Author's note: Please don't bash my head on the wall for this chapter lol. Kindly vote and leave a comment. Thanks ❤️

Ore began shedding tears of regret while Martha tried to soothe her by rubbing her back and pleading with her to take it easy. But Ore wasn't listening. In fact, she was thinking of what she would say to her parents when the news came out. What would she do? Who would she turn to? Was she to tell Dami?

Those where the thoughts running through her head making her heart ache and her body numb. She sat stiffly, her gaze concentrated on the wooden panes. She dreaded what everyone would think of her, most of all, she dreaded the punishment that awaited her by her mother.

Ore couldn't bring herself to imagine what would follow, she had brought shame to her family because of her sheer stupidity. She thought that by loosing her virginity to Dami, it would rope him in keeping her forever. Little did she know that she was wrong. Ore wailed loudly while Martha shushed her up telling her that people would begin to gather and ask questions.

Ore sniffed, holding her sobs in but failing miserably.

"What do I do now ehhn? What will I tell my parents? How will Dami react when I eventually tell him." Ore groaned and clutched tightly onto Martha.

"How do you know for sure that you're pregnant? It could just be post traumatic stress you're going through right now you know." Martha was acting oblivious to what was up. She was thinking that as Ore told her Dami used condom on her and it broke, her taking postinor two had helped matters.

Ore shook violently and Martha wrapped her blanket over her. Then, supported her in lying on the bed. She was emotionally and physically drained. The stress of having thought she lost Dami and now telling him of his unborn baby made her roll herself up in a tight ball.

Martha informed Ore that she was going to get a test strip for her at the chemist just to be sure of what she was saying. After all, there were lots of medical sicknesses that caused one to have fever and throw up. She took some loose change from her purse and hurried out of the room.

Ore felt as if someone was twisting her intestine and she gritted sharply in pain. It was over for her, she knew when she told Dami of the situation, he would ask her to get rid of the child. Because he wouldn't want to complicate his life so soon into his academic career.

Hot tears burned in Ore's eyes as she thought of the warning her mother gave her before she left for school. She clearly stated for her to stay away from boys that they would ruin her life with their sweet talks and before anyone can blink, she will be with a baby bump looking for a way to flush it out.

Keeping the baby wasn't an option for Ore but she didn't know how she was going to go about aborting. She was afraid for her life, scared that if she tried anything she could die. Ore punched her pillow furiously. She had to gather enough courage and tell Dami when he was finally back.

She couldn't wait to see him and have him in her embrace. For him to kiss all her worries away and tell her that everything would be fine. They'd scale through any hurdles that came their way. Dami would have told her to be strong for him if he was around. Ore prayed silently that as they handed over the money to the kidnappers, they would release Dami without harm.

She didn't know that his face had already been bruised and battered. Martha creaked the door open fearing what Ore would have done to herself while she was gone. She heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that Ore was drifting slowly to sleep. She tucked the blanket around her frame and patted her hair.

Early the next morning, Ore took the pregnancy test with her heart pounding rapidly. She followed Martha's instructions of peeing in a container and dipping the strip up to the stop point. She slanted it and then waited impatiently for the lines to confirm she was pregnant.

She saw one line popping up near the maximum and called out to Martha who was busy setting up her stove in the kitchen area to heat the water she'd use in taking her bath. Martha rushed out and took the strip from Ore. She studied it for a full minute, her eyebrows furrowed.

"What does it say?" Ore itched.

Martha looked perplexed. "You're not pregnant," she stated her face breaking into a smile. "Congratulations Ore, you won't be a mum anytime soon."

"Really?" Ore squealed. Martha nodded and discarded the used strip in the dustbin before Ore enfolded her in a hug. She was happy. The previous night, she couldn't sleep thinking of how having a baby was going to change her life that she'd even thought about taking it out.

But there was something bothering her now that she discovered she wasn't pregnant. She was supposed to see her period three weeks ago but she hadn't. And if it wasn't because of a child then why was her monthly flow delayed?

Ore enquired from Martha who simply shrugged and stated that she needed to go see a doctor and do a scan to see if it was an infection or hormonal imbalance. Ore made a mental note to tell Dami so he would take her to a hospital to run a test.

Ore was preparing for school when she got a call from Philip that they were on their way to the kidnap venue. He was driving in a car with Michael in the front seat while the police followed close behind. She bit her nails nervously, telling him to be careful and stay away when Michael was delivering the the money to them.

Philip assured her that everything would go smoothly. Ore heaved a sigh of relief and terminated the call. As she threw her phone on the bed, she felt a sharp pain slit through her lower abdomen and she gasped. Another one made her stagger back and hold her breath.

Mercy had left for classes early and Martha was buying snacks from the canteen. She was telling the woman selling to hurry up that she was getting late for class.

Ore held the edge of her bed for support and fumbled for her phone to dial Martha's number. The call rang and Ore realized in dismay that she was done for. Martha left her phone in her handbag. Ore held her stomach as a gut wrenching pain cut through her making her fall helplessly on the floor.

She screamed aloud before she passed out.

Martha heard the scream before she could collect her change. She flung the bread she bought on the floor and dashed to her room. All the while, her thoughts were going to Ore since she had been complaining of stomach pains. She pushed through the mob of people gathered at her room door to see Ore lying lifeless on the floor.

"Somebody call an ambulance," Martha shouted and Favour, the wing marshal, scampered out of the heated environment.