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Samuel was preoccupied with his thoughts as he sat with Paul and the others on the stands. It was a bright sunny day and around them the crowd was cheering as the horses filed out of the stables.
It was the Spring Horseracing Derby, and apart from being a high school championship, it was also the social event of the season. The families of the Noble 52 were out in full force as well as everyone who was anyone in the country.
The vibrant sea of spectators was a spectacle in its own right. Dressed in the latest spring fashion and brightly decorated hats, the elites were chattering animatedly away as the first round of show jumping began.
A smattering of polite applause broke out as the first contestant cleared the first hurdles, but no one was paying much attention to the track. Their attention was drawn to the figure who stood in the far-off distance on the verdant landscape.
For the first time in five years, Jayden Mills was participating in the contest. The crowd was abuzz with anticipation as Jayden calmly brushed down the gleaming coffee-coloured coat of the full-blooded mare that stood beside him.
The mare’s ears twitched as it pawed the ground restlessly with its hooves. Jayden stroked its nose softly, whispering comforting words as he turned to cast his dark eyes contemplatively on the course before looking up to search the stands.
Paul nudged Samuel sharply with his elbow. ‘Your boyfriend is looking at you.’
Samuel blinked as he slowly came out of his thoughts. He caught Paul’s pointed gaze and turned to look at Jayden.
He waved and gave his boyfriend an encouraging smile.
Jayden smiled and turned his attention back to his steed. The mare was much calmer as she nudged Jayden’s hands softly with a wet muzzle. He stroked her fondly before pulling up to seat himself on the saddle.
Leo sighed beside Samuel. ‘Your boyfriend is so dreamy.’
Paul, Samuel, Noel, and Cam turned to face him with equal looks of incredulity.
‘What?’ he said defensively.
‘Should I be worried?’ Samuel asked.
‘Yeah,’ Noel added. ‘Aren’t you straight?’
‘Being straight doesn’t make me blind, does it?’ Leo shot back. ‘Besides, can’t guys compliment other guys without it being fruity?’
‘There’s complimenting, and there’s staring at him with a besotted look on your face,’ Paul stated amusedly. ‘Guess which one you were doing.’
Leo looked absolutely horrified. ‘I did not have a besotted look on my face.’
‘Sure, you didn’t,’ Paul intoned sarcastically.
‘Better watch out, Sam. It seems you have a competitor on the loose,’ Cam teased.
The group burst into laughter as Leo’s face turned beet red. Samuel offered a weak smile and turned back to face the racetrack.
Paul leaned closer to Samuel as the rest of the group continued to tease Leo.
‘You okay, buddy? You seem a bit out of sorts.’
Samuel glanced at his best friend. ‘Is it that obvious?’
‘Not really, I just know you better. Care to tell me what’s going on? You look as if you’ve got the weight of the world resting on your shoulders.’
Samuel sighed. ‘I might as well. I don’t know who else to talk to.’ He glanced at the packed stands. ‘Not here, though.’
Paul nodded and followed Samuel as they discreetly slipped out of the stands.
‘Hey, where are you lot disappearing off to?’ Leo asked suspiciously.
‘Leaving you to question your sexuality in peace,’ Cam joked. He let out a yelp as Leo suddenly pounced on him and held his head in a deadlock.
Samuel and Paul soon left the commotion of their friends behind and slipped beneath the stands.
‘Alright, what is going on?’ Paul asked as soon as they were out of earshot.
‘Pearl is pregnant.’
Paul was thunderstruck. ‘What?’
Samuel watched him with dry amusement. ‘Imagine how I felt.’
‘I need to sit down.’
Paul held his head in his hand as he looked around for a place to sit. Finding none, he simply collapsed on the grass and rubbed his head as if trying to ward off an incoming headache.
‘How? When? Where? How?’
