Chapter Forty-Three

Splashing water onto her face after doing her business, Sharlene gazed at herself in the mirror. There she saw a red-faced young woman who looked like she had eaten hot pepper. Groaning, she patted her cheeks with the refreshing water until they remained to their original color. 

Incoherently mumbling, she grabbed some paper towels from the container attached to the wall next to the sink and furiously wiped her hand. 

Being childhood friends with the quirky, overly dramatic--times two funny and eccentric Rita Kim was thrilling and exciting. 

Without speaking a word, she would pinpoint anyone's distress and worry. It was that reason they were so very close. 

Going back and forth between Britain and Korea during the summer holidays was not always enjoyable, considering the jet lag and unfamiliar surroundings. 

However, Sharlene did so to support her friend. 

When she turned eighteen and just enrolled in college, Rita lost her father to death. It was a challenge for her, considering the school she attended was prestigious. Yet, she remained steadfast in her goal because her dad wanted her to experience the best schooling and have a better future than him. 

Despite those challenges, she always remained with a smile and an air of cheerfulness. That was probably because of her fiancé Yvonne, her potential opposite.

Smiling at the many quirky things they had done together, Sharlene lifted her eyes to stare at her reflection. It was at that moment she thought she saw a ghost. 

Dropping the miserable paper towel on the floor, she glared. Spotting a smug smile, the person who appeared behind her lifted it off the ground and threw it in the bin near the sink. 

Folding her arms and pretending to be cross, Sharlene quickly turned around to face Rita. It was she who had scared the living daylights out of her. 

She had not heard her footsteps nor the door opening, which meant she was deep in thought. 

As the phase of her fright slowly decreased, her eyebrows scrunched, and a frown formed on her lips. That caused the smile to slip from Rita's face. 

Oh, oh, she was going to burst. 

Instantly, she placed her hands against her ears.

"Rita Kim, what do you think you are doing?!"

Wincing yet innocently shrugging, Rita grinned from ear to ear.

"Scaring you?"

Sharlene sighed with a pout.

"You could have given me a heart attack."

Rolling her eyes, Rita found such a comment comical and was about to giggle but quickly placed a hand against her mouth. Sharlene scoffed.

"This is not a joke, Rita Choon-hae Kim. I am carrying a precious child. Don't you know scaring a pregnant woman is dangerous? Do you want the child to run from inside me?"

Gasping when she suddenly remembered that fact, for she was keen on scaring Sharlene to the point that she would burst with dramatic flair, Rita bit her lips.

"I forgot."

Detecting she was breathing heavily to fire angrier statements towards her, Rita rushed to mollify the situation. 

"I am sorry, Shar. I got so accustomed to scaring you, and I forgot you were pregnant. So don't get too angry. It can affect the baby."

Patting down her hair like she was a growling puppy, Rita continued to coo.

Rolling her eyes, Sharlene endured her pampering as she dismissed her building irritation.

Flicking her between her eyebrows as soon as she removed her hand from her hair, Sharlene clicked her tongue.

"Ow, what was that for?"

Rita complained while robbing the slightly aching area.

Ignoring her groan, Sharlene scolded with a hand on her hip.

"Sometimes you are so unobservant, Rita. You are pregnant as well, you know. No wonder Yvonne had you under house arrest. You do crazy things while someone is growing inside of you."

Rita nervously laughed. 

"Please do not be angry with me anymore, okay?"

Huffing, Sharlene turned back around to face the mirror.

"I do not want to talk to you anymore."

Latching onto her arm, she proceeded to beg.

"I am sorry, Shar. Please don't be angry with me. I promise it won't happen again."

Ignoring her, Shar splashed another scoop of water onto her face. Peeking at a sulking Rita, she quickly wiped her hands with another paper towel before discarding it in the bin.

Side-stepping her, Sharlene walked towards the door. 

"You got a call from you-know-who. That was the reason I came running. Besides, you were taking forever, so I came to see if you were okay."

Rita frantically spoke. 

That caused Sharlene to stop in her tracks. Upon seeing her hesitance, Rita repeated the sacrifice of using her energy unappreciated. 

"That was the reason I came running."

Slowly turning around, Sharlene raised an eyebrow.

"You are bribing me to forgive you again, Rita." 

Rapidly shaking her head in denial, Rita stretched her phone towards her. 

"Of course. I have done so much for you, but that's beside the point, Shar. It was him."

Scoffing, she was about to take the phone from her hands but then paused when she saw the hidden smile in her eyes. 

"Why are your eyes twinkling with laughter, Riri?"

Rita became relieved because Sharlene had returned to calling her by her nickname.

"You look distrusting."

She murmured while folding her arms. 

That was the relationship between the two best and close friends. They were always in a bind but would soon laugh and chat nonstop after their useless fights. Her brother called it a 'waste of precious time'. 

Her family was accustomed to their frolicking because they knew the outcome would be the same. 

However, people who did not know them always whispered behind their backs about their crazy bickering, then drastic making up. 

Looking at Sharlene, Rita knew her irritation had dissipated, and everything was normal. They had a weird friendship but stuck to each other like glue. 

"What are you saying, Shar? My eyes are not twinkling. I'd have to call the eye doctor pronto if it was. Anyway. He called. Look at the log calls to confirm if I am lying to you."

Pushing the phone towards her face, Rita cheekily smiled.

