Episode 6

"Andre?!" Susana gasps, unexpectedly seeing her boyfriend before her. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" Andre retorts, eyeing the clinic before confronting Susana with a tightened jaw. "Are you sick?" His gaze locks onto hers, attempting to suppress his rising emotions until he hears her explanation. "Or is there something you need to tell me?"

"What do you mean?" Susana stumbles over her words until she notices Nicole's smirk—a smug, mocking tilt to her lips that displays her delight in the chaos she's instigated, leaving Susana reeling. She had sprung the pregnancy news on Andre without giving him any heads-up, depriving him of time to process and graciously break the news, to avoid any misunderstandings. Her focus shifts from Andre and she quickly advances toward her so-called friend with confrontational intent. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Me? No idea what you're talking about!" Nicole feigns bewilderment convincingly, yet defiance creeps in as she feigns innocence. "I'm merely concerned about Andre's well-being."

"I can't believe you told him!!!" Susana's astonishment morphs into outrage as she stares at Nicole, her widened eyes a clear sign of tangled betrayal. Shaking her head she snarls, "That was a private matter between Andre and me; you had no right to interfere."

"How was I to know you'd actually tell him?" Nicole's words carry a derisive tone. "Judging by your reaction, you're not as virtuous as we all thought."

"Is that true?" Andre grits his teeth, examining the seemingly angelic face of the woman he presumed loved him, while she continues to trade barbs with Nicole.

"Look here!!!" Susana readies herself to lunge at her traitorous friend, but Andre restrains her with a firm grip on her arm.

"You still haven't answered my question." Andre pulls Susana harshly to face him. "Tell me, straight to my face." He spits the words out with raw anger. "Are you pregnant?"

"S...yes... but..." Susana's head shakes, tears welling up in her eyes. "You have to believe me." Biting her lip, she feels Andre's disillusionment piercing her heart. "I don't know what happened."

"Andre, I told you." Nicole stokes the already hostile atmosphere between Susana and the man she desperately wants for herself. "She didn't want you to take her home that night." Smirking with satisfaction, she needles further. "I saw her leave with another man, but I didn't tell you to spare your feelings."

"Liar!!!" Susana immediately cries out in her defense. "You always claimed you knew nothing about that night." Clenching her teeth, she realizes how deceived she's been by Nicole all along. "You probably orchestrated the whole thing, that's why you kept pouring me drinks."

"So, it is true then..." Andre laughs bitterly, frustration and anger bubbling within. "These past two years you've denied me, it was all just a game to you…"

"No, it wasn't." Susana faces her boyfriend once more. "I truly... wasn't ready yet." Her cheeks flush as she lowers her gaze to the floor. "I don't remember what happened..." She adds, ashamed and swallowing hard. "I woke up in a forest, with only fragments of the night coming back to me, nothing more."

"Don't believe her, Andre." Nicole grabs the man's arm, hindering further discussion. "Let's leave, she doesn't deserve you." Adding a sensual smile, she suggests, "You should have been with me all along."

"Let go of him!!!" Susana roughly pushes Nicole away. "So this was your game all along." Her eyes widen as she faces the harsh reality. "You wanted Andre for yourself; you set this whole thing up, didn't you?"

"I did!" Nicole faces Susana with evident superiority. "I'm not the one who cheated, am I?" Her smile brims with malice as she sizes up her former friend. "Bet you even enjoyed it."

"Damn you!! I knew it was you!!!" Susana lunges toward Nicole again, ready to unleash the fury of her fist. "Who is he? Tell me!!! You know, don't you?"

"Stop blaming everyone else!!!" Andre yells, placing himself defensively between them, his mind a turmoil of emotions. "You're the one who gave yourself to another man; it was your choice." Running a hand through his hair in frustration, he spews bitterly, "Maybe that night you were so willing, you wanted to experiment and now... you're feigning innocence."

"Andre, you're being unfair." Susana feels chilled by his icy words. "I didn't do it on purpose, I've told you, I don't know what happened."

"And how does that solve anything between us? Tell me." Andre looks at Susana with pain, anger, utter disillusionment. "You expect me to stay with you as if nothing happened?" His gaze drifts to her belly before he scoffs. "You're not going to tell me you want me to raise another man's child, are you?"

"No..." Susana's tears fall freely now as she stands bereft of any support. "I don't know..." Her eyes meet Andre's once more, but there's nothing left there for her—no affection, no understanding, nothing. "I haven't figured it all out yet."

"There's nothing to figure out, Susana." Andre declares firmly, looking upon Susana with contempt. "We're done."

"That's right." Nicole steps closer, intertwining her fingers with his, embodying the image of a new couple. "You need a woman who can love you completely."

"It appears so." Andre plants a kiss on Nicole in front of Susana, ensuring she feels the sting of betrayal. "Maybe it's time I had a real woman." His voice seethes with anger as he glares at Susana one last time before getting into Nicole's car.

"Andre..." Susana rushes to the curb. "Don't do this out of spite." She pounds on the passenger-side window, but he ignores her. "Andre, please, you can hate me..." Her tears flow stronger and her words break into sobs. "She's a fake... she doesn't deserve you."

Andre finally looks at her through the window, his eyes blazing with a fury that could almost kill. In that moment, Susana knows that if looks could kill, she'd already be lying in the dirt, buried; his anger is tangible, perhaps spurred by the betrayal or simply by the poor choice of her words. Nicole indeed doesn't deserve him, but in that grim moment... neither does she.

***This work has been signed with NovelToon, and piracy such as reprinting without permission is strictly prohibited.***

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***