k i w i

- 7 -

- arabella -

After the smell of fish hit my nostrils, I instantly excused myself from the table, my stomach swirling up. Once I was in the bathroom, the only thing I could do was breath in and out slowly, like I had lost my breath.

I love fish! I cannot be avoiding fish for the next nine months!

I spent a few more minutes in the bathroom, trying to regain myself and my mind. This pregnancy was definitely fucking me up.

It was making me avoid fish, crave more chocolate and kiwis, make me fat, and it wasn't even giving me the glow every mom gushed about. It was all bull.

A loud knock made my heart jump, I scramble around trying to make myself presentable. Good thing I had rinse my mouth already.

"Sorry." I say as I threw the door open, seeing a really pretty girl in front of me. She had brunette hair with wide brown eyes to match, her whole face thin and had makeup to compliment all her features. "Can I pass?"

"Oh, yes. Sorry." She said back, her tone cold towards me, or maybe just in general. Her eyes continued to scan me, a look of judgement in them. Either I looked that awful or she was being a bitch. "You're Bella Astor, right?"

"I am." I say back, finally going around her. I felt uncomfortable under her gaze, it made me feel small even though she looked younger than me and was an inch or two shorter. "And you are...?"

She cracked a smile, and although it looked pretty on her, I knew it was a mocking one. What a little bitch. Her head tilted a bit to a side, really proving my point. "Waliyha Malik."

She went inside the bathroom and slammed the door shut, the breeze hitting my face like a slap. Part of me wanted to go up to my room and cry, the other wanted to kick the door open and body slam her. Choosing neither, I practiced my breathing on my way back to the table. No one noticing I was gone-good.

"¿Estas bien?" (Are you okay?) Sammy asked, eyeing me worriedly and pulling my chair out for me. I nod, sitting down and looking down at my plate, new and untouched food sitting there. "Te ordene papilla, you like that right?" (I ordered you mash potatoes)

"Thanks." I smile over at him, beginning to eat the mash potato like it was the first time I ever saw food. "It even has cheese!"

He only winked, laughing when I stuck my tongue out at him. He began to eat, immediately got suck into a conversation with Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson-two very loud kids.

I wonder if my baby will be as loud as them. If my baby daddy was to be Louis Tomlinson, then I'd definitely want my baby to have his eyes and nose. If it was Niall, then I want my baby to look like his nephew, fluffy hair and all.

"Hi, guys, can I take my siblings away for a minute? Thanks." The sound of my sister's voice interrupted the loud conversations happening. I got pulled up by the arm, Regina dragging both of us away to the inside of the house. "Dad might tell us who's going to take over the business here."

I felt my heart fall, my stomach swirl and my head beginning to pound. The worst of the worst rush by my head, all while Sammy started to hyperventilate.

"Why are you guys freaking out!?" Regina exclaimed, looking over my shoulder and slumping against the wall. "What now, Olly?"

"What? Nothing." He shrugs, bringing his glass of whiskey up in the air and smirking at Sammy and I. "Just wanted to see their reactions. Not good ones by the way, guys."

I wanted to scream at them, tell them I couldn't be under the pressure of the company right now. I wanted to tell them that I was pregnant, that I had no clue who the father was, and that I wanted Younes back in my life.

"Regina," I finally gain the balls to speak up, turning to my sister. "I-I don't think I can do this."

"¿Que?" (What?) She narrows her eyes at me, almost killing me. "You just can't say no, not now that dad has made up his mind, Bella."

"Ay, your mom is looking for you guys!" In a small voice, Penny came to us and tug us back out to the garden. "She was about to kill me!"

With every step I took, I felt my future crumble even more and more. We kept on walking, passing my table and heading straight to where my dad and mom stood. Both looking out at the crowd, probably looking for us.

Mom gave her million dollar smile, but her eyes gave a whole other different vibe. We are dead for leaving for three solid minutes to freak out.

"I want to make another small announce as well," Dad says, waiting for everyone to settle. He put his drink down, his smile very fake to me but to the rest, it was amazing. We're all such great actors. "I have decided on who gets to have the business here," I got a hold of Sammy's hand, praying that it won't be me by now. "And I've come to a conclusion that I will run it, I figured that Bella is still too young."

A bucket of relief fell on me, my heart slowing down from its a thousand beats per minute.

"That leaves me with Samuel," Dad goes on, and by now I could feel my brothers hand sweating even more. "he will have Mexico's Astor Empire!"

The mashed potato became more mashed when I heard dad's words, my heart stopping completely.

"And we will keep my trusty niece, Alex Astor, in Los Angeles." Ending his life ending speech, the claps erupted. "With that being said, lets enjoy dessert!"

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