Finding happiness (previously known as Billionaire playboy's secret past)

What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

No one mentioned abortion in my house. I thought it but there's no way I could go through with it. I've now committed myself to being a very young single mum. I'm spending more and more time in the garden, adding more plants and vegetables and making sure that we have that extra bit to sell. I can't afford to be slack especially with a baby coming. That's extra clothing and an extra mouth to feed.

Mum has finally come to terms with me being pregnant. Don't get me wrong, she still has her moments where she has a go at me, but yesterday she came home with a few roots she'd ground to a pulp that she forced me to swallow. I didn't want to take it at first for fear of harming my baby but she was adamant, she even cracked a smile and said, "Do you think I'd harm my own grandchild? This is to strengthen the pregnancy so you don't miscarry." She's really starting to think of herself as a grandmother. After that statement, I took the pulp happily, the taste of it leaving nothing to be desired though.

I've also realised she meant it when she said I wouldn't be leaving the house. She has kept me at home the whole time. Every appointment I've had, she has accompanied me. She told me that even though she spoke to Jason's parents, she is not going to leave it to chance that he'll behave. Everywhere we go, we're together, and I hear whispers from people talking about my weight loss and they assume it's about me being left behind (well it was part of it a while ago) and being rejected. Some people even believe Jason hit Knox so bad he had to be airlifted back to the States for medical attention, that's why he left so suddenly. Others just think I'm the jilted girl and Knox requested a reassignment just to get away from me. Everyone has something to say about me and it seems people are happy to believe the worst of the rumours and they spread them like fire. However I'm thankful that they cannot see that I'm pregnant yet. I still have a few months before I show. If I have mum's genes I will be showing very late and that will give me time to come up with a plausible story.

When mum is near the whispers are fewer, if she's out of earshot and I'm closer, people, mostly women will make sure I hear what they are saying. They say "I am a fool for not taking Jason, a good man, up on his offer to marry me. They make sure that I hear them saying "Jason actually loves me and I rejected him, now karma has made sure I have the same fate only twice as hard."

No-one comes near my family anymore. At church, they leave a whole pew for just mum, me and my brother. These days Jason even attends church and pretends to be a good person nursing a broken heart. My family is being treated like pariahs, my brother has been 'temporarily' stopped from being an altar server because the congregation went and complained to the priest that he comes from an unclean house. My little brother was heartbroken. All his little friends have also started ignoring him. He doesn't understand why this is happening and I can see everything going on is tearing mum apart.

After church Jason stops to greet us, I can see most of the congregation looking to see my reaction. They don't even try to hide the fact that they're eavesdropping.

"Maya it's good to see you, how have you been? He says grabbing my hand and crunching my bones so hard I almost yelp.

"I'm doing ok Jason, how are you?" I know I shouldn't have asked but I had no other option.

"Well I could be better if you agreed to go and catch a movie with me." I can hear the awwws from the not so 'Holy' audience around us and I know I've been backed in a corner. There is no movie theater in our village. We have to go to the next village and I really don't want to go. I can't say 'no' here and further alienate myself but I also don't want to give him false hope.

He still has his hand in mine and he squeezes it harder every extra second I take to respond.

"I will have to check with mum and get back to you, we're really busy at the moment and I wouldn't want to leave her in a lurch." I say pulling my hand away whilst giving my mum a help me out look.