A Baby for Mr. Hanzel

Knock..knock..knock..

Laura saw the man sitting in front of her, touching his fingers on the table several times. It had been almost half an hour, the two of them were in the same position and neither of them had started to talk. Laura just lowered her head, not daring to look at the man directly.

"What's your name?"

Finally, the man spoke and immediately made Laura startled. Laura raised her head and accidentally looked directly into the man's eyes, causing their gazes to meet for the first time.

"La.. Laura," answered Laura briefly, not mentioning her full name, namely Laura Manuella Ziel.

Laura swallowed harshly. She really wanted to ask again about the name of the man in front of her but she didn't have enough courage. Just hearing the man's voice made her tremble.

"Are you okay? Your face looks pale," said the man with a suspicious look as he watched Laura carefully.

Laura nodded her head quickly.

"Yes, I'm fine." She answered carelessly.

"Have you eaten?"

"Hm... not yet."

Laura saw the man exhale roughly when he heard her answer.

"What do you want to eat?" asked the man again.

Laura bit her lip when she heard the question. It felt like the man in front of her was the first person to ask what Laura had always wanted to hear from the person she loved. Laura looked at the menu for a moment then decided what she wanted to eat.

"Just cream soup, chicken sticks and mineral water," said Laura in a slightly low voice.

Laura saw a waiter taking her order. Oh! Laura didn't even realize when the waiter arrived. The waiter then took down the order of the man in front of Laura whose name Laura still didn't know, then the waiter left.

"My name is Jonathan Hanzel. You can call me, Hanzel." Hanzel's voice amazed Laura because it sounded so authoritative yet gentle.

Laura nodded her head for a moment but still didn't dare to raise her head. Since then, she hasn't seen Hanzel's face directly because she is embarrassed.

"Are you going to continue like that, lowering your head and not looking at me? Is that how you treat your future husband?"

This time Laura's eyes widened and she subconsciously raised her head so she could see Hanzel's face clearly. Laura immediately felt heartburn when she heard the words 'future husband'.

"Do you agree to this marriage?" Laura asked in a barely audible voice.

"If I didn't agree, I wouldn't have come here. That means I'm just wasting my time, right?"

Laura was silent when she heard Hanzel's answer.

"Is this okay with you?" Laura asked uncertainly while gently holding her stomach. She realized that Hanzel was watching her movements too.

"I already know that. You don't need to cover it up, let alone be shy. I don't mind anything as long as you want to marry me. Of course with several conditions. You understand, right?" Hanzel brought his face closer to Laura, indicating that what he was saying was serious.

"I understand. What are your conditions?" asked Laura, realizing that Hanzel also didn't want a long marriage with her, the same as what Laura wanted.

"My parents will be coming soon and they are asking me to get married soon. All this time I have lied to them by saying that I have a lover. So, I want us to get married after they come and if they are sure, we just have to arrange a way for them to allow us to separate later. Maybe for reasons of quite high incompatibility, quarrels or whatever. I hope this can be done as soon as we get married so we don't pretend for too long. How about you? What conditions do you propose to me?"

Laura took a deep breath then dared to look Hanzel in the eye.

"I want my ex-boyfriend to turn to me again. I'm sorry but I think you already know about my pregnancy. Maybe by seeing my baby later and our fake marriage, his heart will be moved to return to me and raise our baby together," said Laura, her voice trembling, holding back tears, but she tried to finish her sentences.

"Okay, I understand. I promise to help you too," said Hanzel in a tone that sounded so soft to Laura's ears.

Laura couldn't hold back the sadness in her heart. Without realizing it, tears fell down her cheeks and she quickly wiped them away so Hanzel wouldn't see her sadness.

"Are you okay? Here's a tissue for you," said Hanzel while handing Laura a tissue, making Laura no longer able to hide her sadness in front of Hanzel.

"I know, maybe you've been feeling sad and depressed all this time. Moreover, you are currently pregnant and you might cover it up in front of everyone, including your boss, who is my good friend. I don't know how Danton scolded you at that time because you were negligent in your work. He told me about it and that's why I'm here."

"I understand. Mr. Danton already told me that he would introduce his friend to me." That was all Laura could say.

Hanzel was silent until the food they ordered arrived and they immediately ate it in a quiet atmosphere.

"So, what should I do next?" Laura asked to break the uncomfortable silence after they finished eating.

"I will immediately arrange everything related to our marriage. I hope that later you won't have anything to complain about because I didn't have time to discuss it with you again. So, later I will tell my people to pick you up if they want to meet you first or maybe we will meet directly on our wedding day. Do you mind my method?"

Hanzel's explanation sounded very fluent, it seemed like he had thought everything through clearly. He noticed Laura's expression, which looked a little surprised.

"It's okay, I don't have a problem. The important thing is that everything runs smoothly," answered Laura resignedly.

"Good. This is my handphone number. You can contact me if you have anything to ask or if you need anything, you can tell me." Hanzel handed Laura a business card containing his identity and Laura accepted it.

***

Since last night, Laura hasn't been able to sleep and now it's eight o'clock in the morning. She tried to swallow the food she had ordered online. The nausea was so strong that it was difficult for her to swallow food.

"My head really hurts to think about all of this," said Laura to no one in particular.

Since earlier, she has been holding the business card given by Hanzel. It only says the name, phone's number and company's name on it. Maybe that's the address where Hanzel works.

The image of Hanzel's face always appeared in Laura's mind.

"I will marry him. I don't know what will happen. I don't love him, I don't even know him. But I need a father for the fetus that is getting bigger in my womb. If Aldrick wanted to take responsibility... hiks... hiks..."

Laura was increasingly unable to contain her sadness. Her body felt weaker and less enthusiastic, but she had to survive for the sake of her fetus and her love for Aldrick who left her. So, what will Laura do now? Can she forget Aldrick by getting married while she is with Hanzel?