Chapter 26 Nicolas
nicolas
Benjamin
Zo’s here, with Ang, by the way.
I wasn’t sure if I should tell you, but…
Nicolas
I appreciate it. How’s she doing?
Not great.
You fucked up.
Believe me, I know.
You need to tell her how you feel.
I was working on that.
Not hard enough.
She needs the grand gesture, alright? She deserves that. Because she’s worth it.
Always has been.
How much was I worth to you? How much was this marriage worth to you?
Those words felt like a dagger to my heart, because all I wanted was to be there for her. To be the one to bring her comfort and joy.
I wasn’t supposed to be the one causing her pain.
We’d agreed to share all of life’s challenges together when we got married. I knew more than ever that I needed to prove to Zofia just how real this was to me.
After last night, I never wanted to sleep anywhere except beside her for the rest of my life.
I wanted her to be my wife in every way possible. For her to know that this was more than fake. That for me, it always had been.
The contract may have been the way we got together, but it wasn’t our love story. I thought about all the nights we’d spent together, listening to her talk about her dreams for the future.
And yesterday, when she’d asked me about kids, I’d felt so confused. Because how long had I imagined us welcoming a child into the world, one that was half her and half me? And now I knew for sure—I wanted it more than anything.
It had been too much to ever expect from a contractual marriage.
A real one, though?
Yeah, I wanted nothing more than to have a baby with my wife.
To be a family. The family that I’d never had.
She believed in me. Believed I’d be a good father. And I wanted to prove her right.
But I also needed to show her how much I loved her—how much I cared for her.
I needed a grand gesture so she knew just how serious I was, how much she meant to me.
Was this big enough?
The proposal was spread out across my desk, and I’d already gotten a sign off from the board for the new position. Which meant all that was left was telling Zofia, and hoping she didn’t hate it.
Hoping it was enough.
I was anxious, wondering if I’d made the right decision.
Over the last year, working side by side with her as my assistant had been more than I could ever expect, and I’d loved every minute.
Every work dinner, every time I’d taken her out to lunch, just as an excuse to spend more time with her.
It had all been worth it, because it had brought us here, married and living together.
Nicolas
It’s grand gesture time.
I’m going to do it. Going to tell her how much she means to me.
Benjamin
You got this, buddy.
Hunter
Agreed. Don’t let her go, Nic.
Matthew
If you need to punch her ex, I also vote for that. It worked for me.
Nicolas
No one’s punching anyone.
Hopefully.
“You really ready to do this, Nic?” Benjamin asked, clearing his throat. He had his hands shoved in his pockets as he stood in the doorway of my office.
I nodded. “You think she’ll be happy?” That was the most important part of this. I wanted her to love it. Needed it, actually.
“Angelina seems to think so.” He dipped his head at the papers. “How are you going to tell her?”
“The girls have impressed on me the importance of the grand gesture. So I was thinking over dinner. With some flowers. And getting down on my knees, begging for forgiveness.”
Benjamin chuckled. “I’ll never forget how nervous I was confessing my feelings to Angelina. But you got this.”
“My feelings?” I asked, staring at him, a disquieting feeling creeping down my back.
“My wife told me about your contract.” He slid his hand up over his jaw, rubbing it.
I froze. “She… what?” If she was bringing it up to someone else, did that mean she wanted it to end, for real?
There was no way I could let that happen.
“Zofia told her and Gabs the other day at lunch. I know this isn’t just about making her happy.”
“You’re right. I just…” I loosened my tie. “Fuck. We started this all wrong, but I don’t want to risk losing her. Not ever.”
“Because you love her.”
I looked up at him. “Yeah. I do.” It was so easy to say, now that I’d fully accepted my feelings. Only the person I wanted to say it to the most—my wife—wasn’t here.
“So, what are you waiting for? Go get your girl.”
“Thanks, Ben. I know we didn’t start off on the right foot, but I’m damn lucky to have you as a friend, and as my CFO.”
He grinned. “I know.”
Leaving him in my office, I headed out, needing to finalize all of my plans so I could surprise my girl. Because by the end of the day, that was what I wanted her to be.
Contractually or not, she was mine.
Everything was in place. I’d gotten us reservations for tonight, and picked up a dozen roses on the way back from the restaurant.
