Chapter 18.

Megan tried on another dress. It was the third dress for the night and she prayed it was "the one". It was an altar neck Oriole dress, with a smoked top that cinched at the waist and fell into an a- shape at the top of her knees. Finally, she thought.

It was perfect!

Thankfully, she was gaining all the weight she had previously lost and filled into the dress quite nicely. She opted for mascara, lip gloss and powder, too nervous to fuss with full makeup.

Besides, it had been so long that she wasn't sure she could still remember how to wear it.
She had forgotten all the nervousness that came with going on a date. When Anthony had asked her out two days ago in front of her mother, she had felt a bit reluctant but for the most part, she had also wanted to test things out.

She wanted to confirm for herself the spark Anthony kept insisting they shared. Plus, her mother had gushed on and on, practically pushing her to say yes. So she had thought why not.

For now, she was glad her mother had gone out and was not here to do an appraisal of her looks. She slipped on her most comfortable black heels and dabbed on some perfume.

When she stepped out, Anthony was waiting by the side of his car. He was dressed in a nice shirt that matched his eyes and jeans, and he smelled really nice.

"Oh Megan, you look so beautiful." The compliment was so genuine that Megan blushed.

"You look great yourself."She said.

Throughout the car ride to the restaurant, Anthony wouldn't stop glancing at her and issuing random compliments. At last, he drove into the parking lot of a building on the east-side. The place was popular because it housed a five star restaurant owned by Chef Fregz, the famous celebrity chef.

She had only ever heard about the place but had never been there.

"This is where we are having dinner? But it's so expensive!"

"You deserve the best, Megan. Plus, I made some good money from the exhibition." .

He rushed to the side of the car and Megan stepped out, feeling like a desired woman for the first time in a while.

The restaurant was on the thirteenth floor of the highrise building and it had the most amazing interior. It was carved in an elegant style with leather seats and intimate lights and a glass wall overlooking the city, creating a breathtaking view.

Anthony had even made a reservation so they were ushered by a uniformed waiter straight to a table with a view. Megan was very impressed by how much Anthony had prepared for their date in just two days.

"Wow, Anthony. This is amazing."

"I am glad you like it."

The menu was on the table and after looking through it, Megan ordered a virgin cocktail while Anthony got a Pina Colada. They also placed an order for their food and Megan tried to opt for the least expensive food after noticing the exorbitant price attached to each meal.

"So how was your exhibition? We haven't really had a chance to talk about it. "

"Well, it was great. We sold a good number of the works and the gallery is even considering me for a co-exhibition with another artist this December."

"Oh, that's just amazing. You deserve it Anthony'' Megan said, genuinely excited for him. Anthony talked a little more about his work, telling her in detail about some of the paintings he had done and he even showed her pictures on his phone. Even though Megan wasn't particularly knowledgeable about art, she still enjoyed some part of the conversation.

The waiter came with their food order and the carbonara Megan ordered was served in a fancy but smaller size. The cheesy meal tasted great and from the look on Anthony's face, the food he had ordered was good too.

"How have you really been Megan? How is the baby?"

"The baby and I are doing good. I am starting to figure out this whole phase."

Anthony dropped his fork and stared straight at her with wounded eyes. "I don't like how you are not letting me in Megan. I really want to be there for you but you just won't give me a chance. Haven't I proven myself worthy?"

Megan felt a twinge of guilt and quickly reassured him.

"No Anthony, it's not about you. You have been a great help as it is. I am just taking my time to figure things out. "

"Well, it's been weeks now and you need to let me in. I strongly believe this is my baby. The timing perfectly coincides. I want to be there for my child."

When she said nothing, he continued "I don't want to miss a thing and it's not healthy that you are handling this alone."

Megan remembered a similar conversation with Dr Lou about not handling the situation alone. Maybe everyone was right. Perhaps it was time she started accepting some of the help she was being offered.

"Alright, Anthony. I get what you mean. The next time I am going for an appointment at the doctor's, I promise we will go together."

