CHAPTER CXVI
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Just like that, another four months passed away.
Sophia was in the sixth month of her pregnancy, trying hard to adjust to Chase’s absence and, at the same time, trying to cope with the pregnancy alone.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.
Her baby bump was already visible, and she knew the gender of her baby. Her baby was a girl; exactly what she had wanted.
Sophia never hesitated to miss her checkups, antenatal classes, and other necessary things for her and her baby’s health, especially as she was strictly told to be extremely careful because of her age. She had been told that she was also, likely to face complications during the pregnancy since she wasn’t old enough to have a baby.
It warmed her heart how Chase’s cousins tried their best to take care of her. Lucas took her for morning exercises while Luciano did the same for evening. Valerie and Guilia were the ones responsible for making sure she took her meals and drugs on time. They were also some times when they did everything together, like on Saturdays and Sundays when the men had no work to do.
But still, their attempts never stopped her yearning for her husband.
She was grateful to them for what they did for her but she still wanted Chase to be there with her. On many occasions, she had tried to imagine Chase doing all the things they did for her but whenever the harsh reality dawned on her, she would eventually break down in the confines of her room. Her room and its walls were the only witness to her teats and pain even though Lucas, Luciano and Valerie knew what she was going through.
Sophia stared at the pool in front of her as tears glistened in her eyes. The only thing on her mind was Chase. She couldn’t stop thinking about him and his wellbeing.
He had hurt her, but she still wanted to know how he was faring. Was he okay? Was he eating well?
Sophia furiously wiped the tears that rolled down her cheeks as she realized that she could never be angry at Chase. She knew very well that even if Chase met her that instant, crawling on his knees for forgiveness, she would still forgive him and give him another chance. That was how whipped she was for that man.
He was her big, bad wolf.
Her hands went to her stomach on instincts the moment she felt a small push in her stomach.
Her heart leapt in joy when she felt the push again, and a smile danced on her lips.
Her baby was finally kicking for the first time.
Her doctor had told her that the baby was meant to have started kicking from the sixteenth week but nothing happened. The ultra sound results told her that her baby was hale and hearty so that was the only thing she could grasp on to.
“Baby,” She whispered when the baby kicked again, and she giggled. She couldn’t remember ever feeling that happy for a long time. “My-,”
“Sophia,”
She froze.
Immediately, her head whipped towards where the voice came from and her heart skipped at the sight of the man standing there, watching her intently with a cigar between his thumb and forefinger as he stood a few distance away from her.
Chase Romano.
He made no move to approach her. He simply stared at her while she did the same, looking at his appearance. His hair had grown longer and he didn’t gel it as he used to do. The wind was blowing his hair sideways, making a few strands fall over his forehead from the front. His eyes had no bags under them like hers’ did. He had grown more stubble over the month.
And still, her heart beat for him.
“Ch- Chase,” She placed her hand on her baby bump and stood up, facing him. She croaked out. “You- You’re here,”
Chase still didn’t move from where he stood. He was still staring at her without saying a word.
Sophia walked closer and placed her hands on his arm to be sure he was actually real, and it wasn’t one of her hallucinations again. “You’re really here,” Tears blurred her vision. “Where- where have you been?”
At the sight of the tears in her eyes, the cigar in his hand fell on the ground, and he cupped her cheeks. “How are you?”
“I-,” She held his wrist and smiled at him. “I haven’t been fine, Chase. You left us. You left your baby and I,”
That was when his eyes fell on the baby bump. His other hand itched to touch the baby bump and feel the baby they had both created, but he couldn’t. He just couldn’t.
“Our-,” She smiled at him, gaining his attention as more tears streaked down her cheeks. “Our baby just kicked before you showed up. She kicked,”
His eyes went to the bump again, and he fisted his hand beside him. The baby was a girl. He always knew.
He had been keeping tabs on her without anyone’s knowledge.
Sophia held his other hand and guided it to her stomach. “Feel it. Feel our baby, Chase. She kicked,”
Before his hand could come in contact with her stomach, he roughly jerked his hand away, snatching Sophia’s smile.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re making things complicated,” He said. “Keeping this baby would only make things hard,”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t accept this child, Sophia,” He said. “I can’t,”
Her legs gave out, but for the sake of her baby, Sophia regained her posture. “You still don’t want this baby? Why then did you come home?”
Chase unfolded a paper from his pocket and showed it to her. “We can’t stay married again. We have to go our separate ways,”
She didn’t fall. She had to be strong for her baby. “And the baby? What about her?”
“That’s why I fucking told you to abort it that night,” He said. “You’ve made things hard for yourself,”
She slapped him across the cheek. Hard. “I hate you! I hate you! You’re a monster! I hate you!”