[English] Billionaire Beauty Prologue

"Relax, ma'am. It won't take long."

"Sure. Let's push and get this over with," Fame urges, bobbing her head gently.

"Alright." The nurse chortles and proceeds.

Fame nods and shifts her gaze at the sharp tip of the needle. For the nth time, she blows out a frazzled breath. Her period has been delayed for a month, not to mention the terrible heartburn and series of dizziness she's been enduring day by day. The erratic mood swing is bitchin' the hell out of her and it's no fun at all. That is the very reason why she decided to visit a particular clinic recommended by her cousin, Iris.

Yeah, she has a hunch, nonetheless, she badly needs confirmation. She wants it like the food that she craves since last week. Not too long she felt a tingling sensation from the syringe being shot on her arm. Her head tilted aside as she notices the sweat breaking out from the latter's pores as well as on the forehead. She has a feeling the lady is having a hard time tracking down the thread of her vein.

Smiling awkwardly, the nurse informs, "This is the problem when you have super fair skin."

"Yeah," Fame sheepishly mutters and adds," I think I'm not the only one."

"Affirmative, ma'am," the nurse replies and proceeds.

Well, the situation is no alien matter-of-factly. She has a handful of encounters with this phase because she is gifted with fair snow skin that complimented her long, natural brunette hair. She owns a pair of foxy wary eyes that conveys an illicit impression of a man's perspective. Oftentimes people tag her as biracial when in fact she's not. Fame is a full-blooded Filipina and is proud of her meagre roots. Burning legit. However, she acknowledges casual praises as a toast to her bloodline.

"Would you mind if I try your other arm, ma'am?”

“Not at all." She shakes her head, sending the nurse a polite smile. "Guess we're down to the last resort."

The latter amicably smiles back and resumes. Fame does not wince even when the needle is thrust deep into her flesh. It is only a piece of cake, yes. She has a tremendous pain tolerance for such a thing. In terms of love, too. She smiled bitterly at the thought. She doesn't want to remember how she ended up in such a pathetic and depressing situation. Stupid her for believing Virtus can still grant the wondrous bounce of butterflies in her stomach she used to feel back then.

"And we're done. You can now open your eyes, ma'am."

She flutters her eyes open and looks down at the cotton ball plaster on her arm. Aside from urinalysis and some physical examinations, the blood test is the last one she needs to accomplish for today. So everything is done and she just has to patiently wait for the lab results. The problem is she doesn't know how to tell her husband about it once she arrives home. The bastard will not like the idea. She is certain about it. Virtus Lancaster wants nothing from her but pure sex written in bold letters. Much to say the concept of having a child doesn’t interest him; least of all part of his concerns. Fame massaged the inner corner of her eyes as she felt the mist forming on them.

"Are you alright, ma'am?" the worried voice of the nurse creeps through her ears.

She manages to look up at her and replies, "Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you for asking, anyway."

"No worries," the nurse cites. "Doctor Manzares is your appointed OB. You can get your results in thirty minutes."

"Sure."

The lady marches back into the nurse's station and she's left with a lot of spiral thoughts in mind. Minutes pass before she finally gets an envelope from the assigned doctor. She walks through the hallway and goes straight to the parking lot. Lemon, the driver, opens the car door for her. Once she's settled inside, Fame gazes at the white envelope sitting on her lap. So then, she pulls the creamy paper inside before browsing the data written there. She read the words with trepidation; her heart throbs rapidly. Even though she anticipates the outcome, still, she's overwhelmed by it. The confirmation screams in full intensity, making the blood in her ears roar. She lifts one trembling hand and covers it against her mouth.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Do you want to go home now, or do you want me to drop you by Mr. Lancaster's office?"

Thanks to Lemon's voice which plucks her out of her trance. Fame gathers all of her remaining strength and manages to speak despite the cold shudder crawling in her gut. 

"Home. Please."

The driver nods mutely and speeds off. While waiting for Virtus to arrive, she prepares a sumptuous meal for dinner. By seven o'clock, her husband comes home. Fame has no time to postpone their talk. She needs to announce what needs to be discussed though she knows it will only bring additional problems to their marriage. To her, it is now or never! As they settle to eat, she pulls the switch and blasts off the topic.

"I'm pregnant," Fame declares openly.

Virtus paused for a second before tossing the utensils on his plate. Then he glared at her, sending her full set of animosity. She's hurt by the disgust she sees in his expressive eyes.

"You're telling me you forgot your shot." It is not a question.

"I'm not into those anymore since last month because—"

"How can you be so fucking irresponsible?!" He cut her off and stood up. "I don't want that child. Abort it, or I'll drag you to the clinic myself."

"But this is our child!" She screeches, hands roll into balls.

"I mean it, Famella. Do as you're told and we're good."

He walks out and leaves her with a heavy heart and bruised ego. Fame does not expect the fairytale she dreamed of to turn out to be a problematic, disastrous one. Her story is composed of gaslighting, hatred, tons of clamour, and sorrow to complete the platter. An adage said: that it takes two to tango, however, she feels alone. Deserted rather in their union. And now she's carrying their child; their flesh and blood. She gently caresses her still flat tummy, recalling the phrase she has read before: LOVE is blind and MARRIAGE is an eye-opener. It hit her to the core. Damn.