A Slightly Unhealthy Competition

The car arrived at the big yard of Apollo Frias' mansion. He got off the car and walked towards the front door. A maid had opened the door and was standing there to wait for him to enter the big mansion.

"Where is Mrs. Columba?" asked Apollo Frias in his high spirit.

"She's inside the room, Sir…" said the maid a bit hesitatingly.

"What's happened?" asked Apollo Frias slightly frowning his forehead.

"There comes Mrs. Queenie Qamra, Sir… She's been waiting for you since half hour ago…" said the maid slightly bowing her head.

"I've told you she mustn't enter this mansion, haven't I?" Apollo Frias raised up his voice tone.

"Sorry, Sir… Really really sorry… She said there had to be something vital she would want to talk to you…" said the maid keeping bowing her head.

"Next time I don't wanna listen to any excuse… On no circumstance can she enter this mansion. If there's something important she would like to discuss with me, she can make an appointment with me and I'll come to her mansion to meet her," said Apollo Frias putting down his voice tone.

"Okay, Sir… I've got it…"

"Has Mrs. Columba seen her already?" asked Apollo Frias again.

"Mrs. Columba is still inside the bedroom, Sir… After the lunch time just now, she hasn't come out of the bedroom… Mrs. Columba has ever gone to the doctor this morning as well… Perhaps… Perhaps… she's sick…" said the maid.

Apollo Frias frowned his forehead even deeper. "Why doesn't anybody tell me that Mrs. Columba has ever gone to the doctor this morning? So, has any of you checked what's actually happening to Mrs. Columba?"

"Mrs. Columba said she was alright, Sir. She said if there was anything she needed, she would call all of us. So, when she hadn't called any of us, she didn't want to be bothered."

Apollo Frias kept silent after that. He knew he couldn't blame any of his maids. They were just doing what had been requested by his second wife. He walked through the corridor and entered the big living room. Queenie Qamra instantly rushed to meet her husband. She wanted to hug her husband, but her husband just avoided her and sat down on a big as well as luxurious armchair in front of her. Queenie Qamra sat back again on a sofa in front of her husband.

"Why are you coming here?" asked Apollo Frias coldly.

"I'm missing you, Apollo… It has been several months we haven't seen each other…" said Queenie Qamra in her coy voice tune.

"Okay… Now, you've seen me and met me, haven't you? You can go back right now… I'm dead beat now… I'd like to have a rest at the moment…" Apollo Frias stood up and wanted to walk upstairs when suddenly Queenie Qamra clung to his arm.

"We haven't met each other for quite a couple of months. Is this your appropriate way to treat your first wife, Apollo?" asked Queenie Qamra with her bit cold and awkward tune.

"You have known that I can never treat you as a wife, Queenie… Since the very beginning, I can't treat you that way. I can solely treat you as my sister, as my best friend…"

"So, what happened to us that night is nothing, is it?"

"Sorry… I was drunk and I reckoned you as Columba that night…"

"You took away my virginity and now you can merely say sorry…? There's no any responsibility at all, is it?" Tears began to rise up in Queenie Qamra's edge of eyes.

"What kind of responsibility are you expecting? I get married with you. You legally are my first wife. All your daily needs, your safety and your security are all under my responsibility at the moment. So, what more are you expecting? You're expecting I'll be staying with you all day and all night, and showing you all the attention I've been showing to Columba these times, aren't you? Sorry… I can't do that…"

Apollo Frias was about to walk away again when Queenie Qamra started to strengthen her clinging. She stood up and out of a sudden hugged her husband from behind his back.

"Queenie… Let me go… Don't be like this please…" said Apollo Frias a bit weakly. There were guilt and pity mixing each other.

"Let me love you, Apollo… Let me love you… Give me a little love… Give me a little opportunity to show you I also love you. My love isn't less compared with the love from that Columba Rajadi, Apollo… Let me love you, Apollo… Will you?" Tears began to be rolling down from Queenie Qamra's pair of eyes.

