Chapter 143

After asking Asher if he believed I could pass the transfer exam, I waited for his answer. One moment passed. Then another.

He still wasn’t looking at me and his frown was only growing deeper.

My own self-doubt began to swirl around, unwelcome in my thoughts. Meanwhile, my heart ached as if it had started cracking straight down the middle.

“Asher,” I prompted, because if he didn’t say something soon, I might totally fall apart.

“I’m worried about you, Cynthia,” he said. “You can’t fault me for wanting to make sure you’ll be okay, no matter what happens next month.”

“Sure.” I inched closer to him. I tilted until I was in his line of vision again, and he had to either look at me or turn away from me.

He looked at me.

I continued, “But you do think me passing the exam is at least a possibility? Shouldn’t we consider all possibilities?”

His face softened a bit. The ice in his eyes thawed. “No one would be happier than me if you passed that exam, Cynthia.”

That wasn’t quite what I asked, but it was close enough. My fondness for Asher was so strong that I could stretch the distance between us, on this.

To help lift some of my continued hurt, I joked, “See? Was that so hard?”

Asher grunted in reply. Yet before I could be annoyed again, he pulled me into his embrace.

God, he gave good hugs. Full bodied. His strong arms engulfed me and shielded me. I felt so safe, so happy.

I wished I could live in moments like these, where he spoke with his body what he couldn’t say with words.

Asher cared about me. There was no denying that. And if I focused on that, I could be satisfied.

At least, for a while.

Later, after Asher and I split ways and I sat alone in my room, I wondered what Asher really thought about me.

Caring for me did not mean he thought me capable. Did he think I wasn’t smart enough to pass the exam? Or that I wasn’t a hard enough worker? Did he doubt that I would commit enough time to studying?

I was afraid to know the answers, but the questions plagued me. They ran through my head on a loop.

If Asher was supposed to be my mate, why couldn’t he support me?

The questions followed me as I went about my day. They even stuck with me as I found my seat beside Aimee in history class.

Fortunately, Aimee distracted me, when she leaned over before class began and said, “I heard what happened. I’m so proud of you. If you are here, does that mean you are going to try for the transfer exam?”

I’d been excited about taking the exam earlier, but now, after everything Asher said, I worried to tell more people. I really didn’t want Aimee to think me incapable too.

But she had asked me straight out, so I couldn’t just ignore her.

“Yeah, I signed up to take it next month.”

Her smile brightened. “That’s great! I can help you study. Instead of hanging out at the café, we can meet in the library.” She got out her phone. “I’m going to text Nicole about this.”

Her upbeat response was refreshing, and I smiled. Asher might have been wishy-washy in his support, but Aimee’s was palpable. And with her and Nicole’s help, maybe this was something I could do.

My confidence started to build again.

“Did Nicole hear the results of the qualifying exam yet?” I asked.

“Not yet,” Aimee said. “They should tell her in the next couple of days.”

“Okay.” I really hoped Nicole got in. I didn’t want her to have to rely on the transfer test, like me. But I knew she had the talent and skill, so I didn’t worry overmuch.

See, Asher? I cursed him in my mind. This is how friends are supposed to support each other, with confidence and the offer of help!

“You alright?” Aimee asked, startling me from my thoughts. “You were making the strangest face just now.”

I cleared my throat. “It’s nothing.”

She shrugged and didn’t press.

The professor soon took command of the classroom and the day’s lesson began.

After class, as the room grouped together on their way to the exit, I began to hear the whispers again, mentioning my name and qualifying exam and pregnant. It didn’t surprise me that my drama was the hot gossip, but I still didn’t like it.

Especially since it meant my secret of being pregnant was now common knowledge.

I curled in my shoulders, trying to shrink into myself.

Aimee stayed near me, glaring at those she could. But she couldn’t stare down the entire class, especially when we reached the hallway, away from the professor’s ears, where the whispers got louder.

Then, someone had the nerve to step in front of me and stop me in my path.

“Is it true what happened, Cynthia? Did you flop the qualifying exam because you’re knocked up?”

“Buzz off,” Aimee said, stepping between us.

“So what, are you going to try to take the transfer exam?” Someone else laughed.

A third person, beside the first, shoved them aside and said, “Who cares about that? I want to know who the father of the baby is!”

“Me, too!” chimed in another, from somewhere behind me.

People surrounded me on all sides. I was being totally mobbed.

“What’s the matter, Cynthia? Do you not know who it is?”

“Oh my God,” someone gasped, when I didn’t answer fast enough. “She doesn’t, does she?!”

“I know,” I said to defend myself. “Of course, I know.”

“Then who is it?”

“Yeah, come on, Cynthia. Tell us who it is.”

“It’s none of your business,” Aimee said. “I’ll tell you that.”

“Aimee, we all know you are just jealous,” said a rude girl to my left. “Since you did what you did.”

Her comment jarred me from my overwhelmed stupor, and I snapped, “That’s not true. How can you say something like that? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”

The girl, at least, seemed to relent, her face dropping. She slunk backwards into the crowd without another word. However, someone else quickly filled the space that she vacated.

“Let’s get out of here, Cynthia,” Aimee said, and then shouted, “Excuse us!” She shoved her way through the crowd. I stayed close behind her, following the path she made for me.

I held my breath until we were out the doors of the building. The crowd dissipated on the sidewalk, and we were able to hurry away from the worst of it.

“Vultures, the lot of them,” Aimee scoffed.

I couldn’t blame them for their curiosity, but I certainly did for their rudeness.

“Thanks for your help,” I said.

She gave me a thumbs up. “Friends help each other.”

As I gave a quick nod, I wished Asher believed that too.

“You are making that face again,” Aimee said.

“It’s nothing,” I assured her once more.

“The more you say that, the less I believe you.”

I opened my mouth to deny it further, when a familiar figure caught my eye. Joseph leaned against a nearby building. When our eyes met, he motioned his head like he wanted me to come over.

I didn’t want to go, but…

He had likely heard what happened. I probably should have warned him about my pregnancy being revealed.

“I’ll talk you later, Aimee,” I said, and though she frowned, she let me go without pressing.

“Yeah, alright. See you later.”

After saying goodbye to Aimee, I walked over to Joseph, who led me further from the main sidewalk, into an alley between two buildings.

When we were sufficiently hidden from the road, he swiveled on his heel and faced me.

“What the hell, Cynthia? Didn’t we agree to keep the baby a secret?”