“Heartbeat?”“Yes! To see how your little one is fairing.”“As long as she takes her drugs diligently and obeys every instruction given, you have nothing to worry about.”“I have also given her my card. Please feel free to reach out to me in case of anything.” The middle-aged doctor turned her attention to Beatrice. “I’m at your service in case you need anything or anyone to talk to.”“Thank you.” Beatrice nodded.“No problem, Enjoy the rest of your day.” The doctor said after which she left the duo.“She seems nice but I hope she was good to you in there,” Dan asked as they took slow steps toward the elevator.“What would you do if she wasn’t nice?”“I will let Dr Zion know that he referred us to an incompetent person and that we want another Doctor.”Beatrice frowned at him. “Don’t you think you would be doing too much?”“Nothing is too much when it comes to you. I brought you here so you can have the best care. I just want to make sure of that.”“You have nothing to worry about. Sh
Once She was out of his sight, Daniel went back into the car and told the driver to take him to the office.Halfway through the ride, his phone rang and he answered“Oh my God, Dan!!!! I just got off the phone with Mom and I honestly do not know what to say.”For some unknown reasons, Daniel found himself blushing, instead of feeling sad that his mother extended the news to his sibling when he had hardly digested his new reality.“Congratulations!!!”“I wish I was with you now so I could hug you.”Daniel smiled.“You are being sweet. Shouldn’t I be suspicious?”“Oh, come on. This is great news. I know you to be a bully and probably an asshole but I can’t keep calm when I hear great news.”“We were all worried about you, Dan. Most especially Mom. The way you were burying yourself with work after the rejection. We’ve seen you go through phases of distancing yourself from the world but this was the scariest.”“One of the reasons I couldn’t say anything at the wedding was because I was s
“Lower your voice, Ri. My head hurts and be careful with your choice of words. I’m pregnant now. I don’t want my baby to pick up mean words.”“Yeah, you have a point and I’m so sorry about that. I’ll try my best to use good words from now on. But the baby is probably sleeping since you’ve been out and about all day so I’m sure he or she can’t hear us. Why would Debock give you a card and the next thing that comes to your mind is to trash it?”“I didn’t want to accept it. He forced me to.”“That still doesn’t give you enough reasons to trash it.”“He is doing all of these to please me and I don’t want that. I don’t want to feel indebted to him.”“No, that’s not the point. You are just being unreasonable and all I see is fear in you.”“No, I won’t call it fear. This is my decision and I would just like you all to respect it.”“It’s easier to change your perspective about people and see them in a good light when they start being very sweet to you.”“Still saying the same thing, Bea. You
“Life is not perfect. You don’t need to get it right with your first baby, You will make mistakes and you will definitely learn from them. I’m glad to see you in this new phase of your life. You’ve been a dickhead throughout and I can’t wait for you to start doing your basic daddy duties.” Henry said.“Who would think the most womanizer in the group would be the first to settle down? Women all over the world would be so crushed to hear that you are off the market.” Chad said.“You all love teasing me so much. I can’t be that bad.”“No, we are just really excited for you,” Henry said. “And you seem happy about it so that’s a good thing for us all.”“Gina would be so happy. Does she know about it?” Henry asked.“Yeah, she’s aware,” Daniel answered.“She must be the happiest grandmother on earth right now.” Chad smiled.“Definitely. She had always been against his playboy ways. This would be a dream come true. Congratulations buddy. This is the best news ever so you are forgiven.” Henry
Beatrice shook her head, convincing herself that she probably heard wrong when the knock came through again.“Let me go get it for you?” Rita said, leaving for the door. Because Bea’s house was very small, anyone in the kitchen could literally see everything that was going on at the door side.“Good morning.” A smile crept to Rita’s lips upon seeing the stranger standing before her, holding a large boutique of red roses that was almost covering her face.”“Good Morning. Miss Beatrice?”“Sure, She’s taking a shower but I’m her friend, Rita.”“Can you please sign this?” The delivery man handed her the device and pen which she signed and returned to him. She giggled, accepting the flowers.“Oh, there’s still more?” She smiled when She saw him handing over a gift bag.“Thank you.” She accepted it after which the delivery man took his leave.“What’s that?” Bea said, making her way towards the door.“Who got you flowers?”“Oh, they are for you,” Rita said, making her way toward the center t
Later that EveningBeatrice was scrolling through her phone, waiting for the pizza that she ordered to be delivered when a knock came through on the door.With so much joy in her heart, She got down from the couch and rushed to the door.She frowned, upon seeing that it wasn’t the delivery man that was there.“What are you doing here?”“Are you expecting someone? I can't believe that you opened up on time.”Beatrice rolled her eyes and almost immediately, she sighted the delivery guy pulling up in front of her house on his bike. The thought of anyone seeing her closely with Debock didn’t sit well with her so She went ahead to the guy who was still by his bike and accepted the pizza, ignoring Daniel and the bags he was carrying.Daniel used that as an opportunity to help himself in and he went straight to the kitchen, placing the bags of groceries on the counter.“What are you doing here and what’s all this?” Beatrice came to a halt beside him, holding the box of pizza and gesturing to
