Kate labored a couple more hours before the moment of truth finally came. The birthing pain was excruciating.
With determination and Tony’s loud encouragements, Kate finally pushed out her baby into the waiting arms of the midwife.
The infant came out screaming at the top of his lungs and flailing his tiny limbs. Tony was in awe of this incredible sight. A huge ripple of relief spread throughout Kate’s body.
Her baby was brought to her and placed on her chest. Kate looked down at her baby and saw the angry face of Kevin.
It seemed God had not answered Kate’s prayers. Her son had come out of her womb with what she regarded as the wrong skin tone. The boy even had little tufts of golden brown, almost blond hair, on his tiny head.
Kate looked up at Tony and tears of frustration clouded her eyes. He knew why she was upset. He’d already seen the midwife and nurse exchanging curious glances before passing the baby to Kate.
Kate and Tony managed to make it out of the hospital with their baby before the news of the child’s birth got leaked to the press.Once that happened, Tony’s phone began to buzz with calls from friends and acquaintances who wanted to confirm the news and congratulate him.Kate had already informed her parents about the birth of her baby. They were elated and wanted to know the baby’s name.“We haven’t decided yet,” said Kate. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’m a mom now. I haven’t fully processed it yet.”“I understand how you feel,” her mother said brightly. “It might seem a bit scary at first, but with time, you’ll get used to being responsible for the wellbeing of a little human. You’ve got this, Kate. Don’t worry.”Kate silently hoped her mother was right.“Send us a photo of the little guy,” her
“Yes?” Tony said curtly when he came face-to-face with Athena at the door. He was mildly surprised to see Charles with her.“Oh, so you’re in there with your wife,” Athena said bitingly. “What took you guys so long to respond? Are you already working on creating another baby so soon?”“Shouldn’t you be at work right now?” Tony asked her with a frown. “Where is your brother?”“As the famous question goes, am I my brother’s keeper?” Athena responded and laughed at her clever joke.Tony ignored her and looked at Charles. “Hello, buddy. What are you doing here?”“Athena practically dragged me here to see Baby DaCosta with her,” said Charles. “So, how does it feel to be a dad again?”Tony’s expression softened. “It feels exhilarating,” he said.“Was that how you felt when I was born?” A
Kate and Tony decided to have a small christening ceremony for the baby the day before Kate’s 26th birthday.Her parents had just arrived in Chicago and were been driven to the house alongside brother and his family.When they arrived, Kate and Tony met them at the front door to welcome them in. Laura could not hide her awe and gushed about how absolutely beautiful the DaCosta mansion was.John on the other hand tried to play it cool, but Kate could tell that her father was impressed too. Chris and Rita were equally blown away by the sheer opulence of the DaCosta property.“You didn’t tell me you lived in a palace,” Chris whispered to Kate humorously.“Don’t be silly,” Kate laughed and embraced her brother. “Thank you for coming.”“Sure. It feels good to take a few days from work and experience a change of scenery,” said Chris.As Tony led the Harrisons into
“What’s going on here?” Adonis asked crossly.“Adonis, come in and say hello to Kate’s family,” Tony invited his son jovially. “They just flew in today from Wyoming for your little brother’s christening.”Adonis stared daggers at his father. “I don’t have a little brother,” he said tightly.“Athena told me that this woman is trying to pass off her bastard child as yours,” Adonis added.“My son is not a bastard,” Kate said sharply and rose to her feet. “Mind how you speak about my child.”“Or else, what?” Adonis challenged her.“Can you at least show some respect in the presence of our guests?” Tony asked Adonis.“I don’t give a rat’s ass about your guests,” Adonis retorted rudely. “How can you allow this woman to continue to humiliate you like this? Do you even know what peop
“Have you lost your mind?” Kate snapped at Adonis. “Why did you drag me in here?”Adonis ignored Kate’s outburst and locked the door behind him. He put the key in his pocket and turned around to face Kate. He was smirking now.“What exactly do you think you’re doing?” Kate asked him suspiciously.“Let’s just cut to the chase and do what you came here for, Kate,” Adonis said confidently. “I know you’ve wanted me from Day-One, Kate. I’ve caught you checking me out too many times not to know what you want. Let’s just do it now and get it out of the way.”“You bastard!” Kate sneered and swung her hand upward to slap Adonis.He caught her wrist before her palm could connect with his left cheek. With a vice-like grip, he pulled her to him until she was crushed against his chest.“I’m going to be the one to tame you, you wild minx
