Billionaire Temptations: Rich, Ruthless & Obsessed

Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

FIVE MONTHS LATER

As I stood in the shower, I placed my hands on my rapidly growing belly. Last night was the first time I felt the baby kick. It was the most amazing feeling in the world, and the fact that another human being was growing inside of me had become more real. After showering, I dressed and headed to Kara and Molly’s apartment. They both took the day off to accompany me to my ultrasound. Since Aubrey had court, she was going to try to meet us there. The three of them had been so supportive of me, and even though I still thought about Max, it started to hurt less every day. I sometimes questioned whether or not I made the right decision by not telling him about the baby. Feelings of guilt settled inside of me from time to time, but I had to remember that he had left for a reason.

I was finishing up my second semester at Parsons, and things were going well. I had the support of Hannah and Austin, and our circle of friends grew. I kept waiting for the day when I’d run into Fiona or Max’s parents. Thank God that hadn’t happened yet, but I did have my story all made up and ready to be delivered when the time came. Kara had met a man named Billy, and they had been seeing each other for about a month. Aubrey had been on a few dates with Glenn, one of the lawyers from her firm. Molly was still waiting for her Prince Charming to show up, and I had sworn off all men.

I lay on the table with Molly, Kara, and Aubrey by my side as Dr. Richardson, my OB/GYN, pressed the wand across my abdomen. Seeing my baby at this stage for the first time brought tears to my eyes. That was my baby. The one person that I would nurture, love, and teach for the rest of my life.

“Would you like to know the sex?” he asked.

“Really? You know?” I asked in excitement.

“Yes. I can tell you now if you’d like.”

I looked at the girls as they squeezed my hand and nodded their heads.

“Yes. I would like to know.”

“Congratulations, Emma. You’re going to have a daughter.”

Tears started to fall from my eyes as everyone in the room squealed.

“Oh my God, we’re having a girl!” Molly exclaimed.

“She looks very healthy, and she’s growing right on schedule. I’ll see you in a month for your checkup.” He smiled as he left the room.

Kara took my hand and helped me up from the table. As happy as I was to find out that my baby was healthy, I was secretly excited that I was going to have a daughter. Having the girls with me made for a fun day, but I couldn’t help but feel a little sad that Max wasn’t there to hear the news.

“Now that you know what the baby is, we can start working on the nursery.” Aubrey smiled.

“Just think about how fun it’s going to be to pick out girly things,” Kara spoke.

I Facetimed my mom and held up the picture of the ultrasound. She started to cry when she saw it and even more when I told her she was going to have a granddaughter. Since the diner was short on waitresses, she couldn’t get to New York like she wanted to, but she promised she’d be here when the baby was born. As I sat up in bed, I placed my headphones on my stomach and played some classical lullabies by Mozart while I read my book What to Expect When You’re Expecting . My phone beeped, so I reached for it on the nightstand, and my heart began to pound fiercely.

“I miss you, Emma.”

I stared at those four words for a long time before I deleted his message. Why was he messaging me now? I wasn’t going back down that road because I was finally healing, and he wasn’t going to fuck with my life or my heart ever again.

The next day, I met the girls for dinner at Carmine’s on 44 th Street. I had a huge craving for pasta and couldn’t be satisfied quickly enough. When I walked in, they were already sitting in a booth, sipping on their wine.

“Hey.” I smiled as I slid in next to Aubrey.

The waitress walked over, and I ordered a glass of water.

“God, I can’t wait to drink alcohol again. You’re never going to believe what happened last night.”

“What? Are you okay?” Aubrey asked with concern.

“Max sent me a text message telling me that he missed me.”

“Shut up!” Molly exclaimed.

“What did you say to him?” Kara asked.

“Nothing. I deleted the message because I’m not responding.”

Aubrey placed her hand on my arm. “Listen, Emma, and please don’t get mad at me for saying this. You know how much I love you. You’re my best friend. In fact, we’re all like sisters. You never confessed your feelings to Max. You never told him that you loved him and that you wanted him to stay. You never had that talk with him before the planned break up. Maybe things would have been different if you had told him how you felt.”

“He knew, Aubrey. He even said in his letter that he knew he hurt me, and he hoped that one day I could forgive him. He knew I was falling in love with him and said he wasn’t the man for me. He said he was flawed, and I deserved someone flawless. His words, not mine. Why would he say that if he didn’t know?”

“Maybe you’re right, and maybe the two of you need to talk. You are having his baby.”

I began to get mad. What the fuck was Aubrey’s problem? She was supposed to be on my side. Not his.

“So you’re taking his side?” I snapped.

“No, Emma. I’m not taking anyone’s side. I’m just saying the two of you need to talk about your feelings before you can just dismiss him from your life forever.”

“Then he shouldn’t have been such a coward and left me a letter.”

