"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Did you say that you're pregnant?" Ximena's voice boomed in the kitchen. It had to be some kind of joke, right? There was no way that was what her baby sister had said that. Her ears were probably playing tricks on her.

When Andrea nodded her head, Ximena burst out into laughter. "That's a good joke, Andy. I swear you got me!" she hollered, slapping her knee in hysterics. "This is all a prank, right?"

Adriano shot Ximena a pointed look, unimpressed by her reaction, which made her shut up. Going over to her, he removed her hands from her face and began to hush her. Only then did it dawn on Ximena that it was no joke. Andrea was dead serious, if her tears meant anything.

"Mierda (shit)! What were you thinking Andrea Dos Ramos!" she fired, exasperated by the ordeal.

Adriano engulfed Andrea in a hug as he continued to rub soothing circles on her back. "Ximena, would you calm down. Yelling at her isn't going to help, now, is it? Let her process her emotions and then you can go all big sister on her," he chastised her and she closed her mouth, hating the fact that he was very correct.

A few minutes later, Santiago and Chelsea joined them in the kitchen. When their eyes landed on a weeping Andrea holding onto Adriano's torso like it was the only pillar of support she had, they knew then and there that something serious had transpired. And to think Top Gun: Maverick was beginning to get interesting...

Having calmed down, Andrea pulled away from Adriano and wiped the saltiness from her cheeks. "Okay, now that you're done, mind explaining?" Ximena sliced coldly, eliciting a glare from three pairs of eyes. To hell with what they thought. How could she not be angry? All her life had been about being a role model for her sister and brother, and yet one of them had gone astray. She pointed at all three of them. "You guys shut up! I need answers. Start talking before I call dad," she added darkly.

"No! Please don't call him," Andrea pleaded, her hands clasped in front of her. "Fine, I'll talk." She sat up straight on the stool and looked her sister dead in the eye. "I started seeing a guy a few months ago, after I met him at your party. It was my first time experiencing something like that; it was an instant attraction. We clicked and then we took it further over the summer vacation. And then a couple of weeks ago we-," she gulped nervously, looking down at her hands.

"Took a roll in the hay?" Santiago suggested, and Chelsea slapped the back of his head. "Ow," he pouted reflexively, rubbing his head. "Well, we all know that's exactly what they did. A baby was conceived for goodness' sake!"

Adriano rolled his eyes. "Thank you for the contribution, Santi. Much appreciated," he remarked dryly, and then turned his attention back to Andrea. "Okay. So, who is the guy?" he asked her, but she refused to meet his eyes.

Chelsea laid a hand on her shoulder. "We need to know so we can help you," she urged gently, as though she was talking to a five-year-old who'd shown up lost at the carnival

"Omar Pedrad."

A pin drop silence permeated the air. Nobody moved but jaws hanged low as eyes also almost popped out of their sockets. "What?" the four adults shrieked in bewilderment.

Andrea buried her face in her hands once more. Ximena blinked, not sure how to really react. "Omar Pedrad as in Omar Pedrad, our friend...the player?" Santiago asked, completely stunned. Adriano looked very pissed after the initial shock, fists balled at his sides. Chelsea had to hold onto the island to prevent her legs from buckling from under her.

"What the hell were you thinking! He's flipping 8 years older than you and not mention that you're a goddamn minor! Dios mio," Ximena practically screamed, almost pulling at her hair. If she was this angry, how would their parents react? It was certainly clear that this would not even end well.

"Are you sure you're pregnant?" Adriano asked, trying to school his features but he was very well on the brink of exploding. He'd grown quite fond of Andrea over the months and it felt as though his very own blood sister had been violated by that swine.

Andrea nodded. "I skipped my period by many days when I got suspicious. After taking several tests, my worst fear was confirmed," she said with her lips trembling. Santiago rushed to her and held her hands in his.

"Don't cry, princess. It's not as bad as you think," he cooed at her, and then gave her a hug. Santiago looked over at Adriano. "You had better call Pedrad and get his ass over here so he can explain himself."

Adriano nodded and moved to get his phone from the lounge. Re-entering some seconds later, he dialed Omar's number. At first, he did not pick up but on the second call, he picked up after 3 rings. "Wow, the famous Adriano Dos Santos has the time to call a mere peasant like myself. To what do I owe this honor, your highness?" he droned sarcastically in his aristocratic British accent. It was clear that Adriano would have loved to punch him through the cellular device, but sadly that was not possible.

Rubbing his forehead, he tried to bring out on the best calm voice he could muster. "Pedrad, where are you?" he inquired, voice hoarse and strained.

"I'm around. Why do you ask?"

"Can you come over to my house. There is something I need to discuss with you."

"Okay, Adri. I'll be over in twenty." Adriano then ended the call and put his phone down on the counter, exhaling audibly. "He said he's coming over. Lord forgive me because somebody is definitely going to die tonight," he huffed, and Ximena came to stand by him. The next twenty minutes were spent in angst and anticipation for Omar's arrival. When the doorbell rang, Adriano was the first one out of the kitchen before anyone could stop him.

The second he opened the door; he sent his fist flying that Omar stumbled backwards and almost fell down onto the ground. Ximena and the others had to rush to them to prevent an altercation from breaking out. In the time she'd known Adriano, Ximena had never seen him this angry and she was sure that was a hell of a punch if it almost sent Omar flying onto the front lawn.

"You effing bastard," he roared ferociously, just about ready to pounce on him. Santiago, Ximena and Chelsea had to work together in order to restrain him.

