Chapter 4 - Pregnant, the Marriage Must Go On

LONDON'S POV

A flashy-looking car pulled up in in front of our house, while I watched them from my window, thinking about who it might be, the car came to a halt and an elegant-looking woman stepped out making my eyes bulge in surprise, there was no mistaking who she was, since I had seen her once, when I took cover for my sister at the company,

She rubbed her nose and stared at the environment, even though I couldn't see her clearly, but the expression I had seen on her face was undeniable,

"Lead the way," I presumed she had said to the man that came out of the driver's seat, gesturing with her hand as she spoke, but the scowl on her face never left.

The driver, carrying a wrapped basket, walked towards our gate which was without a lock, and then after a few seconds I heard a knock on the door, which made me run out of my room towards the stair, but I stopped just before the edge of the wall that led to the staircase, which was a perfect cover I needed to listen to their conversation.

"What do you want?" My father who was in the living room growled at the man on the door, glaring at them,

I could see Mrs. Katz let out a small smile as she gently pushed the man aside and stood in front of him, 

"I'm Mrs. Katz." I heard the woman say, she extended her hand, but my father's hand never left his waist as he stared at them.

"I said, what do you want?" My father asked again, this time his tone rose from the impatience in his heart,

Seeing his reaction, I feared for what he might do to them, knowing how troublesome he could get at times and how he had always loved seeking for trouble where there was none, and as if the woman understood, she went straight to the point,

"We want to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage," I heard her say, making my mouth to drop in shock, "how would the mighty Katz family consider marrying my sister?" I thought, surprised by what I had just heard,

Even as I sat there, I didn't know what to think of what she had just said, just then, her words came again bringing me back to them,

"We brought a gift." She said, and at the same time, took the basket from the man and opened it, while I watched intently, waiting for my father's response,

Even though I had known the kind of man he was, somehow I had hoped he would lash out at them instead, for insulting my sister or at least expressed his displeasure, but all hope was crushed when I heard my father's chuckle filling the room,

"Come in," He said, amidst laughter, making me hit the wall in anger, his tone had turned gentle after he saw the content in the box.

Mrs Katz walked in, filling her eyes with every part of the room, while I saw her nod her head, before moving to the couch,

She sat down with her legs comfortably crossed on her knees as she opened her mouth to speak, "I was thinking, it's reasonable if we get the kids married off as quickly as possible." She began,  calmly as she spoke,

"How quick?" I heard my father respond with keen interest in his voice and I saw the woman's smile broadened,

"By the end of the week," she responded after a few seconds had passed, while my father went silent,

"I want a small wedding, nothing too elaborate." she explained, and I saw my father nod his head,

"Okay, but your family would foot the bill," were the words my father said, making my jaw clench,

"Agreed." Mrs Katz said almost immediately but never lost her calm, she looked around for a while and then turned to the man who was admiring the basket on his lap,

"Where's Gem?" I heard her ask, turning towards my father who was busy talking,

"In my family, women don't have a sa..." then suddenly, he stopped talking and looked at the elegant woman, 

"How did you know her birth name?" He inquired, his gaze quizzical, which made the woman smile,

"It's on Paris' work file." She responded warmly, while my father nodded his head upon hearing her words.

"I would like to see her and maybe your other kids." She continued, while my father nodded and stood up, I saw him walking upstairs, and I ran to the room, just when he was about knocking, I came out,

"Come downstairs with your brother," He ordered and turned to leave,

Mrs. Katz had a satisfied smile on her face, but she tried hard to control it. "Now I know where Paris gets her softness from, I'm proud." She said to my mother who was standing close to me, and then turned to the little boy and waved at him, before turning to me,

"Dear, I want you to get ready. Bruce is coming here to take you to see George." She said, smiling at me whose eyes were wide open from anger, but I managed to force a small smile to my face,

Returning her attention to our father, she stood up and said, "I need to leave now, but I hope to see you soon."

My father nodded and said to me, "Paris, escort your mother-in-law out." I wasn't surprised, since he was a little bit drunk, he had referred to me as Paris instead of London, I nodded my head in response, and follow after them towards the gate where their car was parked.

When we got to the car, she brought out a piece of jewelry from her bag, 

"This has been passed down from generation to generation and now it's yours." She said, as she took my hands, and without waiting for my response, wore the diamond-coated bracelet on my wrist, while I stared at it unsure if how to respond,

"Thank you," I managed to say in a dry but soft tone, which made her chuckle little,

"I'll be off then, see you soon my daughter in-law," She said and without waiting for my response, got into the car, the man closed the door and then they were off.

Asni turned to leave, I quickly unhooked the bracelet and threw it into my pocket, I got back into the house to see my father counting the money, his pleasure clearly expressed as he smiled, taking satisfaction from it, which fuelled my anger.

"Father, you have no shame," I stated, staring angrily at him,

"Watch your mouth!" he warned, his words dripping with anger as he replied, which made me roll my eyes, I was about to leave when Paris walked in, 

"Thank you, London," she said faintly,

"I do not enjoy bearing your name. Do you know how weak I had to act?" I complained as I dipped my hand into my pocket and brought out the bracelet.

