6

"Good morning, Mr Tennon." Michelle, Sophie's 22-year-old nanny, greeted as soon as she saw Terrence descending from the stairs; all dressed up for work.

"Morning," Terrence replied. 

"Morning Daddy!" Sophie yelled as she continued to eat her breakfast on the dining table. 

"Your breakfast is ready" Michelle informed Terrence.

"Thanks, I'm not hungry." 

She noticed something was wrong with her Boss; He came back from work yesterday in a sour mood and refused to have dinner.

Terrence took a seat on the couch close to the door and reached for his laptop to get some work done, using that to while away time as he waited for Sophie to finish her breakfast. 

As soon as Sophie was done with her breakfast, Michelle helped her wash and dry her hands after which she helped Sophie in putting on her backpack. 

"Bye Michelle, I'm going to miss you," Sophie said.

"Bye sweetheart, I will miss you too. Be good at school, okay?"

Sophie nodded as she walked towards the door where her father was waiting for her. 

Terrence walked out of the house with Sophia far behind him singing and dancing to one for favourite songs. Frozen. The little girl happens to be so energetic this morning. 

"Hurry up and get into the damn car, Sophia!" Terrence yelled at Sophie who immediately got scared and sad at her dad's reaction. 

She walked as fast as her tiny legs could carry her to the car. Terrence was already standing by the door of the back seat and immediately Sophia settled down, he buckled her seat belt and slammed the door afterwards before he proceeded to the driver's seat.

Little Sophia couldn't help but cry. Her Daddy refused to play with her yesterday when he came back from work and now he behaved unfairly to her which hurt her.

Hearing soft muffles and hiccups, Terrence immediately regretted his actions. He didn't mean to act that way towards his daughter. The truth is that he hadn't been himself since yesterday's conversation with Gabby. Like seriously, he just discovered that he was going to be a father for the second time and at the same time he wasn't going to be a father again due to the probability that his baby might be aborted. Terrence could not sleep last night as he kept on thinking of ways to convince Gabby into keeping the baby. 

Suddenly he felt guilty of being a jerk towards his daughter and he regretted his actions. As soon as they arrived at Sophie's school, Terrence got out of the driver's seat and went towards the passengers' seat to open the door for Sophie. He unbuckled her seat belt and carried her as She continued to cry.

"I'm so sorry sweetheart, please stop crying; It breaks my heart to see you cry," Terrence said with a heartbroken voice as Sophie just cried harder into his chest. 

Terrence ignored all the stares he was getting from other parents and their children as he walked towards a quiet garden with Sophia in his arms. Thankfully, there was a bench there so he sat down and gently placed Sophia on his lap. 

"You refused to play with me yesterday and I do not like the way you told me to get into the car. You were too hard on me, daddy. Don't you love me anymore?" 

Sophia's statement took Terrence by surprise and it took a while before he replied. "I love you so much, Sophia, more than you can ever imagine. Daddy had just been having a hard time with work. I promise to make it up to you, my love. Now, do you forgive Daddy?" Sophie nodded after which he kissed her forehead. 

"I love you, Daddy" Sophie mumbled as she hugged him. 

"I love you more, sweetheart." He returned her hug. 

They both stayed like that for a while before Terrence checked his wristwatch and realised that Sophie should be in class by now. He carried her towards the car, took a bottle of water which he took little from and splashed on her face after which he dried with a towel. He then grabbed her backpack and headed towards Sophie's class with his little girl still in his arms. 

"I promise to be home early to play with you" Terrence assured as he placed Sophia on her feet. 

"Okay, daddy." She replied.

"Bye Princess. Daddy loves you." Terrence kissed her forehead once more before handing Sophie over to her teacher as he left for work. 

..........................

Terrence couldn't believe his ears when his assistant informed him through the intercom that Gabriela had come to see him. He quickly told Hailey, his assistant, to let her in. Then suddenly he became nervous. Of course, this wouldn't be the first time Gabby would be in his Office but he knew that her presence would be based on what they discussed the previous day. He hoped Something good awaited him. 

"Come in" Terrence responded to the knock on his door and Gabby entered.