"You sure are cheeky and persuasive, Riri. Fine."

Huffing, Sharlene took the phone. 

With pursed lips, she slid the lock and almost fainted then and there when it was true. At the very top of the screen flashed a missed call from a very familiar number.

"I...I missed it. I...I missed his call."

Murmuring, Sharlene felt tears that were never there falling down her cheeks. So negatively moved she gave way to tears.

"Why am I crying?"

Sobbing, she squeezed the phone towards her chest. She continuously wiped away the tears with her sleeve, but it was never-ending. 

"I cannot stop crying. What is wrong with me?"

The smile dropped from Rita's face as an unreadable expression adorned it. 

"Did you not read the pregnancy books I gave you, Shar?"

"What pregnancy books?"

Rita's face dropped with further disbelief. 

"Did you also leave your brain when you were thinking of Mr. Ross?"

Pouting her lips while still sobbing, Sharlene was offended by Rita's statement. 

"What do you mean, Riri?"

"What I mean is, apart from work, Mr. Ross has taken a large amount of your mind, hasn't he?"

"What?"

Flustered, Sharlene's tears continued to flow, but she was no longer sobbing. 

"And just what kind of baby do you carry? Irritation? Then tears? Sobbing? Blushing? At the same time? Not even I went through those drastic changes of hormones. You are still in your first trimester, right?"

Frowning, for she found her change in conversation confusing yet expected, Sharlene continued to wipe her tears. 

"Yes, I am."

"Do you get morning sickness?"

Pondering over that fact, Sharlene shook her head.

Astonished, Rita was intrigued. 

"Not even the feeling of nausea?"

"No."

"Lack of sleep?"

"Nope."

Popping the 'p', Sharlene wondered where Rita was going with the conversation.

"Food cravings?"

"Sometimes?"

"Body aches?"

"I can't recall."

"Do you get the feeling to pee every few seconds, even while you're eating?"

"Ew. Why ask that question, Riri?"

"I am just curious. I do it all the time."

Shrugging her shoulders, Rita was unbashful about the matter.

"TMI, Riri, TMI. I did not have to know that. Gosh, now the mental image is stuck in my brain forever."

"Oh, whatever. Back to the subject. I cannot believe you have none of these early pregnancy symptoms. Do you have a super baby or something? Don't you get insanely fatigued?"

She pushed, for she found the information absurd.

"Only when I push or stress myself."

Sighing as she rubbed her tiny bump, Rita huffed. 

"It seems your baby is only giving you insane mood swings in the place of everything else."

"It seems so. Sometimes, I don't even feel like there is even a baby inside me. That is until I look at the sonograms taped to the wall."

"I wish I was as lucky as you, Shar. But I am stuck with barfing and peeing in the morning, afternoon, and night."

"But, you never vomit when you are with me."

"That is because the food I make sure to order is following the baby's taste. It is almost as if the baby is controlling me, even before they are born. Uh, parenting is going to be terrific."

Rita's eyebrows scrunched with annoyance. 

Sharlene smiled.

"Who would have ever thought I would be pregnant."

Rita wiggled her eyebrows as she inputted.

"For the most famous and one of the richest men in the world."

Playfully tapping her shoulders, Sharlene rolled her eyes.

"Now that I think of it. Our babies will be unrelated cousins, right?"

"Yes, they will be. After all, I claimed your baby as my godchild since you already claimed mine, Shar."

"That is wonderful. Should we find names for them together?"

Instantly, Rita's cheeky grin returned. 

"Aren't your future husband already there to help you?"

Blushing all over, Sharlene whined.

"Riri, do not tease me."

"But it is true, isn't it?"

Averting her eyes, Sharlene placed both hands on her cheeks to control her blushing and ignored Rita's sly teasing.

"Well, it is, and Jan must be thinking we became one with the toilet, considering how long we have been in there."

Chuckling, Sharlene nodded, but before she could take another step, her phone rang. 

"I guess that's her. She must be impatient."

Muttering, she lifted the phone to look at the caller ID, and her entire body tensed. 

Mr. Ross, shown in red colors, blinked on the screen.

Glancing up at frowning Rita, she murmured.

"It's N...I mean, Mr. Ross."

Gushing, Rita pushed.

"Then answer it!" 

Nervously shaking her head, Sharlene's blush darkened.

"I can't."

Frowning, Rita huffed. 

"You have got to be kidding me. After waiting ages, although you could have been the first to call him..."

"I was too nervous, Riri."

Sharlene interjected with blushing cheeks since she was rambling, but Rita ignored her by placing her hand in front of her.

"Let me finish. As I was saying before, I was rudely interrupted. You were waiting for his call for a long time. You even cried a few minutes ago. That is the moment you were waiting for, and his second time calling too."

Teasingly rolling her eyebrows, she added with an evil laugh.

"He must be a desperate man."

"Don't jump to conclusions, Riri."

Sharlene cried out, her blush becoming redder from embarrassment.

"Okay, fine, just answer the phone."

"I can't, Riri. I am too nervous."

"Then I'll do it for you before it cuts off again."

"Huh?"

Shocked, Sharlene had no time to breathe when Rita pulled the phone from her hands and quickly answered it on the fourth ring.

"Yello."

She cheerfully answered, her smile broadening when Sharlene had turned another shade of red from blushing. 'Cute,' she mouthed before returning her attention to the person on the other end of the phone.