CHAPTER 87: CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN: YOU COULD HAVE MARRIED KENDRICK

Celeste’s POV

Nothing was fine and I am feeling extremely stuck. I can’t go out anymore as people just point fingers at me and make snide remarks.

I had no money and couldn’t afford any nutritional supplements needed during pregnancy.

Where can I get money from?

This question keeps swirling in my head repeatedly.

My phone suddenly started vibrating and I didn’t need to check to know who was calling.

It was definitely my father, I have been ignoring his calls for days as I haven’t been able to get the money he needed.

The phone kept vibrating nonstop, so I decided to pick up.

"You little bitch!" he yelled angrily immediately I picked the call.

"Father, I am still trying to get the money" I said weakly.

"Since you can’t get the money, I have found a good way to get it fast and easy" he said with a sinister tone that made my skin crawl.

"Father please, I can’t do that... I am pregnant" I begged anxiously as I was well aware of what his so-called ’good way’ is.

"I told you to get rid of that bastard, why are you being so stubborn? Do you want the loan sharks to kill me first?!" he yelled angrily at me.

I was certain that he would have probably hit me if I were close to him.

"Loan sharks? What loan sharks?" I asked him with a frown.

"I told you that I needed money for an investment, you couldn’t give it to me so I had no choice but to borrow from a loan shark" he said with an emotionless voice.

"Why don’t you just wait for the investment to work out, then pay them back?" I asked him with a frown.

It would be great if the investment works out, at least we will have money to spend.

"Father" I called, when he didn’t say anything.

"it was a scam... Those bastards tricked me and ran away with all my money" he said through gritted teeth.

I was too stunned and couldn’t react for a few seconds.

It felt like I was going to run mad.

"How could you be so foolish?!" I asked him angrily.

"Watch your words Celeste, didn’t you hear that I was scammed?! " he yelled back at me and I just kept mute as I didn’t know what else to say at the moment.

"There is a very rich man, he seemed to have interest in you so get rid of that thing in your stomach and come home!" he commanded before ending the call without waiting for my reply.

There was no way I would let him send me to another old man’s bed.

And Raymond had disappeared since our last quarrel and hasn’t returned.

I had texted, called, even begged, and when that didn’t work, I went as low as threatening him that I would abort the baby if he didn’t show up and still he didn’t.

I was tired of waiting, hoping and tired of his silence that made me feel like a fool.

So I decided that I would stop being pathetic and go find him.

I was sure that there was only one place a heartless man like Raymond would go when he ran out of options, and that is back to the comfort of the Black family mansion.

That old jag Sameen, loves him too much to let him suffer and if he wasn’t there, then he definitely has money to get another place or has secret properties that I wasn’t aware of.

I threw on the only decent dress I had left, fitted but modest enough not to attract stares and took a cab straight to the Blacks’ estate.

When the tall iron gates came into view, my heart started pounding. I took a deep breath and stepped out of the cab.

I forced my voice to stay steady as I spoke to the security guard, who seemed new as he wasn’t the one that I knew.

"I need to see Raymond Black," I said, clutching my bag tightly against my chest.

The guard didn’t even look at me properly. "Name?"

"Celeste Martinez."

He typed something into his tablet, frowned, and then looked at me again, this time with a mix of boredom and disdain. "You have been blacklisted by the family head and can’t enter the estate."

"I just want to know if Raymond is inside, did he move back?." I asked him with a pleading voice.

The man’s expression didn’t change. "Miss, I’ll have to ask you to leave."

I opened my mouth to argue, but two more guards stepped closer, hands resting casually on their belts. I wasn’t stupid enough to cause a scene here, so I left.

I turned away, blinking fast to stop my tears from falling down. The humiliation burned my heart deeply.

I loved Raymond Or maybe I had just been in love with the idea of someone finally choosing me. Either way, it didn’t matter now. He has thrown me away like trash.

I walked down the quiet street, trying to figure out what to do next, when a sleek black car slowed beside me. The tinted window rolled down, and a cold, familiar voice sliced through the air.

"Celeste Martinez."

I froze as I stared at the woman that was looking at me.

Lauretta Black.

Of all the people to bump into today, she was the last one I wanted to see. She sat in the backseat, face half-hidden behind dark sunglasses, but even from where I stood, I could sense the sharpness of her gaze. The kind that could strip you down without touching you.

"Get in," she said.

My instincts screamed no, but there was something about the way she said it that made my body move before my brain could stop it. The driver opened the door, and I slid inside, while clutching my bag .

The scent of her perfume filled the entire car. She was dressed in black, her hair perfectly styled despite the faint red scratches marring her face. Her skin looked pale and her expression was unreadable.

I wanted to ask what happened to her, but my voice refused to work. The silence between us was suffocating.

She finally spoke, her tone dripping with amusement.

"I must say, Celeste, you never fail to disappoint me."

I frowned slightly. "I... I didn’t know you expected anything from me."

"Oh, please," she scoffed, crossing her legs. "You had every opportunity to secure a future for yourself, yet you let it slip right through your fingers. You could have been the wife of Kendrick Black, now that would have been a smart move. But instead, you chased after a used up old man."

I stiffened. "Raymond isn’t... "

"Don’t defend him." Her voice turned sharp as she gave me a glare. "You knew exactly what he was, a reckless fool who can’t even manage his own family and yet, here you are, carrying his child."

Her gaze dropped to my belly, then back to my face, and her lips curling in mock pity.

"I should congratulate you, I suppose. How noble of you to breed stupidity."

I clenched my fists on my lap. "With all due respect, Mrs. Black, you don’t have the right to talk about my child like that."

Her laugh was low and cruel. "Respect? Do you think I care for your respect, Celeste? Girls like you come and go. Pretty, ambitious and desperate. You think sleeping with a Black makes you one of us, but all it does is remind us that you will never belong."

Her words hit hard and I hated that my throat tightened. "I never asked to belong," I said quietly. "I just wanted to be with the man I love and be loved."

That earned me another mocking laugh. "Love? You poor, delusional child. Love doesn’t exist in families like ours, the only thing that exists is leverage."

I looked at her, trying to understand why she even stopped the car. "Why are you telling me all this? What do you want?"

For a moment, she said nothing. Then she turned her head and studied me closely. "I’m curious," she said finally. "Who is the father of your child?"

I blinked. "I told you.. it’s Raymond."

She smiled slowly and it carried a hint of viciousness. "Raymond." She said his name like it was something rotten. "Interesting."

I felt my stomach twist. "Why? What’s that supposed to mean?"

Instead of answering, she leaned back against the seat and sighed dramatically. "The Martinez family... so cheap, so desperate and so disgustingly ambitious. Your father has been selling pieces of his dignity for years, and now you are following his example."

I froze. "My father’s business has nothing to do with this."

"Oh, it has everything to do with it," she replied. "You think I don’t know who your father owes money to? Or how far he’s willing to go to pay his debts?"

Her voice was soft but venomous.

My pulse raced. "What are you implying?"

She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she looked at me for a long time, her smile growing colder by the second.

"Tell me, Celeste," she said, tilting her head, "how do you sleep at night, knowing you are carrying the child of a male escort, whose name you can’t even remember?"