The Hidden Truth

(The Anderson's Mansion)

The happiness written all over Gloria's face was uncontainable. A beautiful smile spread across her lips, illuminating her eyes and making her face glow. She clasped her hands together in excitement, bouncing up and down on the couch. She was itching to reveal her words. It can be so annoying to be kept waiting, especially when you've got something important to say. She gazed around the living room, taking in the high ceilings, crystal chandelier, and plush furniture.

This is so extravagant and adorable

The living room alone was three times bigger than the room she shared with her own husband. In a fleeting moment, her eyes suddenly landed at a picture frame hung on the wall. She stared at it like she was seeing it for the first time, despite the fact that she saw it more often every time she visited. She couldn't help appreciating the loveliness of the wedding picture. It was such a prominent one among the pictures her best friend took during the occasion. Like it was fresh, the memory of Vanessa's grand wedding day flooded her mind and she could almost hear the laughter and music. Indeed, Vanessa was super excited on that day. She married her dream husband after all, even though their relationship seemed complicated.

She kind of envied her best friend. Luck seemed to be following Vanessa everywhere she went. Unlike her, Vanessa was endowed with all the riches in the world. She was well educated and had become the executive vice president of the company owned by her grandmother, who happened to be the founder as well the CEO in the Anderson Corporation. Her story could have been a perfect one if she had given birth to a child of her own, but the Almighty understood best. Even though Gloria's story was quite the opposite, she felt she still had an upper hand over her friend, Vanessa.

Gloria jolted back to reality when she spotted a young lady in an apron approaching. Her eyes fell on the tray containing a glass of fruit juice that the maid was holding.

"Good afternoon Ms. Gloria. Ma'am Vanessa said she will join you shortly," the maid smiled politely as she set the tray on the small table beside Gloria.

"Oh, thank you Beatrice," Gloria reciprocated the smile, reaching for the cold drink. It was like an answered prayer for her, given how scorching the sun was. Only the chilled drink could quench her thirst at that moment. Promptly after the maid left, she gulped the juice down her throat and quickly returned back the cup to the tray, so that her low class attitude wouldn't be noticed. Then she hastily wiped the moisture from her mouth with her palm, and rubbed off her palm against her dress.

"Gloria."

She heard Vanessa call her name while walking gracefully down the stairs.

"It's so good to see you."

In no time, she stood up and met Vanessa halfway, pulling each other close for a warm hug and exchanged a kiss on their cheeks. "Me too," she responded before resuming her seat.

"What brings you here?"

Gloria's eyes remain fixed on Vanessa as she settled beside her. Her teeth shone widely, hoping her weird attitude would bring out a sense of clue.

"Hey! What is it? You look happy," Vanessa mirrored her smile.

"Don't you notice anything different?"

"Different?"

"Yeah... Like something unusual about me."

Vanessa's confusion deepened. She studied Gloria from head to toe before giving her a clueless look. "No I don't. You look the same to me. What's this about?"

"Alright, just try guessing."

"Come on, Gloria. You know I hate guessing. Just save me the stress."

Gloria bursted out a joyful smile, "Fine... Well, I'm two weeks gone!" She thought this news of hers would trigger some kind of elation from Vanessa, but contrarily, Vanessa didn't seem happy about it. She sensed Vanessa's surprised attitude, but the silence that followed was unexplainable.

"You are pregnant too?"

"Yes. What's wrong? Why do you seem so shocked by my news?" Gloria demanded, and all Vanessa could do was shake her head. "Wait a second, don't tell me you are pregnant too." Another moment of silence fell between them. Next, Gloria immediately came to realize her friend's secret. In that instant, her demeanor transformed. Her face burned with anger and betrayal. They considered themselves confidant, but she still hid such a huge information from her. It was so disappointing, coming all the way to share her joyful news, only to find out that her so-called best friend had been keeping her own secret from her. "Oh I see. So that's how it is now. I thought we were best of friends... that we could trust and rely on each other no matter what. But I guess I was wrong to even think that."

Vanessa leaned in, her eyes turned apologetic. She gently took hold of Gloria's arms. "Believe me, that's not true. I was planning to tell you. It's just that yours came in first. You know I consider you to be my best friend, and I won't do anything to ruin that friendship."

One major weakness of Gloria was that she didn't know how to stay angry for long, let alone hold grudges with someone, and that was what made their friendship long lasting since childhood. Her anger began to subside with the way Vanessa's innocent hand touched her skin. "It's fine. What's important is that we are both happy with the news. And I pray to the Almighty that the child you are carrying will come out safely and in good health." Gloria knew for sure that the prayer was important at that very moment. This wasn't Vanessa's first pregnancy. It was actually one of the problems she'd been facing in her marriage for a couple of years. She had experienced two previous pregnancies that ended in tragedy with both babies being born with no signs of life.