‘I think you already mentioned how,’ Samuel stated dryly. ‘But if you insist, when a man and woman love each other very much-‘
‘Oh, shut up.’ Paul cut him off. He rubbed his head tiredly. ‘I’m not sure you realize how much of Jayden has rubbed off on you.’ He suddenly groaned and placed his head back in his hands. ‘Oh my God, Jayden. He doesn’t know, does he?’
Samuel sighed and slid down beside him. ‘No, he doesn’t. And I’m not sure how to tell him.’
Paul hesitated. ‘You didn’t… you didn’t cheat on him, did you?’
Samuel looked offended by that question. ‘Of course, I didn’t. What kind of person do you take me for? It happened after he broke up with me on New Year’s. I was drunk and depressed; next thing I knew, we woke up on the same bed.’
Paul did a quick mental calculation. ‘That would mean she is almost five months along. When did you find out?’
‘On Jayden’s birthday,’ Samuel muttered.
‘You’ve known for a month! How the hell have you managed to hide it so far?’
Samuel gave him a wry smile. ‘As you said, Jayden has rubbed off on me far more than I realize.’
‘Jesus Christ and his bloody lucky virgin of a mother,’ Paul cursed loudly.
‘Well, she wasn’t really lucky if she still ended up getting pregnant, now, was she?’
Paul glared at him. ‘I’ll smack you in the face. Jesus, it’s like talking to Jayden. Why am I the only one freaking out about this?’
‘Don’t worry, I had my mental breakdown a month ago. Now, I simply resort to my lovely boyfriend’s cynical sarcasm as a way to cope with the situation.’
‘And how the hell did you get yourself into this situation? Didn’t your mother’s lecture teach you anything? What happened to protection? Huh? What happened to that?’
‘We were both drunk,’ Samuel explained tiredly. ‘I think she was on pills, but they obviously didn’t work. Looks like my mother was right; abstinence is the best protection.’
Paul paused. ‘How can you be sure it’s yours though? This could be a trick to get you back.’
Samuel shook his head. ‘I know her. She isn’t someone who would do something like that.’
‘Samuel, I love you, but this is not the time for your naïve belief in humanity.’
Samuel gave him a droll look. ‘We also did a NIPP test. It’s mine.’
‘Does she want to keep it?’
‘Seems like it. Her family is Catholic, and the only thing they despise more than fornication is abortion.’ He shrugged. ‘Either way, it’s her body, so it’s her choice. I’m not going to force her to do something she doesn’t want.’
‘Oh God,’ Paul groaned. ‘I’m too young to be an uncle.’
Samuel let out a humourless laugh. ‘What would you say about me then?’
‘You?’ Paul snorted. ‘Young or not, you would be a great dad. If anyone was meant for fatherhood, it would be you. That little tyke is going to be the luckiest child in the world.’
Samuel looked down at his feet. ‘Do you really think so?’
Paul gave him a wane smile. ‘I do, and you won’t be alone.’ He paused. ‘When are you going to tell Jayden?’
Samuel drew up his knees and buried his face between them. ‘I don’t know,’ he muttered. ‘Everything was finally going great with us; I don’t want to ruin that.’
Paul gave his best friend a long look. ‘You have to tell him.’
‘I know…’
‘No, I’m not sure you do.’ Paul sat up and turned Samuel to face him. ‘Samuel, look at me. You have to tell him now. He cannot find out about this from anyone else.’
Samuel tried to turn his head away, but Paul held onto his face firmly.
‘Listen to me. Things have already been ruined, do not make it worse by keeping this a secret from him. You have to tell him.’
Samuel forced his head away. ‘You’re overreacting. I told you I’m going to tell him.’
‘Now.’
Samuel rolled his eyes. ‘Fine.’
Paul finally let go of his face. He stood up and pulled Samuel to his feet. ‘Come on, we better head back. I’m sure the others are wondering what we’ve been up to.’
Sure enough, they heard Leo’s loud voice calling out their names.
‘Paul? Samuel? Pauline? Paulette? Paulina? Paoluna? Papa? Popette?’
