Sealed With A Vow

Chapter 41- Suspicions

"Could you hand me some more of the fried rice?"

"Of course," Derek replied, grinning.

The two of us were sitting cross-legged on the living room floor, eating Chinese takeout for dinner after a busy day at work. Thankfully, tomorrow was the weekend.

The months had flown by and already, it was September. Last Friday, Charlotte had thrown me the biggest surprise baby shower at her place. She'd ordered a three-tiered cake and splurged on the favors and decorations.

You'd think I was the duchess of Cambridge or something.

In just a couple of weeks, Derek and I would welcome our child to the world. Neither of us could contain our excitement. He'd been trying his best to go to as many doctor's appointments as possible, and on some nights, he'd even read aloud to Derek Jr. so that he could grow to be "smart like his mama."

During his free time, which was very rare, Derek browsed through parenting guidebooks, and back in August, he'd even started designing the baby nursery. We easily could've hired someone to do it for us, but it just wouldn't feel right.

So far, we'd decided on an animal theme and had the walls painted light green with jungle canvases as decor.  Now, all we needed was the furniture.

"You sure you can still go to work?", Derek asked, taking a bite of his egg roll. His eyes were trained on my huge belly.

"Yup. At this rate, I'm probably gonna work until my delivery date. He's a good boy and hasn't caused me any trouble." I smiled.

"That's good to hear."

"Definitely. Wanna see what our fortune cookies say?"

"Sure."

Derek dug in the bag and pulled out two, handing one to me. He stretched out his long legs and began to open the wrapper. It'd been a while since we were able to just relax like this. Back in July, my hours at the office had become permanently extended, and Paul Williams- my boss- said that he was paving the way for a future promotion.

Of course, it'd have to be upon my return from maternity leave. I wanted to care for Derek Jr. myself during his first eighteen months, and then we could send him to a daycare after that.

"Hmm, this is interesting," Derek remarked as he stared at the white slip of paper in his hand. "Here, read it."

I swallowed my food then looked at his fortune.

"In your lifetime, you will have loved and lost."

"That doesn't sound very exciting, does it?" He frowned slightly.

"No. But who even believes these things? If anything, your fortune should've been meant for me."

Derek was silent, but he knew I was referring to how I'd lost my dad and Nick. Curious as to what my own fortune said, I opened my wrapper then cracked the cookie in half, pulling out the strip of paper.

"Life is too short to be anything but happy," I read out loud.

He made a deflated sound.

"Seriously? That wasn't even a fortune. God knows how many times I've heard that line before." I said.

"Right? This company obviously needs new quotes."

I nodded my head in agreement then eyed the untouched cheese wonton on Derek's plate. My mouth was practically drooling, and I'd already had four.

"Are you gonna eat that wonton?"

"Let me guess, you want it?"

"Yes, please."