SEBASTIAN & JORAAN
“My sweet love and I are going to be fathers,” Sebastian announced, lightly caressing Joraan’s hand. “I understand the two of you are overwhelmed with joy and left speechless, but still, it would be nice to congratulate us,” his voice dripped sarcasm when he spoke to Alastair and the Duke of Sandrigham.
“I’m happy for you, of course,” his uncle was the first who reacted, “but shouldn’t you get married first, so the adoption could go smoother? I mean, there is a ton of paperwork to push around as it is, not to mention...”
“Thank you for the concern, Uncle Alastair,” Sebastian spoke in the same sarcastic voice from earlier, “but these things are not your business. However, it’s my pleasure to inform you that the mother we chose is almost four months pregnant, and we will have twins.”
“Four months? But you only know each other for about half a year, you should have waited a little more, to know each other better, to... Honestly, the decision of getting married only after a month since you met each other for the first time is a very hasty one, seeing that you both are still so...”
There was no criticism in Alastair’s voice, only concern and something else Sebastian couldn’t put the finger on exactly. It was a mixture of worry and fear, like the man was trying to warn his nephew about something, but the young man stopped caring about what his uncle did and said, so he decided to attack him.
“So what? So young, so irresponsible, would you care to explain to us how we are, uncle? Do you need to be reminded that I was sixteen and a half when you and this aristocratic husband of yours promised my hand in marriage to a man seven years older than me? Or that you were married at nineteen with someone twice your age?” Anger started to bubble inside Sebastian, threatening to erupt.
“My fiancee is right, Mister Stark, Your Grace,” Joraan, who since then didn’t say a word, flatly spoke. “Not only that both of you treated him so horrible in the past, selling him to the richest, most influential suitor, but you are trying to control his actions even now, when he’s about to get married and become a father. Can’t you be happy for him, just once?”
“Mister Van Sloot, I had a better impression of you,” Sylvester, Duke of Sandrigham, croaked from his place at the end of the table. “You were a fine, respectful, young gentleman when you first came into this house, but my husband’s nephew and his rebellious ways had a bad influence on you.”
“I’m glad the impact my beloved soon-to-be husband had on me produced such noticeable changes,” Joraan smiled charmingly in the older couple’s direction, “and I’ll always be eternally grateful to you for making it possible for our meeting.”
“Come on, my sweet love,” Sebastian left his seat, going behind Joraan’s chair, “let’s go, there’s nothing for us here. I won’t stay a second more in a place where my future husband is insulted and humiliated. See you at the wedding, if you would bother to come, of course.”
“But of course I’ll come,” Alastair also left his seat, heading to the young couple, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Even if you don’t believe me, Sebastian, I’m really happy for you,” he continued in a warm voice that, although sincere, sounded somehow off.
The young man looked at his uncle, at the tiredness in those emerald-green eyes, at the man’s posture and body language, that screamed need of attention and affection. Since the events two and a half years earlier, a subtle, but noticeable change occurred in Alastair’s attitude. Lately, he started to become mellower, softer around the edges, but for Sebastian, the change didn’t mean anything.
After the wedding, he and Joraan decided to move to Pretoria, and live a quiet, peaceful life, far away from his family’s poisonous influence, with the support and unconditional love of Commissioner Jaap Van Sloot. The man considered the young Bloom as the second son, and was already beyond thrilled at the perspective of becoming a grandfather.
The young couple already found a cozy house, that was nothing like the Sandrigham residence in New York City, a place of opulence, but cold and without a soul, exactly like its owners. In spite of looking relatively small on the outside, it was spacious enough to comfortably accommodate a family of four, with each of the twins having their own rooms once they would grow up.
Once Alastair got back into the house, after saying goodbye to Sebastian and Joraan, he went straight into his office, leaving the Duke to finish his breakfast alone. Getting himself busy with filling boring paperwork was the only way for the man to forget what a failure his whole life was.
Meanwhile, Sylvester Sandrigham continued to eat, seemingly undisturbed by his husband’s absence. But he stopped after several minutes, frustrated that he had no one to take his nerves out on, the earlier confrontation with Sebastian Bloom leaving him irritated. The Duke left his imposing, sculptured chair, intending to go upstairs and barge into Alastair’s office, when the buzz of the phone stopped him in his tracks.
“Hello, Your Grace, James Weldon here,” Sylvester heard the sickening-sweet voice of one of the numerous obscure lawyers he kept at hand for less legit business. “I have news for you, I located the woman.”
