say something. I could hear the phone clicks and the voices. Brandon has lied about the press.
I took the microphone and thanked the organizer.
“With all the juice in here, everyone must have had their fill,” I announced, and the audience burst out laughing.
“On a serious note, I’ll go right to the point, Mr. Fraser… I mean Brandon is unable to join us due to illness, but I will be filling in for him while we wait for him to recuperate,” I announced confidently, causing the crowd to murmur.
Brandon had put me up to take over his company, I was boiling on the inside. I got more than I asked for, but it was all based on my own ideas. On second thinking, it wasn’t intended to be that way; he was supposed to ask me and not make a fool of me.
I wondered whether Nestor was aware of the plan because I knew Brandon trusted him, and just because he was keeping lies it did not imply he would continue to deceive him.
“Hope I’ll have the same welcome as Brandon had, and I’m hoping to be working with you all,” I said after hastily handing the mic to the organizer.
I needed to get home as soon as possible and deal with that liar. I was going to slap him in the face, but a familiar voice stopped me in my tracks
“Thalia?” The voice asked again.
But I stayed put, unable to recall the last time I heard that voice.
“Is that you, Thalia?” he asked again.
I took a deep breath and spun around to see Josh and his skank breathing faster than I was. Their brows were damp, and their eyes were poised to burst out like they had seen a ghost. I took a deep breath and swallowed hard; I hadn’t expected to see them; the gala was private, it was by invitation.
Unless Brandon specifically invited them. I made fists in my palms as I remembered how much he wanted me to attend the ridiculous Gala. I looked up and saw the cameras, he was probably watching the entire thing in his silly apron.
Jessica stumbled over her words and asked “We… believed you were…dead,” Thalia.
I chucked and walked up to where they were standing; it was clear that they couldn’t move and that their legs were trembling in the horror of seeing me. We last met six months ago at the court, where the two were kissing to spite me. “Did you kill me?” I queried, clearing my voice.
“Didn’t Josh appear in court on your disappearance charges?” Jessica asked.
“Ooh that,” She began, laughing. “An FBI agent contacted me about it, and I believe your lawyer was informed that I had been located.”
Jessica’s face flushed with rage, and I could see her veins almost popping out. She approached me and attempted to hit me, but I extended my hand and caught hers. I could hear people gasping in fear and the music stopped.
We had everyone’s attention, but the good news was that I was the one who was winning. Jessica was the bad guy trying to smack a pregnant mother. Security arrived soon at my side, but I was able to halt them.
“You just sat there and watched my husband rot in front of the judge!” She confronted me with a scream.
Josh’s eyes were fixated on my pregnancy, his foolish face was redder than Jessica’s, and he looked like he was about to cry, there was absolute perplexity on his face and I enjoyed every bit of it as I turned and fixed my sight on him. I was very much tempted to slap him.
