It had always been Andrea's life goal to look and act her best, even when she was practically dying on the inside. The last couple of months had been nothing but hell for her, first she had been knocked up by a man who wasn't even remotely interested in her and shortly after that, her sister had been involved in a near fatal accident. Things had been touch and go for a second, but the doctors had been just on time to save her.
Nothing was ever the same for her, after those two tragic events but the former had had rather nasty after effects than the latter. For instance, because of one stupid mistake she had landed herself in a similar situation to Ximena, only this time, it would be a baby binding her to Omar rather than some merger conjured up due to greed. She would have definitely preferred an arranged marriage for money rather than an unwanted pregnancy.
It was odd how she'd easily given up her virginity to someone who preferred to play the field rather than commit. Warning bells went off in her head whenever she'd go sneaking around with him without the knowledge of her parents, or friends. It was exhilarating; for once in her life, she was breaking her rules and overstepping all the inhibitions she'd been so careful to follow.
It was all peaches and cream until that one fateful decision came to bite her in the ass, hard.
But it was way too late to take that all back, she had made her bed and now she had no choice but to lie on it. And she had made it a point to forget about how she had disappointed pretty much everyone around her, including herself.
Andrea had never been a pushover, but for once, she let herself be pushed over...onto a bed and had her innocence taken away in the broad daylight. To a certain extent, the way he'd made her feel so desirable, so ecstatic...for just a millisecond, it all felt worth it that she could have shared such a beautiful intimate moment with someone like Omar.
He was the very definition of sinfully handsome.
It was no wonder a lot of women chased after him, from all over the globe, she had come to learn after her father did a background check on him. He never lasted more than two weeks with the same woman, and some of the ladies he'd been linked with had him banned in several places in many countries! Some were famous, some were royal and all were crazy about him.
"Of all people it just had to be this philanderer?" Emilio, her father, had sniffed in distaste a few days later after the whole pregnancy fiasco.
She had been so used to that disappointment being directed at everyone else but her. It's not like he was condoning her actions, but he was supremely put off by the fact that she had entertained the likes of Omar. Even his own friends didn't think too highly of him, and that was saying something. Maybe she should have taken a hint or two from the moment they had met back at Ximena's birthday party a couple of months back.
Back then, she had been desperate to distract herself from the meagre celebration which was just another soiree for her parents' rich and famous associates, and their equally snobby children, whom by the way, were not even anywhere near being her age. The only teenagers at the party had been her and her twin brother, Salvador, who was distracted by the female companion he had brought along with him. So, it was only right for her to seek a distraction; a drop dead gorgeous one too.
The truth is, Andrea had always admired Ximena and her best friend, Chelsea. All she ever wanted was to be like them, have everything that they had. Her sister had Adriano, and it was very obvious that Santiago wanted to be with Chelsea more than anything. Omar had already tried his luck with both of them, so really, it seemed only reasonable that she shoot her shot with him.
Oh, how that had been the worst decision of the century!
The first thing that came to her mind when she found out she was pregnant had been abortion but she quickly discarded that demonic thought before it could materialise. How could she have possibly lived with herself after knowing that she'd let an innocent being be killed just because of her foolishness? Not to mention the repercussions and possibility of not ever being able to conceive again.
So, her next port of call had been to seek solace in the one person she could always count on; Ximena. She had been righteously livid, and to make matters worse, her husband, best friend and Santiago had been present when she dropped the bombshell. The humiliation she felt then could not even be compared to the time she'd been so invested in last year's tennis derby that she fallen and somehow ripped her skirt in the process.
Tennis was the one thing that Andrea loved most in the world, and now she couldn't even do that anymore...well not whilst she was expecting. She was well on her way to landing a sports scholarship but those hopes had been dashed too. And when her father told her that it wouldn't be advisable for her to continue schooling at the prestigious academy she had been enrolled all her academic life, that was the final nail to the coffin.
It was like her life did a 180 in just a single moment of weakness.
It wasn't fair that she had to give up most of her privileges whilst Omar was pretty much free to still go on with his life like nothing had happened. He seemed to even be miffed at her that he was being coerced into marrying her, like she had any say at all! Both his family and hers had agreed that it would be best for them to marry as soon as she turned 18, which was in a few weeks' time. It was great that her baby bump wasn't showing yet but it would be soon enough.
We're not even in love, far from it actually, she thought with her lips turned upside down. For a while he had made her feel like he did love her, okay, maybe like her a lot but after they slept together, that all vanished. He seemed to have grown bored of her and became very scarce. The unplanned pregnancy only worsened the case.
The big question was, would this baby bring them closer together or tear them further apart?
"Miss Dos Ramos, are you paying attention to me?" one of her tutors, Mrs Paice, squelched in outrage and smacked the black board with her meter rule. It effectively brought Andrea out of her raging thoughts and back into the room in their house that had become a classroom for her.
