Hidden [COMPLETED]

Chapter 40

"Tell her tonight," Nam shouted from the other end of the phone, nearly making Freen drop it.

Freen sighed, "I will."

"If you don't, I swear I'll do it myself."

"Chill, Nam! I'll tell her when she gets home."

"You better."

Just then, the doorbell rang, making her heart race.

"I think she's home. Talk to you later." Freen ended the call and walked to the front door. She took a steadying breath to prepare for whatever was next. But she was surprised to find someone else on the other side when she opened the door.

"Richie?" Freen asked, frowning.

"Hey, Freen!" He greeted her. "I just wanted to talk to Becky about something."

Freen furrowed her brow, "She’s not home."

"Oh!" Richie replied, surprised. "Where did she go?"

A crease formed between Freen's eyes as they moved inside the apartment, "She didn’t come home from work, Richie. I thought you were with her."

"I...was," Richie said, looking down. "But she left."

"When?"

"Just after lunch." Freen's eyes widened in surprise. "To where?" Richie visibly swallowed and looked away.

"Richie?" She called again, prompting him to speak.

He shook his head. "Something happened, and she was pretty upset when she left. I thought she would go straight home." His voice was quiet.

Freen exhaled, frowning. "What happened?"

"I’ll tell you, but first, why don’t you try calling her?" Freen took a deep breath before nodding and starting to dial.

Unlike what she feared, the call connected after a couple of rings.

"Hello."

"Becky! Where are you?"

"I'm just pulling up, babe. Be there in a minute." Then the call disconnected. Freen felt utterly confused by the turn of events.

"What did she say?" Richie asked, almost eagerly.

"She’s coming up." Freen said, and Richie sighed in relief.

"Tell me what happened," she demanded firmly.

He looked at Freen, making eye contact. "I got information about what Uncle Sunny was planning, and I shared it with Becky. I really doubt that was a good idea."

"What is he planning, Richie?" she asked, her voice thick with dread.

Richie gave her an apologetic look. "He's going to come after you, Freen. The building you're working on right now, that multimillion-dollar deal you just signed—he's going to jeopardize it." He paused and looked away. "His tactics are clear. He'll go after everyone around Becky until she feels isolated. He’s waiting for her to run to him."

Freen could see the worry in his eyes. Her mouth opened and closed as realization set in. "You think she did something she shouldn’t."

He nodded. "We both know she won't let him come after you. She was really angry when she left."

Before Freen could respond, the doorbell rang again.

"I think that’s her," Freen said as she moved to open the door.

"Becky?" Freen let out a sigh of relief upon seeing her.

"Hey! What’s wrong?" Becky asked, concerned.

"You’re okay." Freen wrapped Becky in a tight hug, which Becky returned, though she was a bit confused about what was happening.

"Why wouldn’t I be?" Becky asked. Then she spotted Richie and realized what was going on, "Oh!"

"What did you tell her?" Becky asked defensively, pulling away from Freen.

Richie didn’t answer. "Where were you?" he asked instead.

"What did you do, Becky?" Freen asked, looking equally worried.

"Come on, guys! What do you think I did? Kill him?" Becky tried to joke, but they both shot her a serious glare.

Becky sighed. "Okay, I was just joking." She walked into the living room, with Freen following.

"I didn’t do anything," she said, turning to look at Freen. "I just went somewhere to clear my head."

Freen stayed quiet. She had gone through a rollercoaster of emotions in a matter of minutes. She didn’t know what to do with any of it. It was too much. Everything was too much.

"You can’t be reckless, Becky," Freen sighed heavily. "You can’t act on impulses without thinking about the consequences, not anymore. Because I don’t know how to do this without you. I don’t know how to raise our child on my own. I can’t, I just can’t." Tears threatened to spill from Freen's eyes.

"Babe!" Becky was shocked by the turn of events as she took Freen’s hand. "I’m never going to leave you or Lyra. I’m not going anywhere."

Freen shook her head, her hands trembling. "I’m not just talking about Lyra, Becky."

Becky frowned. "What do you mean?"

Freen closed her eyes for a moment, as if praying, then sighed. "I’m pregnant. I’m pregnant with our child."

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