Anthony's huge grin cleared all the doubt Megan had. If he was this enthusiastic, then it couldn't be a bad thing.

The topic changed to their choice of desert and they had a nice time for the rest of the evening.



The elevator ride down was quiet as Megan was beginning to feel tired. Perhaps, because of the baby, extended hours in the evening drained her. As they made their way across the lobby, Megan spotted someone entering into another elevator on the opposite side and it took her a moment to recognise her friend, Matilda. Yes! Matilda. How could she have forgotten?

Matilda was the one person who had known all about the expensive Four Seasons surprise she had been planning for Nick for their anniversary.

In fact, Matilda worked at the Four Seasons and that was how they had met again and revived their previous relationship since college. They didn't use to be the best of friends during college. Since things had gone sour between Megan and Camille, she couldn't rule out the possibility that she had been confiding in Matilda after the breakup. Yes, Matilda would definitely know something.

There was only one person she would have called and ranted to and she and Matilda used rk enjoy ranting to each other and bitching about things.


She suddenly realized she had a headache and had to grip her head as she stumbled. Anthony was quickly by her side.
"Megan! Are you okay?"
"Yes. Yes, I am. It's nothing, I just remembered something really important."

"What?"

"My friend Matilda. I just saw her and I am sure she knows something about my missing memories."

Anthony's face morphed into a frown "You saw her?"

"Yes. She stepped into an elevator just now but I can't go after her. I don't know where she was headed."

"Well yes, there's no point."Anthony nodded quickly.

"All I need to do now is talk to her."

"I hope it helps."Even though Anthony said the words, Megan couldn't help but notice his face didn't convey the excitement of someone who was happy for her. She shook the thought off and assumed she was imagining things and leaned against him to the car.



******


Roman parked of his car and got out, walking yo the steps to Megan's apartment. He hesitated a little, still unsure of how she would be. Besides, he wasn't even sure of what he wanted to say but he braved the storm and knocked firmly.

After a few more knocks, the door opened and instead of Megan, a tall teenage boy stood on the pouch wearing a bored expression.

"Who are you?"

Before Roman could reply, a voice shouted "Parker, I told you not to open the door to strangers at night!"

"Just chill mom!!!"the boy shouted back, before turning to face Roman with a bored expression on his face.

"Well?"

"Hey. I am looking for Megan. She lives here?"Roman said, still confused.

"Well, mom and I live here now. No Megan, dude. Perhaps, she's the lady who used to stay here."

Without further ado, the teenage boy shut the door in his face. Roman realized Megan must have moved out. He realized how disconnected they must have been if she had moved out and he didn't even know anything. .


Why had she moved out? Had the rent become too much to handle? He felt so guilty for his absence from her life. He returned to his car and resolved to see her the next day.


The next day after a long meeting at work, Roman drove to the coffee shop where Megan worked. There was terrible traffic on his way. He knew he should have called but he didn't want to give Megan a chance to avoid him or worse still, blatantly refuse to see him so he decided to just brave it to her workplace.

He rolled up the car window and stepped out. Te first thing he heard was the sound of Megan's laughter. He didn't know he had registered the sound but when he turned his head, there she was, looking so beautiful with some stray curls out of her ponytail and a hand flung over her mouth as she laughed delightfully. She was sitting on one of the chairs outside in a pretty dress.

It took him a moment to realise the person sitting across from her was Anthony, the other man at the hospital. One of the likely fathers. He was sipping a cup of coffee and gawking at Megan longingly as Megan laughed.

Shouldn't she be inside working? What was she doing out there laughing with Anthony during work hours?

He couldn't believe he had been beating himself up over her when she had already moved on with another man. He had almost made a fool of himself by showing up unannounced.
They hadn't even noticed him. It didn't seem as if they could notice anything or anyone outside their bubble. Without a word at all to them, Roman quietly turned away and got back in his car. He drove away, angry at himself for holding out hope.