Free Son of a Serial Killer by Jams N. Roses Page B

keep her happy, and he would have the most gorgeous wife on his arm if there was ever an occasion for him to show her off in the right crowd, or for the occasional photograph.
    Natalie could sense Tanya was coming to the end of her situation update, now was her chance to do what she had gone there for.
    ‘ You see, Tanya, the real reason I'm here,’ said Natalie, 'is... I don't know exactly how to say this.’
    Tanya ’s face was now one of concern.
    ‘ What is it?’ said Tanya. ‘Natalie, is it Ben? What's wrong?’
    Natalie edged her way closer to Tanya on the sofa.
    ‘I think,’ she said, looking into Tanya's eyes, ‘I think I may be pregnant.’
    A smile instantly appeared from ear to ear on Tanya's face. ‘Congratulations!’ She threw her arms around Natalie, who calmly eased her way out of the unwanted hug and told Tanya to calm down.
    Natalie explained that it must be early days, if she was pregnant, as she was late on her period by two weeks and had felt a little sick for a few days now. She explained that the real reason she was here was to ask about all the symptoms she should expect at the start of the pregnancy, from someone who has gone through it and what she should do. She claimed she hadn't yet done the test to confirm as she wanted to do it with Ben.
    Tanya couldn't hide her excitement, and told her all about the first few months of her own pregnancy; the pain in her breasts, the morning sickness that struck in the evening not in the morning and even though she had wanted a baby for years, the hormone changes in her body had given her mood swings that were just awful; happy, depressed, tearful, happy again.
    Tanya recommended a digital pregnancy test, one that was brand new to the market when she had needed one herself, as it was the most efficient and gave the least false-positive results of all the brands. She noticed that Natalie had a blank look on her face.
    ‘ You know what, wait here,’ said Tanya, before wobbling out of the room and up the stairs.
    Natalie had never in her life shown any interest in babies or pregnant women. What she did have an interest in was herself, looking after herself, and manipulating others into making her life easier, better or more exciting. She was a devious, self-serving bitch, who was soaking up all the information that Tanya offered to her, preparing the biggest con she had ever attempted. Even for a woman like Natalie, when conning someone, a bit of luck was always welcome. And then it walked in through the front room door.
    Tanya sat back down next to her guest and held out the digital pregnancy test she had not only talked about, but the one she had used all those months ago when she f irst discovered she was expecting, still with the word pregnant on the result screen. Natalie knew within seconds that she would be leaving with it tonight in her bag.
    And with Tanya being as simple and naive as she was, all it took was Natalie to play dumb, claim sh e was useless with names of products, and how much easier it would be if she could take it and show the chemist what she wanted, and it was done. The pregnancy test was put into a clear, plastic sandwich bag and then into Natalie's handbag.
    Natalie would still practise acting pregnant for when in front of Ben; the sympathy vote would definitely help them to re-establish their relationship on an 'affectionate' level, but with the help of a piece of kit that declares she is one hundred per cent pregnant, he couldn't deny that they have some sort of future together. Unless, of course, he didn't believe he was the father, but Natalie already had a strong argument for that one planned already.
    The sound of the front door opening was Natalie's cue to leave.
    She stood and thanked Tanya for her help, and asked her to keep the pregnancy to herself for the time being. David walked into the front room, dressed in sports gear from his squash game, and stopped on the spot when he saw the Natalie stood in front of his