“The one who carries my husband’s nephew’s twins? I want details,” the Duke demanded, trying to hide the excitement in his voice.
“Yes, that one,” Weldon confirmed, sensing the satisfaction in his prominent client’s voice. “Her name is Rachel Harrison, twenty-five years old, she works as a nurse at the “Angels of Mercy,” and lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment. No known relatives, no pets,” the lawyer said in a professional voice.
“A poor girl, all alone in this cruel world,” the Duke sarcastically said, “isn’t it just perfect? Speaking of, I don’t think she makes a lot of money working in that horrible place, where only the poorest of the poor come to get treated. Did you approach her?”
“Not yet, Your Grace, because the potential parents were still hesitating, and there was no point in troubling the waters without having a final answer. However, now that they finally decided to go for it, I’ll get in touch with the girl as soon as possible.
“Good,” Sylvester rubbed his hands in a gesture of satisfaction, “I knew I can count on you. Now, what can you tell me about the parents-to-be?”
“They are married for just a couple of months, but are already desperate to have children, because that whole family is engaged in a contest of “let’s see who gets his wife pregnant first.” Besides, the wifey got some bad news regarding her capacity to conceive. All those elements made the Van Houtens the ideal candidates for our little charity project.”
“Van Houten,” the Duke frowned, “the name sounds awfully familiar, but I don’t know where I’ve heard it.”
“Simon Van Houten, the lucky father-to-be, inherited the biggest construction company in Massachusetts from his father, five years ago. For now, he’s the only owner, but, according to his grandfather’s will, if an heir, regardless of sex, isn’t produced until Simon reaches the age of twenty-seven, two years from now, his cousin becomes an associate in the company.”
“Hmmm, that explains the haste,” Sylvester Sandrigham rubbed his hands again. ”What did you get on the wife?”
“Wilhelmina Wainright, Timothy and Elisa’s Wainright only child. The mother comes from the main line of the Stansfield family, old money...”
“I know who she is,” the Duke said, his face illuminated by a strange smile. “Oh, my dear mister Weldon, I don’t know how to thank you for the effort you put in taking care of this little business for me!”
“Oh, don’t mention it, Your Grace, working for someone as important as you it’s a huge honor,” the lawyer spoke, politely and humbly. “I’m going to approach the Harisson girl, then get in touch with the Van Houtens again. I’ll let you know as soon as I have news from them.”
“Please, do so. Have a nice day, Mister Weldon, and thank you for everything,” the Duke said, ending the call.
Then, he went into the living-room, taking a seat in his favorite, massive, antique armchair, a symbol of the Sandrighams’ wealth and status. Finally, Sylvester sighed, almost relieved, he will be avenged for all the insults that spoiled brat Sebastian was throwing in his direction over the last two months.
The little insolent will be heartbroken, mourning the death of one of his two precious children, while he will stay in the first row, enjoying the show. Eventually, he and the other defiant, disrespectful youngster will become estranged, maybe they would even divorce from one another. It will be the beginning of the end for the Bloom and Stark clans, Sylvester thought.
As a descendent of one of the oldest British aristocratic families, the Duke couldn’t stand to see how others, of plebeian origins, gained a lot of money, influence and power, while the prestige and fortune of the Sandrighams lessened from one generation to another. He was born into opulence and luxury, but the mentality of his father and grandfather before him contributed to the financial ruin of the family.
When Sylvester encountered and later married young and inexperienced, but immensely rich Alastair Stark, the man thought he finally hit the jackpot, but his husband’s old uncles doublecrossed him. The old rascals twisted his hand in accepting the three orphaned Bloom children as part of the deal, and, for fourteen years, he had to witness how the three snotty kids became the center of his husband’s universe.
One was already out of the picture, and the other, the older one, was too compliant, Sylvester had no pleasure in seeing him suffer. With Sebastian, however, was an entirely different story, as the Duke felt an utter satisfaction every time he looked in those sad eyes, when he saw the paleness of the boy’s cheeks, his tightly sealed, almost white lips.
He recovered every time life knocked him down, much to Sylvester’s disappointment. This time, however, everything was going to be different, the little defiant creature will learn where his place was. And he will enjoy seeing the goddamn orphan boy crawling into a hole and never getting out of there.
In the evening, after a nerve-racking, full day, spent mainly choosing the decor, the flowers and deciding on the menu for the wedding, the two young fiancees finally arrived at Joraan’s apartment. The day Sebastian proposed and he accepted, the redhead also suggested they should move in together.