“I’m not going to keep sneaking around with you, Kate,” he said seriously as if he meant what he was saying. “It’s time for my father to know the truth about us.”“Stop it!” Kate screamed at Adonis in frustration. “I know you hate me, but to try and hurt your father like this, is beyond cruel. Stop it.”“No, Kate. What you are doing is cruel,” Adonis countered. “How can you keep deceiving my father like this? Have you no conscience?”“What is going on here?” Tony cut in. “Why are the two of you speaking in riddles?”“Nothing is going on,” Kate answered him hastily. “I came up here to talk to Adonis about his behavior earlier in front of my parents, but instead of listening to me, he dragged me into his suite and tried to force himself on me.”Adonis roared with laughter.“Seriously?” He aske
“Have you lost your mind?” Kate snapped at Adonis. “Why did you drag me in here?”Adonis ignored Kate’s outburst and locked the door behind him. He put the key in his pocket and turned around to face Kate. He was smirking now.“What exactly do you think you’re doing?” Kate asked him suspiciously.“Let’s just cut to the chase and do what you came here for, Kate,” Adonis said confidently. “I know you’ve wanted me from Day-One, Kate. I’ve caught you checking me out too many times not to know what you want. Let’s just do it now and get it out of the way.”“You bastard!” Kate sneered and swung her hand upward to slap Adonis.He caught her wrist before her palm could connect with his left cheek. With a vice-like grip, he pulled her to him until she was crushed against his chest.“I’m going to be the one to tame you, you wild minx
“I’m not going to keep sneaking around with you, Kate,” he said seriously as if he meant what he was saying. “It’s time for my father to know the truth about us.”“Stop it!” Kate screamed at Adonis in frustration. “I know you hate me, but to try and hurt your father like this, is beyond cruel. Stop it.”“No, Kate. What you are doing is cruel,” Adonis countered. “How can you keep deceiving my father like this? Have you no conscience?”“What is going on here?” Tony cut in. “Why are the two of you speaking in riddles?”“Nothing is going on,” Kate answered him hastily. “I came up here to talk to Adonis about his behavior earlier in front of my parents, but instead of listening to me, he dragged me into his suite and tried to force himself on me.”Adonis roared with laughter.“Seriously?” He aske
That dinner marked a significant turning point in their relationship as a family. They had breakfast and dinner together as often as possible and spent quality time with each other whenever they could.Athena spoiled Nathan with all kinds of posh toys, while Adonis coached the baby on how to take his first steps at the age of ten months.When the Thanksgiving season rolled in, they packed up and traveled to Brazil to spend it with the family matriarch.Adele DaCosta was beyond surprised when she saw them when they arrived in the plush DaCosta residence in Cidade-ilha. She was especially shocked to see how friendly Athena and Adonis were with Kate, because she’d been told about how much they despised her not too long ago.“How did you make this happen?” Adele asked Tony discreetly in Portuguese as they made their way into the family home.“I didn’t do anything, she did,” Tony responded with a knowing smile. &ldquo
The result of Tony’s brain mapping test came in the following week as scheduled. He was so afraid to open the envelope, so he went to meet Kate in the game room where she and Nanny Ella were playing with Nathan.As soon as Nathan saw Tony, he crawled on his hand and knees toward his father, giggling happily.Tony scooped up the baby and blew raspberries on his neck. Nathan laughed excitedly, flailing his arms and legs as he did.“My little pumpkin,” Tony gushed and kissed Nathan. “What have you been up to, my boy?”Nathan responded in baby talk, displaying one tiny white tooth in his lower gum. He tried to grab at the envelope in Tony’s hand but Tony wouldn’t let him.“What’s that?” Kate asked Tony.“It’s the test result,” he answered.Kate’s eyes widened. “What does it say?” She asked.“I don’t know. I haven’t look
Kate spent the night beside Tony in the hospital, while Charles, Adonis, and Athena returned to the DaCosta mansion. They explained the evening’s incident as a robbery attempt gone wrong.The police grilled the caterers and the rest of the vendors contracted for the party to find out how Marshall managed to get himself employed for the gig. They denied ever meeting Marshall or employing him for the job.Investigations later revealed that he’d found out about the party from Penelope whom he’d reached out to shortly after Agne’s remembrance. He’d told her that he’d been out of the country for years but was back now, and would love to see Agne’s grave and pay his last respects.Penelope, a hopeless romantic, decided to help Marshall find closure by telling him to show up to the DaCosta residence as a waiter. He’d somehow managed to slip in with the caterers and even worked the party, while bidding his time to strike.