"You obviously know that we get married as our parents urged us to do so. I can't control to whom this feeling of mine will cling. Love and these feeling matters are all uncontrollable aspects. I can't control them, Queenie. Now that our parents have passed away, I can merely give you the responsibilities from a husband, not more. Sorry… Sorry… If you mind living in this kind of condition, you can propose the divorce lawsuit to the court. I'll sign our divorce contract later and give you some percentages of our wealth."

"No! No! I don't wanna get divorced with you… I want to stay with you forever, Apollo… Where are my weak points compared with that Columba Rajadi? Please tell me… Tell me, Apollo… I'll try my best to fix them. I'll try my best to improve them so that you can love and accept me in your life…"

"There's nothing related with weak or strong points, Queenie… It's just I can't love you. All my heart and mind just belong to Columba. I love her very deeply and madly. I can't stand alone without her in my life, Queenie. You obviously know that, don't you…? You obviously know that Columba and I have loved each other since our teen ages…"

Queenie Qamra began to sob bitterly. She began to squat down in front of the man whose love she had been begging for quite a long time, but until now she couldn't possess any point of love from him. Queenie Qamra sobbed and sobbed very bitterly. She felt as though today had been her doomsday and her tomorrow would have never come again.

"You can find another man who will love you as who you actually are, Queenie. Don't waste your time on me… I want to live happily with Columba… We've loved each other since the very beginning we met. Now, I can say both of us are inseparable…"

Apollo Frias would like to walk away again when out of the blue Queenie Qamra shouted,

"I'm pregnant, Apollo…"

Apollo Frias froze immediately at his spot. He didn't turn back. He tried to convince his mind and consciousness that he had heard the wrong word. Yet, Queenie Qamra uttered the same word again. That word had told him and made him realized that he hadn't heard the wrong word before.

"I'm pregnant, Apollo…" Queenie Qamra said in the middle of her sobbing.

"What? How can you…?" Apollo Frias this time turned back and stared at his first wife very sharply.

"I was still virgin when you took it away that night, the night when you reckoned me as Columba Rajadi, Apollo… I have never had any relationship with the other men after what you did to me that night. I've examined myself with the doctor this morning. This is your kid, Apollo… This is your kid…" said Queenie Qamra taking out the note of her fetal examination and gave it to her husband.

Apollo Frias read the note for a while and then squeezed the note strongly. He threw the note away and turned away again. Secretly, Queenie Qamra also turned her face away and she smiled in her winning and satisfying mimic.

I'll obtain you whatever it takes, Apollo… With this kid between both of us, you'll just have to stay by my side, you have to take care of me… I have your kid now, the kid who will inherit and continue this big asset and business of Frias family… You have to pay a lot of attention to me from now on…

"We'll talk about it later on… Now, you can go back to your mansion first. Anything related with your pregnancy, we'll discuss it further tomorrow morning," said Apollo Frias flatly and coldly.

"Don't you want to stay overnight with me in my mansion, Apollo? This is your kid, Apollo… This is your child… I've got several times of morning sickness recently. I need you to stay by my side, to accompany me, and to comfort me whenever that morning sickness comes." Queenie Qamra still tries her effort to make her husband stay overnight with her in her mansion.

"There will be several maids helping you and taking care of you until that child is born. They will also set up your daily eating menu and prepare anything you need. Good evening, Queenie…" said Apollo Frias still in his flat and freezing tone. Queenie Qamra shut up her mouth disappointedly.

Just as Apollo Frias would walk up to the stairs, his steps again froze at the spot where he was standing. He saw Columba Rajadi standing in the middle of the stairs, staring at him with her sad, sorrowful, and glassy eyes. Apollo Frias was astonished for quite a couple of seconds. He'd got no idea what to say and to do in front of his most beloved woman.

"Columba… Columba… I…"