Like always, she was looking very beautiful but this time she had a certain glow on her face.

Terrence acted like a gentleman by ushering Gaby a seat on the Grey couch. He then contemplated if he should sit beside her on the same couch or opposite her on another couch. He finally settled for the latter. 

"I hope I'm not interrupting your work. I can come back some other time. " She said, truly concerned.

"No, I was thinking of taking a break." He replied. 

"I wanted to let you know that I thought about all you said yesterday," Gabby said as she shyly tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"And?" Terrence asked, dreading her reply at the same time. 

"I will be keeping the baby." She looked into his beautiful eyes.

Terrence heaved a sigh of relief. He closed the gap between them and took her hands in his. 

"Thank you so much, Gabriela" He smiled

"I have to apologise for wanting to opt for an abortion. The news was sudden and I was really scared. Then, I thought of us as were still not on good terms. I concluded you were no longer interested in me and I couldn't blame you for that because it was all my fault for making up horrible assumptions."

"There's nothing to be sorry for. Let's just forget about the past and concentrate on what we have now." Terrence replied as he rested his right hand on Gabby's still flat belly and held her hand with his other hand. 

"You don't have to be scared, Gabby. You have me. I will be with you every step of the way." He assured.

"And as for what I feel for you, it has never faded and I doubt if it ever will. My heart only beats for you."

Gabby nodded with a sad smile. 

"How have you been feeling?" He caressed her face.

Gabby could not help but lean into his touch as she spoke. "The morning sickness has been taking a toll on me lately but aside from that, I'm fine." 

"I just need to purchase the list of prenatal vitamins Isabelle recommended yesterday. I called her this morning and she said the vitamins will help with the morning sickness. She also advised me to avoid stress and eat well." 

"Do you want me to come with you to purchase the vitamins?" He asked. 

"I don't think that will be necessary," Gabby chuckled. "I wanted to ask if you will be free tomorrow to accompany me to the hospital. I scheduled an appointment with Isabelle for an ultrasound. To you know,.....see how the baby is doing." 

"I will be there with you. I will have Hailey postpone all meetings and appointments; My family comes first." 

Terrence did not let go of Gabby's hand as he spoke "I want us to be a family; You, me, Sophie and our little one. Please, will you give Sophia and me a chance to be in your life?" Mr lover boy pleaded.

"I will, Terrence. I want us to be a family too." She replied and he pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you so much, Gabby. You have no idea how happy I am." He said. 

"Do your parents know about the baby?" He asked as they pulled away from the hug. 

"Not yet. I will tell them after the ultrasound tomorrow."

"Will you prefer to do that alone? I don't mind being there with you while you tell them." Terrence offered.

"You don't have to worry, I will tell them myself."

"And you? Will you be telling your Mom anytime soon." Gabby asked him. 

"Should I? Honestly, I have no problem announcing to the whole world that you are mine and we are expecting our baby." 

Gabby blushed. 

"Let us not rush it, Terrence. I would love it if we keep the news between us for now. It is Just you and our few friends that are aware." 

"Few friends?" He asked with an eyebrow raised. 

"The only friend I have is Ian and he still doesn't know about the baby. Well apart from my sister, Debbie." He said.

Gabby explained, "I guess Ian knows already; Nikki might have told him." 

"You're friends with Nikki?" Terrence asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I ran into her yesterday. All thanks to her, she made me see the reasons why I should keep the baby. I needed someone to talk to and she helped me. We became friends already before I even discovered she was married to Ian." 

"I guess I owe Nikki a treat then," Terrence replied. 

He asked, "So I assumed you met Amber?" 

"Yes, she's so adorable." 

Terrence noticed it was almost time for lunch so he asked Gabby "What do you want for lunch?" 

Then she replied "I'm not hungry. I will just grab some lemonade on my way back to my office." 

"No way Gabriela. You have someone who now depends on you. Hungry or not, you have to eat something. Even though it is only a little." Terrence persuaded.

She eventually gave in and they both went out to her favourite restaurant to have lunch. It was just a 15mins drive away from the office.