Paul grimaced painfully as Leo continued to butcher his name mercilessly.
‘Paulie? Paulo? Polo? Marco? Marco Polo?’
Cam caught sight of Paul and Samuel as they emerged from beneath the stands and punched Leo on the side.
‘Shut up, idiot. They are right there.’
‘Paulina! Where have you been?’ Leo stormed over to Paul. ‘And you,’ he rounded on Samuel. ‘Where were you?’
‘We were-‘
‘I don’t want to hear it,’ Leo cut him off abruptly. ‘While you were gallivanting around without a care in the world, your boyfriend has been in three shows. Three!’ He counted his fingers one by one. ‘One, two, three. Three! What could be more important than showing up to support your boyfriend?’
Samuel’s face blanched. ‘What…?’
Leo sighed and collapsed against Noel. ‘Is it me? Am I the only one who cares about today? Or maybe I care too much, is that it?’
Noel struggled to hold him up. ‘I’m sure they didn’t mean to miss it.’
‘Talk some sense into them. Maybe they’ll listen to you,’ Leo said tiredly. ‘Why must I always be the mature one in this group?’
Cam snorted heavily, which caused Leo to throw him a challenging glare. ‘What?’
‘Nothing,’ Cam said quickly. ‘Let’s head back. The final race is almost on.’
Noel tried to pull Leo off him, but he clung on stubbornly, so he was left with no choice but to drag him along as they made their way back to the stands.
They had almost reached their seats when Samuel turned and caught sight of a figure staring directly at him.
His steps came to a halt. ‘I have something I need to do. I’ll catch up with you guys later.’
‘What!’ Leo exploded. ‘You can’t possibly be serious right now. You are going to miss the most important race of all.’
‘I’ll be back in time for it, I promise.’
Leo shook his head firmly. ‘You are not going anywhere, young man. Now sit your ass down before I smack it with my chancla.’
‘I’ll get you ice cream on my way back.’
Leo blinked. ‘I’m sure you wouldn’t leave if it wasn’t something important. You go ahead, we’ll keep your seat warm for you.’
Samuel shook his head in mild amusement as Leo shoved the rest of them to their seats. He left the stands and pursued the veiled figure as they darted quickly behind the stands.
Their path led them past the bustling crowd to the farthest outskirts of the green fields.
The sweet earthy scent of hay hit Samuel on the nostrils as they approached an abandoned stable. The figure slipped inside and Samuel hesitated briefly at the entrance before following them.
Beams of sunlight slipped through the cracks of wood, illuminating the room as Samuel walked up to the figure.
‘What are you doing here, Pearl?’
Pearl reached up and unwrapped the silk shawl from her face. She let it drop limply to her side as she turned around to face him.
‘We need to talk.’
Samuel’s expression turned wary. ‘About what?’
‘You know what. Why have you been avoiding me?’
‘I’ve not been avoiding you, Pearl,’ Samuel answered tiredly.
‘Really?’ Pearl challenged. ‘Then what are you waiting for? We need to get married before people start to notice I’m pregnant.’
‘I already told you; I am not going to marry you.’
‘You got me pregnant!’ Pearl screeched. ‘You need to take responsibility for this.’
‘I am taking responsibility,’ Samuel protested. ‘I’m not going to let you go through this alone, but I’m not going to marry you.’
‘Do you think I want to marry you? I don’t even want this baby!’
Samuel took a step back at the force of her tone. ‘What…’
‘I was going to have an abortion, but my mother found out before I could. You know how religious my parents are. They were furious when they found out I was pregnant, but they were even more so when they learned I was getting rid of it. Now, I have no choice but to keep it.’
There were angry tears in her eyes and she rubbed them away furiously.
Samuel stepped closer to her and held her hands in his own. ‘Listen, you are not alone in this. I’m not going to let you raise the baby on your own. I promise I’m going to be there for you. For both of you.’
Pearl’s eyes were pleading as they looked up at him. ‘Then marry me, please.’