At first, the black-haired boy hesitated, thinking about his little cousin, who would have to live in that toxic atmosphere without anyone by his side. However, the Commissioner convinced him to accept, saying that, once he and Joraan got married, Sebastian could easily file for Bayan’s guardianship, if he would be mistreated by his uncle and the Duke.
And so, to Alastair’s great surprise and shock, his nephew packed all his belongings, emptying the room, and left without a word, taking advantage of the fact that Bayan was at school. However, he was calling the kid at least three times a day, checking on him, listening to his amusing stories from school and having as much fun as they could.
Sebastian was intending to do the same thing that evening, after taking a shower, to wash away the stickiness and sweat. Joraan was laying on the bed, wearing a baggy,comfortable cotton t-shirt and a pair of pajama shorts, when his phone signaled an incoming message. The redhead started to text back, hitting the send button just when his fiancee stepped inside the bedroom, also fully dressed.
“Was that Bayan?” Sebastian asked, knowing that the kid loved Joraan almost as much as him. “That kid! Couldn’t he wait for a little bit more?”
“No, it was Rachel,” the redhead answered, grinning. “You know that your cousin always waits for you to finish the beauty ritual,” he winked.
“Rachel? What happened? Is something wrong with the babies?” Sebastian panicked when he heard Joraan mentioning the name of the surrogate mother, ignoring his playful tone.
“Hey, big guy, relax, everything is alright, Rachel is doing great, and so are the babies. She just messaged to tell us she’ll be out of the city over the weekend, because her Boston cousins are home after a long time.”
“I had no idea, she never mentioned any living relatives during the two rounds of interviews. And even if Rachel had cousins in Boston, why didn’t they travel to New York City? Spending so much time on board a plane, in her condition...”
“Take it easy, Seb, she’s only four months into the pregnancy, traveling by plane is not dangerous at all, not in this stage. We had read about it, remember? Don’t let the paranoia take over you, we’ll have enough time for this when our daughters will start dating...”
“Daughters? Who says they are going to be girls? Us Blooms make beautiful sons, and so do the Van Sloots. However, if the children are girls, they won’t be getting out of the house until they are twenty-one. Problem solved!” Sebastian said, a grin of satisfaction spread all over his beautiful face.
“Oh, yes? In this case, brace yourself for a life of total chastity, because you won”t get any until our daughters turn twenty-one,” Joraan replied, an adorable grin on his face. “Problem solved, Mister Authoritative Daddy!”
“I can’t wait until the two of us are married, and I’ll show you how a Daddy acts,” Sebastian plopped down on the bed, wrapping his arms around the redhead and inhaling his scent. “Oh, sweet love, I can’t wait to be with you, to see this beautiful face of yours every morning when I wake up, to be one, body, spirit and mind.”
“You know, we don’t have to wait until we are married to...you know...” Joraan lowered his gaze, blushing violently.
“I’ll wait,” Sebastian said, his voice soft, but categoric at the same time. “One day, I’ll tell you the reason behind my decision, but for now, we should go to bed. It’s getting late and we are both exhausted.”
The redhead nodded, smiling, and slid under the light cover, followed by the raven-haired young man, who turned around so he could face his fiancee. Cupping his face, the young Bloom placed a chaste kiss on Joraan’s lips, then did the same with his cheeks, eyes, forehead and temples. The other reciprocated, completing their good night ritual since they were living together.
In the luxurious Sandrigham mansion, dinner was over by quite some time, and Bayan got permission from his uncle to go upstairs, into his room, much to Sylvester’s relief, who detested the little Eurasian even more than he hated the Bloom brothers. From his sculptured chair, the Duke was examining his husband, who didn’t notice, completely absorbed in the book he was reading.
At thirty-four, Alastair Stark was a very good-looking man, with his rusty-red hair and emerald-green eyes, full, sensual lips and majestic body posture. Living a spartan life since childhood, he didn’t find pleasure in refined food and drinks, never allowing himself to indulge in the pleasures they offered.
Even at the elitist social gatherings he had to accompany the Duke to, Alastair barely tasted the food, and, when he had to drink, his lips only touched the liquid in the glass. For Sylvester, his husband remained a mystery even after fifteen years of marriage. So fragile and flexible, but extremely hard at the same time, the man was the obedient, compliant little thing the Duke wanted to turn him into.
Sometimes, however, he wondered if that wasn’t simply an act, if Alastair wasn’t simulating it, if the man he was married to hadn’t a hidden agenda and was only waiting for the perfect moment to take his revenge. The Duke was terrified at the prospect of a divorce, especially since his husband hadn’t any reasons to stay in the marriage anymore.
