Pregnant By The Playboy

64 RIVER

One Saturday morning, I wake up to find Ilay's side of the bed empty. I get out of bed to search for him. As I walk through the hallway, I see the door to the triplets bedroom, slightly ajar. 

I peek in to see Ilay playing with the kids. Our little girl is on his back, calling him "papa" sweetly, while the twins are fighting over a toy train. 

Ilay snatches the train from them. "What did I say about fighting, boys?" they stay silent, but it's obvious that they know they're wrong. 

"Reed, you're older, so you can let your brother play first, and when he's done, you can play with the train." Ilay says, as the twins stare at him.

"Papa," our daughter calls him as she yanks his hair hard. "Ow! Let go, princess. You're going to hurt dada."

I step in and carry ruby off Ilay's back. "Hey, princess. You'd make dad go bald." I say, as I kiss her cheek. 

"Mama!" the twins call me in a chorus. "Hi, boys." I say softly, as they crawl towards me. 

"You're up. Did we disturb you?" Ilay asks, turning to me. I shake my head. "I'm fine. You four are hyped up so early in the morning." I say, setting Ruby down, as she crawls back to him.

He pats her head, gets off the floor, and wraps his arms around me. "You still look tired." he says, kissing my lips quickly. 

I smile. "I'm not. Besides, we have a birthday party to plan. The triplets are turning one in three days."

He kisses my lips again. "I know. But you need to rest. Don't we have Meaghan? She'd do all the preparations. Just make the menu and guest list."

I sigh. "Okay. Then... I'll make us breakfast now, and we can work on the list later." 

He follows me to the kitchen, and quickly makes food for the triplets. It's a mix of mashed fruits and baby formula. The triplets really love it. 

He puts the food into their bottles, and head upstairs with it. A few minutes later, he's back in the kitchen. "That should keep them occupied for a while." he says, hugging my waist. 

"What are you making?" he asks. "Just pancakes and eggs. Maybe I'll slice up some fruits on the side." I say. 

"Okay." he says, helping me grab the flour from the cupboard. 

Minutes later, Marianne walks into the kitchen, as Ilay takes a bite from the pancake I have in my mouth. "Good morning, Mr Stone," she greets Ilay. "Morning, River."

I bite my lip in embarrassment. "Good morning," I say, my voice barely above a whisper. "Uh... the pancakes are ready. I'll... go shower. Please help me set the table, Marianne."

I make an excuse, and hurry back to the room. 

—

Finally, the day for the triplets birthday arrives. Ilay is more excited than I am. I'd personally baked the cakes for the party the day before. I made a two tier strawberry flavored cake, with a marble pink fondant, and a cute candle in the shape of the number one for Ruby. 

For the boys, I made a two tier butterscotch cake, with navy blue fondant, some stars, and trains cut out of red fondant for the decorations. Meaghan helped of course. 

That morning, I got the kids ready for the party. Ruby has my wavy brown hair, which made brushing her hair really fun. The twins had taken after their dad, and had Ilay's straight black hair. 

Marianne was helping me with preparations, when Mr Stone walked into the kids bedroom. "River," he called out to me. I snapped my head in the direction of his voice. 

"Dad. You're here." I say, getting off the floor. 

"May I have a word with you?" he asks. "Of course," I say. I make eye contact with Marianne, and she immediately understands.

She quickly takes the kids and leaves the room, shutting the door behind her. 

For a moment, Ilay's father just stares at me. "I uh... want to thank you, River," he finally says, breaking the silence. "I'm now a grandfather to three beautiful children."

"It's fine, dad. I should thank you instead. If you hadn't stopped me, I wouldn't be experiencing the joy I have today." I say sincerely. 

He nods. "Well, it seems Ilay has grown attached to you over the past year." he says. I force a smile, not knowing what he's getting at.

"Ilay insists on continuing with whatever it is you both have, but I hope he realizes that it won't do him any good," he says. "You seem like a sensible girl, River. I know you'd make the right choice."

I lower my head. "I'll... think about it, dad." I manage to say. He pats my shoulder. "Of course. Do tell me what you decide." with that, he leaves. 

I collapse on the floor, sobbing. He just had to pick today of all days to tell me that he needed me out of Ilay's life. Minutes later, I pull myself together, and head to our bedroom to fix my make up. 

Ilay walks in a bit later. He wraps his arms around me as I admire my outfit in the mirror. He kisses my cheek softly. "Why so silent? Who bullied you?" 

I chuckle at his words. "No one did," I say. "Get dressed quickly. The guests must be waiting."

He tilts his head, and kisses me slowly, his hands tracing my curves. "I can tell when you're not happy, River," he says against my lips. "It's fine if you don't want to tell me why now. I'm always here when you want to talk."

I sigh, and peck his lips. "I'm fine. I promise. Now go get ready." he kisses my forehead before heading into the washroom. 

—

I head downstairs to greet the guests. They're all family members. Ilay's uncles, aunts, cousins, etcetera etcetera. One corner of the hall was already stacked with gift boxes for the triplets. 

A middle aged woman, Ilay's second aunt, and his mother's younger sister, Dakota, walks up to me. She hugs me tightly. "Thank you, child," I'm startled by the sudden outburst of affection, so I just stand still. 

When she finally lets go, her face is stained with tears. "Are... you okay?" I ask. She nods, wiping her tears. "I couldn't be happier. Ruby... she looks just like Ilay's mother." she said. 

My heart melted. "Really? I always wondered who Ruby took after since she didn't look like either of us."

She sniffled. "Ilay wouldn't know. He was just five when his mom died." she explained. I smile. "I feel honored." I say. 

She hugs me again. "Thank you for coming into Ilay's life," she said. "He looks happier than ever," she kisses my forehead. "Thank you." she says once again, before leaving. 

If only she knew I'd be leaving him soon. 

I smile, as I stare in the direction Ruby is. No wonder Mr Stone gave her five percent of his company shares. Everyone at the party wants a picture with the triplets. 

Later Ilay comes downstairs, and we get a photo taken with the triplets. Then we take another one with them as they cut their cake.