ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY

SHIMMER'S POV

What!! I thought my eyes were deceiving me. I blinked several times, snatched the paper from Dylan and held it in my own hands. There was no mistake. I had seen it right the first time. I looked up at Dylan and saw that there was confusion on his face. He also seemed to be still trying to take it in. In a rush, I stormed out of the room and ordered my driver to take me back to Clear Opal at the highest possible speed. After asking him to close the middle compartment in the car, in my privacy I dialed Arianna's number. It rang but was not answered. I dialed it again, and still there was no response.

Oh no! What had I done? That tea!! Had Arianna already taken it, or by any chance she had not taken it? What had I done? Cursing myself over and over again, I told my driver to fly, if possible. Arianna could not lose the child! I wanted the child! I loved the child!

I dialed Roderick's number.

"We now know the father of Arianna's child!" I announced as soon as he picked the call.

"Who is it?"

"It's Pete Rockridge! Pete; our very own Pete! Hayden's son!"

Roderick only said, "Oh!"

I put the phone away and fidgeted in my seat. A lot of things cascaded up and down my mind. Why was Arianna embarrassed to tell us that Pete was the father of her child? The way Arianna had acted, it was as if the responsible man was a nobody whose name was not even worth mentioning. No wonder why I had assumed that it was just some useless loser. Yet it was Pete! Pete Rockridge himself! The only son of Hayden and Janine Rockridge! Never in my wildest dreams had I ever dreamt that Pete would one day be my son in law. Surely this was the greatest news I had received in a century!

Pete Rockridge! What more could I have asked for? What more could any mother have asked for? Pete was even way better that Keith Junior Octavia. Pete; a handsome, happy young man who came from a filthy rich family. When talking in Lakeworld about riches; real wealth, of course it was always the de Milos on the top of the rank, closely followed by the Rockridges. Who could have said they did not know the Rockridges? Hayden Rockridge; the CEO of the best Law Firm in Lakeworld; and the founder and CEO of the largest shipping company in the country!

Oh my word…I was overjoyed! Pete! Pete is going to be my son in law! I knew Pete well, very well. I literally raised that boy. The number of his sleep overs at the Clear Opal was countless; and Dylan as well always had sleepovers at the Rockridge mansion. I mean…they were our class. Real class. Someone worthy of the introduction. Someone about whom I could stand tall and tell the world about.

Oh Janine; how I wished Janine was still alive! She truly would have rejoiced at this! Her son getting married to my girl!! Oh this happened to the greatest news ever.

Driver!! Drive faster please.

I saw in my imagination the image of a grand wedding; the wedding of the century. I saw my angel Arianna in a flawless wedding dress, standing there looking more beautiful than the angels themselves. I saw the image of Roderick and myself walking her down the aisle. I saw on the other end of the aisle, Pete standing there, smiling happily, ready to meet his bride. Oh I was too happy. I could not sit still. I fidgeted in the car and wished at that moment to have wings. I would have flown. I would have flown to Clear Opal, and landed in Arianna's room. And of course I would have told her not to take the tea.

I dialed her number again. There was no response.

What did I do? That tea was going to kill my grandchild! Oh no! I cursed myself a million times. Arianna's number continued to ring without a response. I dialed my friend and prayed that she would answer on the first call. She did.

"Shimmer! How are you today?"

"Listen, I need to know. Those pills, how effective are they? If they are taken, is there any reverse?" I panted in great panic into the phone.

"Ummm, I gave you the strongest pill I have. There is no reverse. Has the girl taken the pill yet?" she asked.

"I think so. I guess she has taken it already."

Then my friend's voice came like a spear tearing apart my heart, "then within the next one and half to two hours, the baby will be abolished."

"No! no! no! no!" I screamed in utter regret.

"What is it, Shimmer? Talk to me." She asked in a worried tone.

"It's just that…the boy who got her pregnant....now…now wants to marry her. They now want the child."

"Oh oh! Had she already taken the medication?" she asked in a low voice.

"I am sure she has." Tears suddenly started to cloud my vision.

"Ummm, I'm afraid there is no reverse." The remorse in her voice did not help to calm me down.

"Is there any way to reverse it? Even if we rush to the hospital now?"

"There is no reversing it, sorry."

What had I done? What had I done!! I bit the backs of the car seats in serious anger at myself. Regret, frustration, shame, anger...all these and other negative emotions welled up in me and I felt it was getting too much. I felt like I was choking. If Janine was here, what would she say? I murdered our grandchild!!

Oh no! Arianna! Why did you not just tell us that it was Pete! Who would get angry to get Pete as a son in law! Its every mother's dream, for heaven's sake!!

In my mind I had never thought there could be anything romantic between Pete and Arianna. They treated each other as brother and sister. Pete was like a son to me; so although his family was filthy rich and in the same class as us, I had never dreamt of him as my son-in-law. Yet here were; Pete Rockridge himself, joining the de Milo family! And one cup of tea was about to mess up a lot of things! A single tea cup was about to destroy dreams and leave us with endless tears. And it was all because of me! I blamed myself for rushing to conclusions.

I dialed Iris's number.

"Pick it up…pick it up…" I whispered as I clutched to my phone with all my might.

"Hello ma'am", came Iris' voice.

"Go to Arianna's room now! Tell her not to drink the tea that I gave her! Go now!!"

"Yes ma'am," and the line went dead.

I dialed it again immediately, and barked into the phone as soon as Iris answered it, "don't disengage the call! I need to hear everything. I'm holding the line!"

"Yes ma'am," a panting Iris answered. I could hear footsteps of her running, then I heard the clicking sound of the elevator.

"Go up fast! Iris! Run as fast as you can!" I was seating on the edge of my seat.

"Yes ma'am."

I heard another clicking sound, and I knew that the elevator had stopped. The footsteps resumed, and the heavy breathing also came through the phone with great force.

Arianna please, I pray that you have not taken the tea! I prayed in my heart.

I heard the sound of a knock.

"Don't knock! Just get in!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and immediately I heard Iris' voice calling, "Miss Arianna!"

"What! Where is she? Has she taken the tea yet!" I was so eager to hear the answer that I almost lost control of my bowels.

My tummy rumbled and it felt like the insides were spinning and rolling in that confined space. Oh no! I wanted my grandchild! Pete's and Arianna's child! How could I ever say no to that? How could I ever say no to the meeting of giants! A de Milo getting married to a Rockridge! Now that was breaking news that I wanted the whole of Lakeworld to know! The best news in two centuries!

"She…she is vomiting profusely in her bathroom!", came Iris' voice.

"The tea, Iris! Check the tea cup! Did she drink it?"

"I'm on it ma'am….I don't see any tea cup, ma'am!"

"In her bedroom, you fool! Check on her dressing table….." Tears ran down while desperation took control of my soul.

"Oh yes I see it ma'am."

"Well then check inside that damn cup!! Did she drink the tea or not?"

There was silence. All I could hear was the heavy breathing coming from Iris' end. Why was she silent? What was happening. The limousine was cruising and turning into Lavender street, which meant we were almost there. But then, I could not wait! I wanted to know as soon as possible.

"Iris!" I cried in anguish.

"M…ma'am…."

"Did. She. Drink. The. Tea?"

Iris' voice was low and she seemed to be very scared as she whispered, "ma'am, the cup is empty."