The Billionaire's Unknown Heir

Excitement bubbled in Tasha Harrison's stomach as she looked at the pregnancy test stick again for what seemed to be the umpteenth time since she ran the test a day ago. She smiled at the word on it; pregnant and clutched the stick to her chest.

“Blake is going to be out of his mind with joy when I show him this,” she said to herself and used the tip of her fingers to blurt out the tears of joy from her eyes.

She had been experiencing bloating for some days and even when she complained to Blake; he had put it down to something she ate. Blake made chicken soup for her and it seemed to calm her. He stayed with her throughout the day before, being Saturday. And none of them ever thought of pregnancy.

It wasn't after he left and she was talking to her friend, Phoebe, on the phone that she asked when last she had her menses.

Tasha kept quiet for a long time before she shouted, “oh my God, do you think I am pregnant?”

“Do you feel any dizziness?” Phoebe had asked further.

“Yes,” was Tasha’s answer. “Once in a while.”

“You know what?” Phoebe said excitedly. “I'm coming over right now to your place with pregnancy test kits.”

Phoebe arrived half an hour later with four different brands of pregnancy kits. All four of them confirmed Tasha was pregnant.

Tasha had fought the urge to call Blake and tell him over the phone throughout the night. She wanted to go to his house this morning and look into his eyes when breaking the news to him.

She rubbed her belly slightly through her dress before she slotted the sticks into her purse and let herself out of her apartment.

Her heart fluttered in her chest with her love for Blake as she stopped her SUV in front of his apartment building about forty minutes later. She got out of the car and took the elevator to his apartment floor.

Tasha stopped still when she opened his front door and found his living room in disarray. Storage boxes littered the floor, it was apparent Blake was moving out.

“What is going on here?” She asked, walking further into the room. Sam, Blake's best friend, stood up to his height from the picture frames he was stacking in a box.

Just then, Blake rolled out two suitcases into the living room. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Tasha.

“Tasha,” he blew the air out through his mouth and looked from her to Sam.

“I'll leave both of you,” Sam patted Blake on the back and walked out.

“Are you moving?” Tasha raised furrowed brows at Blake. “What is happening here?”

“Please, Candy,” he walked over to where she was standing and took her hand. “Come and sit down.” He swallowed hard, regret and guilt boldly written on his face.

“I'm not sitting down,” she said forcefully. “Why are you moving out of your apartment without telling me?

We were together yesterday. You never thought to mention it to me. What is going on?”

He didn't talk at first. He glanced at her and looked away.

“I'm going away, if you don't want to talk.” She took a step, but she remembered the pregnancy and decided to wait this out.

“Candy.” He called her softly and walked up to her. He took her hands. “I want…. I need to tell you something.”

“Now you are scaring me.” She looked up into his eyes. “Talk to me.” “I'm going home,” he finally said. “I’m returning to New York.” He took a deep breath, as if he was finally relieved to say it out to her.

“Candy, I'm so sorry,” he dragged in a deep breath. “I didn't know how to tell you. I thought you won't find out until I'm gone.”

“Let me get this straight,” she broke her hands off from him. “You were planning on leaving without telling me?”

“I'm sorry,” he apologized again. “I…I couldn't muster enough courage to tell you. I was a coward.”

“Blake!” she chirped.

“Look.” He walked to the media unit and pointed to a white envelope. “This is the letter I have asked Sam to give you later today. My flight is in less than two hours.”

“Okay, okay,” she raised her hands. “What is your plan? Are you going back to join the family business in New York, or have you found another job?”

Blake ran his hand through his hair and quickly darted his gaze away from her. Beads of sweat were already forming on his forehead.

“Blake, talk to me,” Tasha cried.

“No, I am going to get married in two weeks to one of my father's friend's daughters and that will merge the two families' businesses.”

“What! Blake? You've been having an affair behind my back.” Tasha had to hold on to the back of the sofa for support. “You sneaky son of a bitch!”

“No,” he put his hand on the back of another sofa. “Candy, beli…!”

“Oh stop it,” she cut him short. She put her hand on her belly. “Stop calling me that. How could you do this to us?”

“Okay, I won't call you that again,” he begged. “Believe me, I don't like any of these, but it is my duty as the heir to save my family. You know how hard it has been for my father.”

“So our love means nothing to you, Blake?” She started pacing the room. “I gave you two years,” she raised two fingers up. “Two fucking years of my life and this is how you repay me?”

“I have no other choice here, believe me. I don't even like the girl. I'm being forced to marry her. It's you I love. You will forever be a part of my life.”

“No, you don't love me!” She shouted back at him. “You love yourself, you selfish bastard. You don't even have the decency to break up with me in person.” She looked up at the ceiling to stop the tears that were gathering in her eyes from falling. She didn't want to shed any tears in front of him.

“Tasha,” he came and lay a hand on her shoulder. “You know I love you. But there's no other way around this. My family's business is in trouble and this marriage is the only way to save it. I am sacrificing everything for my family as the heir. Please forgive me.”

“Get your hands off me,” she slapped his hand away. “You are so wicked.

I don't ever want to see or talk to you again.” She retorted angrily and walked out of the house.

“Tasha,” he ran after her. “Please wait. I'm sorry.”

She didn't stop; she ran to her car, started the engine and drove away.

******

Tasha drove aimlessly around for over an hour. She felt like she was going in circles, much like her mind. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even realize where she was heading until she found herself parked in front of her best friend Phoebe's house.

Tasha opened the car door and went to the front door to ring the doorbell.

“W-what happened?” Phoebe asked after just one look at her friend.

“Blake…Blake!” Tasha muttered

Her friend led her inside. Without saying a word, Phoebe pulled her friend into a tight embrace, knowing that sometimes words were not enough to heal a broken heart. Tasha broke down in her arms and Phoebe held her, silently offering her support and love.

“Blake is leaving,” Tasha started telling her friend after she finally calmed down. “He's getting married to a family friend.”

“What?” Phoebe exclaimed. “I don't get it. What happened?”

She told her. Phoebe listened attentively, her heart breaking for her friend. She was aware of how deeply Tasha had loved Blake, and she couldn't understand how he could just throw it all away.

“It's okay.” she knew her friend needed her support now more than ever. “You have to take it easy because of the baby. It should be your major priority now.”

"Maybe I should have begged him not to leave me," Tasha whimpered, her voice cracking with pain. “I didn't even tell him about the baby after all. Do you think if I call him and tell him, he may change his mind and come back to me?”

Phoebe held her hand and looked into her tear-stained eyes, "Tasha, you did nothing wrong. You loved him with all your heart and that's all that matters. If he throws all that away, then he doesn't deserve you."

Tasha dissolved into more tears. She didn't even know how to face her life without Blake. She felt like a part of her had been ripped away and she didn't know how to move on.

The night was a blur of tossing and turning for Tasha. She woke up in the middle of the night, feeling suffocated by the memories of her and Blake. She got up and went to the bathroom, hoping the cool water of the shower would calm her down. Tasha stood under the water and cried until she couldn't anymore.