Chapter Twenty

Nicholas grew angry by the discovery, and he rarely grew angry. He spoke through gritted teeth while looking in Doccharles direction.

"I thought you disposed of the sperm."

"Yes, yes, I did. I made sure of that."

Nervously, Doccharles stuttered. He felt conflicted.

"Then why…?"

Quickly interjecting, for she did not want her father further blamed, Sherlene spoke barely over a whisper.

"I swapped it with another male's before my father could dispose of it."

"You little devil!"

Barking, Nicholas moved to grab onto Sherlene, but Evelyn quickly stood and rushed to intercept him.

Grasping his cheeks, she cooed.

"Honey, it is alright."

"But this is not right, Mom. This girl has..."

Refuting while trying to remove her hands from his face, Nicholas was pissed, and Evelyn plainly understood as she quickly interjected.

"I know, I know. It will be all right. Let me handle it, okay? No need to lose your anger over trash, no offense, Mr. Doccharles."

Rubbing his back while sharing a glance with unoffended Doccharles, Evelyn continued to calm down her son, who was repeatedly passing his hands through his hair.

The situation had taken a 360 turn when reality suddenly sunk. Nicholas' eyes averted to Sharlene, who had flown herself into her sister's arms. A pang passed through his heart when he realized his earlier outburst had scared her. Breathing in and out, he forced himself to calm down. This discovery was mind-boggling, but being rational and calm in the situation was better than letting his anger win.

"I am going to be a father."

Whispering such words, he closed his eyes with a loud sigh and placed a palm over his eyes.

"Am I going to be a father, Mom, even before I planned it?"

Opening his eyes, he glanced down at his mother after calming down.

Nicholas was confused. Evelyn frowned, for she had never seen her son so defeated and unsure.

"I am so sorry. Sherlene's childish thinking has caused everyone so much trouble, worry, and concern. Mrs. Cunning-ham, I will fulfill your wish and accept the lawsuit."

Doccharles was embarrassed as he slightly bowed his head in aggrievance. He was willing to step down as Mayor if told to in the place of the disappointment his precious daughter had caused. His lips wobbled as he blamed himself for not disciplining her enough.

Helena sighed, her arms still folded on her chest. She was not satisfied with only this. Her desire earlier was to see the entire hospital shut down, but she knew it was her anger speaking. Averting her eyes from the humble man, she glanced at Nick. The young man had turned pale, his mind probably conjuring different scenarios to deal with the situation.

"That will not be necessary, Mr. Doccharles."

Evelyn spoke after the brief silence that followed the apology. With a smile, she ignored the what-are-you-talking-about stare Nicholas gave her.

"My son will take full responsibility."

Helena raised an eyebrow in question.

"What? Are you telling us to drop the lawsuit? Do you think this is a light matter, Evelyn? And what do you mean by 'your son will take full responsibility'? Are you talking about marriage?"

Sharlene and Clarice's mouths opened wide with surprise.

"I am so sorry."

Sherlene finally spoke up, her voice breaking.

Bowing her head in shame, she spoke with wobbling lips.

"I will be the one to pay for any emotional and physical caused to the victim."

Her arrogant attitude deflated like a balloon. The reality of her childish and selfish plan was far too bitter to handle.

Everyone was shocked, well, except for Helena and Evelyn.

"Sherlene?"

Doccharles called, his voice overcome with emotion, but Sherlene reassured him with a smile.

"This is the least I can do to rectify the issue. I will also leave the country after so the fault will not fall on you, papa."

Wordlessly, Doccharles nodded, and Sherlene returned her attention to Sharlene.

"Once again, I would like to apologize for what I said. It was way out of line."

Her words were genuine, but can a chameleon shed its skin? Only time will tell. Nodding once but not saying anything, Sharlene gave her quarter of her understanding.

Biting her lip, Sherlene swallowed her remaining broken pride. Removing her contact card from her bag, she passed it on to Helena.

"Please use the number here to contact my lawyer. She will settle the matter in a manner of a week."

Humming, Helena snatched the card from her hold with a huff.

"Don't ever let me cross paths with you again, Miss. Doccharles."

