3 months later (8 months)
(Phoenix POV)
These past few months have been crazy. Me, trying to pin Brianna for any criminal charge, stopping work because of a stupid promise I jokingly made to Sterling that I’d stop working as soon as I got into my third trimester of the pregnancy, being cooped up at home all day doing nothing but investigate and eat like cow and actually feel like one.
Urrgghh, it is driving me crazy! Sometimes I wonder at what point I am going to give birth because the waist pain was killing me, the swollen legs made it impossible for any shoe to fit in, my figure was out of shape—hopefully I regained it back pretty soon, and then there was Cooking Fest. Thank goodness I made the decision of letting Debby handle it because it could have worn me out.
Lastly, I had to deal with a nagging Brianna who whined about everything and felt entitled.
“Brianna, you have been in this house for more than 2 months, shouldn’t your attitude also tone down a notch? You are giving me a headache,” this chic really wasn’t going to listen but I have to endure her for 30 more days.
I watched her catwalk to where I laid in my hammock behind my house and spew rubbish to my face “First of all, you don’t get to dictate to me what I can and cannot do. I live here and I have that right too besides, I am crying Sterling’s child too, don’t forget that. I told you that I was going to give you war,”
“You are only here because I let it, so just know that you are here on my mercy, don’t forget that,”
The bitch actually hissed at me before waltzing into the house.
Before she drove me mad, I had to deal with as soon as possible and going into town would be my next stop. I got up and got into the house and was heading straight for my room when I passed through the guest room and noticed something that shocked me to my bones.
Was that an artificial baby bump? Oh Brianna, Brianna, Brianna, I guess today wasn’t your lucky day after all. Too bad she left the door a bit open. I quickly took my phone and took pictures and video for reference purposes then catwalked out of there and smiled like I had just won another lottery and in this case, I guess I did.
Changing wasn’t that hard and the thrill of getting to show Sterling what I just saw gave me such a huge rush that I finished everything in record time. I got into Sterling’s Mercedes Benz and headed for the mall to go for an unnecessary shopping spree.
On my way to the mall, I noticed that a cab had been tailing me and whoever drove sucked at tailing someone but there was nothing I could do at that moment other than get into the mall and blend with everyone.
The thrill of being finally free after being cooped up at home for more than 2 months overtook me and I soon forgot that I was being tailed. I shopped my life out until I spotted the supposed stalker lurking behind a dress rack, pretending to be shopping. I quickly paid for my stuffs and went to the ladies room to lay an ambush; hopefully whoever it was followed me there.
Getting behind the toilet door, I waited for the stalker until whoever it was got into the bathroom and I tackled them. I slammed the person against the toilet door and removed the hood only to discover that it was a lady--- an elderly lady.
“Who are you and what are you doing following me? I noticed you trailing me and need I tell you that your driver sucks at it, now, speak!” I yelled while still maintaining my choke hold on her. Tsk, the woman!
“Phoenix, it is me, mum,” the lady said with a shaky voice while trying to remove herself from my hold but only managed to infuriate me the more with her sentence.
“What are you talking about? Tell me who you really are or I swear to God, I will have you arrested right now!” I slammed her against the door pretty bad and I guess it hurt her because she was obviously wincing and I was seeing red.
How dare she try to impersonate my mother? For all I know, she could be dead!
“But I just told you the truth! I am your mother,” The strange woman said as tears welled up her eyes. Obviously someone put her up to this.
“Tell me, who put you up to this? Allen? Brianna? Speak now or so help me God, I will call the cops on you,” Just what the hell! For almost 15 years or more, no one had ever claimed to be my mother and I didn’t care anymore but this woman, coming to open up old wounds? Was she being honest or was I in denial?
She slowly lifted her hands and touched my face and I flinched; I needed to get out of there before things spiraled out of control. I stopped ruffling her, picked up my back and scurried out and then pulled my phone put to call Sterling after maneuvering my way through the crowd without being recognized and thankfully he picked up.
With shaky breathes, I spoke “Sterling, please meet me at Sweet Brew Café right now. I can’t… I can’t believe my eyes,” I struggled to get into my car and start it.
“Phoenix, calm down and talk to me, what happened?” I heard Sterling but my mind was far away.
“Come meet me at the café, I will tell you everything,” I hung and managed to drive the car to Sweet brew café and couldn’t come out because it felt like I was taken back to the past.
Everything flashed before my eyes and I couldn’t help but cry. i didn’t know how long I sat in the car for but I was brought back to reality by the sound coming from nearby and I turned to see that it was Sterling knocking on my side of the window. I opened the car and let him in.
