Chapter 116
Vanessa
As soon as I announce that I’m pregnant to Dominic, he poses with the scrunched up documents in his hands, as if it’s taking him a moment to process. Then, he looks in my direction, tilting his head at me.
“What did you just say?” His voice is quiet and filled with surprise.
“I said I’m pregnant.” I smile a little.
“What?” he says loudly as he drops the documents, then places his hand on the table as he uses that for support while jumping over it.
He rushes to me, placing his hands on my shoulders. His grip is a bit too strong but even with that, I’m just amused by his reaction.
“You’re pregnant?” His face brightens up.
“Yeah.” I chuckle.
“But… how?” His eyes widen.
“You know the answer to that.”
“Fuck! I mean when did you find out?” He keeps holding onto my shoulders.
“It’s actually something I’ve been thinking about for a while. My period is three weeks late, so I thought I’d go for a checkup and-”
He suddenly cuts me off by placing his lips on mine for a quick kiss. After he pulls away, I’m left flustered but it doesn’t seem to be the case for him because right after he pulls away from my lips, he gives me another quick kiss, then wraps his arms around my waist, lifts me and spins me around with joyful laughter.
I hold onto his broad shoulders, my heart filled with joy at his reaction.
“This is the best news ever!” he says, putting me down. “Where’s my phone? I need to call my dad right now.” “What happened to looking for that document?” I ask.
“Are you kidding me?” He places his hands on my shoulders again and smiles widely. “Fuck the document!”
Quickly, he slides across the table, taking the phone from his chair so he can dial my father-in-law’s number with shaky hands and it’s all just from excitement.
He looks over me, then down at my stomach and he doesn’t even have to say it, because I know what he’s thinking.
Just as he dials the number, I think of something, so I rush over to him and take the phone for him to stop him. “Why did you do that?” He furrows his eyebrows.
“I know you’re excited, so am I, but I just think it’s better if we do this in person. Don’t you think so?”
He sighs, nodding in agreement. “You’re right about that. I guess I just couldn’t wait to share this good news.”
Even though this news gets him closer to taking over the company, I can tell he’s genuinely excited about this and so am I. That’s because this is my baby growing inside of me.
“I thought I’d just start with my dad but you know what? Let’s get everyone together,” he says with excitement. “Until then, we shouldn’t tell anyone about this.”
“But how are we going to do that when you have to travel?” I ask.
He looks a little disappointed before he even speaks, but his joyful expression soon spreads across his face.
“I’ll make sure I’m only gone for two days and as soon as I’m back, we’re going to tell everyone.”
“How much time do you have before you leave? It seems you’ve completely given up on the document.” I tease him.
“Fuck!” he says, rushing to the table again and checking through his documents.
This time, though he still can’t find it, I can tell he’s no longer stressed by it. The joy that he’s going to be a father seems to have completely taken over him. Even though I have nothing to do here as I’ve already made my announcement, I don’t feel like leaving just yet. The joy on his face makes me want to stay. “Here it is.” He holds it up. “Now I just need to hurry and get on that flight, but the mess here -”
“It’ll be taken care of, so you should just go,” I assure him.
He sighs deeply, approaching me. “I’ll check on you at all times while I’m away.”
“Come on. It’s too soon for that.” I playfully roll my eyes.
“It doesn’t matter.” He towers over me with a smile. “I’m still going to check on you and you know what? Now you can hang out with Patrick as much as you want.” “Really?” I chuckle with amusement.
“No. I have to go now. Again, I’ll be back as soon as possible so we can tell everyone.”
As he tells me about how we should announce it, he’s expressive with his hands and it only leaves me amused. This is the most excited I’ve ever seen him. I knew he’d be happy learning about this news, what I didn’t know was how much joy it would bring me as well and I’m ready for this new chapter in my life.
Dominic
It’s been two days since I found out that Vanessa’s pregnant and I’ve finished up my work quickly just so I can get back to her and we can make the announcement.
Every chance I’ve had, I’ve either texted or called her to check up on her to find out how she’s doing. I can tell that she feels it’s too much but as long as she keeps responding, I’ll never stop.
I should’ve been over the excitement by now, but how’s that even possible when I’ve been waiting for this? I still feel just as I did when she first broke the news to me.
I can also tell how excited she is about this new chapter in our lives because every time I speak to her about the baby, she shows a level of enthusiasm I’ve never seen before.
While I was away, we spoke to everyone so they could meet up at my father-in-law’s house. Vanessa and I already agreed that’s where we would make the announcement at lunch time.
With my work done, I’m already on the flight to get back home. Though I’m extremely exhausted, nothing matters more than letting everyone know what’s going on.
Straight from the airport, I’m driven to my father-in-law’s house, where everyone is already gathered.
I greet them all, but my eyes keep looking around, hoping to find Vanessa but she’s not among our family members gathered together in the living room.
As I keep looking around, Jake points to the staircase and there she is, dressed in a beautiful and elegant black dress.
I follow her up the stairs and she smiles at me.
“You’re back,” she says.
I glance at her glossy lips as I say, “I was looking for you.”
“I can tell. I know you can’t wait,” she whispers to me.
I hold out my hand for her and she chuckles as she places hers in mine. She’s obviously making fun of me for being so eager to make this announcement.
I firmly hold her hand, leading her down the stairs while everyone looks on.
Then, we stand before them and I wrap my arm around her waist, filled with pride because of what is to come.
“Well?” My father says. “What is this about? You have something to say to us and here we are. Am I the only one dying of curiosity here?”
He looks around at everyone and they nod in agreement.
Holding my head high, I look around at everyone, then back at my father as I say, “Vanessa’s pregnant.”
My announcement is instantly followed by gasps of amazement and my mother screams as she claps excitedly.
Though her reaction is already so heartwarming, it’s my father’s reaction that grabs my attention the most. With a firm nod of approval and a smile, he places his hand on my shoulder as he speaks. “Congratulations to both of you! My son, you’ve really grown up to be a responsible man. I hope it’s a little girl. I’ll give her everything the world has to offer.”
“I hope it’s a boy!” my mother chimes in. “He’ll be so handsome!”
“I hope they’re having twins!” Sophie says in the back.
As everyone keeps talking about what they’re hoping for, I glance at my father-in-law and he just stands in place with his hands together, blown away by the announcement as he smiles without saying a word. Then, Jake says, “While you’re all fighting over what you want, I don’t care. I just can’t wait to be an uncle!”
Everyone bursts into laughter and my father-in-law finally comes closer, placing his hand on my shoulder and the other one on Vanessa’s shoulder.
“Congratulations to you, my children.”
Vanessa and I chuckle at the same time as we thank him.
“This is the part where we celebrate by having lunch!” Jake says, not caring that he’s a guest.
As we all make our way to the dining room, Vanessa and I keep holding hands to keep up appearances.
My phone rings just before the two of us join everyone in the dining room and one look at the caller ID makes me exhale sharply.
“Who is it?” Vanessa asks.
“It’s Mr Westwood.”
I know that this is the one name she doesn’t want to hear among those from the management team I came up with for her business and as soon as I say it, she stops in her tracks, crosses her arms and glares
at me.