I thought Malcolm would leave me alone after the ultrasound, but I was wrong. Just by the incessant knocking on my apartment door, I knew that it was Malcolm. And him calling out my name angrily also helped me to identify him.
Reluctantly I opened the door. Without saying anything Malcolm barged in my apartment like he lived here instead of me.
"Please come in," I said sarcastically.
Malcolm scrutinized my apartment with evident disgust. He had been in here only a few seconds and I already wanted him to leave.
"Would you like some tea?" I asked not forgetting my manners.
"Can you even afford tea?" He questioned arrogantly making me feel penniless.
"Yes, I'll make tea for you." I left him standing in the living room and went in the kitchen to make tea.
I hurriedly made tea and took out a pack of cookies. I planned to serve those with tea; after all, it was the first time Malcolm visited my home, so I had to be hospitable.
"I brought tea and cookies," I said with a grin and put the tray with the tea cup and cookies in front of Malcolm.
"Oh really, how much do they cost, two dollars?" Malcolm asked rhetorically, disgust evident on his face.
My heart clenched at hearing his cold words, but I did not let them faze me. I was going to be the best possible host I could be.
"Would you like sugar?" I asked while holding a spoon in my hand.
"No, in fact, I'm not going to waste my time and punish my tastebuds by drinking your tea and eating your cheap cookies. Go and pack your stuff, you're moving in with me, I'm sure it won't take long," he snapped and stood up.
"I'm not going to move in with you, I'm perfectly fine here," I argued.
"I'm not going to subject my child to a life of disgust and poverty," Malcolm gritted out with a menacing glare.
"Oh, what makes you think this is your child?" I crossed my arms over my chest glaring at him.
"Don't argue with me, I know this is my child and I would not let my child grow up in the slums, so go and pack up," he ordered, his voice scary.
"No, this is my child, so please stay away from us," I turned away from him, "Close the door on your way out."
"If you don't go pack up right this minute, Ariana, then I would have no choice but to take you to court and demand full custody of my child," Malcolm threatened, causing my eyes to widen.
"You - You can't do that, this baby is mine, you said it yourself you wouldn't have a baby with me even by mistake," I shouted, scared about having to part with my baby.
"Well apparently I did have a baby with you by mistake, trust me I'm not the least bit thrilled about you being the mother of my child," he insulted, "A woman scraping the bottom of the barrel, living in the slums, not even worth a dollar," he breathed a sigh of irritation, "but I have to face my ugly reality." he ran his eyes over me when saying this making tears prick my eyes.
"Go to hell," I muttered, trying my best not to let the tears fall.
"Go and pack, otherwise I'm calling my lawyer and taking you to court, and with your empty bank account, I would win the full custody of the baby within minutes, since you can't even afford a lawyer," he stated arrogantly, making me wish I never met him in the first place.
I was trapped. I knew Malcolm was a man who would well and truly follow through with his threats. If I didn't do as he wanted I would lose my baby, and that was worse than living with Malcolm.
Giving a defeated sigh, I went to my bedroom and begun packing. I took out of my old, black duffel bag that had a couple of holes in it due to being used too much.
Fortunately I didn't have much to pack. Just six shirts, four pairs of jeans, two pairs of shoes, five pairs of underwear, and a few accessories. Putting them all in the duffel bag took less than twenty minutes.
While I was packing, I could feel Malcolm's gaze on me. But I didn't look at him. Not only was he trying to take my reason of existence away from me, he was torturing me while doing it. His cold, harsh words lacerated my heart, hurting me in the worst possible way.
Once I was done packing, Malcolm turned around and walked out of my room without saying a word, leaving me to follow him. I hated him so much at that moment but I couldn’t do anything about it.
I locked my apartment door and both of us left the building. I wanted to go back to the safety of my small apartment, but the powerful man walking behind me was the reason I couldn't.
Malcolm led us to his car. A chauffeur took my duffel bag and put it in the trunk of the car. The chauffeur was about to open the door for me but I beat him to it. Malcolm said it himself that I wasn't worth a dollar, so I couldn't let someone who was superior to me in status open the door for me.
Once inside, the chauffeur went back to his seat after closing the door when Malcolm slid inside. The chauffeur quickly drove us away from the apartment building and to Malcolm's place.
Throughout the ride, my stomach kept twisting itself in knots. Worried about what awaited me at Malcolm's place. And though I wanted to argue with him and tell him to take me back to my apartment this instant, I chose to remain silent. There was no point wasting my words on him. All I could do was prepare for what was to come.