A Bundle of Joy 2: The Baby Proposal (BWWM Interracial Romance) (11 page)

“What if he gives them the baby?”

Triston didn’t want to tell her that he was just as scared as she was. She was depending on him to be the strong one, and he didn’t want to disappoint her. “He will not. I’m sure of it,” he said with a false confidence.

After taking her home, Triston left her there to go to the medical
center to request from them copies of Selene’s medical bills. He returned about two hours later, only to find Selene in the living room. She was holding a white, manila envelope that had been slit open.

Dread settled in his heart.
“What is it?”

“It’s the summons.
Not long after you left, a man stopped by and handed it to me. The docket date has been set for next week. The family court has declared it to be a matter of urgency and put it on fast-track.”

Triston’s heart sank. This couldn’t be good news. He took the envelope from her hand, slid out the legal document, and read through it quickly.

“I don’t know. I’m
so worried,” Selene said. “What if the judge
doesn’t
see it our way?”

Triston sat beside Selene, and
held her close. He kissed her forehead as she settled against him, perhaps taking comfort in his close proximity.

Even though their time together had been short, it was almost as if they’d picked up right where they’d left off. Their feelings for each other were still there, and it was easy to just let them bubble to the surface and take over. It seemed as if the last six years had never even happened. Selene looked at him, her eyes red from the tears she’d shed.
It pained him to see how the last few days had shaken her confidence. She was never one to be given over to tears so easily, that is, until the Stevens had bulldozed their way back into her life.

“It’s going to be ok
ay,” he said, but even to his own ears, his voice sounded hollow.

What if they lost their baby? The thought terrif
ied him.

Chapter Eleven

The morning before they appeared in court, Selene was lying in bed, tossing and turning as she tried to get comfortable. The door to the bedroom opened, and Triston came in carrying a tray. When she sat, he set the tray down on her lap. It was her favorite breakfast, pancakes with maple syrup and honey, and a glass of milk.

“Thank you
.” Her voice sounded weak. She’d barely slept the night before. Anything could happen in court today. The fear of losing her child was driving her crazy. What if the judge decided in favor of the Stevens? How would she bear parting with her baby right after birth and handing her over to a couple whom she wasn’t sure were fit enough to be parents? What if they didn’t take care of her daughter and neglected her?

They had ditched her
baby once.

They could do it
again.

Triston sat beside her. Reaching over, she wrapped her arm around him and kissed him lightly on his lips. When the kiss ended, they stared at each other’s eyes for several seconds.

Triston ran a hand over her arm. “You haven’t eaten well for the past week.” He sliced a bit of pancake with her fork and lifted it to her lips. “Come on, eat up.”

Selene
took a bite. She couldn’t taste anything. Her mind was consumed by thoughts of the upcoming court hearing. “It’s good,” she said in an attempt to not hurt his feelings. “I’m going to eat this, okay?” When she saw the uncertainty in his eyes, she took the fork from his grasp, and made a show of slicing another piece and taking a bite. “See? I promise I’ll eat.” She smiled at him for good measure.

Triston got up and paced the room
. He looked as nervous as she felt. “I was thinking that maybe we should tell the lawyer that I plan to adopt our baby. For one, he could start the process as soon as this case is over, and two, it might sway the judge in our favor, knowing that I intend to be a proper dad and will assume all legal and financial responsibilities.”

Selene frowned. Adopt the baby? When had they ever discussed it?

“What are you talking about?”

He sat by her side. “I was planning to adopt her. I figured we had time, but now it’s imperative to show the judge that we’re a solid, tight-knit unit. That will count for something.”

Selene
took another bite, giving herself a moment to think about what she wanted to say. “We’ve never discussed adoption.”

His
coal black eyes were clear, decisive. “No, we haven’t. But I’ve always said that this was
our
child. I don’t want there to be any difference between her and any other child that we may have later.”

She was in danger of losing her baby. How could he bring this up now? Selene couldn’t deal with the enormity of the situation he was placing her in. “Triston. I’m not sure adoption is a good idea.”

He stood slowly. “Why? You think I won’t be a good father? Or are you scared that I’ll run out on you and our baby as soon as I get another shot at the army or at some other career?”

She couldn’t think straight. “Don’t be silly.”

