HAPPY FOREVER AFTER

“You don’t want me there.” he said.

“You’re putting me on the spot,” she countered, trying to keep up with his arguments.

“Seriously, what exactly have you planned?” he asked.

“Karen will be there for me during the birth” she replied. He shook his head as if she’d disappointed him, and he’d expected it all along.

“And where do I fit into any of this? Or am I meant to just miss out on the first few weeks?” His voice broke, betrayed the fear and despair behind his anger. “I want to be at the birth.” he said.

For a few moments, all she could see, hear, smell was blood, guts and embarrassment. She swallowed down her automatic refusal.

“Head end only. If I change my mind on the day you respect my privacy. And I still want Karen too,”

He looked up in surprise. “Okay, I can live with that. But when we get home, you know it’s just going to be the three of us.”

She stared at him. “Oh, no, you can’t think that you’re moving in with me.” she said.

“I don’t mean your house.. I mean here”

“I’m not going to live here when the baby comes”. She said,

Hurt twisted his features. “How else am I meant to be a father? I want to be with you guys. We are not going to do this entirely on your terms. We’re both going to have to compromise.”

“Oh really” she hissed. “And the first thing that’s got to go are my plans?”. She couldn’t help her defensiveness.

“This plan? Yes. We didn’t discuss a single thing before you made it. Of course it has to go.” he replied. “Look, I’m sorry about what I said before. I didn’t mean it. I was frustrated and I know that’s not enough of an excuse, but I’m sorry, Emma. We have to come to some kind of agreement for the baby’s sake. You know it’s much better if you stay here”

She felt a wave of nausea as he spoke. She was so tired and this argument wasn’t making her feel any better. Already panic was making the edges of her thoughts fuzzy, and that wave of nausea was starting to feel more like a tsunami.

With a shock, she realized it was more than just nausea. She must have looked pretty green, because as her hand flew to her mouth Daniel was already by her side, grabbing her free hand and pulling her to the bathroom.

—————————–

He stayed with her in the bathroom. Holding back her hair with one hand, the other moving gently up and down her back. It was so soothing, calming her down. If she didn’t know better, she would actually believe that he cared about her.

All he cared about at the moment was his baby. His words back in the car echoed in her head and she felt her eyes become misty. She loved him and he saw her as someone after his wealth. This was all her fault. She kept making the same mistakes with him.

She straightened and he let her go. But he didn’t leave. He watched her as she turned on the tap, washed her face and rinsed her mouth.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror, but her eyes met his in the mirror. He looked tired and worried. She forced herself to look someplace else. Anywhere but him, because when he looked that, she wanted to crawl into his arms and beg him to hold her.

“Feel better?” he asked.

“Yeah” she replied, hoping he would stop looking at her like she was some helpless kitten and leave. But he stayed.

“You should get some rest,” he said. “Is there anything you need?….”

“I don’t need anything, Daniel,” she snapped. “You have done enough tonight. You don’t have to do anything for me… Since you believe that I’m just here to get stuff from you”.

Anger flashed in his eyes. “Fine,” he said. “Suit yourself”

He slammed the door on his way out and Emma sighed. Things just weren’t going to work out with him. She let the tears fall then. She took a shower and got into bed.

Emma didn’t sleep that night. Not that it should have come as any surprise to her. She lay awake in her bed, reliving the past. The first time she met Daniel. Somehow he had swept her off her feet and into a passionate and all consuming fake relationship.

She had been so stupid to think that it could ever work between them. She had stayed in his house for too long and she had actually convinced herself that they could work things out.

She had to leave. Karen could stay with her. She didn’t want to bother her mother, but she knew that if she called her mom would come. She went to bed with tears in eyes.

—————————-

“Alright, Catherine” Emma said as she walked down the stairs. “Just forward the files to my email and I will take a look at them as soon as I can.. Thank you”RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only

She hung up the phone just as she got to the living room. She paused.

Michelle stood in the room, her arm entwined in Daniel’s, her voice dropped to a low purr. Apparently she had followed him home from the office.

“We must get together sometime, Daniel.” she was saying.”Perhaps have dinner tonight. I have missed you. I came to the office and they informed me you work mostly from home now”

Daniel looked up and saw Emma. He extricated himself from Michelle’s grasp and stepped back a few paces from her. “I’m afraid I’m going to be really busy,” he said. “Perhaps some other time I can have you over for dinner.”

He said the last pointedly, not that he really expected it to deter Michelle. It wasn’t his fault she was as thick as a brick.

Michelle watched as Emma moved closer, her eyes flashed with annoyance and her finely painted lips formed a full pout.

“Oh, hi Emma” she said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes

“Hello” Emma replied as calmly as possible.

Michelle turned back to Daniel “Really, darling, you guys are having a baby together? You didn’t tell me… Wow… That’s so.. I don’t know.. Unexpected… Considering”

Emma’s face blanched and she walked to the kitchen, determined to ignore Michelle.

Daniel’s hand shot up to silence Michelle. The last thing he needed was something or someone to make things worse between him and Emma. They barely spoke to each other now. He started going to the office again, because he couldn’t stand her ignoring him anymore. He wanted to apologize for hurting her, but she wouldn’t even give him a chance to say anything.

“You know, I’ve had about enough. It’s time you left. Take care of yourself.” he said to Michelle.

She twisted her pouty lips and ran a well manicured set of nails down the lapel of his suit. “No need to get huffy, darling. I know you have to be polite to her since she’s carrying your baby”

With a careless wave, she walked gracefully out of the house, leaving Daniel so furious that he wanted to hurl a chair across the room. He walked into the kitchen. But his anger had nothing on the fury flashing in Emma’s eyes when he saw her standing in front of the counter, her fists clenched and pressed to the top.