That’s why he had to take action first, Sylvester thought, taking another look at the younger man’s concentrated expression. When everything would go downhill, that spoiled brat Sebastian would blame his uncle, who manifested hostility from the start at the idea of him having children.
“Alastair,” he said in an unusually soft voice, making the other man flinch in surprise, “I’ve been thinking a lot today about this situation with your nephew and his fiancee having children of their own. You know what I feel about young Sebastian’s reckless behavior and condemnable acts, but that is in the past.”
“Your Grace,” the man raised his head from the book, giving the Duke a serious, somewhat stern look, “I’m not against them adopting or having children from their own flesh and blood, but not so soon. They still don’t know each other very well, are not even married yet, my nephew proposed hastily...”
“Oh, come on, my sweet Alastair, don’t you remember how it was in our case? I fell for you from the first time the two of us met, and, two months later, you were my husband. Leaving his chair, the Duke went to his husband, touching his face with the tips of his fingers. “Did you already forget?” he asked in a sweet, shaky voice.
“How could I?” Alastair gazed into Sylvester’s eyes, his long, silky lashes moist with tears. “You were the only person in my life who showed me love and kindness,” he whispered, “and I’ll always be grateful to you for that.”
“I would also have offered you the family and children you were longing for, but we both knew it wasn’t possible. You were to become the little Blooms’ guardian when you turned twenty-one, and it wouldn’t have been fair for the poor orphans. They couldn’t compete with your own children for a place in your heart, they would have lost from the start,” the Duke continued on the same sweet note.
“Why... Your Grace, I didn’t know you felt this way, why did you never tell me?” Alastair said, his voice a mixture of pain, regret, gratitude and adoration. If I only knew...”
“Hush now, my little one, and go to bed, you look exhausted and tomorrow will be a hard day, as you will have to spend it in the company of those Washington morons. I’ll join you in a few minutes, there’s still something I have to take care of,” the Duke caressed his husband’s face again, smiling gently.
Alastair nodded, a barely there smile playing on his delicious lips, and, after putting the book aside, headed to the stairs without a word. As soon as he was out of sight, the smile on Sylvester’s face turned into an ugly rictus. That romantic idiot was so easy to fool, theDuke thought, with only a few sweet words and a light touch on the cheek he was down on his knees.
As he was reading the message that Weldon lawyer sent him, the nobleman started to wonder if sweet-talking Alastair wouldn’t have been a more effective strategy of getting what he wanted from the start. However, he pushed the thought in the back of his mind, as the message was of a greater interest to him.
According to the lawyer, that Hanson woman agreed to fly to Boston and meet the Van Houtens. Weldon was assuring the Duke that, once she would meet them, the surrogate mother of Sebastian’s children would like the couple instantly. He was also saying that her decision was influenced by the opportunity to stay with her son, raising him as his nanny.
The two young men, she said when discussing with the lawyer’s assistant, didn’t want the mother to be part of the children’s life, so they paid her a considerable amount to sign a parental rights termination agreement, once the babies would be born. That clause broke her heart, the woman said, but there was nothing she could do to change her situation.
At that point, the Duke really, sincerely appreciated Weldon’s cleverness, because he thought of every possible obstacle in the way of the process and found the best solutions for each. The lawyer was really good at tricky business, and he was surely going to recommend him to everyone who may need the kind of services he provided.
With great satisfaction, Sylvester read the last part of the message, where the other arrangements Weldon thought about were mentioned. The Van Houtens were going to stay at one of New York’s most luxurious hotels, in a suite, in complete isolation, with a whole team of doctors at their disposal.
As for the clinic where the birth was going to take place, it was a very discreet and comfortable facility, ran by a certain Doctor Sherwood, a still young, but very ambitious man. He specialized in helping rich women deliver the fruits of their illicit affairs or getting rid of them.
As the Duke finished reading the message, he let out a breath he didn”t know he was holding. Everything was going to be perfect, he just had to play the more tolerant and understanding husband and step-uncle for about five months. It was going to be hard, but not impossible, especially since the pain and tears of the young couple, his sweet reward, was going to compensate for the effort.
At Joraan’s apartment, the two fiancees were sleeping peacefully, smiling, dreaming of a happy life with their precious babies. In their blissful innocence, Sebastian and Joraan had no idea that the beautiful dream was going to turn into a nightmare in less than five months. The dark spider had woven its web, and the innocent, oblivious prey was about to be trapped in it.