Claimed By The Don

Ava p. o. v

Tricia wasn’t home when I get here, so I let myself in since I still have my keys and make my way to my old room. After sitting on the bed for sometime, I finally drag myself up and enter the bathroom to have a long shower.

I stayed under the hot spray, running the sponge absentmindedly all over my body but paused when I reach my stomach.

I didn’t feel anything special, rather I felt devoid of emotion. There wasn’t any motherly instinct that took over me to caress my tummy fondly. I have never given much thought to motherhood, I’m way too young for it and I have my college courses to concentrate on.

This is my life, and decisions shouldn’t be made for me but he does. He has absolutely no right to do this, he has no right to dictate my life yet that’s what he always do. He always trample all over me with his overbearing, unreasonable and difficult ways and I had always let him have his ways.

I have fight him on many occasions but he mostly gets his way.

Not this one though, I have accepted and tolerated many things where Vince is concerned, I have let him do with me however he pleases. He had forcefully married me, stopped me from my job, took me away from school for a month with a lame excuse of going to honeymoon. He took away my innocence and now he wants to force me into motherhood without a care of what my opinion would be.

I can’t keep up, it’s too much work, I just realized it now.

I stepped out of the shower, I didn’t bother drying my hair or putting on any lotion. I just threw on a big shirt and a sweatpants, then head out of my room to the kitchen. I need to find some thing to feed my growling stomach, I haven’t had anything since morning and right now I felt like I had to eat or I might pass out.

I stop dead in my track, completely startled. Tricia sat on a stool beside the counter, elbows rest on the counter top and palms cups her cheeks. Her hair looks disheveled and clothes twisted awkwardly, I took in her facial expressions. Fear, confusion and worry was all over her face, she seems bothered by something.

She absentmindedly taps her nails against her left cheek. When did she come in, I didn’t hear her coming in.

“Hey.” I called out to leaning against the door frame. Startled she flinched down from the stool she had sat on.

“Goodness, Ava! Thank God you are okay. Where have you been all day, your husband is going crazy searching for you. You had us all worried, wait I’m calling Dario” Tricia rant pulling from the hug she me in and reaching for her phone on the counter top.

“Please don’t.” Came my quiet plead that effectively halts her.

“Why?” From the confused look on her face tells me she isn’t aware of what Vince did. Of course he wouldn’t tell anyone.

“Remember, you got me some prevention pills.” I bite out.

“Yes.” She frown feeling more confused but wait patiently for me to continue.

“Vince got them replaced.”

“He what?” She shriek.

“He has them replaced, he wants me pregnant.” With eyes wide and jaw slightly gaped, she carefully wrapped her arms around my shoulder in a comforting way.

“He told you that?” She is as shock as I was.

“Yes.” I breathe tiredly.

“Why the hell would he do that? And you didn’t use any other protection?”

“No.” I mutter bracing myself for a long lecture on carelessness. I wasn’t careful enough but I’m blaming Vince for this whole situation, not for just replacing my pills. But I should’ve made him wear protection just to be extra careful, but it slipped my mind thinking use of only my pills should be enough.

Tricia still looks shocked, I’m not surprised it is shocking.

“I surely do not understand him, I mean why would he do something like that.” Tricia shakes her head in wonderment.

“He thought I’d leave him.” I mumbled quietly. I’m not going to deny it, I did have such thoughts in mind to leave him and this forced marriage after I successfully paid my dad’s debt off. But I was slowly changing my mind before this whole pregnancy stuff.

“For Christ sake Ava you’ve been married to him, why would you leave him.” She chuckles. “What the hell was he thinking? I know he’s a bit crazy but…”

“A bit? He is crazy. He has done the most unreasonable thing possible, if that isn’t craziness then I don’t know what is.” I scoffed.

“Yeah, I didn’t think he could shock me more but this time he really went too far.”

We stayed silence for a few moments before Tricia broke the tensed air.

“So are you pregnant?” She asks not sure of my answer but still wait to hear it.

The question Spike the lump in my throat to swell and before I could think of controlling myself, tears started streaming down my cheeks. I covered my face with my palms and sob loudly.

Finally letting out my caged frustration.

“Oh Ava!” Tricia wrap her arm around my shoulders, she hushes me quietly in my ear like a child.

I suddenly felt so stupid, very stupid for ignoring the changes in my body and how extra careful Vince has been with me recently. Treating me like some fragile flower vessel.

“My period is suppose to come tomorrow and I’m not sure if it’s going to come but Vince look confident that it won’t come.” I sniff, Tricia drew out the drawer beside her and hand me a tissue, I wipe my nose as she pats my back.

“I’m going for a test on Monday to confirm it if my period fail to come.” I was scared of what the outcome of the test would be but I had to do it.

“I completely understands you.” She says, I’m relieved to hear her say that, I know nothing fazes her and she’s quite fond of Vince and I relationship. But this has left her shock.Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

“So what are you going to do now, let me guess. Play hard to get?”

“Terminate it.” I say emotionless. Tricia’s jaw hits the table as she let go of me as if I just burn her skin. “Tricia can you imagine how overprotective and overbearing he would be when he finds out I’m surely pregnant? He’s already way too overpossessive of me and I like it but to some extent but being pregnant? No I can’t tolerate his over protectiveness” I groan.

“That would would send him insane Ava, I mean that man is crazy for you that’s the reason he got you pregnant in the first place, then you’re going to terminate it?”

“That reason is not good enough not to abortion it.” I reply quietly. I know what aborting his child will do to him but he didn’t consider what his actions will do to me. I’m not ready for this, he didn’t stopped once to consider how I might feel.

“I’m still a college student with a few years remaining to graduate and I’m just twenty-one, so I have enough time to have a baby but not right now.”

“But you’re married and babies are inevitable.” Tricia sighs, staring at me as if contemplating what to say that will make me understand. But I have already made my decision and nothing will change it.

“I don’t even know what to say.” She sigh tiredly rubbing her temples.

“Then don’t, all I need is your support.” She shakes her head a little.

“Alright I’ll support you, but not that I think you’re right terminating your child but because that’s what you need and I can give.” She says reluctantly. She doesn’t think it was okay but her willingness to halt any form of guilty trip. I’m already feeling guilty which isn’t what I should be feeling.

I don’t see any other way of doing it, I can’t have a baby right now and that’s final.

“Thanks.” I whispered getting up and gave her a brief hug before skidding my way to my room to wallow in myself pity and guilt. My hunger was completely forgotten and all need right now is to be alone.