Chapter 99: Valentine Special - 5: Karen Is Pregnant?!

Karen stood beside her mother, dry-eyed at the beginning, but then sobbing when the first dirt hit the coffin, then the realization, that she was never going to see that man again, hit her chest.

Benjamin stood a few paces back, with his head bowed and his hands clasped tight behind him.

That night, after the last guest left and the house fell silent, Karen knocked on Benjamin’s door.

"Ka...ren...?" Benjamin opened the door, but his eyes were red. He was clearly crying too.

Witnessing that, she slowly moved and wrapped her hands around him, pressing her cheek to his chest.

"I... I wanted him to watch me grow up..." She silently cried, as Benjamin hugged her back. "I wanted him to see his grandchildren... Would I truly never see dad again?"

She and Benjamin cried on each other’s arms like that, then they went inside and laid in the bed, till the next day.

They held each other through the night; Karen’s head on his chest, and his arms around her shoulders, both of them shaking with quiet sobs.

The kerosene lamp burned low, casting long shadows across the walls.

Benjamin whispered things he didn’t know how to say when her father was alive: that the farmer had been more of a father to him than anyone else ever had; that he was sorry for every time he’d been distant; that he wished he’d always told him, every day, how grateful he was.

Karen cried harder at every word, with her fingers clutching his shirt like she could keep him there forever.

Morning came, depressing and heavy. And they rose up without speaking to each other, washed their faces, and went about the day’s chores in silence.

And the house felt emptier than it ever had.

***

A few months later, one evening, the three of them sat at the dinner table—Benjamin, Karen, and her mother.

"What... did you just say?" An extremely exhausted voice came from Mrs. Steven, one hand on her forehead, and one elbow on the dinner table.

Benjamin was sitting close, with his eyes wide open at what Karen had said. And Karen herself was sitting opposite to her mother.

"I... said I’m pregnant..." Karen replied.

The woman looked up to the ceiling... then to Benjamin. "Did you know about this?"

"N-No, I’m just hearing about it now." He answered.

"Then why did you both come in the same time?" Mrs. Steven asked.

"That was a coincidence. I wanted to tell you that... I’ll be leaving..." Benjamin explained. "I want to stay on my own for now..."

Karen visibly flinched at Benjamin’s words, her eyes flaring.

"That’s fine... You won’t be here all your life," Mrs. Steven scanned Benjamin’s face. "But I hope... you don’t blame yourself for his death? There was nothing any of us could’ve done."

"No, that’s not it." He said. "I need to do something by myself. But I won’t go immediately. I’ll stay for a while longer."

The woman nodded, then faced Karen with a tired face. "And...? Who’s the father of the child?"

Karen looked away, silent for a while. Then she responded, "I don’t know."

"Wh-what?!" Benjamin got visibly disturbed.

Even if he was a bit extreme sometimes, Benjamin didn’t know Karen as the type to sleep around.

The thought twisted in his gut like a knife. He almost hated himself for not being there when she first asked him to teach her about sex.

Maybe there was something he could have done to protect her, or guide her, or keep her safe from whoever had taken advantage of her.

The guilt settled heavy on his shoulders, and bitter in his mouth.

"Whatever. I’m just so tired right now." The Mrs. Steven sighed and stood up, then began to walk away. "C’mon, let’s prepare dinner before your siblings return."

"Karen..." Benjamin muttered after Mrs. Steven left, glancing at Karen. "I hope you weren’t forced into anything. If you got into some trouble, please let me kno—"

"Don’t leave." Karen suddenly muttered.

"...Huh?"

"I said don’t leave," She turned to face him, tears streaking her face, as she laid her hands on her tummy. "Please, help me raise this baby. Let us raise them together... If you leave me alone, I will die."

"Hey, don’t say something like that!" Benjamin grabbed her hands. "I would love to stay and help you out... But what I want to do is important too. It’s important to me."

"And me?" Karen sniffled. "I’m not important?"

Benjamin looked away. "Not as important as this..."

Karen went quiet for a moment, then hit his chest. "Jerk... I hate you. I fucking hate you so much...!"

Despite what she said, tears poured from her eyes like a broken dam. Then she stood up and slowly walked towards the kitchen, which was visible from the dining area.

Benjamin watched her quietly go to her mother and wrap her arms around her mother’s back, suddenly crying loudly into her shoulder.

Mrs. Steven’s hand then went up and patted her daughter’s head gently, but she didn’t say anything.

The truth was; Benjamin Mark was this close to telling Mrs. Steven and Karen, "I was diagnosed with cancer. I don’t have much time left."

But with the sudden drop of pregnancy? He decided to change plans immediately. He’d go away, and he wouldn’t bother them with the melancholy of seeing him die too.

After all, he had no relatives around, and the ones they could reach won’t want him.

He would only burden them even in death.

So he decided he would better just leave them alone and die like the wanderer rodent he was.

And thus, he eventually left.

***

TEN YEARS LATER

Eleven years had passed since that discreet February night when Karen slipped the drugged tea into Benjamin’s cup and took what she believed was her right. And a decade had passed since Benjamin had left them alone.

The farmhouse had long since been sold.

The fields were now part of a larger development, the old barn torn down to make way for a strip mall.

Karen’s mother lived in a small condo near the city, and her younger siblings scattered across the country.

However, Karen herself had slowly and relentlessly climbed up the ladder of wealth, until she now lived in a shiny, modern apartment in Beverly Hills with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city lights.

She sat on the cream-colored sofa, her legs tucked beneath her, staring at her phone screen. The previous messages from Benjamin glowed softly in the dim room.

"Long time, Mr. Mark."

"Ah, Karen. No see. I had just abandoned you all huh?"