Sage

Chapter Forty Seven

"That girl is embarrassing me. Us!" Nicole shrieked as she sat before a vanity mirror in the hotel suite they accommodated with her husband.

She was dressed in a long cream satin robe after spending some time in a bubbled tub. Her hair was tied up loosely on her head as she uncapped a vanilla-scented lotion bottle and spurted a small amount onto her palm before rubbing her hands together to moisturize her arms.

Brian, who was in long red silk pyjama pants and a white cotton vest was laid back in the big bed, reading a sports magazine. For once he wasn't working and he planned on indulging in the free time he had.

"Why do you care so much?" He simply asked without looking up from the magazine.

Nicole snapped back at him, "That's our daughter," she huffed. The baby growing inside her had her fatigued most times and she wanted the pregnancy to be over already.

"You mean yours, my baby is in there baking," Brian smirked.

Nicole grew frustrated at Brian's chilled energy and the manner in which he spoke since they arrived here, she failed to fathom it, "Why are you so relaxed?" She got off the cushioned chair and walked to the bed.

After much shuffling, she found a comfortable position to sit in then she focused on her husband, "Not that I'm complaining, I'm confused," she added.

Brian put the magazine down, "I might retire soon," he smiled.

Nicole was shocked, "What?"

"If all goes well with my meeting tomorrow, I'll be done with work in a couple of months," he spoke comfortably.

"You're too young, what about-"

"All that is sorted, I've got more than enough to take care of us for the rest of our lives," he said.

Nicole wasn't convinced but she kept quiet. She studied her husband's face and realised his face was not tense as usual, he resembled a kid with life in his eyes.

She wanted to be happy but something within denied her this, she felt like something was about to go terribly wrong.

...

Ashley paced in her bedroom, her legs felt weak yet carried her as she couldn't sit still.

The papers she received from the hospital lay on her bed, along with medication. Her head was pounding from the crying she lulled herself to sleep with the previous night.

She always had a plan, a solution to whatever problem tried to put her down but she had nothing.

Her lower body gave in and she fell to the floor, she thought of how nobody would love her now. She'll lose Aiden.

Anger replaced her sadness when she thought of André, it was his fault. That man taunted her from his grave.

She rocked back and forth, trying to come up with a solution. She had to find a way to keep Aiden, even with the disease she's carrying. He should have it too, regarding they recently had unprotected sex.

Then a light bulb went off above her head, she had a way to keep him.

She smiled at this idea, feeling the emotions shed off her. She crawled to her bed to take her phone, then she dialed Aiden's number, allowing it to ring for a few seconds.

"Ashley, you good?"

...

"That woman has some nerve," Morris spoke to Priscilla who was seated on their bed, attempting to nap but her husband was still riled up.