“Babe, what is going on? Why are you crying and what are you even doing out here? what was so important that you couldn’t get Liyah to do it for you or better still, tell me about it and I could have helped you,” Sterling said, taking my hands in his and smoothening them out in a soft manner releasing the tension I felt.
I looked at him and let out a shaky breathe before saying “I couldn’t endure another minute in that house with Brianna and so I decided to get out but then I caught her doing something incriminating. I was on my way to your office but I decided to make a quick stop at the mall. On my way here, I noticed a car trailing me,” he didn’t even let me finish and the veins were already popping out of his forehead.
“A car, tailing you? Did you somehow manage to get the make and model of the car?” he ranted off and I just looked at him as though he just developed two horn—this guy..
“I lost whoever that person was or I thought I did until I spotted the person at the mall, a rack or two behind me. I paid and left but when to the stall to lay and ambush for whoever it was,” I said, still looking at him.
“And?” he took out an handkerchief to wipe the beads pf tears on my face and then I continued.
“I caught the person and it turned out to be a middle-aged lady but what was more shocking was when she claimed to be my mother,”
“Wait, your mother? How is that possible? I thought you said that she was dead or that you didn’t know her whereabouts,”
“I was eight years old when she left, and I am almost 26 now, I don’t know what she looks like but right now, she just ruined a perfectly good moment with her reappearance, if she is even the one,” everything was becoming messed up, I couldn’t focus anymore.
“Well, I am going back to the mall, I will ask the security guards for the tapes that are in the toilet stores or adjacent to it and I am pretty sure that we will get her and when I do, I will track her down and do a background check on her just so we are sure that we aren’t dealing with a phony,” He said, rubbing my hand slightly in order to make me feel better.
I sniffled before saying, “That will be great but I have to get home right now, I can’t be out here,”
“Are you sure? Don’t you want me to drive you home?” Sterling said, worry written all over his face.
“I will be fine; I promise, just work on the surveillance tapes and find out about her,”
“Okay, be safe.”
After Sterling got out of the car reluctantly, I watched him sluggishly walk back to his car all the while taking occasional looks in my direction before he got into his car and sped off and then I released a shaky breathe. I set my car in motion and zoomed off but my mind wasn’t on the drive back home.
My mind was wandering in the past and wondering how different my life would have turned out to be if I lived with my mother or if I ran away with her or if my parents both lived together. I’m sure it wouldn’t have been as bad as getting molested at that age. The tears stung and it hurt because I thought about all the ‘what ifs’ but then my wandering mind was brought back to reality when I heard a loud hunk and I turned towards the direction of the noise but it was too late.
An head on collision with a truck and all I could do was let out a blood shrilling scream as I watched the car summersault but of course after being severely wrecked and then I lost consciousness mid-way.
(Author’s POV)
The collision, the crash; no one could have suspected it, or imagined that it would have but the accident scene was a ghastly one. The accident site attracted passers-by and some courageous young men went to the scene of the accident to check for survivors and they found Phoenix, dangling in an awkward position with a blood stained face.
They quickly rushed to get her out of the car before it caught fire and although they encountered some difficulties, they managed to pull her out after some minutes only to find out that she was heavily pregnant and then everybody present was in a state of confusion until one of the young men shouted “Somebody call an ambulance, this woman needs help immediately or she may not survive it,”
After he said that, someone called an ambulance and in no time, the paramedics were around and Phoenix was taken to the hospital and immediately attended to; thankfully, Dr. Hailey was the doctor on duty and she was no doubt in shocked at the state at which she saw Phoenix but before calling Sterling informing him, she had to make sure that she was stable and so she gave the orders before going into the operating room.
The phone rang and Sterling picked up
“Dr. Hailey, to what do I owe this surprise call?”
“Mr. Tyrell, I have some grave news for you,”
“Grave news, what are you talking about?”
“It is about Phoenix,”
“What about her? She is at home right now and I just saw her some minutes ago, so what on earth are you talking about?”
“Well, Miss Mills was just wheeled in here on a stretcher and she hanging on for dear life,”
Sterling roared in anger “What do you mean doctor? “
“It seems she was involved in a ghastly motor accident and she was brought in unconscious. Right now, I am going to do everything within my power to make her stable while I remove the baby pre-term if I have to save the child too. I just thought that I should keep you in touch before going in, hurry down here,” Dr. Hailey said in a hurry and hung up before going to the operating room.