Not His Kid

Chapter 9

"No." I shook my head for the hundreth time in the last week. 

"Why not? I'm here to help you. I met Georgina and I know she means ll the threats she said." He was right. My grandma would strip me bare and still be able to sleep peacefully at night.

"James, I refuse to let you take this fall. You would be giving up your freedom, and I can't do that to you." He rolled his eyes.

"I can make decisions for myself. I'm choosing to do this because you're in need of help."

"I'm not a charity case?" 

"Do you see me handing out money?" I could see the frustration building on James' face, but i was frustrated too! Why couldn''t he see that he was making a mistake?

I couldn't have him resenting me for however long we were married, just because of my dream job. He had too much on his plate to take on a new pseudo-wife. A pregnant one at that. "Look James, marrying me is baggage. It comes with my grandma, me, and a new baby. I don't know what kind of crazy stipulations my grandma will come up with, and I won't have you ressenting me forever."

"I personaly find your grandmother to be a charming woman." He's honestly a lost cause.

We were seated back at the same restaurant, at the same table. My grandmother watched me with her same tight lipped expression. 

"So, you found a willing man already? I'm surprised. What did you have to do for him to agree?" The hidden accusations in my grandmother's statements hurt, but I wouldn't let it show. 

"Ms. Georgina. I must say you look lovely today." My grandma's eyes cut sharply to James, but he stayed unaffected. 

"Who was speaking to you, boy?" 

"Nobody ma'am. I felt left out of the conversation. But as you were saying, Leona didn't have to do anything for me to agree. Actually, she fought me tooth and nail about this." Georgina squinted her eyes in a calculating way. 

"Then why are you doing this?" 

"Leona is a beautiful soul. Nobody deserves her troubles and if I can do something to help ease her mind, then I'll do it with no hesitation." I paused from drinking my water to just watch James. His tone and face spoke of full truthfullness, and I felt my eyes water. 

Stupid hormones. 

"Leona, what do you have to say?" I opened my mouth to respond, then shut it. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how what she wanted to hear.

"I-I just want James to be happy. I dont want him to resent me for feeling like I backed him into a corner with this."

"You aren-" I cut him off.

"You think so, but you will end up resenting me."

"Leona, shut up. I'm already having the ring made, just give me your size." Even this caught my grandmother by surprise, as her usual facade was marred with shock. "Even though you said no, I knew I was going to do this for you anyway." 

"Well if you're so intent. I'll give you the guidelines. You are to stay married to Leona for a year and 6 months. After then, you can get the marriage annulled. You will live together and appear as a happy couple in public."

"Done." I shot James a shocked look and got up from the table quickly. I just needed some air really quickly. There's just no way this was actually happeneing in front of me. I could hear James calling after me, but I ignored it. 

As I reached the door, I felt someone's arm grab mine and I knew it was James. "Hey Lee, talk to me. What's going through your head?" 

"What's going through my head? Everything! You just agreed no hesitation to marry me! We aren't in love and you'd have to fake it for the next 18 months. My emotions are all over the place because of this pregnancy. That's another thing! I'm too much baggage with a child on the way.."