“I’m not the one being silly. You think I don’t know you’ve closed off a part of yourself from me because you don’t want to risk getting hurt? I wanted to give you the time to settle into this life, to have faith in me like you used to have before. But now it seems that I’ll never be good enough to be the man that you want me to be. Not good enough to be your husband, or a father to your daughter.”

“I…” she hesitated. Hadn’t she feared that he would run out again whenever the whim struck him to do something he really wanted to do?

But now living with him, she wasn’t sure if she was that insecure about him.

Or was she?

This is messed up. Why does he have to bring this up now?

As she sat, frozen, her mind blank, his face registered his emotions. “I think I got your answer,” he said stiffly, his jaw set in a hard line.

“No, Triston. It
’s not like that. I’m sure you’d be a great father, but…”

“But what, Selene? What do you want? Y
ou want me to go down on my knees and beg forgiveness for leaving you six years ago? Six years!” he was barely able to control his anger. “It was a long time ago, and I was eighteen. I’ve changed, as have you.”

“Of course, we have.” She
’d never seen him this agitated, this angry. He’d always been calm.

“But you’re still afraid to let me love you as you deserve
. Afraid to let me love our baby. What the hell for? What commitment can be greater than marriage? I love you. I love this baby. We’re a family or at least we’re meant to be one, but you won’t let us be like that.” Suddenly, he stopped, and ran a hand over his face. “I…need some air.”

“Triston
…Wait…” Setting the tray on the other side of the bed and trying to maneuver her way out of the bed, were difficult. She was too slow, too clumsy. By the time she was able to wrestle her way to her feet he’d already left the bedroom. What had she done? She should’ve explained herself better.

Selene heard the apartment door slam as he went outside.

Damn it.

She glanced at the breakfast she’d barely eaten but which
he’d so painstakingly cooked. Trying to call him was an exercise in futility because his cell phone went unanswered.

Selene
had to be in court at twelve. She wondered if Triston still planned to be there with her. But what if he didn’t? After all, he wasn’t her daughter’s biological father. He wasn’t named in the court case. She was the one who was being summoned before the judge.

Selene took a shower. The worry that had been plaguing her was now multiplied by a hundred. Without Triston
, she felt alone.

And scared.

Their baby needed him.

She needed him.

What would she do if he didn’t show up at the court? The lawyer would be there, of course. But Triston was her rock. He was the one who could calm her down when she allowed her anxiety to get the better of her. What would she do without him?

As the minutes ticked by on the clock, Selene realized that she needed to be prepared to leave without him. She dressed with care in a pair of ink blue pants and a matching blouse. Her protruding stomach simply wouldn’t be hidden beneath the jacket she threw over the outfit. The baby would be conspicuous even without being born. That was good, she decided. She needed the judge to see that this was a person who had rights and needs. And if the Stevens had their way, the baby wouldn’t even be in her womb right now.

Even if Triston didn’t show up, she intended
to put up a good fight for their child.

She needed to be strong for their baby.

****

Triston sat in the church, his head bowed as he offered a prayer.
He had to admit that he’d slept fitfully the last few nights. His apprehension over the oncoming custody battle had brought on new episodes of PTSD. As much as possible, he tried to hide them from Selene. She had enough to deal with. There was no need to add to her worries. But part of his anxiety was his relationship with her. It had been months since they got married. He’d thought by this time, she would’ve stopped doubting his intentions and start trusting in the love he had for her. How long would she continue to punish him? She said she understood that duty, honor and country were values he upheld. They were a family now, a unit. If she didn’t have faith in him to be a good husband and father, how could they continue with their marriage?

Her words had hurt him. He’d done everything to make her feel loved and secure, but it seemed that whatever he did wasn’t enough to erase the past.

He’d begun to lose hope now. Did she think he w
ouldn’t be a good father to their child whom he already loved as if it was his own? For the past months, he’d built his life around Selene and the baby who was due to make her appearance soon. Now, he couldn’t imagine any other existence. Even if he had a wonderful opportunity to do something else, he would never be able to leave his family.