"Your ugly mother-in-law gave it to you. Generational stuff," I said.

Paris eyes flew open when she saw the bracelet. She wore it immediately and then a warm smile spread across her face, making me roll my eyes in unbelieve, upon seeing her reaction, I turned to leave,

"I'm going to sleep. You have a date with your boss." I said, walking upstairs.

"Too bad," I muttered, shaking my head as I thought about my sister's reaction.

GEORGE'S POV,

After taking my bath that evening, I got dressed in my pajamas, ready for bed, then the thought of what had happened earlier, crossed my mind, making me clench my jaw, 

Even though I never wanted it, I knew there was no turning back, since my mother had insisted on it, snapping out of my thoughts, i grabbed my phone and called James

Almost immediately, he received it, 

"Hello Boss," He said drowsily, but I paid no attention to how tired he sounded,

"I need you to do a deep research on Paris, I need to know everything about her." I ordered and without waiting for his response hung up the call, 

As I sat there in my bed, I felt thirsty which made me walk towards the kitchen,

"George," I heard Bruce call me from behind, making me stop on my track,

As I turned to face him, he asked, "Do you even like this girl?" 

Even though I wasn't expecting his question, I knew I had to say something, perhaps he might convince my mother, I thought,

"No," I replied dryly which made him chuckle and turned to leave, without saying another word.

The next day at work, I was busy with my business when the door suddenly opened and James walked in,

"Sir, your mother has fixed a lunch date with her, it'd be better if you leave the working community for a few hours, I'm sure no harm would be done." James said, his words shaky as he spoke, while I paid no attention to him,

After a while, the door flung open, and James rushed in with his tablets, he was sweating as he stood right in front of me, trying to catch his breath which somehow annoyed me,

I turned to him, paying no attention to how he was panting and said, "Speak James." Obviously displeased with him, which made  James stand upright,

"Miss... Miss Charlotte... has tried to contact you." He said, trying to steady his breath when I listened attentively, 

"She said she is pregnant for you." His words came again, making me stand up immediately,

"What!" I yelled, upon hearing his words, while he nodded his head, enforcing what he had just said,

He turned towards his tablet and adjusted his glasses, he scrolled for a while, then came to a stop, and then he looked up,

"Inside sources show that she is planning on exposing it to the public," James said, picking his words with care,

Upon hearing his words, I knew she must be looking for something else,  "She won't do it," I said with confidence making James head snap up,

"Huh!" James said, with his jaw dropped in surprise, "you sound so certain boss, if I may ask, why are you so certain about it?" He inquired, 

"She had never wanted to announce our relationship. Now that she is pregnant, she won't want that either," I explained, even though I didn't know why I was telling him,

Almost immediately, I sat back in my chair and continued typing, but James stood still without saying a word,

I looked up at him, from the expression in his face, 8bcoild tell he was struggling with his words,

"What is it?" I Inquired, while an awkward smile appeared on his face,

"What about the wedding?" He asked, his voice small and shaky as he spoke, which made me stop typing,

"It must go on. Mother won't want anything to go wrong," I said, even though I was angry about it, 

"Okay boss, I'll make the necessary preparations," James said and turned to leave.

Just then the door opened, all eyes turned to Paris, who just walked in looking pale. 

She stopped almost immediately and said with a smile on her face which further annoyed me,

"I'm sorry, it seems you're busy," While I ignored her and continued typing, after a few seconds, her voice came up again,

"I'm going to the restroom, I'll be back," and turned to leave,

"Wait!" James tried to call her back, but I immediately stopped him,

"Let her go, she is a coward and a gold digger," I said, feeling my blood begin to boil from anger.

CHARLOTTE'S POV,

"Father," I called as I tried to touch his hair, 

"Stay away from me!" He yelled, despite being weak, his loud voice made me turn red as I glared at everyone around me,

Almost immediately, I walked out of the room, "How is he?" I Inquired, staring at the Doctor Andrew, my desperation palpable as I waited for his response,

The doctor bit his lip and sighed, "He has no will to live. I can't do anything if he doesn't want to live." He replied, while I stood there unsure of what to do,

"Boss!" One of my employees called as he rushed to me, upon hearing his voice, I quickly wiped my tears off.

"What is it?" I Inquired, angered by my father's situation,

"That old hag is finalizing the wedding." He said, his voice dripping with certainty as he spoke,

"George was seen having a date with the lady in public places." He added, which made me raise my brows, he walked closer and showed me his tablet, with photos is Paris and George, 

But as I stared at him,  I could see right through him, the anger in his eyes undeniable, even though he tried to mask it with the smile on his face,

"Boss, do you need me to do anything?" He asked, snapping me out of my thoughts, 

"No, I don't need to do anything. Everything will work out accordingly, don't worry." I said, confidence oozing from my voice as I spoke, 

"Okay boss." He replied while I turned to leave.