Samuel shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t. We don’t need to get married.’
Pearl scoffed and pulled her hands away. ‘Of course, you don’t understand. It’s different for men. Do you know what I went through when my parents found out? They couldn’t even look at me until I swore that their grandchild wouldn’t be a bastard.’
‘I… I know it probably doesn’t mean much to you but I am truly sorry that you had to experience that with your parents. But you can’t marry someone just to make your parents happy.’
‘I’m not doing it only for them,’ Pearl said frustratedly. ‘I’m doing it for myself as well. You already know what will happen if people find out about this. My family would be cloaked in scandal, I will become a social pariah! No one would even want to be seen with me, much less associate with me. I know you think it’s nothing, but I grew up in society. That is my world. You can’t expect me to just give it up.’
‘Pearl, I…’
‘I’m not asking you to love me. You don’t even need to spend your life with me. We can get a divorce after the baby is born. There is dignity in being a divorcée; there is none in being a baby mama.’
Samuel’s expression was tortured as he stared at Pearl. They were both in an impossible position and he couldn’t see a way to get them out of it.
‘I understand, I really do, but you don’t know what you’re asking me. I’m sure we would be able to figure something else out, but I can’t marry you… I just can’t.’
‘Why?’ Pearl demanded. ‘What’s holding you back?’
‘I…’
‘I need to understand. Make me understand why you’re willing to ruin my life.’
Samuel’s jaw clenched tightly as he looked away from Pearl’s distraught face. ‘There is… I’m already with someone else.’
Pearl’s stood in silence for a few moments before taking a step back. ‘So, you’re really with Jayden.’ Her voice was icy.
Samuel blinked in shock. ‘How did you…?’
‘I can’t believe Valentina was right.’
Samuel’s gaze sharpened. ‘Valentina?’
Pearl laughed humourlessly. ‘She tried to warn me, but I didn’t believe her… I wouldn’t believe her.’
‘Pearl,’ Samuel said, stepping closer to her. ‘What does Valentina have to do with this?’
‘I should have listened to her.’
‘Pearl, listen.’ Samuel grabbed her and forced her to look at him. ‘Listen to me. Valentina is manipulating you. Do not trust her.’
Pearl tore herself from his grasp. ‘Manipulating me? She is the only one I can trust. She was there for me when no one was. She is my friend, and I trust her more than I trust you.’
‘She is playing you,’ Samuel replied forcefully. ‘You need to trust me.’
‘Trust you?’ Pearl stated incredulously. ‘Let me ask you something. Did you break up with me to be with him?’
Samuel hesitated but Pearl already knew the answer.
‘Of course, you did. But when I asked you back then if you had found someone else, you looked me in the eyes and lied. All this time I thought I must have done something wrong but it wasn’t my fault, it was yours and you lied to me. Valentina was the one who told me the truth. Tell me, who should I trust?’
‘Look, I know I messed up, but you are playing right into her hands. She is just using you to get to Jayden.’
Pearl laughed. ‘There is that name again. Jayden. Jayden. Jayden. It is always about him. Even when we were dating, it was always Jayden this, Jayden that. “Pearl, why doesn’t Jayden want to talk to me?” “Jayden didn’t glare at me today, do you think it means I’m making progress?” “Pearl, Jayden grinned at me! Can you believe that? He actually grinned!”‘
Samuel winced but Pearl wasn’t done.
‘Tell me, what does your precious Jayden think of the fact you got your ex-girlfriend pregnant?’
Samuel said nothing.
A look of realization dawned on her face. ‘Oh. He doesn’t know, does he? Maybe I should be the one to break the joyful news.’
Samuel’s gaze shot up. ‘Don’t.’
Pearl gave him a sardonic smile. ‘Too late.’
Her expression made Samuel freeze and he slowly turned to see Jayden standing in the doorway.
Author’s Note:
I may be the God of writing but I am not a cruel deity. Instead of edging you all for another week, the next chapter is up🙃. You’re welcome😘
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