The CHEF from Burhan & Sons

Chapter 24 - Amaryllis

One Year Later...

"We've been invited to the Burhan's annual gala, will Liam be able to come with you?", Jeff asked as we were finishing up a meeting. "I don't know honestly, he has a photo shoot for his book on the same day. I don't know how long that's gonna take", I said gathering my files. "If you ask me, I know for a fact that he would never let his five-month pregnant girlfriend go to a party without him", Ada said making me rub my swollen belly.

"He has become possessive these past few months", I said recalling how he was always calling me every minute or texting me and asking if I ate. Don't get me started on the food deliveries at work. It's crazy.

"We like his possessiveness, it feeds us. I don't remember the last time I bought food", Briana said making Jeff nod. I rolled my eyes at them while standing up. I was almost out the door when my phone started ringing and because of the unique ringtone it had, they started laughing.

"Hi baby", Liam said cheerfully. "Hi love, just finished the last meeting and yes we'll be heading home in a few minutes", I said earning a laugh. "I'm that predictable huh?", he asked. "Yap! See you in a few love", I said then hung up before I was convinced to let him stay online until I got home.

"Why didn't you tell him you wanted lasagne?", Briana asked making me furrow my brows. "Why would you say that? You know she gets nauseous when you mention that", Jeff said making Briana laugh. "To think that you used to love lasagne. The world is so cruel", she said making me smile. Yes, I hate lasagne of any kind, the smell and everything about it makes me sick. I remember the look on Liam's face the first time we found out. It was on my birthday and he decided to make it a romantic affair but I ended up vomiting all over the table, very embarrassing.

I was back to my house or should I say our home since we moved in together a few minutes after leaving the office as promised. I found him working on the setup where they were planning to do the photoshoot for the cookbook. "This looks great, isn't it too early to set things up? You have at least four days", I asked making him turn to look at me, he hadn't realized that we were close. "Hi babies", he cheered then pulled me in a hug the moment I was at arms reach. I giggled at the nickname. "Hi love", i said and kissed him. "How was your day?", he asked while rubbing my belly. He loved doing it. "It was great, too many meetings but great. You?", I asked. "Well, Daddy has been working on narrowing down which recipes to put in the first book", he said more to my belly and not me. I raised a brow knowing that he clearly needed a history lesson on what happened the last time he ignored me. "Tell daddy that it's good for him and that mammy can't wait to make him beg for her attention" " I said in a teasing tone with an evil smile that made his face turn into shock mode the moment our eyes met.

"Baby, I was talking to you too. This is so not fair, I mean come on", he kept whining as I walked back to the house clearly not listening to him. I went to the bathroom and started running a hot bath. I sat in and closed my eyes, feeling the hot water soothing my skin. A few minutes later, I heard footsteps entering the bathroom. I didn't bother to pay attention because I knew a certain smart-ass was coming to win me over. He started massaging my shoulders and it felt amazing making me moan. "This is very very nice... but not enough to solve our situation", my words made him stop, I was about to whine when I felt his lips on my earlobe. "I know, but this will", he said and dipped his hand in the tub, going straight for my bud, and the moment he touched it, I was a goner. "Did you just... no way", he said looking surprised. Yes, I was that horny nowadays.

"I need you", was all I said. He stood up and pulled me out of the bathtub. We went to the bedroom and he made me see the stars until it was time for homemade chocolate chip cookies. It was the best dinner ever.

"I was thinking. I want to introduce you guys to the world", he said casually making me look at him with surprise. Ever since he won the Michelin stars, he had been getting a lot of attention and one aspect was people wanting to know who was the mystery woman behind Ryllis Eatery. I  was ok with him telling people but he wasn't. He wanted to keep our personal lives away from his professional ones considering some even wanted him to make a reality show about the restaurant.

"Where did this come from?", I asked while playing with his hair. "Nowhere, I just feel like it's time for people to know the reason why I work as hard as I do and also justify the obsession I have with Amaryllis flowers", he said the last part with a smirk making me giggle. "Ok then, so how do you want to do this?", I asked making him reach for his phone. He scrolled to the photo of me eating a chocolate chip cookie with my belly all over the place and posted it with the hashtag #theryllis. "That should do it", he said then slept next to my tummy. "I love you", i said out of nowhere making him kiss my belly and then my lips. "Not as much as I love you", he said then kissed my temple. That was all I needed to fall asleep.

The Burhan's Annual Gala...

"I swear this is crazy. All I did was post you and now we're all over the gossip channels!", Liam complained making me roll my eyes. He has 7mil followers on Instagram alone, what was he expecting? "Love, can you help me with the zipper please?", I asked making him toss his phone on the bed. He helped me with the zipper and then kissed my shoulder while looking at us through the 6-foot mirror that was in front of us. "You look amazing baby, you too buddy", he said rubbing my belly through the fabric, it tickled making me laugh. "I can't believe I agreed to look at the baby's gender before the baby shower, Briana's gonna hate us", I said making him smile. "Just Briana?", he asked making me recall how Miranda was also excited about the baby. "Fair enough", i said as we left the house on the way to the gala.

The Burhan and Sons building was as I remembered it. So many memories.

"Waoh, it looks the same", Liam said staring at the entrance to the cafeteria. "Liam!", we heard someone call him with excitement and turned. It was Claire, she looked amazing in her black dress. She looked younger and happier. She hugged Liam, then me, and led us to the conference hall.

"There you are!", Valerie said then came to me and hugged me. She shook Liam's hand then stepped away for her serious husband to shake my hand and Liam's too. She took us to the table where Ada was sitting with Jeff and Briana ready to start the party.

"Oh god! It's Chef Liam... Can we have an autograph?", a group of ladies asked him making him turn to me as if asking for permission. I nodded making him start signing their notebooks and pads then took a photo with them.

He has come a long way and even though his parents have refused to acknowledge him, I will make sure that he never feels like he has something to prove or feels undermined ever again.

...The End...