They were the center of his world.
Apart from them, very little else mattered. But if Selene wasn’t convinced of that fact, then what was the point of their marriage? He strode out of the church, into the parking lot and drove his car out. As his car slid to a stop outside their suburban house, he saw Selene locking up the front door. When she spotted him, she hesitated for a few seconds. He switched the engine off and then leapt out of the vehicle. He jogged towards her. Seeing how the dark circles around her eyes seemed more vivid, caused sympathy and guilt to well up in his heart. Clearly, she was upset by their fight. Knowing that she was already agonizing over the fate of the court battle, he felt sorry for putting her through further misery. But what could he do? He was as invested in this child as she was. What would it take for her to realize that?

“I’m sorry…”

“I’m sorry…”

They spoke
simultaneously.

She went
forward to hug him around his waist. How long they stood like that? Triston couldn’t tell, all he knew that he was right where he belonged.

In Selene’s arms.

Forever.

Selene raised her head and looked him fully in his eyes.
“I never thought you wouldn’t be a good father or husband. I love you, Triston. And I’m not afraid to believe in you.” Her arms tightened around his waist. “You’ve always been the love of my life, but added to that, you’re my hope, my strength, my support.” She placed her index finger softly against his lips when he opened them to speak. “And in case you’ve forgotten what I said before everybody on our wedding day, I promise to cherish every moment of our time together and pray that we find strength and happiness in each other’s arms. I promise that I’ll respect you and love you faithfully through good times and bad. I give you my hand, my heart, my love.”

Relief, elation, filled his heart.
All the doubts he’d had a few minutes ago vanished.

Triston lowered his head and kissed her.

Like he’d never kissed her before.

He tasted the saltiness of her tears, the mint-flavored toothpaste.

And Selene.

All too soon they had to come up for some air.

Selene cupped his cheeks. “Of course, I’d be happy if you were to adopt our baby and raise her as your own along with me. But I don’t think we should bring this up now. Didn’t the lawyer say that we need to make sure that the judge realizes that I didn’t change my mind about keeping this baby because we’ve gotten married? He should know that the Stevens deserted me in the middle of the pregnancy.” She caressed his cheeks with her thumbs. “We need to prove that so they can’t claim any rights over the baby.”

Triston
had to admit that he hadn’t thought of that angle. She could be right. The judge might think that Selene wanted to keep the baby because she was now in a stable relationship and had the means to support this baby. That could make the judge rule against them.

“We’
ll talk about it after this case is over.”

“And I promise, Triston
, that you’ll be her daddy, her father, in every sense of the word.” Selene pulled him down and pressed her lips against his forehead.

With those words, with that gesture, a thousand boulders were lifted from off his chest. Yet, he was overwhelmed with emotion, too choked up to speak without breaking down. Triston held Selene close, as close as her growing belly would allow, and fought to regain his composure.

“Are you okay?”

“Come on
, or we’ll be late.” Triston clasped Selene’s hand in his and bypassed the sedan that she’d sold on the same day they’d gotten engaged. He’d managed to buy it from the car dealer. Triston knew it meant a great deal to her, especially as it was a gift from her father. It had taken some doing, since the dealer already had a potential buyer. The money Triston had offered him was way more than it was valued, but it was worth the look of joy on Selene’s face when he’d surprised her with it.

He assisted her into his vehicle, got behind the wheel and drove off.
They made their way to the court, with time to spare. Their lawyer was waiting outside. After they sat outside for forty-five minutes, their case was called in. Selene had to sit on the defendant’s table with the lawyer while Triston sat behind, on one of the seats reserved for the audience. The Stevens sat with their lawyer. The bailiff came in and ordered everyone to rise as the judge came out.

The judge was
a short lady, with spiky, flyaway hair. She looked composed, though a little bored. For her, this was a routine case, while for them, it was a matter of having their little girl, or having her taken away from them, possibly never seeing her again.

“
Let us begin,” the judge announced. “What are the charges against the defendant?”

Meg and Warren’s lawyer sto
od. “Your honor, my clients, Warren and Megan Stevens had a contract with Selene Walker née Alexis, whom they hired after she responded to their ad in the newspaper. They were looking for a surrogate to carry their child because they are both unable to have children because of medical reasons. The defendant volunteered for the job in exchange for reasonable living expenses, a lease on a new apartment, all medical bills taken care of, and her compensation fees for the duration of nine months. They took her to the doctor, paid for her insemination, and for all other doctor appointments. But now, she wishes to keep the baby.”