As Tony had predicted, his injury wasn’t very serious. He was wheeled into surgery to have the bullet removed before getting transferred to a private ward to recover.When Kate and the others piled into his room to see him, he was very coherent and in high spirits.“Any news on that lunatic that tried to kill me?” He asked Charles.“The police have him cuffed to his bed,” Charles responded. “Once he’s discharged, he’ll be hauled off to jail where he belongs. Kidnap, attempted murder, and possession of an unlicensed firearm would keep him there for a long time.”“Is anyone finally going to tell me who that man is?” Athena asked.Tony exchanged a worried glance with Charles before looking at Adonis who looked dazed. Kate was sitting beside Tony on his bed with his fingers intertwined with hers.“Well?” Athena demanded.Tony sighed wearily and said, “I wo
Coming out of the woods was like stepping into another dimension. Kate’s family and the rest of the party guests were milling around behind a police barricade.When they saw two gurneys being carried to the waiting ambulances with Tony on one of them, everyone went into a frenzy. Athena broke through the barricade and ran towards her father.“Daddy, are you OK?” She screamed frantically. “What happened? You’re bleeding. We heard gunshots. Who is that man?”“It’s alright, darling. I’m fine,” Tony assured her but his voice came out slurred.“But what happened? What were you all doing in the woods?” Athena demanded.“Give him a break, Athena. I’ll explain everything to you later,” Adonis said sharply.She glared at him and asked, “What the hell happened?”While that exchange was going on, Kate was getting hugged by her family who wanted
As Marshall continued his walk toward the chapel door, Kate crept out of her hiding place while still crouching. He heard her coming and fired in her direction.The bullet whizzed past Kate and shattered the middle of the wooded pillar that had been her hideout only seconds ago. The next thing she heard was a grunt as Tony launched himself at Marshall and they both landed on the floor.A fierce wrestling match ensued in the dark. Marshall fired his pistol again and the bullet punctured a hole in the chapel roof. In the tussle, Tony somehow managed to knock the gun out of his opponent’s hand.“You came back for a rematch, didn’t you?” Tony asked and planted his fist in Marshall’s cheek.“You bastard!” Marshall growled and kneed Tony’s belly, knocking the wind out of him.“Dad!” Adonis yelled from outside.“Hit the lights,” Tony yelled back. Adonis stepped into the chapel and switched on the lights.The chapel was immediately flooded wi
With shivering limbs, Kate walked toward the woods ahead of her captor. They could hear the distant sound of the stringed quartet playing in the sunroom.Kate wondered how long it would take for Tony and the others to notice her prolonged absence. She hoped it would be soon, before this crazy man killed her for a crime she didn’t commit.“Walk faster,” he snarled at her from behind.“Where exactly are we going?” Kate asked him without looking back.“To Agnes’ gravesite,” Marshall responded. “I learned that it is located behind the small chapel that her hypocrite of a husband built in her honor. What a stupid clown he is.”“How did you know about the chapel?” Kate wondered.Marshall snickered. “I know a lot of things about the DaCostas. I’ve had over two decades to keep tabs on them.”Kate didn’t know if this conversation would be useful eve
As a treat to their special guests, Kate and Tony organized a more intimate party in the sunroom. It was cleverly lit with accent lights that looked like big fireflies.The Huckleys, the Wilcoxes, Kate’s family, Adonis and Athena along with their plus ones, and few of Tony’s close friends made the cut. Penelope and her clique of friends had since left with the rest of the other guests.“Thank you all for agreeing to spend this evening with me and my lovely wife,” Tony addressed everyone. “We have our guest house prepped and ready for anyone who choses to sleep over. I promise, you’ll find your suites very comfortable and refreshing.”“I can attest to that,” said Kate’s dad and everyone laughed.The party kicked off with exotic finger foods, cocktails and champagne, while a string quartet played some soulful music for some of the guests to waltz to.Kate and Tony joined in the waltz too. Ou
The party was already in full swing when the Kate returned. Once Tony spotted her, he hurried to her side with a questioning look in his eyes.“Who was it?” He asked her.“Kevin,” Kate responded shortly. “He tried to blackmail me and wring some money out of me.”Tony became instantly furious. “How dare he come here? What on earth gave him the courage to come to our home?”Kate put a hand on Tony’s arm to calm him. “It’s alright, my love. He’s gone. I warned him not to do anything stupid or else I would have him arrested and charged accordingly.”Tony wasn’t satisfied with that response. “How did he know to show up today? Do you think it was a coincidence that he just happened to show up here tonight?”“Maybe not,” Kate responded speculatively. Her eyes were already scanning the crowd to find the likely culprit who might be responsible