Nodding, Sherlene quietly saw herself out with a soft sound of the door, but with the deafening silence in the room, it could be appropriate to say it was a bang.

"Mom, what do you think you are doing?"

Nicholas whisper-yell in her ear, the earlier interaction forgotten, but Evelyn disregarded his question.

Ignoring Helena's frown and questions, she beckoned Sharlene to her side.

"Come here, darling."

Glancing at her mother and sister with an unsure expression adorning her face, Sharlene nervously approached her.

"I know this is an unbecoming occurrence none of us expected, but will you marry my son, Sharlene? It is the most honor-bound thing he could do."

Nicholas inwardly groaned. Not prepared for marriage or a baby, he felt frustrated. Walking away from his mother, he turned to face the ceiling-to-floor window.

'What was going through his mother's head for her to come up with such a ridiculous solution?'

"I don't think this the right thing to do. I mean...marriage is something serious. It can't be taken lightly."

Undecided, Sharlene gazed at the pacing Nicholas a short distance from them.

"Well, there is no other choice. Don't you want the baby to grow in an environment where he has both parents?"

Evelyn asked. Her reasoning was understandable, but was it really?

"Eh? I guess so."

Rubbing the back of her neck, Sharlene felt conflicted. Sighing, she bowed her head.

"I did not think that far ahead."

Evelyn hesitated but eventually lifted Sharlene's chin with a hand. She had taken a liken to the girl. Outward, she was calm, but inward, she screamed, 'How cute.'

"It is always good to think far ahead, sweetie."

"But won't we feel constricted? I mean we do not know each other, and...and our status is um...not the same. I mean..."

Smiling, Evelyn interjected by pulling Sharlene into a sudden hug.

She was indeed cute. Very, very cute.

"No need to worry about such things, sweetie. I am not asking you to marry my son this instant. Of course, I will give you time to think about it. Aren't you a funny girl? I am going to like you being my daughter-in-law."

Awkwardly patting her back, Sharlene nervously smiled. In her peripheral, she saw Nicholas watching her. However, before their eyes could meet, he averted his eyes with an inaudible swear.

'Was she dreaming? Is the renowned and astute business tycoon Nicholas Ross really the father of her baby?'

She found it unrealistic. If Madam Sinclair found out, she would roll in her designer clothes.

Having enough of the nonsense conversation, Helena marched towards the duo, her cheeks red with irritation.

"Not going to happen, Evelyn. Sharlene is not going to think or even consider whatever nonsense you just spewed."

Grasping onto Sharlene's elbow, she pulled her gently away from Evelyn after they concluded the dramatic hugging.

"But why Helena? Nicholas is the father of her baby. Logically, they should get married."

Tsking and unconvinced, Helena pulled Sharlene to stand next to her.

"I understand what you are trying to do here, Evelyn, and we may know each other from diapers, but we are not how we used to be."

Raising an eyebrow, Evelyn folded her arms on top of her chest.

"What do you mean by that, Helena?"

Nicholas had stopped pacing and walked over to stand near his mother when he had witnessed her folding her arms.

That was a sign she was irritated.

'Oh no.'

His father was not here to kindle the burning flames.

"You are the wife of an important figure in society. Your eldest son is an exceptional businessman. Gosh, if I did not know any better, I'd say his presence alone would make paparazzi flock to him like flies. As you can see, my daughter looks like she came straight from fighting a horror in her sleep and your son a photo shoot."

Sharlene's eyes widened when she glanced at herself. It was then she realized what she was wearing.

No wonder people were looking their way earlier. She was basically in her pajamas. The 'Hello Kitty' shirt she wore was a bonus since she had mindlessly replaced it with the previous one. Bunny slippers adorned her feet. God knows how she climbed the stairs earlier with its slippery underneath.

Her sweatpants swallowed her whole. Even her closed-eye sleep mask was still on top of her head.

Gasping, she pulled it off her head and shoved it in the pocket of her sweatpants, but the embarrassment had come to pass.

Glancing at Clarice, she found she was no different, except she had the decency to make her attire fashionable with brown wedge-heeled sandals. With her hands on her hips, she looked like a bodyguard waiting to intervene at any given moment.

