Chapter 4: A Surprise of Secrets

In the four months Minerva had been pregnant, she had never been

astonished as now. Her heartbeat wasn’t as fast as today. And her

internal screaming was not as loud as this moment.

Being a cashier made her meet random people and met

former colleagues. But, the fact that a rich and handsome man like

this lad was in front of her was pretty much unexpected.

The man looked her in the eye as well. She’s now wholly

quivering on the inside. And Minerva, whose eyes seem to have a

life on its own, glared back at the handsome man.

“A hundred and fifty bucks.”

The man just handed her two hundred bucks and grabbed

the groceries. He then strolls away without even turning back.

Minerva was about to call him when the next customer demanded

to be next as he was in a rush. Minerva just kept the change and

went on with her cashier job for the rest of the day.

***

Her job was utterly tiring; perhaps that was just because of her

pregnancy. She was walking towards the bank when her heart

suddenly beat fast as if she was very nervous.

But Minerva wasn’t nervous or even anxious. Why would

her heartbeat fast where in fact she had done nothing wrong?

Unless…

“I’m sorry Miss Minerva.”

The voice of the accountant sent Minerva into a hole of

misery; plunging her into extreme sadness.

Derrick’s account, their joint account, had nothing left but a

100$—no more and no less.

Yet, before Derrick even passed away, he had been

boasting to her that they had already accumulated and saved

$100k. Where would the rest of the money go? It couldn’t be

possible that the money just vanished into thin air upon Derrick’s

death where in fact this is Minerva’s first time visiting the bank

after a couple of months...

“May I see the receipts of Derrick’s withdrawal?”

“Sure, Miss. Wait for a while and I’ll get the copy of the

receipts of Derrick‘s withdrawal.”

She watched the accountant go to the tiny office and take

care of her request.

Minerva now knows why her heart is beating fast. In fact, it

had pumped faster now as she began to be nervous.

‘Derrick has no mistress. Where would he spend his

money?’

She thought as she scanned her memories when she

suddenly remembered the time that she saw Derrick in one of the

casinos as she had been accompanying Mariella at that time in the

hotel.

“Look, Minerva! Isn’t that your baby boy?”

Minerva looked at the person Mariella was pointing at. It

was Derrick, playing cards with a bunch of voluptuous women on

the table whose clothes were an inch away from being naked.

Her attention drew back to the present as the accountant

bought her the receipts.

“These are all the recipes I’ve acquired so far, Miss.”

Minerva received the receipts courteously and carefully

scanned those. All have their common denominator—it pertains to

gambling, casinos, horse racing, and so much more.

She was holding her tears so they would not slide down

from her face. Her emotions are rumbling along with the kicking of

her child. It seems the life in her womb happens to be dismayed

and disappointed as hers. Minerva was a soft girl, and crying was

as rampant to her compared to other people.

“Are you okay, Miss?” The accountant asked her as she

began to sob quietly. Only the water from her eyes seems to wipe

away the make-up from her beautiful face.

She nodded and grabbed her scarlet handkerchief. How

could Derrick hide these from her? From them?

Minerva couldn’t hold it—couldn’t endure it further. She

straightened her back and spoke the words that were the primary

reason for her visit to the bank.

“I would like to apply for a loan.”

To her surprise, the accountant’s expressions shifted.

“I’m sorry, Miss but it’s the policy of the bank that you

must have at least paid half of your previous debts before acquiring

a new loan.”

“Debts? What debts?” Minerva became even more

perplexed.

The accountant showed her what she meant. She forgot that

she was pregnant, she even forgot to breathe. The amount of their

debts—Derrick’s debts—were almost twice the value of a Ferrari.

Two million dollars is too much money to gamble in a lifetime for

an ordinary citizen like her.

‘Where the hell had Derrick been gambling?’ That was the

very first question her mind asked. She couldn’t discern whether

she’ll be angry, embarrassed, sorrowful, or hopeless. Probably all

of those, and every negative emotion she could think of.

“Would you please excuse me?”

Before she could hear the accountant’s answer, she already

sprinted towards the nearby comfort room and wept.

She wept as if her eyes hadn’t cried for a time. She wept as if to

release every emotion that had long been encaged in her chest, in

her heart. She had wept for…for Derrick hasn’t always been

truthful towards her and to her baby, to them.

Before she could pull herself together, a voice of a man

startled her and made her halt her venting. He knocked at the

bathroom stall once, twice.

“Are you okay?”

The silence was the only thing that the man heard answering

back.

‘Who is it?’ Minerva thought. The voice was husky and

masculine. It sounded like she had never heard that voice before. It

seems that it belongs to a professional, to a well-off man.

“Hello? Are you okay?” The man reiterated.

Minerva seized her scarlet handkerchief and wiped away

her tears and all the liquids that messed up her face.

She opened the door, making the man gape. Yet, she too

was gaping.

It was the handsome man from the restaurant again.

But this time, he was wearing a white sleeveless, probably

his undergarment that lies beneath his gray tuxedo that was being

held by his right hand.

“Sorry…” That was all the handsome man said. His stubble

seems to form a smile as a form of apology and to hide his

awkwardness. He turned around, facing his back to Minerva while

clothing himself with the tuxedo.

Minerva looked at herself and forgot to close her buttons.

Her chest and cleavage were actually unsheathed, making her

frown and embarrassed.

“Sorry,” Minerva just reiterated his apology.

Suddenly, the accountant earlier barged inside the comfort

room. Barged into the very minute that the man was wearing his

tuxedo and Minerva was buttoning her blouse and fixing herself,

giving the accountant a notion that the two somehow did “it”

inside the comfort room.

“Uhmm…” The accountant broke the silence with the two

people still looking at her, both frozen the moment she entered the

comfort room.

“Are you okay?” She turned her head towards Minerva

whose apparel was wrinkled and a bit messy. Her hair and face

were both messy as well, making the accountant supposedly think

that the two somewhat had drilled each other in the midst of this

narrow and small comfort room.

Minerva just smiled and nodded. Without saying anything,

she strolls out of the scene, making the female accountant just stare

at the handsome man as his hair was also a bit messy.

“Did the two of you—”

“No.”

She just nodded as she stared at the door to where Minerva