Chapter 151
FEW DAYS LATER
Jojo:
Mrs Smith drove us home. I stayed in the front seat beside her, while Mel and Valerie stayed in the backseat, with the baby in the baby seater Mrs Smith had purchased the previous day. Lucian was asleep, while Mel and Valerie continued to gush over the three hundred thousand pictures Mel had taken of him. It warmed my heart to see how much they loved him. Even when he peed on himself or poured vomit all over their clothes, they did not rebuke him, they were never irritated by him, they continued to show him so much affection
We stopped at my mum’s hospital to see how she was doing. Her doctor said she had come down with a fever, which was sad. But, I introduced baby Lucian to her. She was really elated to meet him and continued to place soft kisses on his forehead. Mel took pictures of baby Lucian and my mother together. Once again, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the sight in front of me, and the love that enveloped us all.
Three hours later, we were at home. Mel had already prepared my room for the baby, placing his clothes in his fancy dressing drawer, and placing his sleeping cot right next to my bed. Since he was asleep, he was in the cot. But Valerie would not let the little boy be. Ever since I was treated by the doctors after my bleeding, I had noticed how Valerie stuck to Lucian’s side like glue. She always wanted to carry him, always opted to bath him, even contemplated lying in his court by his side at night.
I could still remember how she embraced me on the second night of being with baby Lucas. She held me so tight, I could tell she was crying because her tears soaked the shoulder of my white dress. I held her just as tight, letting her know that I was always with her, and we would always be together no matter what.
“I am so proud of you, Jo. You have no idea how happy I am right now. Thank you for making me an aunty and giving me a nephew as lovely as baby Lucian. I promise to be the best aunty in the whole world.” She spoke in a soft voice that night, and I thanked her for always being there for me. Even in times when I had fallen short of my duties, she had never loved me any less.
“Valerie, he is asleep. Just let him be for three minutes.” Mel admonished her, but Ley was stubborn. It took another three minutes for Mel and I to convince her to let baby Lucian sleep, but she eventually listened.
When she was out of the room, Mel closed the door slowly, to make sure my son remained tucked in bed, sleeping peacefully. And I?
Well, on the other hand, I stood in front of the wall. It was the side of the wall I had pasted pictures of Lucian on. For every ultra sound scan I did, I made sure I took printed pictures of him back home. From the first day, even till the last. I found it spectacular how he had grown and form in my belly for nine months.
“So, have you decided what you would do abour the alpha yet?”
Mel’s voice slipped into my thoughts. I heaved a sigh and turned to her slowly. I had known this question was coming, I only wondered when she would bring it up.
“What is there to decide?” I asked, shrugging my shoulders as I moved to my baby’s court.
I could feel her eyes narrow at me.
“Well, do you want him in your life? Do you want him in Lucian’s life? Are you two going to work on your relationship…?”
“Okay! Slow down.” I cut in, a faint laughter in my eyes. She had to take things slowly. I knew she was worried about me, but she was moving ten paces faster than me.
I stood straight and folded my arms underneath my chest.
“Listen, Mel. At the end of the day, it was I who the alpha rejected, not the baby. Hell! He did not even know I was pregnant. So yes, I would have to speak to him. I’m sure we would be able to work something out. But, as for being in my life, you know my stance on that already.”
I watched as her shoulders fell while I spoke.
“You know I just want you to be happy, Jo.”
I flashed her my brightest smile.
“I am happy, believe me.”
After our conversation, I met Mrs Smith and requested that she call the alpha. I needed to speak with him, and I needed to do that alone. I had put off speaking with him for a long time, it was time that I came face to face with everything I had fought so hard to forget in the past eight months. But I was better equipped to face them now.
I was stronger and more determined. And my resolve could never be broken.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.
*************
The alpha came in less than two hours after Mrs Smith made the call. Mel, Mrs Smith and Valerie excused themselves from the living room when they saw his car speed into the drive way. I was the only one who remained in the living room after everyone had disappeared into their rooms.
I stood still and waited, until I saw his tall and lean figure knock on the glass door. I was lucky I had not thought seeing him again would be easy, else, I would have been thrown off balance. For he was now taller and more handsome than I remembered.
I walked slowly and slid the glass door open. I was ready to move away from the door, just to usher him in. However, before I could move, a firm hand seized hold of my right hand and I felt myself being pulled with a strong force I had no intention of resisting, towards him. Before I could even utter a word, his strong arms were around my smaller body. I noticed how his muscles and arms had doubled in size too. Guess I was not the only one who had grown in size.
What I did not expect was the warmth his embrace gave me. I did not flinch I’m his arms like I thought I would have. Instead, I allowed myself melt into his embrace, it did not matter if I did not embrace him back.
“I couldn’t say this at the hospital because I couldn’t see you, but I want to thank you for everything, Jojo. You did a good job, a wonderful one. Thank you for keeping him, thank you for sticking by, thank you for not giving up. This… you have no idea what this means to me.”
Believe me when I saw my jaw dropped and my mouth remained ajar. Was this the Alpha talking? Or had something I did not quite understand taken possession of his body?
I blinked twice, unable to understand what was happening. This was not what I had been expecting, at all.
Next thing I knew, he pulled out of the hug and held my hands. His grip was gentle yet firm, cold yet warm, reassuring and supportive. I had not expected this from him. I did not know what I had expected, but it was definitely not the sweetness that emanated from every word he spoke, from the way his eyes rested on me. I did not brace myself up for this, I had to do so immediately.
I opened my mouth to speak, but he was faster.
“Before you say anything, Jojo. I just… I just want to say that I’m really sorry.”
Okay, what? Was the alpha really apologizing to me? What had changed in all these months? The man who was standing in front of me was a far cry from the one who had mercilessly rejected me and left me wailing on his room floor.
“I was in a bad place, a really bad one. I did not know what else to do, nothing made sense at that time. As you know, I have just reunited with my mother whom I lost for over twenty years. I am happy, really happy that has happened. I am…” He stopped to clear his throat, my right brow arched at him.
“I am happy that I found you too, and the baby.”
It was my time to clear my throat now. While I did, I carefully snatched my hand from his. This was not the time to be holding hands with him.
He heaved a long sigh, before he continued. Now, my eyes were glued to the floor.
“I have no right to expect anything, and believe me when I say that I am not. I do not intend to take the child from you. It is ours, but you worked harder for it. I had no idea about the child and I missed out so much. All I… all I ask is that you tell me everything. All your struggles, all the doctor’s appointments, everything you went through. Let me in on the journey Jojo, please.”
Alright, he did use the magic word. And it did melt my heart which I had carefully hardened. So, I guess he did deserve to see my ultrasound collection.
I looked up at him and chuckled.
“Fine. You might want to see my picture collection.”
His eyes brightened with delight. A broad smile formed on his face.
“I’ll be thrilled.”