Rejected And Pregnant

Unromantic Marriage Proposal

Instinctively, the first thing Lucy thinks of is to make a run for it, but the lady at the front desk, as though reading her mind, catches her eye and shakes her head slightly.

"You have done nothing wrong," she mouths. "You go and explain what happened. I doubt they will want to lock you up considering your condition."

Lucy gives her a slight smile, grateful for her advice, then turns to the entrance in time to catch the uniformed men walking on the scene.

Seeing the two policemen, Austin picks his meaty self from the ground shakily, wiping blood from his nose.

"Arrest her, officer. She hit me. All I wanted was to take her home with me and she hit me, stubborn i***t girl, she is rebellious and wants to live in the hotel when she has a home to go to..."

"Sir, mind your words. I want an explanation of what happened!" One of the policemen interrupts him. "What started this fight?"

"He started it. I was only defending myself!" Lucy says angrily.

"That is a lie!" Austin argues. "I asked her to go home with me politely, but she unexpectedly hit me!"

The policeman sighs, turning to his companion, who is looking at the receptionist.

"You saw what happened, Senhora, can you tell us who started the fight?"

"It is as the girl has said. This man rushed to attack her and she defended herself."

She is such a dear. Lucy nods at her in approval, but unfortunately, the policemen are still unable to decide who to arrest, so they take both of them to the police station, locking them in tiny, foul-smelling cells.

Lucy is so angry that if she could get her hands on Austin right now, she would tear him apart, limb by limb. He landed her in cells and she is pregnant. It obviously isn't showing to these people because it is wrong to lock up a pregnant woman, but she is not going to protest. Hopefully, this will be sorted out soon and she can go back home. She fears if she spends too much time in cells, her kid might pick it up and she might just raise a delinquent, and that is just a nightmare as she plans on raising her child in the best way possible.

She hasn't been there for an hour when she sees someone walk to her cell and stand outside. She moves to stand against the bars, clutching them with both hands. She could break them if she wanted to, but her father had always warned her about showing her strength to humans. He had always stressed how important it is to stay hidden as werewolves.

"You have to get me out of here, I was only defending myself, I am telling you the truth!" she says in a rush, unable to imagine the horror of spending a night in such a place. She has been begging anyone she sees passing by, but so far no one has listened.

This man smiles, then says,

"Someone has bailed you out. No need to worry. Move aside I open this."

She is surprised now.

Someone bailed her out? Who?

Maybe Old Mrs Valle has been informed already, and she is thankful to whoever told her. Must be the receptionist...

Only it is not her grandma she finds waiting for her at the front desk.

It is none other than the president of her father's property maintenance company, Gabriel Ferreira. The company that is now hers.

How did he even find out about her arrest?

Lucy almost laughs out loud when she remembers how she used to crush on this man during her high school days. He was her father's favorite since day one, and Mr. Valle loved him like a son and would often invite him over to lunch or dinner at his house.

Her grandmother had once told Lucy that Mr. Valle saw himself in the young man, both of them being so ambitious and ruthless when it came to working. Within a few months of working, Gabriel was promoted to the manager of the company. Her father would often be heard singing praises about him, how he wished Gabriel was his son and would take over his business someday because Lucy is a girl and therefore has never shown real interest in her father's company.

And it is true. Lucy had never been interested in her father's business and had always thought she would be a nurse.

It is only after he died and she became the owner that she decided not to disappoint her father. Which led her to do business-related programs at the international University.

Her crush on Gabriel had started the first day she saw him at her father's workplace, professionally dressed in a starched suit and shiny shoes. He reminded her so much of her father in more ways than one, and that alone had made her fantasize about marrying him.

As the belief goes, girls are attracted to men that look like their fathers and men to women that look like their mothers.

But after she noticed there was no chance of dating the man as he considered her a kid, she let her crush on him die, she couldn't allow herself to dream of a man who behaved like she didn't exist, and now he has suddenly shown up to offer his help. It is so funny.

"I didn't know she was a Valle," she heard the man Gabriel is having a conversation with say. "I am so sorry, Mr. Ferreira."

She has always hated getting attention because of her father's name, and Lucy has often found herself hiding her identity whenever possible. The mere mention of her father's name is enough to make her get away with anything short of murder.

He was that powerful.

It was only in school where mean high school kids don't give a damn where one comes from, they bully the life out of anyone they want to bully.

"It's okay, officer. I understand. Oh, here she is."

"Hi, Gabriel," Lucy says. "Thank you for your kindness. Have they released my cousin as well?"

She notices he is dressed in one of his usual suits, his hair now closely shaved to his skull.

And he is still good-looking, not to the standards of werewolf shifter males, but good-looking in his own way.

Gabriel has always given out a scent indicating that he is a shifter of some sort, though Lucy doesn't know what. Her father probably knew, but he never told her. There was no need for him to talk about such a thing with his daughter, especially since she had a crush on the man.

She learns that Austin has already gone home. Gabriel will drive her home, he informs her.

Lucy waits until they are in his car to inform him that she lives in a hotel room and not at home, but before she can open her mouth, Gabriel asks her something she didn't expect.

"I have noticed that you are pregnant. I must admit that I didn't expect you to fall pregnant before you've finished your studies."

"Surprise," Lucy says, then looks out the window. She doesn't like talking about her pregnancy and she expected him to sense this.

"Who is the father?"

Wow. Who asks such questions to people who are not their friend or relative? He is an employee and she wouldn't like him to be anything more than that, but telling him this would sound rude, so she responds;

"There's no father. The baby is mine. Just mine."

"I won't accept that the baby came from a cabbage patch, Lucy..."

"Wait, don't you think you are taking your questions a little too far?" She narrows her eyes dangerously, surprising him with the change in her. She has only been away for a year and she already appears less timid, more mature, and confident. This Lucy is not who he used to know. This is a new Lucy, and he is surprised to discover that he is attracted to this version of her.

It doesn't matter if she is pregnant because, from the looks of things, the bastard who impregnated her must have denied the pregnancy. That should explain why she doesn't want to answer his questions.

And girls in her situation rarely turn down a man who is willing to claim them despite their condition.

*

Lucy lets Gabriel drive her to the Valle Mansion. To be honest, there is no use hiding now that the people she was hiding from have confirmed she is back in the city.

She is done running away from her own home.

She is surprised by the show of care from a man who has never cared for anything apart from his job and pleasing her father.

He walks her up to the front door of the mansion, looks her in the eye, and says good night to her in such a tender way it makes her think she is dreaming.

He then goes back to his car and drives away.

The servants are excited to see her, and Lucy spares one or two of them a smile. Her main focus is to reach her room so she can scrub her skin and stop feeling contaminated after spending time locked up in cells.

She will talk to her grandma in the morning, the old lady must be asleep by now.

Upon arrival in her bedroom (which is as big as a small apartment) who should she find but her dear cousin Austin, chewing on a chicken bone as he waits for her? Lucy suspects the man has a habit of hiding food in his clothes because there is no way he is always chewing.

And what the hell is he doing in her room?

She asks him exactly that.

Austin stands from the chair, then reaches into his pocket with his bone-free hand, producing a glittering object that Lucy recognizes as a ring. He proceeds to throw it on the floor, and Lucy watches the shiny object as it rolls to a stop at her feet.

"Put it on. And don't think of objecting, you little fool! You have already gotten me in a bad mood. I will let you know the next step after you've done that."