“Your Girlfriend.”“You are the only woman in my life.”“Please, stop that. Stop acting like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”“Open up to me, Bea. I wouldn’t be questioning you if I understood what you mean.”“Natalie approached me the day you were here to seek the truth. She told me to stay away from you.”“She did? How the hell did she even kno......” Dan was saying and then sighed.“There’s nothing going on between me and her. She’s just my ex.”“She wants us to get back together but that is never going to happen.”“Natalie is never a threat. I can always get a restraining order for you against her.”“That’s not the point.”“Then what is it? Feel free to tell me anything.”“We are two different people, from different worlds and with different personalities.”“So you don’t like public life?”“Maybe I would have, if you didn’t give me a terrible debut.”Daniel knew this wasn’t the right time for this but he couldn’t help with the chuckle that escaped his lips.“I’m really sorr
Beatrice nodded.Dan leaned over. Before Beatrice could ask what he was about to do, he placed a kiss on her forehead after which he led her to his spot in the VIP area. It was a bit more occupied than usual because Chad had invited a few people.“You came!” Chad smiled, rising to his feet, when he saw Daniel.His smile got bigger when he saw a very familiar face who turned out to be Beatrice.He ignored Dan and turned his attention to her.“Hi, Bea.” His voice was a little bit loud because of the music that was playing in the background.“Happy Birthday,” Bea said, returning the smile.“Thank you.” Chad grinned. “Dan already texted that he wouldn’t be able to make it cause he was with you. But seeing you both here means so much to me.Bea nodded, still smiling, not knowing what to say.“Sorry, I didn’t come with a gift or anything. I literally just heard about your birthday.”“It’s fine. You and Daniel have given me the best gift that I could ever ask for.”“And congratulations to yo
"Dan! What the hell? I've been on my feet trying to explain this to you. Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Henry slammed the piece of paper against the table and slumped into the visitor's chair that was opposite Daniel's desk. "Sorry, my thoughts are elsewhere." He mumbled, massaging his temple. "What's going on? This is so unlike you!" Henry asked, concerned. "Beatrice is mad at me and it's really messing with my head." "What did you do?" Daniel could swear that he could almost see Henry glaring at him."Why are you assuming I'm the one at fault?" "Well, we all know that Bea can do no wrong. It's gotta be you who has ruined things. Now open up to me. Tell me, what did you do to upset the Queen?" "I got home last night with a lipstick stain on my shirt." "Holy shit, Dan. Don't tell me you are cheating. I swear I'm going to kill you with my bare hands right now.""Of course not. I'm not the one at fault. After all that I've endured and suffered to build, you think I'
FIVE YEARS LATER“Mommy!!!!” Ryan Lee Debock shrugged out of his nanny’s arms and ran as fast as his legs could carry him when he saw his mom walk in through the door.Beatrice smiled as this was the best part of her daily routine that she looked up to: getting all loved up in her baby boy’s embrace.She placed her handbag on the floor, crouched down to her knees, and stretched out her arms, just in time for her son to run into her. Bea showered his face with kisses the moment she had Ryan in her arms.He giggled “I miss you, mommy.”“I missed you too, my love.” She placed a deep kiss on his forehead, wondering how it was so possible for her to love a tiny human this much.“How was school today? Did you take your food and vitamins?”The little boy nodded, smiling, that Bea couldn’t resist kissing his cheek again. Her Son was so adorable and needless to say, he looked so much like Daniel.“Good evening ma’am.” Aliyah, the nanny greeted. She was a young lady in her early twenties.“Hi d
EPILOGUEFOUR MONTHS LATER“Babe.” Bea heard that very familiar voice, followed by a soft kiss on her neck.“Hmmmm.” She whispered with her eyes closed.“I really don’t want to wake you but we have thirty minutes till our appointment.”“Already? But we literally just slept.” She said with a drowsy voice.“You want us to postpone?”“No. I really wanna know today.”“Me too. How about we take a joint bath?”She nodded against the pillow.Daniel chuckled, “I knew you wouldn’t be able to refuse that.”He helped Beatrice down from the bed after which they made their way to the bathroom. They ended up having a quickie and then rinsed their bodies.Beatrice was styling her hair when Daniel walked out of the closet. He came to a halt in front of her, holding a jewelry box.Bea sighed. “Babe, we agreed that we were done with gifts.”“No.” Daniel shook his head. “You should have figured out that I was lying.”“You promised no more gifts."Dan feigned innocence. “Well, I don’t remember that.”Bea
