59. Our little secret

Briella was in her room when she received an unexpected call from someone she didn't expect to hear from—her Daddy. How many years has it been since he last thought of checking up on her? Perhaps he's going to inquire about the recent news of her marriage, that's the only reason she could think of why he would call her. She took a deep breath before deciding to answer; she couldn't always avoid him anyway. 'Hello?" she said. She got no response from the other end, but she knew her Daddy was there. She chuckled and spoke again. 'If you have nothing to say, I'll hang up and I have—" 'Where are you?" he interrupted her. She tilted her head and smiled bitterly. After all this time without talking, is that all she would hear from her father? 'Why? Does it matter where I am?" she asked in amazement. 'Briella, I..." he sighed deeply, sarcasm evident in her voice, so he didn't continue. 'If you're curious about me, I'm fine. I'm already married and—" 'Your sister told me that your husband is ruthless, a heartless jerk. Aren't you going to change, Briella? After you ran off with your jerk of an ex-fiancé, now you've married a heartless man? What's your plan in life?" he continued to lecture her. And here it is. His true motive for calling me finally came out. 'And are you just going to be fooled by your mistress and your eldest child?" she emphasized the word ‘eldest.' 'Be careful with your words, Briella. They are your family—" 'Your family and not mine, Dad," she cut him off. 'The only family I have is my Mom and my husband," she firmly stated. She heard no words from the other end, as if her statement hit him hard, which should consider his long history of deceit towards his own family. She heard a long sigh. 'Come back, Briella—come home. Don't you miss your siblings and your Mommy?" he softly pleaded. Her jaw tightened, and her face hardened. My Mom? Who is he referring to as my Mom? His mistress? She burst into laughter. 'As far as I know, you sent your legal wife to a mental hospital instead of treating and supporting her," she said bitterly. 'Briell..." 'What do you need from me, Dad? Perhaps you've forgotten? After you threw Mom into a mental hospital and kicked her out of her own house, you also deprived me of my rights as your eldest child. You believed your eldest child and your mistress and you never listened to me," she said resentfully. 'I'm sick, Briella, and all I want is to see you. I know I have not been a good father to you but—" She let out a harsh sigh, not letting him finish speaking. 'I don't care. You can call me a bad daughter, but I won't return to your house until you get rid of your mistress. She is not supposed to be there in the first place," she said, then immediately turned off her cell phone and threw it aside. She took several deep breaths to calm herself down. She was filled with anger towards her father for what he did to her Mommy and the painful part was he obediently followed his mistress. 'What's wrong with you?" Chelsey asked as she came out of the kitchen. Chelsey was staying with her because Braun was in Korea and had a busy project. It had been two days since they announced their relationship. Many were surprised by the revelation, and it was still being talked about, so Braun didn't allow her to leave the house until he returned from Korea. He also assigned many security guards inside and outside their house. 'My dad called me," she replied. 'Oh? Why?" Chelsey asked, placing the popcorn she made on the table. They planned to have a movie marathon because they were both so bored. In the two days they spent together in that big house, they had done many things just to satisfy their boredom. She shrugged. 'I don't know." 'Don't you have any plans to visit your Mom? When was the last time you visited her?" Chelsey asked her. She pondered on what Chelsey said. Indeed, it had been a long time since she last visited her Mommy. Xander used to hate her visiting her Mom because he was afraid someone might see them entering such a place. 'Maybe when Braun comes back, we'll visit Mom. It's probably time for Braun to meet my mother too," she replied. 'What about your family? Don't you want to introduce Braun to your Dad and siblings?" Chelsey asked. She sighed heavily, lost in thought. There probably wasn't anything wrong with introducing Braun to her family, but if she did, it would surely give her husband another headache. 'I'll talk to him about this too. I don't want to involve him in my chaotic family again, I don't want to give him more headaches. All eyes are on me, one wrong move from me and surely there will be more bad news coming out about me," she said. 'But wouldn't it be better if you both knew each other's families?" Chelsey asked again. Chelsey had a point. In the more than a month they've been married, they haven't talked about their families yet. She didn't know if that was just a coincidence or if Braun allowed her to resolve her issues. She nodded. 