The only person who had the decorum to look proper was her mother. And she was ready to explode like a volcano.

"And that is important because?"

Raising an eyebrow, Evelyn felt offended by Helena's statement.

"Mom, it is okay."

Sharlene tried to reason with her mother as she sensed the conversation was leading nowhere.

Ignoring her, Helena sighed.

"It is important because you live, as Sharlene mentioned before, a higher status than us."

Evelyn scoffed.

"So? That does not change anything."

"Yes, it does," Helena retorted. "We are from two different worlds. You and I, Evelyn, have chosen different paths in our lives. Where you are rich and famous, my children and I live mundane and peaceful lives. Something we enjoy, thank you very much."

Rolling her eyes, Evelyn was becoming irritated. Sensing a change in mood, Sharlene tried to intervene again, but Helena was too stubborn.

She remained quiet as she nervously watched the two long-time friends silently fighting a battle with their eyes.

"That changes nothing, Helena. Since when have you ever thought of such things? When we were young, you never held that kind of opinion. You accepted me as a rich Texas young mistress, and I, your mediocre life."

Frowning, Helena sighed.

"Since I found out your son is the father of my daughter's child. I love you, Eve, but deep down in my heart, I always wished our children would never get acquainted."

Sharlene imagined a bomb blowing up in Evelyn's head when she saw her cheeks turn red. She had taken her mother's words in the wrong context in seemed.

"Because of an inferiority complex, you would have never introduced me to your children?"

Evelyn asked, her teeth gritted.

"No. It is not because of that."

Helena said but made no room to expound.

'Mom, you are making her aggravated.'

Sharlene thought while biting her lip.

"Then what?"

Evelyn raised an eyebrow.

Closing her eyes, Helena barked.

"Okay, you got me. I never liked rich people, okay? You were the only exception. And, maybe, yes, it is because of my inferiority complex."

Her words made the volcano in Evelyn's head erupt.

"And that is your excuse that my son, you knew from baby and how my husband and I raised him, should not marry your daughter?! Who cares if you do not like rich people?! You and I knew each other from diapers, your gallant words, not mine. My son is a respectful gentleman and knows how to take responsibility when things go wrong."

Sharlene's eyes bounced from Evelyn towards her mother, their arguments jumping from one confusing topic to the next. It looked like childish banter to her.

"Is that the only thing that will be his concern? Will taking responsibility be the only thing he will do? What about my daughter's feelings, thoughts, and emotions? Will he consider it? Will he be able to take care of her? Think, Evelyn. I am not going to allow my daughter to marry a man who has no time but for work. Talk to me again when you have a more intelligent idea."

'Oh, oh.'

Nicholas thought in his head. He saw his mother changing all colors of the rainbow from Helena's sensible questions.

Her questions were reasonable, for the main aim in his head, despite an unplanned marriage, was 'to take responsibility for his unborn child.'

Certainly, now, the thought was out the window.

Nicholas averted his eyes from his mother to stare at the girl. She was looking conflicted and surprised by the women argument. Her eyes opened in shock; she looked like a cat caught on camera.

She had been beautiful from afar earlier, but up close, she was drop-dead gorgeous despite a lack of makeup. With a cute button nose, eyelashes that made her eyes appear fuller and exotic, and small bow-shaped lips that were naturally pink, Sharlene was perfect. Her silky black hair and green eyes were hypnotizing. Nicholas could no longer look away. He was smitten.

Sensing his eyes on her person, Sharlene averted hers to gaze up at him, but a blush adorned her cheeks, for his stare was unwavering.

'Was there something on her face?'

She wondered while bringing her dainty hands to touch her cheek.

Slowly, she lifted her eyes back onto his. Her cheeks became darker and darker as he unflinchingly stared at her.

But their staring contest was over when the forgotten conversation between Helena and Evelyn had reached its zenith.

It appeared someone had said an ambiguous reply that stuffed the other.

"We are leaving. Clarice, let us go home."

Pulling onto Sharlene's arm, Helena turned her back on her fuming friend and rushed towards the door.