EOINI PUT MY PHONE DOWN ON THE COUNTER AND GOT A BEER FROM THEfridge. If I wasn’t driving anywhere tonight, I didn’t need to worry about how much I drank. If I couldn’t be with Aline, taking care of her, getting a little drunk sounded like a good idea. Not so much that I’d be hung over tomorrow, but enough to take the edge off.It was a hell of an edge. Pregnant.I was going to be a father.Maybe. Aline could decide to terminate the pregnancy, but after how her parents had struggled to have kids, I didn’t think that was going to be the route she took. If she did, I’d be there with her, but even as shell-shocked as I was right now, I was hoping she’d have the baby.My baby. Fuck.I needed to sit down, but the few chairs I had were covered with shit from my storage unit. The floor would have to do. I leaned back against my refrigerator and took a long drink.I’d never really thought about being a father. My parents never pressured any of us kids about giving them
EOINTHE SCENT OF PEACHES WOKE ME UP, AND IT TOOK A MOMENT FOR MEto remember why my bed smelled like fruit. Aline. My eyes opened, my need to reassure myself that she really was here greater than me wanting to sleep a little longer. Once I saw her, I couldn’t look away.We were both on our sides, her back to my front. Her body was curled up, making her look even smaller than she was, and a surge of protectiveness went through me. I slid my hand from her hip to her stomach, wondering when I’d be able to feel the changes to her body, when the baby would start to move, how big it was right now.Was it a boy or girl? Would Aline want to know before or have it be a surprise? When would we be able to tell?I had a lot of research to do, I realized. I wanted to do this right, and that meant not leaving everything up to Aline. Some of the questions colliding together in my brain were the kind that she and I could talk about. I could find the answers for all the others myself. S
EOINIF I DIDN’T QUIT SNEAKING LOOKS AT ALINE, SHE WAS GOING TO CATCHme and want to know what the hell I was doing. Then I’d be put in the very awkward position of either lying to her and her figuring it out or telling the truth and pissing her off. Neither scenario ended well for me.She’d agreed to tell my parents about our engagement and the baby, and I was going with her tomorrow to spend Christmas Day with her family. Both of those were things that I wanted, but I kept feeling like some other shoe was going to drop and ruin it. That she’d suddenly recognize the fact that she could do so much better than me and decide that, while she might want the baby, she didn’t want me along with it. Or she’d think about how pissed Freedom was going to be when she saw me and realize I wasn’t worth the headache.Death wasn’t the only thing that could take someone away.So, I kept watching her, paying close attention to every expression, to every shift in body language.I’d been worried at Marti
EOINTHE MOMENT THE WORDS CAME OUT OF ALINE’S MOUTH, I COULD SEEthat she wanted to take them back. Not because she regretted accepting my proposal or didn’t want to live with me, but because blurting it out like that had been like dropping a bomb.Now, we were just waiting for it to explode. I could read it on their faces. I read it on her face too. She realized the impact of what she’d done.And then Freedom turned on me, her expression furious.“What the hell did you do?!” She pointed at me, her clear blue eyes flashing. “How dare you take advantage of her when she was upset! Out on her own for the first time and vulner–”“We’re engaged,” Aline cut her off, clearly deciding to get it all out now that things were in motion for a confrontation. “And I’m pregnant.”Freedom’s jaw dropped, and her face went white. Aline’s jaw tightened. “So, back off.”“What?”The word came out as a whisper, confirming for me that Aline had never spoken to Freedom that way before.“Eoin is m
EOINI’D JUST BEEN READY TO CALL ALINE WHEN A TEXT CAME THROUGHthat she was coming back and we needed to talk. I went back and forth between anxiety and relief while I waited for her. We couldn’t keep doing this.Our lives were linked, and we didn’t have the luxury of waiting until we had our shit figured out before deciding to start a family. The baby was on the way, and no matter what she and I disagreed about, I had no doubt that we were on the same page when it came to being the best parents we could be. To do that, we needed to work this out sooner rather than later.Since I didn’t know if Aline had her key, I unlocked the door and then spent the next fifteen minutes or so pacing from one end of the living room to the other and back again.When she came in, I wanted to just blurt out an apology and explanation, but I also didn’t want to come on too strong. How the fuck did people do this? How did they know what to say or how to say it? I didn’t know the ans
Chapter 01Ethan holds the tray of the glass cup and wine in his hands tightly,he releases a deep breath and tries not to let his nervousness get the best of him.He joins the other staff and they all stride down to the meeting hall. He didn’t feel so good about this but what can he do? He’s in charge of serving the section.The hall door opens wide and he leads the staff in with the drinks and foods in their hands.“Welcome to Trump international hotel, Here is the order you place” Ethan bowed his head with a clean handkerchief in his hand at the bottom of the wine bottle.He bent the wine slightly and poured the young man a few.It’s a business meeting going on between five businessmen and women.Among those women is his wife Jones Gracie.He bowed his head and gently put the wine bottle in an ice bowl.Ethan could feel eyes on him but he decided to ignore and focus on his work.He didn’t want to cause trouble for his wife again and he doesn’t want to be looked down on by his wife's b
Chapter two The meeting ended and everyone started taking their leave one after the other, Mr Augustus had his eyes on Gracie all along.She’s a beautiful lady with a great body and he wonders why she would end up with a poor man like Ethan.“Don’t you think this contract should be discussed even more privately between us?” Mr Augustus asks Gracie,taking his lips in cockily.Gracie is packing her things ready to leave too when he said that to her while Ethan is still attending to him. He seems to be making him do that intentionally just so he could humiliate him the more.“What do you mean by that sir?” Gracie asks with a perplexed look, She really doesn't know the level of the man’s shame anymore.“You know what I’m saying Gracie, Don’t act naive” Mr Augustus replied with a mischievous smile while Ethan swallowed his dry throat.He must have thought so low of him to even discuss this right in his presence, there’s no dignity left in him and he wants to piss Ethan off more.“If the c
Chapter 03Ethan stares back at Gracie who is looking at him in his own blood with pity.“You should go to the hospital” Gracie said and started packing her files in her hand.She really wants to get out of being dragged out in disgrace because of Ethan.Ethan remained still looking at her without saying a word, “You need to go to the hospital!” She repeated but he kept looking at her like he’s not in her world.He manages to stand on his feet and pulls off his shirt leaving him in his singlet, “Stop being stubborn Ethan! You have cause so much damage already constituting a nuisance everywhere” Ethan looked at his wife wondering how she could utter those sentences to him, he’s the one who had created a nuisance now? What about her own boss?.Should he have watched him continue disrespecting him just because he’s poor and he’s rich, everyone should have equal rights.The country might have turned upside down and the rich rules but he’s not going to allow that to happen to him.He even