Four Years Ago

XVI : Trophy Girl

Saturday, 31st December 2022

"You know I hate surprises, right?"

   "You'll love this one, trust me."

   Christine sighed in exasperation and tried to roll her eyes, but remembered she couldn't because of the blindfold that obscured her vision. This wasn't what she had envisioned when she had agreed to go out to celebrate the day.

   Since she had started to show, fatigue and weariness came to her more easily. All she had to do was so much as stand up for too long and she started to feel uneasy. Not to mention the morning sickness. Maria hadn't had too much morning sickness when pregnant with Summer, and Christine had been hoping it would be same for her. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

   She had taken up suggestions on how to deal with morning sickness from Eve and even her fellow co-workers, but none of them seemed to help. She couldn't wait for this episode of sickness to be over with.

   Not to mention the fact that her face had begun to change. Especially around the eyes. Anyone who knew what a pregnant woman looked like would know she was one at first glance.

   Which made it even harder for them to keep the news away from the press. She could no longer visit public areas as much as she would love for fear of running into the paparazzi, and hadn't posted a recent picture for close to a month on any of her social media accounts.

   There was also the issue of replacing her footwear and clothes. She was forced to stick to medium heels and not the extra high she was used to, and had to completely replace her wardrobe since she was practically bursting out of her old clothes. She had gained so much more weight than Maria had in her first trimester. The doctor had assured her that it was normal, though. That some women showed more than others.

   Scott had been extra supportive, too. She couldn't exactly say they were in a perfect place right now, but it was bearable and better than where they were before. He visited her at work, took her on lunch breaks, cooked for her and took turns picking up Summer from school. His injury had improved, and he no longer needed clutches. But his therapist said it will be a little while before he could start playing again, that they shouldn't push their luck. All in all, Christine was happy with how things were progressing.

   Scott suddenly halted, causing Christine to follow suit. "Here we are," he said and removed the blindfold from her eyes.

   Christine was greeted by light so bright that she had to squint her eyes so they could adjust to the interruption after being in the dark. When she could see clearly, she didn't understand what was the surprise was.

   It was a shop, that much she could see. But it was empty, save for a couple of naked mannequins posed before the floor to ceiling windows. The shelves lining the shop were equally empty, and the place looked like it had been recently cleaned.

   She turned back to Scott in confusion, and he motioned for her to look up. She did, and saw gold italic lettering directly above the windows: Designs by Pace. She turned back to him, a slight frown on her face.

   He scratched the back of his neck, saying, "I know the name is sort of cheesy. But it's the best - the only one - I could come up with actually, that made sense at such quick notice. You can change it if you want to."

   She continued to stare at him, dumbfounded. Her problem wasn't the name. Yet, she couldn't find the words to express herself coherently.

   She could only imagine how crazy the netizens would go at this recent development. There was already so much talk online about her just using Scott for his money and the advantages that came with being with him, and this would definitely rekindle the rumours. Scott had told her severally not to pay attention to what others had to say, as people would always feel entitled to their opinions, but it was so hard not to.