Angelina and Gabbi had even taken my info and made a slideshow for Zofia, though I wasn’t really sure what that was supposed to accomplish, I had to admit it was better than I could have done myself.
Zo hadn’t come into work yet today. I hoped she was feeling better, considering the bouts of nausea had still been plaguing her yesterday. If whatever was making her feel like this didn’t stop soon, I was going to take her to the doctor’s office.
Finally, in the late afternoon, there she was.
My wife.
Looking beautiful as ever, even in a pair of loose slacks with her hair down and a pair of flats.
The opposite of her usual outfits, and yet she still looked stunning.
I’d never told Zofia what she had to wear as my assistant, but over the last year, I’d observed just how much she loved her personal sense of style, whether it was traditional Tamil attire or her skirt suits and heels.
I waited for her to settle into her desk before deciding fuck it. I needed to see my wife. Needed to hold her. Needed the confirmation she was okay.
“Hey.” I stood in front of her desk, feeling apprehensive. “I’m sorry again about yesterday.”
Her eyes connected with mine, and I saw they were red. Had she been crying? “Me too.” Her eyes darted around. “Can we talk in your office?”
I nodded. “Of course.” I shoved my hands in my pockets, trying not to touch her. Trying to respect her space. It was a failing mission, of course.
“Gimme a second.” She wiped her eyes.
I reached down, pressing my forehead to hers. “Take your time, baby.”
She sucked in a breath, and I headed back into my office, trying not to pace nervously as I waited for my wife.
She was ending this. I didn’t know why I knew it, but I did.
She was going to tell me she couldn’t do this anymore.
I respected her decision, but I couldn’t let her go.
Not when I knew how good we were together.
Not when I loved her more than I’d ever loved someone.
Her soft voice brought me out of my spiral. “Hey,” she murmured, sitting down in the chair across my desk.
“Hi. Are you feeling better?”
Zofia gave me a small smile. “A little. Thank you.”
“Good.” I nodded.
She lifted a paper, placing it on my desk before sliding it over to me wordlessly.
“What is this?” I frowned, staring down at it.
“My resignation,” Zofia said. “I’m quitting.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “As my wife or my assistant?”
She furrowed her eyebrows in that adorable way she always did when she was frustrated with me. “Nicolas.”
“I don’t understand what I’m looking at.”
“My resignation,” she repeated. Like that helped at all. “Effective whenever I can have my replacement trained and ready to go.”
“Zo—” My palms were clammy. I couldn’t lose her. Not when she was the best damn thing that had ever happened to me. And if she was quitting this, quitting us, quitting me, how would I survive that?
She just shook her head. “I can’t be your assistant anymore, Nic. Not when…”
Standing up from my desk, I moved around to the other side to pull her into my arms.
My assistant—my wife. The woman I loved.
My everything. “I don’t care about you being my assistant,” I said against her hair.
“But I don’t want to lose you, gorgeous.
I can’t.” My throat wasn’t working properly, and I swallowed roughly.
“I know I should have told you about my inheritance, but the money doesn’t mean anything to me, honestly.
It wouldn’t make a difference in my life.
My dad’s been taunting me with it for years.
” I sighed. “I didn’t marry you because I wanted my inheritance.
I didn’t even marry you because I wanted the board to respect me.
I…” My palms were sweaty, and I loosened my tie around my neck.
“Don’t leave me,” I whispered, begged. “This is real to me. I want you in every way.”
“I’m not,” she promised, wrapping her arms around my middle as I buried my head in the crook of her neck. Inhaled her sweet smell that drove me wild and soothed my soul simultaneously. “I’m not leaving you, honey.”
“You’re not?” I pulled away, raising an eyebrow.
“No.” Her face split into a hesitant smile. Damn, but she was beautiful. And mine. “But I think it might be hard to be your assistant, your wife, and have your baby.”
I blinked. “What?” Sure, she’d asked me if I’d wanted kids yesterday, but we hadn’t talked about us having them.
But what if things changed? What if I decided I wanted to have kids?
I realized exactly what she was saying. She’d heard what I told my dad—out of resentment and frustration—and thought I meant it.
Zo wiggled out of my arms, bending down to grab something out of her purse I hadn’t even noticed she’d brought in—a white plastic stick.
