Pregnant By Luke Hemmings

Chapter 40

"Hello, gentlemen," She begins. "My name is Margaret McRoy, and this is my assistant, Emily Yates. And you've already been introduced to Bailey Riggins." Bailey waves cheerfully. "And I'm sorry we have to meet on these terms but this is a very serious matter. Mr. Hemmings, is there anything you'd like to say before we get started?" She asks and I've never seen his face so stern as he stood from his seat.

"I love my... my child. And I love their mother. And I've already missed out on so much. I don't wanna have to choose between my family and my fans." His eyes dart to me so fast I don't even think Bailey noticed and he's having a hard time keeping his eyes away.

I try to maintain a straight face but what he said really moved me. I'd be lying if I said pushing him away was still an easy task but that doesn't mean I'll stop trying. At least until the fear of all of this backfiring leaves my head.

"That was beautiful." Bailey breaks the silence but is immediately given a stern glare by Margaret.

"As beautiful a that notion was, we still have to come to a conclusion about what's to be done. How do you even know this child is actually yours? Did the mother tell you herself? And how does she even know? Why did you two split and furthermore, how do you know her intentions are true? These are all things you have to think about in regards to yourself. And what about your band mates? Where do they stand on the matter?" She asks directly to the others.

"We're beside him 100%." Ashton speaks up and Luke smiles. A small grin pulls at the corners of my lips but I push it down. Everything Margaret said is valid. If I were anyone else these things wouldn't be red flags, they'd be screaming fire sirens. But I'll admit I am curious to hear his rebuttal.

"I wouldn't have posted that message if any of those things were a concern to me." I force myself to hold in my gasp but I can tell Bailey noticed the flinch in my posture. "It may be a complicated story but it's easy to explain. First off, it was the band that noticed the striking similarities between the child and I. And when I saw the mothers expression when we ran into each other her intentions couldn't have been more clear. I wasn't supposed to know. But I'm not an idiot. It was easy to put together. And we split because..." his eyes fall on me and linger but I break contact immediately. "Because I was childish, and selfish. Enough said."

"Can any of you vouch for him?" She asks.

"I can." Calum stood up. "Luke and I share a room at the hotel. He was restless waiting for a response. Countless women were messaging him and he went through them all hoping the true mother of his child was there. I even have the screenshot." He digs into his pocket and pulls out his phone. I freeze solid as he hands it to Margaret. *Margaret knows my Twitter.* is all I could think.

"Luke," She begins reading out loud. "I've already told you, you don't have to do this.?" She finishes my sentence as a question before looking up at a frowning Luke in shock.

"Keep reading, don't mind the crossed out names and information, she wanted their identities to remain secret." Calum instructs and she continues.

"Blank and I have done just fine these past 4 years and if you just rethink this nothing has to change. You can go on with your life and pretend you never knew us. You can even say that the woman you thought was your child's mother was a liar. Anything is fine as long as our identities remain anonymous. But please, don't make a decision you're not ready to make. My address is Blank if you want, you can come say goodbye, just please, I'm begging you, if he's really what you want he'd need 100% of you." She finishes, putting the phone down and drying her eyes. Bailey was also a bit misty eyed by my message. "A son?" Her nose sounds stuffed.

"Yes, a beautiful son. Smart, brave, and a perfect mix of me and his mother."

"I assume you went to see her?"

"I did. I took Mona along with me to show her that E..." He begins and I can't stop myself from shaking my head no. Thank goodness I remembered to be subtle. "E-e-verything was fine and our relationship wouldn't be swayed by the news." Bailey's eyes shoot to me and I can see what's going on behind his eyes. He's putting to together for himself.

"And how did that go?"

"We aren't together anymore. Because of her own actions. Not the mother. She made it clear that she wanted me to forget everything but I couldn't bring myself to do that." He admits.

"So what do you plan to do?"

"Every month to every other month I'm going to fly them out to me, wherever we are. And I'll pay for it all out of my paycheck." He declares and it's the straw to break the camels back.

"What?" My hands fly up to my mouth as regret seeps in. Margaret and Bailey whip their heads to me. Margaret in confusion and Bailey with a smirk of confirmation across his face.

"Emily?" Margaret asks.

"I..." I stammer but come up short. Unfortunately Luke continues.

"You heard right. And if you're wondering, I've had this in mind the whole time. From the moment I recorded that message. The lads and I talked it over and they're all on board with the idea. We just needed a yes from management." He continues as he leaves his spot at the table and approaches me as if we're not standing in front of our boss and coworkers. "I want to prove to you that I'm in this til the end, Emily. Forget who knows. If they have a problem with us and the beautiful son we created then it's my job as the father of our son and the man you need to protect the both of you. So every month, I want to fly you and Cass out to stay with me for a whole week. And if I can't, every two months for two weeks." I know everything aside from my cheeks has gone pale.

"Luke, what are you doing?" Is all my shaken voice can muster.

"Proving How much my family means to me." He says turning to Margaret. "Mrs. McRoy, because you are on our management staff and are also Emily's superior I would appreciate it if you kept this knowledge confidential when bringing the subject to Mr. Williams and Ms. Crest." He asks and Margaret and Bailey look dumbfounded.

"Is... is this true Emily? Are you and your son really the mysterious family Luke's been talking about?" She asks and all I can do is nod.

"I KNEW IT! OMG, Emily, I'm So Happy For You!" Bailey rushes to hug me and instead of scolding him like she usually does, Margaret lets him have the moment and smiles at me.

"There was never a doubt in my mind that you were an amazing mother, and this all proves it. You were willing to sacrifice your happiness to protect sweet, little Cass. So you should be the one to decide. Do you except Luke's offer?" She asks and I scan the room. All eyes are on me, with the word "yes" flashing through them.

And I want to say yes, I really do, but I need to think it over, to sleep on it. It's all going so fast. Would I be letting him off easy if I said yes? Would I be stubborn if I said no? Would he just leave like he did before if I said yes? Would he understand if I said no?
My head is spinning and I'm getting dizzy. I feel an arm steady me and pull me into a rock hard chest.

When I refocus, its Luke holding me and everyone's expressions have morphed into concern.

"I know it's a lot. You don't have to decide now. But the offer is always open and when management says yes—and I know they will—I'll pay for everything. All you'll need to do is relax." He assures me and I take a deep breath.

"I'll think about it." I finally speak.