Chapter 9 Fear

• Kim’s POV
• Feeling the weight of urgency pressing upon me, I swiftly grab the pregnancy tests and make my way to the bathroom, taking advantage on the fact that my boss will be preoccupied with his "partner" for the next couple of hours.
• With nerves tightly wound around me, I carefully unwrap the pregnancy tests and begin the process of applying the urine sample. It's at this moment that I find myself pondering: how far am I willing to go to fulfill my dream of becoming a mother?
• How willing are you to fulfill your dream of being a good mother when you have no one to help you? These questions come to my mind at this moment, and the answer comes to me immediately. I am willing to do everything possible to be a good mother.
• Because even if it means going to jail, if that allows me to have my child, I don't care. I don't care what may happen to my life, what matters to me now is to know if there really is a baby inside me. That's what matters to me, and prioritizing my potential baby over myself is an indication of being a good mother, right?
• Taking a deep breath to conceal my overwhelming joy at the prospect of motherhood, I can't help but feel a sense of contentment just knowing that the possibility exists. And if the test results come back positive, that happiness will only be magnified. In a state of desperation, I find myself pacing the bathroom, eagerly awaiting the moment of truth.
• I find myself in the bathroom on the executive floor, knowing that I could be scolded by Mr. Delacroix for leaving my job. But I don't even care about that or the possibility of going to jail.
• Now the important thing is to know if I am pregnant. Besides, he is with his third conquest, talking about "business," and I need to know if the semen that my best friend helped me get was able to achieve its goal: to get me pregnant.
• Anxiously hoping for a positive pregnancy test, I pace back and forth in an attempt to make time pass quickly. However, it seems to drag on too slowly, exacerbated by the anxiety I feel about the potential consequences. I'm fully aware of the gravity of the situation; I know the risks involved. If this were to be exposed, my best friend—who is also my only family—could face trouble. But... I need this. I yearn for a family with my own flesh and blood, a family that will call me 'mother,' so much so that I'm willing to take the risk. We both are.
• My phone rings insistently, and I know it's Lu, my crazy best friend who is a gynecologist at the Sloan Obstetrics and Fertility Hospital. Thanks to her, I have the chance to get pregnant.
• And that's why both of us are at risk of going to jail for stealing one of the two sperm samples we took, and she helped me inseminate myself.
• An insemination that could take place today and fulfill my dream of becoming a mother – a dream that many believe is selfish because I don't have a husband by my side, but for me, it is the biggest dream I have worked hard to see come true.
• Nervously, I pick up the phone and answer the call, walking slowly towards the pregnancy test as it is time to see the result. My voice is barely audible when I try to speak, so I clear my throat to make a clear sound.
• "Lu..." I whisper, but the words get stuck in my throat out of fear.
• "Tell me if the theft that could cost me my career was worth the effort," Lu says, just as anxious as I am.
• "I..." I whisper, reaching the pregnancy test that shows a plus sign on it. I barely see the result, tears streaming down my cheeks, showing how happy I am with the outcome.
• Finally, Kim! Finally, you are going to be a mother. This plan worked, and you won't need any man by your side. You can focus on seeing your dream of being a mother come true from now on.
• "Kim, tell me already before I have a heart attack," Lu asks.
• "It's positive... I... I'm pregnant," I whisper, and almost immediately, I feel someone take my hand and pull me towards a strong chest.
• His annoyed gaze had prevented me from celebrating the pregnancy, and immediately I lowered the phone where Lu, my best friend, is celebrating the good news with a loud scream that can be heard even though the phone is far from my ear.
• "So it's true..." Alessandro murmurs.
• "Mr. Delacroix, I can explain why I wasn't at my workplace," I murmured, scared, thinking that his anger was because I wasn't at my job.
• "Then it's you who will give me a child," he whispered, showing more surprise than anger in his eyes.
• Amazement overwhelmed me, and I felt a strong blow that disoriented me with his words. So it's confirmed, he will take away my child and put me in prison. It's a fact.
• "What do you mean I'm going to give you what?" I said, pretending to be clueless.
• "You took my sperm sample. You... are the mother of my first child. You're going to be the mother of my child, Miss Morgan," he said seriously.
• Oh, damn. Was the sample really from my boss? Am I really going to have the CEO's child? No, this must be a joke. I... can't be pregnant with my womanizing boss. That can't be possible, can it? No, maybe he's mistaken and the sperm sample belongs to another man. Yes, that must be it.
• “Mr. Delacroix, I don't understand what you mean, but if you let me go and we talk calmly, I might be able to understand what you're saying.”
• “You know exactly well what I'm referring to. You took a sperm sample from Sloan Fertility Hospital, and that sample is mine," he asserts, his hand reaching for the test I have. Before I can react, he snatches it, looking at the result.
• “This pregnancy is thanks to my sperm."
• “Therefore, you stole something from me, and now you must give me my child, Kim," he says angrily, then takes me out of the bathroom and towards his office.
• “Alessandro," his third conquest calls out from outside the conference room.
• “Not now, Brenda," he dismisses her, passing by and shutting the door behind us, pressing me against it, making me a prisoner of the door and his body.
• “But Alessandro, we haven't discussed our agreement!" I shout, allowing us to hear, but Alessandro ignores me.
• His fury is palpable, and the bulging vein on his forehead signals that reasoning with him will be futile. I search desperately for an escape route, but short of sprouting wings and flying through the glass wall opposite us, there's no way out.
• “I promised I would be good to you, and I have been, so why did you steal my sperm sample, Kim Morgan?" he growls, his voice laced with menace.
• “Mr. Delacroix, that wasn't my intention…”
• “Then what was your intention in stealing someone else's sperm and inseminating yourself?”
• “We... we can come to an agreement. We can resolve things.”
• “Of course, we will resolve it. My lawyer will contact you, as well as the doctor who helped you in this madness, Kim Morgan.”
• Well, I guess we won't be able to talk calmly about this. We're really going to end up in jail. Damn, why didn't I take the sample that wasn't Alessandro Delacroix's when I saw both of them? Maybe he wouldn't have taken it personally, but as a disastrous coincidence.