She sat up straight in her chair. "Of course, ma'am. I am listening to you. You just said that respiration is the process by which animal cells produce the universal energy currency known as adenosine triphosphate, aka ATP. There are four processes involved namely glycolysis, the Link reaction, the Krebs cycle and lastly, oxidative phosphorylation. At the beginning of glycolysis, the molecule of glucose is-,"
"Okay, so you were not dosing off after all. I'm very impressed with you progress so far and I think if you keep up the good work, you can complete your senior year way before your other peers," Mrs Paice cut her off and then proceeded to praise her.
Andrea inwardly rolled her eyes. Of course, I can complete it, it's not like I can do anything else but school anyways! She gritted her teeth, which happened to look like a smile to her uptight and tacky tutor. "I think for today, we are done. You'll read the rest of this chapter on respiration and you'll have a quiz tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of the day," she said in an eerily chirpy voice, packed up her things and left the room with a nod.
Exhaling loudly, Andrea slumped back in her wooden chair and her hand subconsciously landed in her belly. Sure, it was quite flat but she couldn't wrap her head around the fact that an actual human being was growing inside of her. It made her bite her lip in nervousness, a new wave of anxious thoughts riddling her mind. Will I be a good mother? Forget that, will I get through child birth? I heard it is painful as f-
The door flew open and in strolled her twin brother and mortal enemy, Salvador. "How was your day? Mine was pretty awesome...school is a lot better with you no being there. Even Sydney Reale agrees with me," he said in a casual yet haughty voice and came to stand beside her desk. He was still in his school uniform, having been let off about an hour or so before.
At the sound of Sydney's name, Andrea's face contorted in rage. She rose from her chair very slowly, her eyes narrowed. "Never, and I mean never, mention that witch's name in my face!" she spewed bitterly, her hands balled into fists.
Charlton Academy is the one of the most prestigious schools in Florida; a typical rich and snobby parents' dumping ground for their spoiled and entitled offspring. It was well known for moulding and grooming teenage girls and boys alike into pretentious yet successful young members of society.
Most of the time, Andrea had focused on her grades and extra curriculars like tennis, but that certainly did not mean that she could completely avoid run-ins with a couple of her classmates...Sydney Reale being a prime example. She was not only one of the most popular girls in school, which was very stereotypical of the almost six-foot tall blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty, she just so happened to be the student body president, captain of the debate club, volley ball captain and the icing on top of the cake was that her father was a major shareholder of the company that basically owned the school.
Sydney was everything every teenage girl would dream of being, well, except Andrea. Because, despite having all these talents and added advantages, Andrea was more loved, a tennis champion, much prettier and overall, her grades could be matched by no one. Plus, the Dos Ramos family name and wealth held more weight than that of the Reales, and that was saying something.
It goes without saying that the two were pretty much the classic high school rivals.
Salvador shrugged before grinning widely. "When will you let this petty grudge you have against her go? You know, she's been telling everybody that you left school because mom and dad found out that you're not actually their daughter and threw you out of this house," he told her as if it was the pleasant thing to say.
Andrea clenched her jaw so hard that she felt like her teeth were going to cave in. "And you just let her tell the whole school that bullshit?" she barked indignantly.
"You know that I choose not to get involved in such stuff. I'm someone who likes to fly under the radar and not be mixed up with someone like that arrogant tramp."
Andrea rubbed her temple in frustration. She had been foolish to think that nobody would try to taint her immaculate reputation back at school now that she wasn't there to deal with them personally. "What's more is that Rhett Saunders, aka that douchebag you dated last year is helping propel the lie and he's now dating Sydney."
She thought she would faint from all the information that she'd received in less than five minutes? Rhett had been somebody that she had a crush on for a while, and it just so happens that Sydney liked him too, along with the rest of the female student body. Andrea had a way with men, and so it was only a matter of time before they began to date, only to come to the realisation that Charlton Academy's golden boy was nothing but a charlatan. All that glitters is not gold.
Salvador laughed at her contorted facial expression. "I don't think you should be worrying over what Saunders and Reale are telling people. Besides, the moment you get involved with school matters you'll end up risking everyone finding out about your big secret. So, I suggest you let this go. I came to tell you that we are having guests over for dinner and mum said you should be ready by then," he said in a nonchalant manner, did a mock salute and then made his exit.
There was no way in hell Andrea would let her sod of an ex and wench of a rival get away with this. She would just have to figure out how to confront them and not give too much away as well. Although her father had prohibited her from meeting up with her friends, just this once she'd do it and get justice for herself.
"I wonder who these so-called guests are," she wondered out loud about dinner, having already made her mind up about her revenge. She grabbed her textbooks and phone, before making her way towards the door
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Hello my good people. Welcome to the brand new and somewhat flawed world of Andrea Dos Ramos.
This story will be written entirely from the third person's perspective, just like Marriage Merger. Now, it can be read as a standalone but it would make a lot more sense to read the Marriage Merger first to get a better understanding.
So, how was the first chapter? Is the introductory chapter making sense so far?
As of now, I don't have a fixed updating schedule. I'll just update whenever I feel like it.
Don't forget to vote, comment and share!
The picture above is who I have envisioned for Andrea. Let me know what you think!
Until next time,
~Deetronite 💐🌹