Omar clutched his nose in agony, as a few droplets of blood dripped out of it. "What the hell, mate? The bloody hell is wrong with you?" he bellowed in rage. Andrea appeared from behind them and Omar's face drained of all it's color. "Don't tell me you told them, Andy..."

"Oh, she told us alright. And guess what mate, you're going to be a father!" Santiago spat with so much venom that it sent a shiver down Ximena's spine. "You effing impregnated a teenager. What the hell is wrong with you, Pedrad? We should have just let Adriano smash your face in, you pedophile!"

Omar froze. "W-what did you just say? Andy, please tell me it's not true," he stated, more so pleaded.

Ximena took her sister and held her against her chest. "Yes, it's true, idiot. What did you expect would happen if you didn't have the decency to use any protection? You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" she barked at him and he looked away in shame. From the very moment she had met him, Ximena knew Omar was nothing but big, super-hot steaming pile of trouble. Now that she thought of it, she remembered seeing the two of them flirt at her party but she had brushed it off at the time. All of this could have been prevented only she if she had been more observant.

"This is all my fault," she echoed out loud in despair. "I should have kept an eye out for you that night but I was too busy being distracted by everything else. I'm so sorry Andy," she admitted, guilt dripping from her tone.

"If it's anyone's fault it's mine. I'm the one who invited him in the first place," Santiago piped in with a sheepish look on his face.

Adriano shrugged, massaging his bruised fist. "You're not wrong about that. But what amazes me is that these two got away with it for so long. How did we not notice it sooner? Better yet, what do we do now?" he aired out, voicing almost everyone's thoughts.

"Can we talk inside, it's kind of chilly out here," Santiago piped up and shivered. All of them began to file into the house and Ximena shut the door. She ushered everyone into the living room, as she went to the kitchen to grab two packs of frozen peas. Returning to the lounge, she went over to Omar to give him one and the other to Adriano.

Silence reigned for a couple of minutes with almost everyone with their eyes directed towards Omar in anger, sorrow and disappointment. He had his head hung in mortification as he applied the cold packet to his nose which he had dabbed clean with a handkerchief. It was Ximena to first break the silence.

"We need to go over to my parents house and tell them right now."

Andrea shot up from the couch in panic. "No! We can't do that. Mum and dad will kill me; especially dad! You know how he is; he will lock me up in the house forever, just like he did to you when you ran away to Paris. And I don't even know what he'll do to Omar," she shuddered at the thought.

"Well, you know it will only escalate the situation if we delay. This needs to be handled like ripping of a band aid. The sooner the better," She turned to Omar with a wry smile. "Game over, Pedrad."

Heaven only knew how her father would react but one thing was for sure, it would obviously not be pretty.

***

Emilio sat in his office chair, already clothed in his pajamas and robe. His back was ram-rod straight, face not giving anything away but eyes simmering with justified ire. Dolores, his wife, stood beside their youngest daughter holding her in her arms in an attempt to soothe her, because everybody damn well knew his temper would combust any second now.

Ximena sat in a chair by the corner, with her brother Salvador leaning on the wall opposite her, looking aloof and disinterested as usual. It seemed he wasn't the least bit surprised about any of this, like he had some vague idea it would come to this. The kid was unquestionably knowledgeable about a lot of things, more than he let most people believe.

The culprit, i.e., the damned fool who'd dared to deflower his daughter and stupidly impregnated her in the process sat opposite his large desk, squirming under his penetrative gaze. His nose looked askew, like somebody had almost bashed it in. God bless whomever had landed the blow because if he hadn't, then Emilio might had done something worse.

"So, what were your intentions with my daughter, Mr. Pedrad?" Emilio's dark and chilling voice sliced through the thick air, sending a shiver down almost all the other's spine. It was wintry, menacing with a spec of a threat in it. That was no simple question; it was a question you had to think over before giving a response otherwise you'd very well suffer infernal consequences.

Omar gulped and looked him in the eye. "I-it was j-just a fling," he stuttered pathetically. Yet again, didn't most quiver in the formidable Emilio Dos Ramos' presence?

Emilio's bushy brow quirked. "Oh, is that so? So, becoming a father was part of your so-called fling?" he voiced almost sarcastically.

"Dad, I'm sorry. It was all my faul-," Andrea had begun in a small voice but instantly silenced herself when Emilio looked at her.

"Was I talking to you, hija? I was talking to this young man who dared to perform the heinous crime of statutory rape, which is punishable by jail time. Did you know this young man?" he added matter-of-factly and Omar did a double take.

"Sir, you can't do that!" he shrieked, running a hand through his already disheveled hair. Oh, so now he's scared because of that. Hmm, interesting.

Emilio stood up and stood by the blinds to his window. It was well over nine pm, an ungodly hour to be discussing ultimatums with anyone if you asked him. He was very disappointed in Andrea but she had always been the rebellious one so this wasn't that shocking to him. He didn't know where he'd gone wrong with raising his children because they all proved to be disobedient at one point or another. Had he been too strict? Was this somehow his fault?

"I'll give you an option, a way out if you will. I'm a very powerful man, Pedrad and I have so much influence that I can destroy your prospective future with a simple snap of my finger. You'll find your whole world, including your family's name, will shatter in the blink of an eye and the damage will be irreparable. So, I'm going to need you to choose your next step wisely." He turned back and moved over back to his desk. Leaning over it, he squared his shoulder and looked at Omar dead in the eye, a hellish glint in his eyes.

"Either you kiss life as you know it goodbye, or you take responsibility for your actions and marry my daughter as soon as she turns 18."

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