Chapter 41 Tears of Joy!

“Soon we will have a special guest who would share the exciting details regarding the love affair between Kiba and the mother of his unborn child! Everything after a short commercial break!”

The screen was now showing the latest commercials but the attention of everyone was still stuck on the screen. The expression on the people’s faces was of curiosity but there was one person whose expression was that of panic.

Who could he be if not Zed?

Zed’s back was drenched with cold sweat but he tried his best to hide his panic expression in front of Felicity. Inside though he was weeping while trying to think of every female he has slept with.

“In this month, I had slept with some 20 women. Last month I don’t even remember,” Zed was feeling nervous with every passing second. He didn’t want to become a father at such a young age.

No, he just wanted to enjoy the process of impregnating without having to take any responsibility! You can say he was a perfect example of a shameless man with no sense of responsibility!

It wasn’t hard to imagine how shocking the news was for him.

“Hang on! Kiba is a higher form of life, powered by Cosmic Spark, so it should be almost impossible for that form to breed with normal mutants or ordinary humans,” Zed tried to calm himself with this reasoning but his body refused to listen due to ‘almost’. The nervousness was only increasing.

His eyes were glued to the television screen waiting for the commercial break to end but the break showed no sign of stopping.

“I never knew you were so much interested in the gossips,” Felicity said with disdain. She couldn’t understand why Zed and other people in the canteen were showing so much attention to the news regarding the personal life of someone.

“Umm, I…” Zed stopped in between for he didn’t know how to answer her. He couldn’t tell her that the news was talking about him!

“Every minute someone becomes a father, so why are you all paying attention to this news like your life depends on it?” Felicity asked a group of students sitting some distance away from her.

“Felicity, it is Kiba we are talking about! You know how popular he is!” A female student said.

“I know he is popular, but surely you don’t have to feel interested in his personal life?” Felicity asked.

“You wouldn’t understand!” The same female student replied. She believed Felicity was a weirdo since she was not interested in the stuff which matters!

How can one not be fascinated by the news of a scandal? Especially if the scandal deals with someone very popular!

Humans are always attracted to the life lived by the rich and famous. People try to satisfy their dreams by imagining themselves in the place of those celebrities. It was not hard to understand why gossip channels would be a more profitable venture then plain news channel.

Felicity gave a sigh thinking her words fell on deaf ears. She was even more disappointed by Zed’s behavior.

“I need to show him how exciting real life is otherwise he would always be stuck in the imaginary life of others,” Felicity thought.

She opened a phone app to reserve two tickets for a ‘thrill ride’.

——-

The commercial break finally ended and now the screen was occupied by the female anchor from before.

“Welcome back,” the female anchor said, “Let us start the session with the headlines.”

The screen showed the visuals of the chemical blast in Sakura City targetted at the rich and powerful.

“The mayor of Sakura City survived the blast but sadly he has lost his arms. The doctors have said the use of the chemical in the blast has made it impossible to regenerate the arms even with the latest cloning technology,” the female anchor’s voice was filled with sadness as she continued,” The World Government’s spokesperson has claimed the blast was carried out by terrorists from Nation Of Terror.”

Zed was cursing inside at the news channel for wasting time on unnecessary stuff. Why the hell were they delaying the ‘important’ news about his other form?

The female anchor wasn’t able to hear his curses as she continued with more headlines concerning the events in Delta City especially the slaughter in the slum.

After ten long minutes she brought a topic Zed was interested in or to be precise, a topic he was afraid of.

“The breaking news of today is related to Kiba! Kiba, one of the strongest mutants in the city, is about to become a father,” the female anchor’s voice was filled with emotions as if she herself was pregnant with his child.

The screen showed the archive visuals of Kiba hanging out with different women.

“Given Kiba’s womanizing nature, it might not be surprising to know that he is about to become a father,” the female anchor took a sip of water before continuing in a dramatic voice,”What surprising is the love and care Kiba has shown for the woman who is carrying his child!”

Zed was feeling hundreds of butterflies in his stomach. He racked his brain to think of the woman to whom he has shown ‘love and care’ but he couldn’t find any. The only woman he has shown extra care is Eva but he was sure she wasn’t pregnant. He has made love with her some 6 hours ago so he was confident!

“Joining us today is a guest who has witnessed the care shown by Kiba for his lady love,” the female anchor on the TV screen gave a dramatic pause before resuming,”Please welcome Erone Ciun.”

Zed was confused by the name. He couldn’t remember anyone with such a name who could have witnessed something he himself doesn’t remember.

The screen showed a young man in a suit sitting next to the female anchor.

“Erone, there is something I would like to ask you before I introduce you properly,” the female anchor said to the young man.

Zed wanted to slap the female anchor for the buildup. He knew she was trying to delay the introduction so that the channel could get more TRP.

“Please ask,” Erone politely said.

“What was your first reaction when you witnessed the care shown by Kiba for his unborn child?” The female anchor asked.

“I had tears in my eyes after witnessing the extent Sir Kiba has gone for his unborn child,” Erone said.

