Chapter 34: LEO'S INFIDELITY

After a month, Rachel felt a strange feeling ! She wasn"t unwell or sick but she felt really uneasy with hyper acidity that she couldn't explain and persistent severe headaches. She experienced food cravings but noticed food reservations more.
She went to great lengths rationalizing and spending the better part of the week in suspense, inwardly turning the possibility over and over, taking an inventory of her own body, chanting what if, what if, what if.
She had been that woman: sure my period will come any day now but when she missed one, she turned and got her tests done in the hospital.
That same day, she received the two biggest pieces of news of her life.
She learnt that she was pregnant with her first child with Leo and received a letter about her scholarship grant for her admission to a top ivy league college on the other side of the country.
Rachel took both the reports to surprise Leo with the good news and on the way, she met Audrey and Dmitri who were leaving for celebratory dinner at Dmitri's house.
Rachel clutched the reports close to her chest in excitement and left for Leo's house to surprise him.
The bell was answered by the butler at Emerson mansion.
"Hello ! I'm Rachel and I'm here to meet Leo," Rachel informed.
"Good Evening, Ma'am ! But the master isn't home yet," replied the butler.
"Who is there ?" Mrs. Laura Emerson asked as she climbed down the stairs with Valerie.
Seeing Rachel at the doorstep, she politely called her in and made her sit in the living room as the butler left.
"What brought you here today, Rachel ?" asked a curious Laura.
"I've come to meet Leo as I wasn't able to reach him through the phone," Rachel responded.
"He must be on the flight," Laura said.
"Flight ! I hope everything is going well as Leo left without informing me," Rachel said.
"Our company has just been declared bankrupt due to his dad, Melvin's wrong bets. Leo has left with him to attend the meeting with the debtors in the national capital ," Laura answered.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Emerson ! Leo is a brilliant strategist, a steady hand in good times and in bad and most importantly, a great tactician. He'll soon take everything in control," Rachel comforted Laura while admiring her competent son.
"I know, that is why he has agreed to the marriage proposal with Valerie. Her parents have promised to help us come out of these losses and loans after their marriage," Laura flawlessly lied while caressing Valerie's hand.
"I don't believe you, Mrs Emerson ! Leo can never cheat on me. He has promised to marry me !" Rachel argued.
"You believe or you don't believe ! Do you think we care ? And another good news is that Valerie is giving us our first grandchild this year," Laura broke the news.
Rachel was all heartbroken but she plucked some courage and asked them both for proof.
Valerie took out the photos from her purse which showed Leo and her in some uncompromising positions.
After seeing the photos, Rachel just left their house sobbing. She was at her wits' end, not knowing what was wrong with Leo and why he crushed her trust for money.
"Men don't have to carry the baby or give birth, so they can just walk away. Girls don't have that option. But I want my baby, even after he left me," Rachel told Audrey as she started to pack her bags to leave for her admission in a new university to a far away place.
She took asked Audrey to promise her to never let Leo know about her whereabouts as she met her for the last time before leaving the town.
Audrey offered some financial help from her side to which Rachel politely declined.
"Be your own person, buddy ! Thoroughly pursue your dreams and don't give up until you get there. It's important for you not to compromise your standards for a man like Leo," Audrey said as they kissed each other goodbye.
For the first few weeks, all Rachel could do was to ask "Why ?"
She sat for hours and hours pondering why it had happened, replaying the entire relationship through her head, hunting for clues that could offer an answer.
She talked it through Audrey on the phone and all she could draw was blanks, even Audrey couldn't make sense of it either.
In fact, Audrey said "You seemed so happy and in love. I just don"t know what to say. I don"t have the answers to solace your heart."
She often questioned herself 'How come something ended that was so promising and beautiful ?'
So often after a breakup she would think about all the good times, she would run those parts through her head again and again.
"Sometimes in life, you won"t get the answer that you so badly need, someone may walk out of your life with absolutely no explanation, someone may leave without so much as a goodbye and no amount of replaying it through your head will give you the answer or apology you needed to hear for your emotional wounds to heal," Audrey consoled Rachel.
So, Rachel taught herself to move forward without an explanation and without an apology.