Weeks turned into months. Eva maintained her distance with the Wills family. When they had their family meetings she found herself sleeping as she tried to excuse herself but would end up in arguments with Belinda in which she found herself irritated by Belinda in a more than normal way. Belinda had tried to take her to the doctor but Eva had always reminded Belinda to stay within her lane. She found herself more comfortable with the maids that she woke up early to help them work, even preparing breakfast. Rebecca had provoked her many times for trying to act out for her son but Eva ignored her. Eva felt tired as she had been sleeping the whole day.
She had not felt like waking up that morning. Belinda was worried sick as she knew she would spent her days either in the kitchen or with the gardener but she had been in her bed the whole day, which was highly unlike the Eva she had gotten to know. Eva got down at dinner time, wearing a string dress which just slightly touched her knees. Judging on the chilliness' of the day Belinda decided to mind her own business for the very first time.
Eva stood by her chair browsing the table, she didn't feel like eating anything at the table. She opened the bowels, it was quite evident she was searching for something.
" I asked the maids not to cook the pumpkins, we have had a lot of them these past weeks don't you think?"
Rebecca informed her as she was becoming irritated by her. Eva made a move in the direction of the kitchen but Rebecca quickly grabbed her hand, Eva quietly turned to her and looked down at her.
" for Christ's sake we have guests Eva"
she whispered with pleading eyes. Eva returned to her seat and called for a maid and asked her to bring pumpkins for her but the maid told her there were none in the house.
"your appetite for pumpkins can't it wait?"
Susan asked irritably,
" someone might mistake you for a pregnant woman! No one has ever said that if you eat what's on the table you might have a miscarriage "
she inserted. Eva had been on her feet when Susan said something, Eva quickly turned to her direction,
" why would you say that"
she asked hoping she was just saying that for the sake of saying it. Jayden had a spoon at the level of his lips as if the whole scene had been paused. He turned gazed up to meet with Eva's questioning look, he knew she was asking if he had used protection that night. Eva cleared her throat completely ignoring what Susan had said and sat down determined to prove her room she reached for the stewed chicken in front of her. At the sight of it she changed her mind, closing the bowel and heading to her room only to emerge five minutes later wearing a tracksuit.
"where are you going?"
Jayden's father asked, Eva looked at him thinking of a possible lie that could get her to the market, if she couldn't have a pumpkin she would rather have watermelon. Looking at her any normal person would tell she was going to get a pumpkin,
" I didn't eat my pumpkins yesterday check the fridge"
Bob informed her, without further clarity, she disappeared into the kitchen.
Eva was surprised as someone was send to get her as she sat outside in the sunshine. She walked in to realize that a doctor had been called for her.
She was pregnant!
6 months pregnant!
Eva looked at her tiny tummy and shook her head before turning to her room.
" they must be joking"
she thought. She spent the whole week locked in her room, just asking for pumpkins. Belinda was dying out of worry especially when they got to know she was pregnant. Jayden didn't know wether to be happy or not but he was curious to what she was thinking because she had applied for an abortion and it was approved. It was by the aroma of fried fish Belinda thought would work for Jayden loved fish. He thought it was for him but was surprised as he saw his grandmother asking the maids to leave the bowel on her door and went back to take it,
" I hope the child likes the same food as his father, if he/she does she will come"
Belinda shared her experiment at the dinner table. Everyone looked at the stairs and returned to their food.
Surprisingly it worked, she shamelessly came down and retrieved the bowel of fish and sat on her chair. She silently ate the fish not bothering to ask who it was for it was it was just one. Eva's silence spoke volumes as she savored each bite of the fish. The subtle clinking of cutlery against the porcelain plates punctuated the otherwise quiet room. Belinda, unable to contain her curiosity any longer, cleared her throat and ventured to speak.
"Eva, we didn't expect you to join us. Is everything alright?"
he inquired cautiously. Eva looked up, her gaze meeting Jayden's. There was a glint of determination in her eyes as she addressed everyone at the table.
"You need to stop your dirty tricks. The abortion inquiry is for a friend, not me."
The words hung in the air, creating a pregnant pause. The room seemed to still, as if time itself had paused to absorb the revelation. Jayden's eyes widened, registering the weight of what Eva had just shared. The parents exchanged a furtive glance, their expressions a blend of surprise and realization. Eva's declaration cast a different light on the situation, unraveling the web of assumptions and expectations that had entangled the family. The unspoken tension around the possible pregnancy seemed to dissipate, leaving room for a new set of emotions to emerge. As Eva finished her meal, she pushed the bowl away, her gaze lingering on Jayden.
"I'm done playing these games. If there's something you need to discuss, let's do it openly. I won't tolerate being manipulated."
With those words, she rose from the table and left the room, leaving behind a stunned silence. Jayden, torn between relief and a sense of unresolved tension, exchanged a hesitant look with his father, Bob caught a sense of relief in Jayden's expression. Rebecca and Bob, initially caught off guard by Eva's abrupt revelation, now found themselves reevaluating their assumptions about her priorities. The unspoken disappointment they harboured toward Susan's focus on a modeling career rather than family matters seemed to lose its weight in the face of the unexpected news. In the aftermath of Eva's departure, a heavy silence settled over the dining room. The lingering scent of fish hung in the air, a reminder of the unexpected twists that life could take. Jayden, grappling with conflicting emotions, finally spoke up.
"We need to talk,"
he thought, his mind tinged with a mixture of apprehension and urgency.
The day unfolded in a way that Eva could never have anticipated. It started as any other, with the routine tasks within the Wills' household consuming her time and attention. Little did she know that this ordinary day would become a turning point, a collision of her two worlds—the Wills and her estranged family, the Clocks. As Eva strolled through the local market with her mother-in-law, a familiar face caught her off guard. The Clocks, her family, were here, seemingly unaware of her proximity. Eva's breath caught in her throat as recognition flickered across her father's face. She felt a mix of anxiety and defiance, a surge of emotions that threatened to spill over.
In a moment of impulse, Eva turned away, as though the sight of her family was an unbearable weight. Her parents, unaware of her proximity, continued their conversation, and Eva silently walked away turning to the trolley side where she left her basket and walked out of the supermarket, desperate to avoid a confrontation in hurried steps she stumbled upon something losing her balance she almost fell, but luckily Jayden was able to rescue her.
"be careful"
he instructed turning to the direction she was coming from,
"what are you running away from?"
he asked his hand guiding her to the car. She knew he was not being nice at all,
"he was just being a father".
Eva pulled away from his grip hoping her cramps would go away, she rested her hand on her belly the other on her back and stood up straight, her face evident that she was feeling some pain. As she stood in front of the car, she wasn't able to avoid her elder brother who had caught sight of her when she walked out of the market, Jayden watched her as she rested her back on the back of the car. 'She was in pain' he noticed and she was never going to let him help. Eva couldn't seem to be able to escape the echoes of her past. Her brother, Ethen, tentatively approached her, a mixture of concern and confusion in his eyes. Before he could utter a word, Eva cut him off sharply.
"stay away from me!"
she snapped. Jayden turned to her direction as he heard her, he wondered if she was talking to him. To his surprise it was someone he could hardly recognise, Jayden stopped in his tracks as he noted some similarities in them and looked over to Eva. The bitterness that had taken root within her festered, and she couldn't bring herself to face the family she felt had abandoned her, her family walked over to their direction including her in-laws wondering what was going on. She sneezed, and with a wry smile, she claimed to be allergic to pretentious people, a thinly veiled jab at the family she once held so dear.