Nicole hesitated. "No, thank you, ma’am. I won’t be staying long. I didn’t know he wasn’t in." She was sure how she felt with this sudden attention from the wrong candidate. It would be so weird telling his mother.
"He’s gone to the university for his clearance and all that. You just missed him." She tilted her head. "But if you ca all the way here, surely what you want to say is important. Sit, dear. Don’t be shy." Surprisingly, Raymond’s mother was welcoming as she plastered that friendly smile on her face.
Nicole fidgeted. "I’d rather go back ho and co so other ti when he’s ho, Ma’am."
"Co now," Mrs. Schnitzel smiled. "I was just dying of boredom. Give sothing interesting. What’s going on?"
Nicole shifted on her feet, clutching the envelope like it was a shield.
Mrs. Schnitzel patted the seat across from her. "I’m not going to bite."
Nicole exhaled shakily and finally walked over, lowering herself into the couch. "I just..." she started, then faltered. It was so difficult and she was slowly running out of breathe for so reasons.
Mrs. Schnitzel poured her a cup anyway and pushed it toward her gently. "You seem scared, love."
Nicole swallowed hard. "I didn’t expect to see you."
"Well, life’s full of surprises." She smiled again, soothing and almost maternal. "You’re a lovely girl. Raymond has never brought a girl ho. Should I be flattered you ca to et his mother first?"
Nicole gave a small, broken smile at that. "I didn’t co here for tea," she said after a pause.
Her fingers trembled slightly as they smoothed over the edge of the envelope. "I ca because I... I have to say sothing. Sothing important." Her lips shook at every statent that left her mouth, her chest squeezed tightly.
Mrs Schnitzel leaned forward slightly, sensing the weight in her voice,she looked rather interested at that mont. "I’m listening."
Nicole inhaled shakily. "I’m pregnant," she blurted out. "For Raymond."
The warmth in the room dropped that instant. Mrs Schnitzel blinked once before her smile disappeared so fast it almost looked like it had never been there.
Nicole’s heartbeat pounded in her ears. "It wasn’t planned," she added, her voice cracking again. "I—I just found out a while ago and even confird from a clinic before coming here. I haven’t told him yet. I wanted to... I wanted to talk to him today. I swear I didn’t an for this to happen."
Mrs. Schnitzel didn’t speak. Her face had gone blank. Nicole’s throat tightened. "Please don’t be upset."
"Upset?" Mrs Schnitzel said,her voice was low. "No, I’m not upset. I’m... surprised."
Nicole’s shoulders slumped. "I know this is a lot. And you don’t even know . But I just... I needed to do the right thing. I didn’t want to hide it from him."
Mrs. Schnitzel stood quietly and walked over to the window.
Nicole watched her, eyes filling with fear. "Ma’am?"
"Do your parents know?" she asked flatly. Nicole could sense the tense on the older woman’s shoulders as she stared out of the window in such an imposing manner.
"No," Nicole whispered. "They’d disown if they found out."
There was another pause before she asked again. "How far along?"
"About... ten weeks."
Mrs Schnitzel turned sharply. "Great. It’s still early. Therefore I want you to terminate that bastard you’re carrying in there."
Nicole’s heart sank imdiately. She was shocked to the bones that she couldn’t utter a word.
Mrs Schnitzel’s eyes narrowed, her voice sharp and cold as ice. "You listen carefully, Nicole." She headed to her desk. Her fingers scattered a few notes before grabbing a checkbook, then she flipped it open with a tight look on her face.
Mrs Schnitzel signed a check and slid the check across the desk toward Nicole, who stared at it in stunned silence.
The amount was clear: five million dollars.
"Take this," Mrs. Schnitzel said, her voice was as hard as granite. "Get rid of that bastard you’re carrying. Keep it secret from Raymond. Break up with him. And disappear—far away from here."
Nicole’s fingers trembled as she reached for the check, her mind reeling from the shock.
Mrs Schnitzel’s face twisted into a harsh snarl, her eyes burned with a fierce, possessive intensity. "Raymond just started at Oxford. He needs to graduate. He needs to work with the Elms, just like his father did with the previous head of the Elm family."
She leaned forward, her voice turned low and venomous. "This baby won’t stop him from achieving that. I won’t allow you to trap my son with a damn kid growing inside of you. Now that it’s still early, go get rid of that fetus"
Nicole swallowed hard, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. She was too stunned to speak.
Mrs. Schnitzel’s gaze bore into her like a blade. "This is your only chance. Take it and disappear, or I’ll find you,break your bones and ruin your entire family."
The room felt impossibly cold as Nicole sat there, the weight of the decision crushing her from all sides. Her mind seed to be experiencing a glitch.
She managed to find her voice. "Why?? Why would you subject to sothing like abortion?? What if I’m your daughter?"
"You aren’t and can never be my daughter. I don’t have a daughter and even if I did, she wouldn’t be so uncultured as to spread her legs wide open for a guy who’s barely starting his life. And that too,without protection." She chided coldly.
A sour taste filled Nicole’s mouth as she spat. "I’m not the only one at fault too. Your son couldn’t keep his dick. Also, aren’t you a woman like myself?? Aren’t you a mother??"
Mrs Schnitzel snapped. " I am a mother and that’s the reason I am looking out for my son. Get rid of that thing in there and never show up again else...." She gritted out, her face twisted. "You will regret your miserable life."
Nicole stood up from the couch, her body trembling but she mustered up the courage to say. "Fine. I’ll get rid of the child. I’ll leave your son and your family alone." With that said, she matched towards the door and exited the room. But concluded within her...’I’m keeping my baby.’
__End Of Flashback.
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