Chapter 5 Tempting proposal

"Will you marry me?" The word protruded from his mouth in a total meekness. It was more of a plea than a proposal.

My jaw dropped in shock, and I blinked. "What kind of question is that?" I replied, my voice cracking slightly at the first word of my question. "Is this a prank," I murmured to myself, my eyes fluttering shut in disbelief, "This is too sudden."

My eyelashes fluttered open again after my mind cleared. Mr Rogers stood up and made his way to meet me, he grabbed my hand softly. "I don't want to marry, Alva. She's not just the one for me, but the first day I met you, I knew you're the one for me."

"I can't..." I said softly, shaking my head as if trying to get some form of clarity. My face paled and the air in my lungs went out like a broken bellows. "It's just too sudden, I can't marry a man that I barely know."

"What else do you want to know about me?" he asked, more like a demand than a question. "I have all you ever wanted, money, a good life and I promise I'll make you the happiest woman on earth. I'll take care of you and our unborn child."

The fact that he suddenly accepted the child as his responsibility after acting like he didn't know what I was talking about at first made me feel weird. But I couldn't bring myself to accept something like that, I couldn't bring myself to agree to marry him because of his money or because he accepted to be the father of my child.

"I can't marry you, Mr Rogers." I stood on my words.

He walked close to me. "Please, marry me. Stay with me until I can get rid of Alva."

My heart shattered. He wasn't looking for a wife but for an excuse not to marry his fiancee, I looked away avoiding eye contact with him.

"If you don't want to marry me, I understand," he muttered and returned to his seat. "let's do this as a contract marriage, no feelings attached. I'll pay you enough money to change a lot of things in your life and bear the responsibility of your child."

I felt like throwing up just from hearing how generous he'd been with me when I told him I wouldn't marry him. His arrogance made me sick.

But his offer was something that I can't deny would change a lot in my life, I thought about it carefully. It might be the best thing I could do for me since I'm pregnant. It would make me happy too and I won't have any reason to be mad anymore.

But I insisted on not giving myself away to him because of who he is and how much he has to offer me. He stepped forward to me and grabbed me by the hips.

His face came very close to mine. My heartbeat accelerated. I could feel his breath fanning over me. His eyes piercing into mine, he ran his finger against my jawline and leaned close to kiss me.

I gasped slightly as I stepped away from him slowly, his moves were tempting and his offer was so unexpected. I never expected him to ask me to marry him. What if I refuse? What then? I can't risk losing myself, I don't even have enough money saved up to rent a better place for my unborn child.

He must have sensed my fear and anger because he stopped moving towards me.

"What's wrong?" he whispered.

"All this is too sudden, I don't want to start something I'll later regret." I swallowed hard.

He scoffed. "This isn't something you should think about, you already said I'm the father of your unborn child. Let me take the responsibility of it. I promise I'll take care of you, give you all you want."

He smirked. "You will never regret marrying me," he added.

I didn't know what else to say. I wanted to believe him, he sounded really sincere, but my doubts kept coming. I couldn't think straight, my mind was crowded with uncertainty.

There was something about Mr Rogers that didn't seem right, apart from the fact that he had similar features but deep within me. I had doubts.

"I just need some time to think before I take any lifelong decision," I insisted.

He bit his lower lip, looking down at me disappointedly. "Okay, I'll be waiting for your response."

I exhaled the breath that I didn't realize I was holding as he made his way back to the seat. The tension I built up in my chest left immediately, my stomach settled, and the nausea dissipated. I was surprised how well my decision seemed to turn out, though I still wasn't completely sure.

****

The rest of the day was confusing to me as I found myself deliberating on whether I should accept to marry Mr Rogers or not.

Mr Rogers' proposal was more than enticing and it appealed to my sense of justice. But the way he offered it was different. Apart from the fact that he wanted to avoid his marriage to Alva, I had no idea what his other intentions were, all I knew was that if I didn't accept he would keep pushing until I gave in.

I was certain he had ulterior motives, but I couldn't get what it might be. Even if he meant the best for me and our baby and I trusted his words.

I took some time to calm myself and think about how things were going to proceed. I had no plans and nothing planned for the future. All I wanted to do now was to focus on work and raising the baby while trying not to worry about anything else.

A knock on the door distracted me from my thoughts as a lady walked in, she made her way to meet me and place a file on my table. "This is the file, Mr Rogers asked for." She glanced in his direction and noticed he was busy before she looked at me.

"We're having a meeting with Mr. Antonio tomorrow, please give this to Mr. Rogers to sign, thanks." The secretary said with a thin-lipped smile.

I nodded, "Sure."