Chapter 5. Our Baby

"Thank you," Brian said without taking his eyes off the laptop in front of him as Nadine placed a cup of coffee on the table. For the past three days, Brian had been distant and cold towards her, and Nadine was clueless about the reason. She wondered if it was because of the mall encounter three days ago when she was with Dave and Ricky.

"Should I be honest now?" Nadine thought to herself. She wasn't ready to face potential rejection from Brian, especially regarding Ricky, the love of both their lives.

Flashback On

"Who's the guy who got you pregnant?" Henry yelled at Nadine upon learning that his beloved daughter was pregnant. Nadine cried in Athalia's arms. She couldn't possibly tell her father that she was pregnant by a student where she did her internship.

"Enough, Dad. Spare Nadine. Let Mom talk to her," Athalia replied, hugging her weeping daughter.

"Dad is disappointed. You've tarnished our family's name, Dad is a judge, who's the guy?" Henry grew angrier as Nadine remained silent.

"Fine, I'll find out who the guy is myself." Henry continued with his boiling anger.

"Pa, Mom pleads with you to let Nadine calm down first," Athalia begged. Thud.. Henry stormed off after slamming a glass hard onto the floor and left without a word.

Athalia took Nadine to her room, where Nadine tearfully recounted everything – from when she first met Brian to their time together in Bali.

"We'll find him together, my dear. Forgive Mom, because Mom has to separate you from the man you love," Athalia caressed Nadine's hair affectionately.

Flashback Off

"Could you please print these documents, two copies?" Brian instructed, snapping Nadine out of her reverie.

"Of course, Sir!" Nadine answered, then headed out of the office towards the printing room. Wiping away a sudden tear that fell, Nadine felt her old wounds reopening. Why did she have to meet Brian again just when she was happy with her new life with Ricky? And sooner or later, Ricky would surely ask about his biological father.

"Do you have a moment, Sir? I'd like to talk briefly," Nadine asked Brian hesitantly as she placed the printed documents on his desk.

"Go ahead! As long as it's not a personal matter," Brian replied without noticing the disappointment in Nadine's expression.

"If that's the case, maybe some other time, Sir. I'm sorry for bothering you," Nadine replied with teary eyes. She then left the office and headed to the restroom, needing a place to release the heaviness in her heart. Seeing her leave, Brian was taken aback. He couldn't deny his feelings, he still loved her. His mind wandered to the little boy he had seen, and he wondered about the relationship between Nadine and Dave.

"I'll ask her directly when Nadine comes back," Brian resolved in his heart. Ten minutes passed, and Brian grew concerned as Nadine didn't return to the office.

Click... A message arrived on his phone.

"Sorry, Sir. I need to go home. I'm not feeling well," Nadine messaged through WhatsApp. Brian sighed deeply and leaned back. He resolved to calm himself down and continue with the work that had to be completed by the end of the day.

"Come in!" Brian replied from inside the room.

"Why are you suddenly here?" Brian asked with a smile as he stood up and hugged his cousin, Najwa. Her timing was perfect. Besides being his cousin, Najwa was also the only person who knew about Brian's relationship with Nadine.

"Where's your beautiful secretary?" Najwa asked, pointing to Nadine's empty chair.

"She asked for leave, said she's not feeling well," Brian answered without enthusiasm. Najwa gave her cousin a suspicious look and then sat on the sofa.

"So, you haven't been honest with her?" Najwa inquired, investigating the matter. Brian just shrugged in response.

"She's already in a relationship, and maybe she even has a child!" Brian said nonchalantly, pretending not to care, although his heart ached even as he spoke.

"Shall we have lunch together? I'll order delivery," Brian interjected, shifting the conversation to another topic.

"Are you sure about this, Brian?" Najwa circled back to the original topic. She was frustrated with Brian's dismissive attitude, considering he wasn't like this before. Since graduating from high school, Brian hadn't been in a relationship with any woman. Najwa had grown tired of introducing her female friends to Brian, only to have him reject them.

