The baby contract novel Chapter 17

    Liam reached out for her hands " I'll take care of you, Carla. I can't promise a peaceful marriage, there'll be good and bad times but I promise to do my best to make you happy " He said softly. 

  " Let me go home and think about it, okay? I'll let you know whatever I decide " She said quietly. Her head was starting to ache, it was all too much to take in, she came with him to the dinner because he had no one else to ask and the next, she was faced with a marriage. What an irony. Jenny would sure laugh and say " I told you so ". She groaned inwardly, she didn't want to think about Jenny now. She just wanted to go home and get a good sleep. 

  " Alright but be fast about it, okay? I want an answer by this time tomorrow. You have the whole night to think things through, I'll be waiting for a reply " He said firmly. 

  Carla's nostrils flared " Excuse you, do not push me, this is all too much for me to take in "

  Liam seemed to calm down at her outburst as he sighed " I'm sorry, Carla. It's not my fault, I'm being pushed as well " 

  Of course she knew he was forced to make the big decision by his father " Okay, let's go home "

  He nodded and opened the car door for her and she slid in, muttering thanks. The ride back to her place was silent and one could feel the tension in the car. They arrived at her place and she got down quickly, not waiting for him to come around and opened the door for her. 

  " Good night " She said hurriedly and turned to go but Liam pulled her back. 

  " What's wrong, Carla? You look tensed up, is something wrong? " He asked, his eyebrows furrowed. 

  She shook her head " Oh it's nothing, I'm probably tired "

  Liam obviously didn't believe her and he held her by the shoulders " Listen Carla, this marriage won't change anything between us, it will be a marriage in name only and be rest assured that I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do " 

  Carla looked up at him with an unreadable expression but Liam read it so well and he shook his head. 

 " It's not possible Carla, a baby is part of the deal. It's the sole reason we're getting married in the first place so sharing your bed is inevitable, I'm sorry " He said apologetically. 

  Carla nodded " I'll think about it, good night " She said in a more composed manner and turned to leave once more. 

  " You'll come to work tomorrow, right? " He called out and she stopped on her tracks. 

  She turned and stared at him for a full minute before she bursted into a small, humorless laughter " Of course I will " She turned back towards the house and started walking again. She didn't look back until she was fully in the house. She locked the door and rested on the wall. She closed her eyes, feeling tired suddenly. She snapped her eyes open when someone switched on the lights. It was Jenny and she looked just as surprised as Carla was. 

   She frowned " I came here when I heard some sounds, are you okay? You look weird "

  On a normal day, Carla would have literally scratched her eyes out for calling her ' weird ' because she hated being called that but right now, she was very tired and to speak was even difficult for her. 

  " What are you doing here? " She managed to ask as her voice was weak.