“Tears?” The female anchor has a surprised expression on her face.

“Yes. Every day we hear about how unmarried men run away from their responsibility after learning that their better-halves are pregnant,” Erone slowly continued,”Most of them will even ask the women for abortion or would leave the newborn in an orphanage.”

“That is a sad reality created by the high fertility rate thanks to the mutation,” the female anchor said.

“Yes, but Sir Kiba is different. When he learned the news, there was a smile on his face,” Erone’s expression showed he was remembering the encounter as he continued, “He made enemy with a powerful organization when he tried to take responsibility but I didn’t see any signs of regret on his face.”

Zed was getting more and more confused. Today was the first time he learned he has made someone pregnant but now this Erone is saying Kiba is aware of this.

“There is no way I will forget such an important thing nor I am a guy with a sense of responsibility,” Zed bitterly thought.

“Zed, why are you sweating so badly?” Felicity asked. She was feeling Zed was acting strange ever since he started watching the news.

“Sweating?” Zed touched his face and noticed his face was dripping with sweat. He quickly used a handkerchief to wipe his face.

“I-It is hot here,” Zed said.

“The entire cafeteria is air-conditioned. Not to mention, you would never sweat due to heat, given your mutant ability,” Felicity said.

Zed said,” I was experimenting with my ability yesterday so it is a minor side effect.”

Zed reassured her and focused his attention on the TV screen.

“Erone, let us not make our viewers wait any longer,” the female anchor said. She knew she couldn’t drag this conversation longer otherwise people might lose interest. Not like she was worried for she has other ways to attract attention after the details were out.

“I witnessed Sir Kiba making his intentions clear yesterday,” Erone said.

“Please share the details,” the female anchor said.

“I used to work as a guard for a powerful corporation,” Erone tried to make a brief introduction in between as the viewers were unaware of his identity.

“Used to?” The female anchor has a ‘surprised’ expression on her face.

“Yes, I was fired,” Erone made light of the situation.

“Fired?” The female anchor asked in shock.

“Yes, I was honest with my views on a matter related to Sir Kiba but my honesty cost me my job,” Erone said with a bit of ‘bitterness’ in his voice. It was like he was lamenting for how the world no longer respected honest people.

“That’s a sad story,” the female anchor said with sadness in her voice,” May I ask who fired you?”

“The husband of the woman who is carrying Sir Kiba’s child,” Erone said.

The female anchor showed an ‘OMG!’ expression. If someone didn’t know how the industry worked saw her face, they would think her expression was genuine.

The entire canteen was filled with conversation. Many of them knew Kiba has a history of having affairs with married women so they weren’t shocked but nevertheless surprised.

“You mean Kiba has an affair with a married woman which resulted in the pregnancy?” The female anchor asked after some time.

“Yes, but that doesn’t matter. Being married doesn’t mean the woman lacks the right to pursue love,” Erone has a serious expression on his face as he continued,” Love is closest to the god, and a love resulting into a child is the proof of a true love. Can we look down on a relationship just because our outdated thinking doesn’t agree with it?”

The female anchor was silent for a moment as she pondered about Erone words. In truth, she and Erone were planting a seed of ‘open-mindedness’ in viewers’ mind for a future segment. To them, it didn’t even matter if the audience agreed with their views or not as long as they could gain their attention for the maximum time. Everything was scripted!

“We have no right to judge,” the female anchor said.

“Yes, but this matter is regarding Sir Kiba’s child so he has every right,” Erone said.

“Please tell us the name of the husband who is becoming a villain in this tale of love,” The female anchor asked.

“Jack Webley,” Erone said.

“You mean the heir of White Angel Corporation?” The female anchor asked.

“Yes!” Erone said.

“That means the mother of Kiba’s unborn child is Agatha?” The female anchor asked in disbelief.

“Indeed!” Erone nodded his head before continuing, “Jack attacked Sir Kiba when the latter tried to claim over his child.”

“What was the result?” The female anchor asked in a curious voice.

“Obviously Sir Kiba won,” Erone has an expression of worship as he recalled the moment, “Love always win over hate! The battle between Sir Kiba and Jack is the proof!”

The entire canteen was filled with discussions. There were multiple reactions but there was a person who was crying!

“Why are your eyes filled with tears?” Felicity was shocked by Zed’s reaction.

“They are tears of joy!” Zed was barely able to control his joy. His voice was like someone who has survived a disaster for he was sure Agatha wasn’t carrying his child! Jack has said so himself based on the test report!

“Tears of joy for what?” Felicity felt Zed was getting weirder by every passing minute.

“For Kiba’s happiness… I am sure wherever he is, he is crying just like me,” Zed said.

The news regarding pregnancy was more dangerous for him then the life-and-death crisis he felt from Sky Fiend Group.

He truly feared a woman knocking on his door, carrying a child in her arms, and saying, “Fucker, congrats. You are a father now.”

The tears of joy continued to flow from Zed’s eyes…