Back in school, Najwa and Brian were dubbed the Siamese twins. For three years, they were always together, and no guy dared approach Najwa because Brian was always by her side. However, since they entered college, they only occasionally met or hung out when they had free time or during semester breaks. They had to separate as Najwa pursued her medical studies in Malang, while Brian pursued business management studies in Surabaya.

"How's your work, Najwa?" Brian attempted to shift the conversation.

"Doing well, Brian. Next month, Dr. Gio is proposing to me." Najwa smiled happily as her unrequited love was finally reciprocated. She had harbored feelings for Dr. Gio, a resident doctor at the hospital where she worked, for two years.

"Finally, my little sister is sold out," Brian teased, opening the lunchbox that had just arrived.

"Oh, Brian, I'm not some merchandise to be sold." Najwa pouted, which made Brian laugh and playfully flick her forehead. After having lunch together and chatting for a while, Najwa bid her farewell. Her purpose for visiting Brian's office was to invite him and his family to her engagement event.

"Oh Brian, I'll wait for the good news. Don't think too much, or Miss Nadine might be taken by someone else!" Najwa teased before closing the door with a wide grin, as Brian playfully threw a pen at her.

After Najwa's departure, Brian's feelings were somewhat calmer. He glanced at his wristwatch, which read 1:30. He got up from his chair and headed to his private room.

*

In her apartment, Nadine was busy cleaning and organizing the room that was intended for Ricky, her son. Since deciding to work in Surabaya, Nadine planned to bring Ricky to live with her in her apartment. For the time being, Ricky was staying with Nadine's parents, especially since Henry, Nadine's father, had been transferred to Surabaya as well. Henry was a civil servant, a judge to be precise. Throughout his career as a judge, he had been transferred to several major cities.

Ding Dong... The doorbell of Nadine's apartment chimed. She quickly grabbed her cardigan and hurried to the front door.

Click... The door opened.

"Mr. Brian, what brings you here?" Nadine asked, surprised. She rushed to straighten her disheveled clothes after cleaning the house.

"Please come in, Mr. I'll change my clothes real quick!" Nadine invited Brian inside and then headed to her room.

"No need to change, I just stopped by to bring your bag that you left behind!" Brian said, looking at Nadine who was wearing a knee-length dress and a cardigan.

"This teacher of mine still looks cute," Brian thought, smiling slightly as he observed Nadine, who looked adorable in her outfit.

"Oh my goodness, I completely forgot my bag," Nadine slapped her forehead with her palm. She truly forgot and hadn't realized that her bag was left behind in the office.

"Mr. Brian, you didn't have to trouble yourself earlier. You could've just called me, and I would have picked it up myself," Nadine replied with a hint of embarrassment.

"Would you like coffee or orange juice?" Nadine offered, trying to cover her nervousness as Brian gazed at her with an unreadable expression.

"Just orange juice," Brian replied shortly, then looked at Nadine, who hurriedly walked toward the kitchen.

Brian's gaze swept over the entire living room, now neatly arranged, unlike the first time he had come to the apartment. The colors were predominantly cream and maroon, and it turned out that Nadine's favorite colors remained the same as before. Brian walked toward a glass cabinet where various trinkets were neatly arranged. Inside, many family photos of Nadine were displayed in frames. Suddenly, his gaze fixated on a photo in a black frame. In the picture, Nadine was hugging a young child of about two years old, and the child's face seemed oddly familiar. Brian was a bit puzzled because he didn't find a single photo of Dave or the child's father.

"This is the child I met with Nadine at the mall that time," Brian mused to himself. His emotions started to stir as he looked at each photo.

"Please enjoy your drink, Mr.," Nadine said, surprising Brian. Nadine was equally surprised when she saw a photo of herself with Ricky, their son, in Brian's hand.

"Who's this?" Brian asked, extending the photo toward Nadine.