Debbie nodded shyly.“Okay, what else don’t I know?”“Debock has met you and he literally didn’t say anything to me?”“I’m sorry if you feel furious about this but Frank said a lot of nasty things that I can’t even begin to mention now. My heart wasn’t at peace. I had to make sure I knew Daniel’s intention.”“How did you meet him? He’s so busy.”“Rita said he usually comes over to her workplace.”“Good, You all are making plans behind me.”“That’s not it, my love. I promise you that we all had your interest at heart. I just had to make sure the billionaire dude wasn’t messing with my daughter. He came over and we discussed.”“He gave me his word about wanting you genuinely. And he also promised that he was going to take care of you. That was after he apologized about the cafe scene.”“Your siblings were here when he came over. They recognized him and he was kind enough to take them to the mall for a treat. They got clothes, shoes, new phones and laptops, as well as groceries for the h
THE NEXT DAY“Here comes the heartbeat.” The Doctor said and almost immediately, the room was filled with the most beautiful sound Beatrice and Daniel had ever heard.With their eyes glued to the monitor, the duo had tears in their eyes.As they got familiar with the baby’s heartbeat, the doctor went ahead to print out some ultrasound pictures for them.“Congratulations to you both for raising a healthy baby so far. Everything is fine and in a couple of weeks, we would be able to find out the gender; of course, that’s if you don’t want to wait till its birth.”Dan and Beatrice stared at each other, smiling.“I commend you both for the good work done so far. I believe if you continue to abide by the instructions given, the birth of your baby will be a smooth one.” She said, then turned her attention to Daniel. “Your woman needs you now more than ever. This is the best time to shower her with so much love and support.”“There’s nothing to worry about, Doc. You can count on me.” Dan sai
“You have experience working in cafes and restaurants. What if you own your own business.”Beatrice said nothing so he continued speaking.“It’s okay if you want to start really small with a cafe or wanna dive straight into the restaurant idea. I will support you with whatever you choose.”“I will fund the whole project. We will get you a good space, furnish it, employ the necessary staff and you just need to deal with managing the place.”“I can help you out with the business plan or if you don’t want me to be too involved, I can connect you with Amarie to help you out.”“You can also enroll in some online classes on management if you think you are not confident enough in running your own place but I’m sure you will do just fine.”“Should in case you don’t want a cafe or a restaurant, there’s always a boutique business, owning your own fashion brand and all.”“You need not worry about customers. I’ve got sisters with huge social media presence who I know would be happy to help and I
She glared at him, “Really? That’s what you could take out from everything that I said?”“I understand all that you said but that was what stood out for me the most. I know you’ve been through so much, Bea, but I promised you that it hasn’t been easier for me too. The times that you weren’t happy, I wasn’t happy too. I may have indirectly inflicted pain on you but I promise you that I felt pain too.”“I don’t know what you want in the man of your dreams but I promise you that I can be that man and I will live up to your expectations.”“I like you so much, Bea. So much that I know I would go insane if you are not mine and seeing you so sad or mad at me makes me feel terrible.”“Knowing you definitely birthed a new personality for me. I would do whatever it takes to make you happy.”“There you go again. Knowing what to say to me.”“I don’t want to lose you.”She sighed. “You make things so hard for me.”“So does that mean that I’m forgiven?”Beatrice said nothing, looking away from him.
Daniel seemed to have slept for a very short time but he didn’t mind because he woke up the happiest man in the world to a very wonderful woman by his side. He smiled seeing that she still had her head buried in his chest as she slept peacefully.Daniel removed some of the hair that fell across her cheek and placed a soft kiss on it after which he gently tore himself away from her and got out of bed. He proceeded to the bathroom to get ready for his meeting with Nora and one of their business partners.“Jeez, did you even sleep at all?” He smiled, sighting his Grandmother on the couch.“Thank goodness you are here. I was contemplating if I should come bang on the door but I wouldn’t want to ruin anything that was happening between you both.”Daniel laughed out loud. “Good morning, Grandma.”“Oh, Good Morning, and Happy Birthday to you my lovely Grandson.” She rose to her feet, pulling him into a warm hug. “May this new age bring you abundant happiness. I love you so much, Daniel, and
“I just want to cuddle you.”“I don’t want you to.” Bea was saying when he placed her head on his chest and she was surprised at the warmth she felt due to the closeness of their bodies. They were in a spooning position and for the first time she felt really protected.“You win because I’m tired and I don’t have the strength to argue with you.”“Anything that makes you sleep at night.” Daniel smiled, kissing the side of her forehead.Beatrice felt her eyes start getting itchy but she tried her best to push back the tears. It was evident that she and Daniel started on a very terrible path but if she was being sincere, no man had ever made her feel loved; not even Frank.“Are you an early riser?” He asked, caressing her hair.“It depends. Why do you ask?”“I need to be up early. Grandma and I have a meeting with someone. It’s business related but we will be done before noon."“Then we have the rest of the day to explore this city before we head back home.”“It’s fine. You don’t need to