“At least he gave you that. What if he just disappeared without saying a word?”

Kara and Molly sat across the table and didn’t say anything. They just watched us talk back and forth while they ate their dinner.

“Do you agree with her?” I asked as I looked at them. “Well, do you?”

“Some of the things she said make sense,” Kara replied.

“I still think he’s an asshole, and I’m one hundred percent on your side, Emma,” Molly chimed in.

“Thank you.” I held up my glass of water. I sighed. Maybe Aubrey had a point.

“Listen, I get what you’re saying, but I knew how he felt about relationships. He point blankly told me he had no desire to be tied down to one woman for the rest of his life and play the happy little married couple with the perfect family. He said he didn’t need some girl trying to control him. How would I have looked if I told him that I was falling in love with him? It would have made things awkward between us for the time we had left, and he didn’t give me a chance to say anything. I was going to tell him that morning how I felt.” I wiped a tear that started to fall.

“It’s not too late to tell him,” Aubrey said as she grabbed my hand. “He said he missed you. That should say something.”

“Things are different now. I’m over him, and I have the baby to think about. I’m going to head home now. I’m really tired, and my back is hurting.”

Aubrey reached over and placed her arm around me, pulling me into her. “I’m sorry if I upset you. I’m just looking out for you.”

“You didn’t, and I’m fine. I just need some time to think, that’s all. I’ll talk to you all later.”

As I walked down the street, the window display at Baby Bellini caught my eye. I walked inside the boutique and over to the crib set that was displayed in the window, a mix of soft pink, gray, and white. It was love at first sight, and the thought of mixing vintage-inspired accessories in the room flooded my mind. The kind sales lady and I talked for several minutes about the quality of the bedding as well as the crib that displayed it. There was no doubt in my mind that this was what I wanted. I purchased the bedding as well as the Simmons White Ambiance crib and matching Simmons White Ambiance double dresser. The bedding was available to take home, and the furniture would be delivered in a couple of weeks. I left the store and stood on the sidewalk, trying to hail a cab with my large bags in hand. A black limousine pulled up, and the passenger’s window rolled down.

“Emma?”

I looked inside and swallowed hard.

“Darren. Hi.”

He got out of the limo and walked around to the other side. He looked at my bulging stomach and then up at me. Tears formed in my eyes.

“Get in, and I’ll drive you home.” He took the bags from me and put them in the trunk.

I slid into the backseat and thought of at least fifty lies to tell him.

“Is it his?” he asked as he pulled away from the curb.

“Yes.” There go my lies . I couldn’t lie to him. He was Darren, and I always liked him. I always felt we had a special connection. “You can’t tell him, Darren. Please,” I pleaded.

“No worries, Emma. I won’t.”

He didn’t say another word after that. Once he pulled up to my apartment building, he took my bags from the trunk and carried them upstairs to my apartment.

“You can set them on the floor. Thanks again. Would you like some coffee?” I asked.

He looked at his watch and then at me with a small smile. “Sure. I have time before I pick up Mr. and Mrs. Delaney.”

“Is that who you’re working for now?”

He took a seat on the stool at the counter and interlaced his fingers. “I work for a lot of people now. When they need rides, they call me directly. How are you truly doing, Emma?”

“I’m okay.” I set the coffee down in front of him. “Did you take Max to the airport that morning?”

He took a sip of his coffee and wrapped his hands around the mug. “Yes, I did, and believe me when I tell you that he was broken up. I’d never seen him like that before.”

I rolled my eyes. “I doubt that. He left a letter, Darren. A damn letter.”

“I know he did, and I told him that it was the wrong thing to do and that he should have spoken to you in person. But he’s Max Hamilton, and nobody tells him anything. You’re not telling him about the baby?”

“There’s no point now. I’m sure he’s living his dream in Chicago and running his successful new business. The last thing he needs is to be tied down with the responsibility of a kid.”

“What about your dream?”

“I’m living my dream one day at a time. I have great friends here who will help out, and I have my classes. Believe it or not, Darren, things are really good,” I lied. “Max sent me a text message last night, telling me that he missed me.”

“I see. Remember when I told you when I first met you that sometimes people need to fall on their own in order to learn a valuable life lesson?”

“Yeah.”

“I think Max fell the day he left that letter under your door.”

“I don’t know, but I can’t worry about him anymore. If he wanted to stay and be with me, he would have.”

He looked down at his coffee cup. “Do you know what you’re having?”

I smiled. “I’m having a girl.”

“Ah. She’ll be just as beautiful as her mother. I better go. I don’t want to pick up Mr. and Mrs. Delaney late and then have them not hire me again.”

“Thanks for the ride and the chat, Darren.” I gave him a hug.

“Take care of yourself and that baby girl of yours. You have my number. Call me if you need anything at all.”

“I will.”