Bella has not heard from Jeremy for days since she gave him that money but that didn't help her nerves, she still feels frazzled and racked up that he might just pop up any of these days. For a moment, she imagined that something terrible had happened to him, although, it was wrong to wish ill of someone but she knew that she would have been so happy if that was the case.
She decided to spend her day with Brittany to keep her company. Brittany was all chatty today, she guessed the pregnancy stress was reducing and she was glad to see her friend all chatty and not looking teary and worn as a result of morning sickness despite the care Aaron was giving her.
"I'm glad to see you in this mood today, Brittany"
Brittany laughed as she brought out some bread and ketchup, her friend had suddenly turned into a glutton and Bella wondered if that's how she would be eating when she became pregnant
"These days I am feeling a bit better, the constant throwing up has reduced, although, I still get the mood swings but it's all experiences on my pregnancy journey"
"How is Aaron taking it?" Bella asked and Brittany screwed up her face,
"He is excited to be a father but he is the one at the receiving end of my lashes, the poor man must be going through a lot. He had stopped wearing any cologne or perfume because I forbade him and he is constantly walking on eggshells around me because of my mood swings but he is okay"
Bella laughed as she imagined Aaron, the MD of J&D textiles running around for his wife and looking for ways to put her in a good mood, that must be really tough on him, "you have to take it easy on him Brittany, he is looking stressed out already"
"Ain't we all stressed? But we can't wait to carry this little being in our arms, I'm gonna spank him for putting his momma through a lot"
Bella smiled as she stared at her friend's glowing skin, she opened her mouth to say something when her phone suddenly rang, thinking it was Daniel, she didn't even check the caller ID before picking
"Hello sweetheart," she said and froze when she heard the voice on the other end says
"It's good to hear you call me that" Jeremy chuckled and Bella paled, her nightmare was back, she jerked the phone away from her ear and punched the end button.
She was shaking so badly, "Bella, what's wrong? Who was that?" Brittany asked worriedly and Bella's phone rang again and they both stared at the phone
"What is going on Bella, who is calling?" Brittany asked again when Bella made no attempt to take the call, "Should I take the call for you?" She asked
"No!" Bella yelled and whimpered, shivering and rocking herself and Brittany quickly hugged her
"Shhhh....calm down" she soothed as tears rolled down Bella's cheeks
The phone stopped ringing and Jeremy's voice rang out through the voicemail, "Remember our deal Bella, pick up or I'll send your fucking ass to your husband"
"Who the hell was that and what did he mean by that?" Brittany asked just as the phone rang again, this time, she didn't wait for Bella to pick it up, she answered the phone while Bella shook her head in fear
"Hello, who the hell are you and what's the meaning of that message?"
"Give the phone to the owner and stay out of this or I'll rip out that fetus in your tummy before it is even born" Jeremy's voice rang out and Brittany went white as a sheet.
Bella snatched the phone from Brittany, "Don't you dare bring my friend into this, what the hell do you want?"
Jeremy's chuckle rang out and Bella's stomach coiled
"I want money bitch, I'm warning you do not ever evade my call again, this is my last warning"
"I don't have money, I told you that I gave you all of my savings"
"Your husband has money, I need a million dollars in two days or else..."
He left the threat hanging in the air as he hung up
Bella went limp and the phone dropped from her hands
"That bastard threatened my baby, he will pay for this, who the hell is he? I'll tell Aaron when he returns and he'll look for that bastard and make him pay for threatening my baby" Brittany clenched out furiously
Bella's head snapped up and she grabbed Brittany's shoulders, "Please do not tell Aaron, I promise that he won't do anything to you or your baby"
"But I don't understand a thing, who is he Bella?"
"He is my ex, his name is Jeremy and he has been threatening and blackmailing me, I don't know how to get rid of him"
"Blackmail you with what?"
"When we were still together, he made a video of him and I having sex, he did it without my consent, he also has many of my nudes and he uploaded them on the internet, that was why I ran away from my hometown but I don't know how he got to know where I am and has been threatening to show Daniel that video of ours"
"That guy is an animal, you have to report him to the police, how can he upload your nudes to the internet without your consent, you have to file a report"
"I...I... can't, I can't stand the shame, if I file a complaint, the police will have to see the content of what he uploaded...I simply can't"
"But you can't let him continue to blackmail you with it, why don't you tell Daniel about it instead"
"Oh no! He will despise me, I love him so much and don't want to lose him"
"Oh Bella, if he loves you he will understand, moreover, it all happened before you met him" Brittany tried to convince her but Bella would not have it
"No Brittany, I can't let Daniel see that video and you can't tell Aaron either, he is loyal to Daniel and will tell him, please Brittany, promise me. I'll fix this but please, don't let anyone know" she sobbed and took her friend's hands in hers in a pleading gesture
"Alright, I won't although, I still think that Daniel needs to know before it gets any worse"
"Do not worry about it, I'll find a way to get out of this" Bella stayed with Brittany for just a little while before leaving.
*******************************************
Bella went home absent-mindedly, she was thinking about how to tell Daniel that she needed money, she had never asked him for money before although, she did not need to do that because he usually provided everything that she needed, her stomach felt like there was a rock seated comfortably in there, how do she get out of this mess? She thought about Brittany's advice to tell Daniel about Jeremy's blackmail but quickly waved it off, that was not even an option, Daniel must not find out about that video, her head throbbed as she got home and opened the door
"Sweetheart, you are back" Daniel greeted her as soon as she walked in and placed a kiss on her lips
"You are home early," she remarked
"I am home early to spend the rest of the day with you but you went to Brittany right?" He asked softly and she nodded
"You have visitors" he informed her and her brow shot up in surprise, who are they? She was not expecting anyone?
He pointed towards the sofa and she turned to see her visitors
Her aunt and her husband Ben, her world tilted on its axis and she swayed, what the hell are they doing here? The life she ran away from is gradually catching up with her, her stomach churned and she went limp but Daniel's hands suddenly wrapped around her and caught her before she could reach the ground.