Naomi's jaw hung suspended in disbelief, incapable of grasping the weight of Anastasia's words. The revelation that Anastasia, pregnant with the child of the man Naomi had loved, echoed through the room like an ominous refrain.128Please respect copyright.PENANAexadrchEqX
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Her gaze swept across Anastasia's face, a desperate search for the truth in the midst of turmoil, finding no hint of deception. "You're lying," Naomi insisted, a feeble denial attempting to push against the unraveling reality.
Anastasia looked up at Naomi, her eyes shimmering with a distant gaze. Something seemed awry, elusive, yet Naomi struggled to decipher it. "It's hard to believe, but it's true. I'm pregnant for him, Naomi. I'm going to give birth to his child."
Naomi rose, pacing in an attempt to contain the rapid beats of her heart against her chest's walls. Something felt amiss, a puzzle piece eluding her grasp, until a sudden revelation struck. Naomi halted, fixing Anastasia with the intensity of a detective unraveling a mystery. "Did you plan all of this?" she inquired,
"I don't know what you're talking about, Naomi," Anastasia claimed, pulling a strand of hair behind her ears as she averted her gaze.
"You did," Naomi accused, scoffing in disbelief. "Tell me I'm lying. I dare you."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Naomi," Anastasia retorted, her voice rising slightly.
Naomi laughed bitterly, a sound devoid of humor that clawed its way up her throat. "You know what I think?" she said.
"What?" Anastasia inquired, her gaze fixed on a distant point, detached.
"The only reason you got pregnant for James was to trap him into marrying you."
"How can you say something like that about me?"
"Don't lie to me!" Naomi exclaimed, a realization dawning on her about how much of a fool she had been.
"I'm not lying!"
"So, you're telling me after multiple times of sleeping with him, the thought of falling pregnant didn't cross your mind. You're telling me you didn't think of protection even once?"
"He didn't want to use protection, Naomi."
"Stop with the pretense. I'm not an idiot. I see right through your crocodile tears."
Anastasia giggled, her somber mood a distant memory as mischief sparkled in her eyes. "Okay, okay, you caught me." She raised her hands in surrender. "Maybe I was the one that insisted we didn't use protection."
A stab of pain hit Naomi's heart at Anastasia's betrayal. "Let me guess, you were the one that pursued and seduced him too. Isn't it?"
Anastasia shrugged, a subtle smile playing on her lips. "I guess we'll never know."
Naomi felt foolish, realizing Anastasia had made a mockery of her vulnerability. "You daughter of a fatherless goat," Naomi sneered through clenched teeth.
Anastasia raised her finger in silent caution. "Do not insult me, Naomi. Do not even dare."
"Did you have to sell yourself so cheap? You lost your virginity and fell pregnant for a man you probably don't even love, just for marriage. What foundations are you setting for this marriage, Anastasia?"
"Mind your own business, okay. It doesn't concern you," Anastasia barked, a metamorphosis from a weeping girl to an irate, bitter woman that Naomi struggled to recognize.
"I thought we were friends," Naomi claimed, allowing a tear to crawl down her face.
"We are friends, Naomi. Trust me, we are. But what will friendship bring me? I need to get married as soon as possible; I'm not getting any younger. The townspeople are starting to talk, and I can't afford to become an object of ridicule in the community. You've already taken that position."
"You couldn't choose someone else? Why did it have to be James?" Naomi inquired, tears welling in her eyes.
Anastasia shrugged nonchalantly. "Why did you even call me here? Why all the fake tears? For what? So that you could make a fool out of me?"
"I didn't expect it to end up like this. I just wanted to let you down slow. I wanted you to know that James was now mine, and that you should stay away. That's it."
"I can't believe you. You conniving Jezebel." Naomi's voice quivered.
"It doesn't even matter. Call me anything you like. All that matters now is that I'm getting married and I'll be happy. Unlike your miserable self."
Naomi's eyes squinted in confusion. "You haven't heard?" Naomi inquired.
Anastasia looked up at Naomi with confused eyes. "Heard about what?"
Naomi scoffed, a smile crawling onto her face. She saw confusion pass through Anastasia's eyes and pitied the girl who didn't know James was getting married. "James is getting married to Sasha in two weeks."
Anastasia's face dropped in seconds. "What?" she whispered. "You're lying."
Naomi smiled. "The news is all over town." She shook her head in plain disappointment. "I would have never imagined in my wildest dreams that you, my best friend, would find yourself in this situation."
"You're just jealous, making false accusations against James just to scare me."
"It seems this pregnancy has made you lazy. Haven't been to the market, have you?" Naomi chuckled. "Worried about becoming a community spectacle? Wait until they learn you're carrying another woman's husband's child. How shameful."
"You're lying. You're just trying to get back at me."
"Anastasia, I still consider you a friend. I wouldn't lie. The same way you've fooled me today. You'll get a taste of your own medicine, just a double dose."
Anastasia got up, pacing to Naomi and taking hold of her arm. "Naomi, please, tell me you're lying. I'm begging you."
Naomi took a step back, removing Anastasia's hand from her arm. "I treated you as my sister. I had your best interest at heart. I tried to console you in your time of trouble, and in the back of your mind, all you were thinking about was how to humiliate and taunt me. But it's okay. I won't hold a grudge against you. I forgive you for everything you did to me."
"Can you just shut up about this friendship nonsense and tell me the truth? Is James really getting married?"
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Naomi smiled. "You see how I said we'd find a solution together and that I'd help you through everything? Not anymore. I step back from anything that concerns you. This friendship is over. I hope you have a good life, Anastasia. And I won't forget to keep you in my prayers. Goodbye."
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