Chapter 1

Anger and pain surged through Tasha Harrison's body as she looked at herself in the mirror. She just emptied her bowels in the toilet. Her stomach started rumbling while she was talking with her friend in the living room.

Slowly, Tasha looked away from the mirror and cleaned herself up. It's been over two weeks since Blake left. And she'd been having a serious bout of morning sickness for days now. Phoebe had taken Tasha in, in order to keep her eyes on her.

“Are you alright in there?” Phoebe, asked from the bathroom doorway.

“Yes,” Tasha sighed gently. “I'm okay.” She opened the tap and rinsed her face with more water.

“What are you going to do now?” Phoebe asked with concern on her face.

“I am keeping the pregnancy,” she rested her hands on the edges of the bathroom sink, and let out a puff of air. “I will think through the rest, I will not kill my child.”

“Are you going to contact him?” Phoebe walked in and laid a hand on her friend's shoulder. “To let him know about this?”

“Never!” she snapped, her voice raising with her anger. “I'm going to take care of my baby by myself!”

Phoebe nodded, “it's fine,” she rubbed Tasha's arm. “If that's what you want.”

“I never want to set my eyes on him again,” Tasha sniffed. “Or talk to him ever again in my life. Good riddance to him.”

“I thought everything was okay between us.” She seethed, leaning her back against the bathroom wall. “He cooked for me the day before I found him packing in his apartment. He massaged my back when I was complaining of backache.” She told her friend for the umpteenth time.

“I think you should sit down,” Phoebe held her hand.

Tasha nodded with a wry smile. “He left me because of one stupid family business and his inheritance. Who does that?”She walked out of the bathroom into her bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed.

“It's okay.” Phoebe sat beside her friend and patted her back. “You are going to be fine.”

“I can take care of my baby,” she looked up into the ceiling, trying so hard to stop the tears that were welling up in her eyes. “I don't need any damn man! He should go to hell with his family business and his grandfather's trust fund!”

“Trust me, everything is going to be alright,” her friend encouraged her. “I'll always be here for you, darling.” Tasha nodded again and dissolved into tears.

“Thank you so much darling,” Tasha squeezed her friend's hand. “You have been my rock in all of this.”

“It's okay,” Phoebe gathered her into her arms. “You just have to take it easy, especially because of your baby.”

“I'll just concentrate on my career,” she said against her friend's arm. “And my baby.”

“Yes, that is the spirit,” Phoebe agreed with her.

She resigned from the university the a few weeks later. She couldn't just stand people looking at her with pity in the department. Everyone already heard about Blake's wedding on campus.

“We are sorry you have to go,” Dr. Georgina Connor, the head of the department, said, raising her lower lip slightly in an embarrassed smile. “I understand your situation, though.” She reached out and squeezed Tasha's hand over the desk. “I think you've made the right decision.”

“Thank you, Prof.” She pressed her lips together and stood up. They exchanged a handshake, and she left.

Tasha got into bed immediately she got back to her apartment and slept off. When she woke up hours later, she padded to the kitchen to eat some food. But she just didn't have the appetite. She threw her food in the trash can and checked for the time. It was twenty-five minutes after five.

She sighed softly, trying to block Blake's thoughts out of her mind. Tasha reached for her phone and opened the Uber app to call for a ride to Sandville, which was just forty minutes drive away. She knew she needed to get out of the house that night.

She already packed her bags and was waiting with the security men at the apartment building gate by the time her ride arrived.

It surprised her father when she arrived home. "What are you doing here, princess?" He asked with concern, "is the baby okay? It's a weeknight."

"Yes daddy, baby is okay," she hugged him. “I needed a break, so I'm taking some time off from work.”

"That's fine.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I'm happy you came here. Come on in. Your mom just went next door to give Mrs. Johnson from the apple pie she just made.”

“Okay dad,” she said as she carried her suitcase down the hallway to the bedroom.

She opened the door and walked into her childhood bedroom. It was just the way she left it the last time she visited, which was three weeks back. She had changed almost everything there over the years to suit her taste since she became an adult. But her desk remained the same. It was a gift from her paternal grandfather. It was the only thing she had of him, so she was keeping it.

When they were having dinner, she finally announced to her parents she had quit her job. "Oh dear," her mom said from across the table.

“That bastard made you do it,” her dad said in anger, his fist balled up on the dining table.

If there was anyone who was hit badly by Blake's betrayal next to Tasha, it was her dad. He loved him the moment they met.

“We are here for you, princess,” her father said, dropping his fork back into his plate. “You just need to say the word, and we will do anything you want from us.”

“Yes, darling,” her mom corroborated her father. “We'll do everything to make this period as easy as it can be for you.”

Tasha nodded, too choked up with emotions to talk. She was glad for a very supportive family. Her brother and sister too had been so supportive since she found out that she was pregnant.

“Tell me,” her dad looked perceptively into her eyes. “What next? What are you going to do now?”