Besotted (18+) ✔️ [A Nigerian Romance]

Forty Two

"Do you want us to keep the baby?" Chike asked after her tears had finally stopped. It was hours after Kachi and Aria left and the sun had even set.

"Yes, I'm keeping the baby."

"It's us and we, Ada. We made this baby together."

"I know that, but it's not like you have a say what I do with my body. If I choose to remove the baby, it would be my choice." She sat up, pulling away from him and Chike felt like someone was kicking him in his nuts.

"What are you saying? Why won't my opinion matter? It's as much mine as it's yours."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm not thinking straight. I don't know what I'm saying right now." She stood up and began to pace. "I've been drinking wine and even vodka all these while. What if I've harmed the baby?"

"You haven't. A little alcohol won't harm him. How far along are you?"

"Him? What if it's a her?" She eyed him. "The lab technician said it might be around three weeks since my period isn't supposed to come for another few days, but I have to go to a hospital to check."

"A her is also wonderful. Ada, can you sit? Let's talk."

"I'm starving," she said in reply but sat down beside him, leaving a few inches of space. Chike immediately recovered that space by pulling her into his lap. Their relationship had been going very well, he wouldn't let a new development put any wedge between them.

"I'll order food, what do you want to eat?"

"Pepper soup." She stood up again and stretched, then let out a loud yawn. He quickly placed the order for the food, satisfied when they said it would arrive in an hour. That should give them a lot of time to talk.

"Can you come sit? There's a lot to talk about."

"What's there to talk about? I'm keeping the baby and you can be here for every step of the way, you know I won't keep him or her from you."

"I want us to do this together, the proper way. Let's get married."

Ada stared at him for a few seconds before her shoulders started to shake. He thought she was crying until she bent over and began to laugh. Chike watched her for a solid two minutes until her laugh subsided.

"What?" She eyed him. "Why are you not laughing? You're supposed to laugh when you tell a joke."

"Ada I'm not joking."

"No, you have to be."

"I'm very serious about this, let's get married. This baby deserves to have a complete family."

"No. I don't want to get married because I'm having a baby. I know you're a responsible man, but I don't want this."

"Why not? We're already together, so a marriage would have happened sooner or later."

"I want a proposal based on love, not because you're trying to do the honorable thing."

"But I love you!" Chike exploded, getting out of the chair. "I love you and you know that," he added in a more quiet tone after Ada glared at him.

"Yes, I love you too, you're my best friend after all. I've always loved you."

"Ada, that's not what I meant. I love you as a woman. I've always known I'd marry you. You've always been the one for me."

"No, this is just your misplaced sense of duty speaking, you don't really love me like that. If you did, you would have said something since."

Chike wished he could shake some sense into her, instead he settled for placing his hands on her shoulders. "I know I'm a writer and I'm supposed to be good with words, but what I feel for you? It's too much and I've never had the words to express them to you. Love? That is an understatement to what you mean to me. You're my entire life and without you in it, I'd be done!"