A pregnancy test, I realized, as it was placed into my hands.
A positive pregnancy test.
“Really?” I blinked a few times, afraid I was going to wake up and find out this all was a dream. “You’re pregnant?” This was not the news I thought I was going to get today.
“I’m pregnant.” She confirmed, nodding. “I guess we weren’t as careful as we thought.
But I hadn’t been feeling well the last two weeks, and when I was talking to the girls and realized I’d missed my period, so I took a test.” Zofia bit her lip.
“I was going to tell you yesterday, before the whole thing with your dad happened. And then I was so freaked out about the whole thing, and how you’d said you didn’t want kids, and I-I panicked.
Angelina helped me realize the truth. I’m sorry if you’re upset, or you didn’t—”
A goofy smile spread over my face, cutting her off. “We’re having a baby? You’re really not leaving me?”
Zofia shook her head. “I thought you’d be upset. We used condoms religiously.”
Our eyes connected, and I knew what she was thinking and didn’t say. Except when I slid inside her bare, and it had felt so fucking perfect it had been hard not to come right then.
“I’m not upset,” I told her, picking her up and twirling her around, nuzzling my face into her curly hair. “I’m ecstatic. The woman I love is having my baby. Our baby.”
“The woman you love?” Her eyes were watery with unshed tears. “You love me?”
“How could I not?” I wiped under her eyes with my thumbs.
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.
And I don’t mean as my assistant. You reminded me what it was like to love.
To put someone before myself. You made me want to be a better man for you.
” I tucked a curl behind her ear. “And I tried to be careful with the condoms because I knew you weren’t on birth control, and I didn’t want to take a decision away from you, or make you feel trapped. ”
“Oh.”
“What I said yesterday was reckless. How do you feel about it?” I asked her, setting her back down on her feet. “It’s your body.”
More tears pooled in her eyes as she slid her hand over her stomach, still flat.
“I was in shock at first. That’s why I didn’t tell you yesterday.
But I want this. And not just because I realized I want to have a family—but because I want to have your baby,” she told me. “Because I want a family with you.”
“This baby is the biggest blessing I could have asked for,” I told her, nuzzling my nose against hers. “You’re the biggest blessing of my entire life, Zofia Larsen.”
Zofia let out a giggle. “Either way, I really can’t be your assistant now.”
“That’s okay,” I told her, meaning it. “I was actually working on something for you. I was going to surprise you with it tonight.”
“You were?” She frowned. “I thought—” Zofia shook her head. “It doesn’t matter now, I guess.”
I cupped her cheek, pressing a soft kiss to her lips.
“No, it doesn’t. And you’re too good for this job,” I told her, laughing.
“Always have been. Honestly, the only position that matters to me is you being mine. My wife. My best friend. My partner in life.” I rested my hand on her stomach. “The mother of my child.”
“That being said, I’ve been working on something, and I hope you’ll like it.” I pressed a button, and the lights in my office dimmed, the presentation the girls put together coming up on the screen.
“Company Event Planner?” she asked, reading the words. “Nic, what did you do?”
“I don’t want you to leave the company,” I said.
“I want you down the hall, where I can see you any time I want. But I want you to do something you love, too. You weren’t born to be an assistant, and we both know it.
Even if you’re the best damn one I’ve ever had.
And I realized, in this new era of the company, we needed someone to plan our events, just like the charity gala and work retreats.
And I can’t think of anyone better to do that than you. ”
“Nic…” Her hand was pressed over to her mouth. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “Sorry I was selfish and wanted to keep you,” I told her, bringing my lips to hers. “You can tell me to fuck off if you want. I’ll understand. But I want you to be happy. Because you’re a great assistant, but I really prefer you being my wife.” I grinned. “What do you think?”
She looked up at me, those warm eyes sparkling. “Can I see the rest of the presentation?”
I sat down on my chair, pulling her into my lap so her legs were across mine. “Of course, baby. Anything for you. You’re the best fake wife I’ve ever had.”
She rolled her eyes, her finger following the grain of the wood on my desk. “I better be your only fake wife, Nicolas.”
“Forever and always,” I promised her, peppering her face with soft kisses until she was laughing again. I pulled her rings out of my pocket, sliding them back onto her ring finger. “And I don’t need a contract to tell me that.”