Murder She Wrote

27. Picture Perfect

She turns to me, with a cold stare. "I'm sorry Michael.....is that what you want to hear."

"I didn't come to start an argument, I'm sorry if I'm upsetting you, this is a lot for me to take in right now and I'm more confused about it all." I tried to explain without hostility. "Where's the baby now?" I asked.

"I didn't leave because of the baby and I didn't want to make that huge risk of going somewhere alone moments after finding out I was pregnant," she finally admitted. "More importantly I contemplated about telling you, I was a hundred percent sure you'd be the father because at the time you were the only man who I exposed myself like that too," she cleared her throat. "I-I knew if I told you, there wouldn't be any joy as a reaction, and it would've almost ruined your life and marriage so I kept it to myself." There was a single tear that slid down her cheeks. "You don't understand how happy I was for a second about being a mother and all that happiness disappeared in a matter of seconds when I faced reality and saw how wrong the situation was."

I stay quiet, even though the hard agony of guilt was eating me alive at the moment.

"I hid that pregnancy for your sake. I didn't tell you about it because I already thought of getting rid of it. I ended up getting an abortion instead. I used the money to pay off the medical expenses, I couldn't leave after," she finally finished. She wiped her face with her sleeve. "So there is no baby but I'm sure that's a relief for you."

"I'm so sorry Anna," were the only words my mouth could let out. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you the life you wanted and I cut you off like that, I was scared for myself. I love Sierra dearly and I didn't want to lose her, at the time—I may have been in a darker and delusional state of mind. The way I treated people was unacceptable. You obviously deserved much better." I honestly didn't know how to apologize enough to her. I'm more thankful that I've come to known such a thoughtful person like her. She could've easily ran to Sierra and told her everything but she thought about my consequences and made a huge sacrifice. Thinking about the way I treated her back then sickens me and frustrates me. She deserved better and somehow I just wish I knew a way to make that happen for her.

"I know bringing this up was the worst timing but once I heard it I almost couldn't believe it—"

"Wait.....heard it?" She said confusingly. "By who?"

"Veronica...she already told me about you two bumping into each other." I clarified. She looked puzzled by the name, as if it's her first time hearing it. I didn't know if she was playing dumb right now or she didn't have a clue what I was talking about. "She said you two had coffee together, thats the only reason why I came here."

"Veronica? I never had coffee with anyone named Veronica. I don't even know who you're talking about," her face was still scrunched up in confusion.

"Well that wouldn't make any sense? Maybe you forgot her face or something." I chuckled. "How else she know about your pregnancy, let alone who you are."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not the one to forget faces easily. I'm sure I would remember who I had coffee with recently," she responded with a much serious tone. "Have you been telling my business to other people?" She questioned.

I was now confused. "No. She said you two have met, she came to my work and told me about it."

"I have absolutely no clue who she is," she almost yelled getting impatient.

"Veronica!" I repeated again. "If you don't know her then why would she tell me about meeting you." I took a moment to put two and two together. If Anna has no clue about who she is, then that obviously means Veronica was lying about the encounter. I actually find it disturbing that she would go beyond measurements to dig that deep into my personal life. How does someone go that far back into someone's past and pull out information about someone I knew 3 years ago. It almost makes me wonder what other private and personal information she dug up about me and how long she's been stalking me. What does she gain from it? Did she tell me about the pregnancy to get the pleasure of watching me get stressed and worked out or possibly endure the feeling of fear? Is this one of her sick games? This has become more than obsession. This is a form of harassment at this point.