'I'll take note of that. Perhaps it's time for us to talk about our families." She grabbed some popcorn and ate. Chelsey turned on the TV for them to watch, but she frowned feeling queasy. She quickly got up and ran to the kitchen, heading straight to the sink and vomited. Her stomach couldn't accept the taste of BBQ-flavored popcorn. 'Briella, are you okay?" Chelsey asked, concerned, as she handed her some water. She shook her head and looked at her friend with uncertainty. 'Can you buy me a pregnancy test? I think I'm—" 'Pregnant?!" Chelsey blurted out, her mouth dropping open. 'I'm not sure, but lately, I felt something strange about myself," she replied and took a sip of water. 'Oh, God! You need to tell Big Boss about—" 'Calm down," she said with a laugh, seeing Chelsey panicking and reaching for her phone. 'Who are you going to call?" 'Probably that brute Hitler!" she replied. 'Don't tell anyone about this; I don't want to assume. It's better if it stays between us for now," she told her. 'But I'll be in trouble with Big Boss if he finds out—" 'I'll handle Braun, and besides, we're not even sure yet. What if I'm wrong and it's just a food allergy causing me to vomit?" she interrupted before Chelsey could continue. Chelsey looked at her for a long time, weighing her words. She knew Chelsey was afraid of Braun, her husband's strict orders to Chelsey were to report everything she did, and if anything went wrong, she would be the one facing the consequences from her husband. 'Okay, but if that test turns positive, I'm calling that brute Hitler!" she said. She breathed a sigh of relief and thanked her friend with a smile. Chelsey quickly excused herself to buy the pregnancy test she needed. Automatically, she found her hand resting on her flat stomach. What am I going to do if I find out I'm pregnant? She returned to the living room and grabbed her phone, checking when her last period was. She grew even more suspicious when she realized she hadn't had one last month. She bit her lip and stared blankly, her heart pounding with excitement at the thought of finding out the result. I'll only go to the doctor after I confirm my suspicion. She smiled and gently caressed her abdomen, fervently praying that the Lord would grant their wish. Not long after, Chelsey returned, quickly heading to their room and straight to the bathroom. Chelsey waited outside, just as nervous as she was. Oh my God, this is it. Her hands trembled, and she held her breath as she stared at the Pregnancy Test. One down. She breathed a sigh of relief when the first line appeared after she applied her urine sample. She let out her breath continuously until both lines were visible. T-Two lines! Gosh! She heard consecutive knocks from outside the bathroom. 'Briella, are you okay? What's the result? Let me in. You're scaring the hell out of me!" Chelsey's worried voice rang through the door as she continued knocking. She took a deep breath and opened the door, holding the Pregnancy Test in her left hand. 'So?" Chelsey asked breathlessly. She showed her friend the result of the Pregnancy Test; Chelsey breathed a sigh of relief, but shortly after, her eyes widened as she took the Pregnancy Test from her hand. 'Shit, Briella, y-you're pregnant!" she stammered, waving the pregnancy test in the air. 'Gosh, you're gonna be a mother soon!" She laughed and took the Pregnancy Test back; she planned to keep it hidden and show it to Braun when he returned from Korea. She suddenly felt excited for him to come home; she couldn't wait to tell him the good news. 'I need to call Travis to make an appointment with his OB-GYN in their hospital. I still need to have a check-up and make sure I'm pregnant," she said. Chelsey nodded. 'Are you going to tell Big Boss about the good news?" she asked. She smiled and shook her head. 'Maybe after I have my check-up. This might just be a false alarm." 'What are you talking about? I'm telling you, you're pregnant. Believe it!" Chelsey's eyes sparkled. 'I can't wait to see the baby, who will it resemble?" She just laughed. They returned to the living room, and she immediately dialled Janice's number. She didn't have Travis's number. 'Hello, Briella. Is there something wrong?" Janice asked as soon as she answered the call. 'Uhm, nothing. I just need a favour from you, is that okay?" she asked. 'Sure, anything," Janice replied immediately. 'I need to contact Travis, can you give me his contact number?" she requested. 'Why?" Janice asked. She winced, expecting her to ask, so she had no choice but to tell her the truth. 'I want to tell you something, but I want you to promise me it'll be our little secret. Nobody else can know." 'Even your husband?" Janice asked. 'Yes, even Braun," she replied. 'Oh, dear, you got me curious, but yes, I promise." 'I think I'm pregnant, and I want to make an appointment for a check-up."