"Amen. Thank you, Gloria." Vanessa smiled with relief and pulled Gloria closer for a long hug. An elderly woman suddenly came out of nowhere and stood in front of them in a disdained appearance. She seemed to be the eldest in the building, and the members of the household had high regards for her. They looked up to her with so much respect. Her presence soon became noticeable to Vanessa and Gloria, which cut their happy moment short.

"Grandma" Vanessa said with some kind of unease.

"Good afternoon, Madam Anita," Gloria bowed anxiously. She knew her presence was going to be a problem after seeing Vanessa's grandmother. The old woman had never liked her right since childhood, from the moment she started being friends with her granddaughter. Twenty years ago, when Vanessa's parents died during a robbery attack, she became so sad and alone. Everyone distanced themselves from her during her primary school days, because they all felt bad luck seemed to be following her at such a very young age, except for Gloria who stayed. She was the only one who saw Vanessa's situation from a different perspective. She felt so sympathetic towards her, and she knew Vanessa needed a friend at that moment. So she became that friend even though her grandmother disapproved of it because of their social class difference.

She remembered the time her education stopped because her parents couldn't afford her tuition fees for high school. Even then, she would still sneak up into Vanessa's bedroom just to play with her and console her for whatever she might be going through. Ever since then, they acknowledged each other as best friends. Whatever Venessa had, she would always share with Gloria just to remind her of how grateful she was for being there for her during her tough moments, even though they were only meeting surreptitiously at that time. But since they'd already become adults, they saw no reason in keeping their friendship a secret. Gloria would openly visit Vanessa at their mansion for a chit chat. And whenever Madam Anita found out about it, she wouldn't miss the chance to insult and humiliate her. There was a time she almost gave up, but Vanessa pleaded with her and persuaded her to remain patient with her grandmother, that everything would be alright soon. It got to a point that Madam Anita wouldn't say anything about their closeness anymore, but deep down, she knew the old woman still detest her as much as before.

Madam Anita rolled her eyes indifferently before making her way out of the living room without any response.

"Please excuse me. I'll be right back," Vanessa said to Gloria. She rose in a hurry and went ahead to join her grandma at the front yard where she stood, staring at an empty space. She appeared behind her, knowing she was going to start explaining like she always did. It was like the same scene repeating itself all over again, and her grandma never grew tired of it. "Grandma," she called, a sense of guilt roaming within her even though she knew she had done nothing wrong.

Madam Anita immediately turned to face Vanessa upon hearing her voice. She would love to hear what excuses her granddaughter had for her this time. "Can you tell me what that woman is doing here at our house once again?"

"But grandma, you know what you are asking for me is not that easy. I can't just sever my ties with Gloria like that. She's my friend... My best friend. The only person who stayed by me when I needed a friend very badly. I can't just dispose of her like some kind of garbage."

"And so? So what if she did all that? Haven't you repaid her enough? You gave her everything, what else does she want from you? What you did for her is already equivalent to what she did for you in the past. Now you are even. You owe her nothing."

"No matter how much I explain, you can never understand my situation. One's goodness can never be measured, especially when it comes from a loved one. What Gloria did for me was exceptional," Vanessa said.

"You know, I don't understand you anymore. You don't listen to me unlike before. Is that what you learnt from that Gloria?"

Realizing how loud her voice was, she quickly lowered her tone. "I'm sorry for being rude to you grandma. But believe me, Gloria isn't like that. She's one of a kind. In fact she's the one who taught me all the good things I know today."

The old woman's blood kept boiling as all she could hear from her granddaughter was Gloria's praises. "You are still defending her...What the heck is wrong with you, Vanessa? How do you plan to keep your pregnancy a secret if you keep seeing her every time?"

Vanessa refused to say anything, but her silence and expression said a lot. Madam Anita tried to fight against what her mind was telling her, but she couldn't. Her eyes fixed intently on her granddaughter, and all she could see was guilt in her eyes. "Don't tell me she knows about your pregnancy already."

"I'm sorry Grandma," Vanessa said guiltily - almost like a whisper. She couldn't even maintain eye contact while uttering the words.

"Oh my goodness!" Madam Anita hit her head softly with her palm. "What on earth were you thinking? Why did you have to tell her about it? You just ruined everything?"

"I was left with no choice. Sooner or later, she would find out anyway. Besides, I don't see any point in keeping my pregnancy a secret from her. She isn't the one responsible for me giving birth to my dead children."

"You trust that woman so much. All she ever does is bring you bad luck. Didn't it occur to you that she might be using black magic. She slowly found her way into our family like a poisonous snake."

"You are just overthinking things. I know Gloria, and I trust her very much. I know she wouldn't do anything to harm me. So forgive me, Grandma. I don't think I can ever do what you are asking of me. It will be too difficult for me to stay away from her. I'm sorry," Vanessa said as she excused herself.

Madam Anita fumed as she stared again in the empty space, not knowing what to do with her granddaughter to make her understand what she was telling her.