49. The seeds of fate #2
He stepped out of his car, portfolio tucked under his arm.
Mack, perched in a seat on the porch, clocked him immediately and muttered, half under his breath, “Man… we don’t have time for this shit today.”
Spring heard it. She clocked it, but now wasn’t the time. She headed inside the house.
She found Preston surrounded by strangers, engineers, back-up dancers vying for his attention, and a publicist who was in his ear nonstop.
He spotted her and smiled, then straightened. “I’m going to take a break, guys.”
Preston stepped out of the room, motioning Spring to follow him. He walked up and looked her over. “Hey, you good?”
“I’m fine, baby, but we need to talk.”
“You’re not having second thoughts about?—”
She shook her head instantly to reassure him. “No, nothing like that, but can we go somewhere a bit more… private?”
Preston nodded.
The hallway outside the studio hummed quietly with crew movement and distant music checks. They were halfway down the hall when Talia appeared.
“Hey,” she said, low but firm. “We need you.”
He exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Give me a minute. I’m talking to Spring.”
“Chad Moss from Rolling Stone is here,” Talia replied. “And they’re not exactly the patient type.”
“Chad Moss is going to have to wait, Ma,” he insisted.
Talia threw her hands in the air.
Spring and Preston entered another room alone.
“So what’s up, baby?”
“Okay, I have something impor?—”
Before she could finish, Mack opened the door. Rae stood behind him with her hands lifted in surrender. “Sorry, girl, I tried to keep them out but?— ”
Mack cut her off before she could finish. “Preston, what’s going on, man?”
“I need a minute,” he barked back.
Ralph and Talia walked into the room. “Pressy, we got Apple Music, Rolling Stone , and Essence Magazine outside, we can’t keep them waiting.”
It was a line too far. He barked at his mother, “I’m not going anywhere until I talk to my wife!”
The room froze. Silence stretched, thick and unmistakable.
Rae sighed. “Oh, boy.”
Talia tilted her head and blinked, confused by the words.
Ralph looked between them like he’d missed a page.
“Your what ?” Mack yelled in shock.
Preston reached for Spring’s hand instead, lacing his fingers through hers like it was the most natural act in the world. “My wife,” he repeated. “Spring and I are married.”
No theatrics. No buildup. Just truth dropped clean in the middle of the room.
Spring’s dad exhaled slowly, eyes fixed on Preston now, measuring him up.
Mack rubbed his face. “You serious?”
“As a heart attack,” Preston replied proudly.
“And before anyone asks, don’t, ’cause it’s none of your damn business.
” He looked around the room, meeting every pair of eyes without flinching.
“We’re not doing secrecy. We’re not asking permission.
We’re living under our rules now. Anybody who has a problem with that—” He shrugged, “has a problem.”
Spring felt relief in her chest.
Mack stared at him for a long second, then let out a breath that turned into a laugh. “Ain’t no sense trying to talk you out of something you already done,” he said, shaking his head. “Congratulations, Superstar.”
Rae steps forward and hugged Spring tight. “Now I get to congratulate you in public.”
Talia scoffed. “I’m not dealing with your theatrics. There are people waiting.”
She began to walk away when Mack stopped her. “He don’t need your blessing, baby, but there’s nothing else goin’ on in this house that can’t wait.” He wrapped his hands around her shoulders to steady her. She glared at him and sighed. “Congratulations,” she said to her son, rolling her eyes.
Spring looked at her dad, who finally spoke up. “Are you happy?”
Spring didn’t hesitate. “I’ve never been happier.”
He nodded once. “Then that’s all I need to know.”
The moment settled. Preston squeezed Spring’s hand.
Outside, the world was still loud, still demanding, still moving fast. But in this room, for the first time, everything was clear.
They didn’t wait for the right time. They chose each other. And that choice just rewrote the rules.
The room hasn’t even fully exhaled from the wife revelation when Spring cleared her throat. “Since we’re not keeping secrets,” she said lightly, but her hand tightens in Preston’s, grounding herself. “I have something to tell you, too.”
Preston turned toward her, already smiling, still riding the certainty of his own declaration. “You want all these people here?”
“They can stay – they need to stay.”
She took a breath and looked deep into his eyes. “I’m pregnant.”
The words landed softly, and then rippled.
For half a second, no one moved.
Preston just stared at her, blinking once, like his brain needed permission to catch up with his heart. “You’re?—”
“Pregnant,” she repeated. “And before you ask, yes, I’m sure.”
Talia let out a sound that was half-laugh, half-sob, her resentment already gone. “Oh my God,” she exclaimed, already crossing the room. “Oh my God, I’m gonna be a grandmother.”
She pulled Spring into a hug without waiting for permission, hands gentle, reverent. “This is beautiful. This is everything. Thank you.”
Spring smiled, then glanced instinctively at her father.
He looked caught off guard, but not stunned. There was a flicker of something unreadable there, quickly smoothed over by composure. He nodded, slow and measured, like he was recalibrating rather than resisting.
“That’s… big news,” he said carefully. “Congratulations.”
Spring noticed. Not the words, but the beat before them. She filed it away for later.
Preston finally found his voice, quiet, full. “We’re having a baby.”
Spring nodded. “Possibly two.”
That did it. Preston laughed – short, disbelieving, emotional all at once – and pulled her into his chest, forehead pressed to hers. “Wow,” he breathed. “Okay. Okay.”
Mack, meanwhile, had gone still.
His smile was there, but it was delayed, like it took extra effort to reach his face.
Spring noticed immediately. So did Ralph. Their eyes met across the room, just a quick glance.
Oh , she thought. That’s interesting.
Talia was still talking – names, timelines, excitement spilling everywhere – but the room had shifted again.
Their life together was no longer theoretical.
Spring rested a hand over her stomach, feeling the truth of it settle in her bones. She wasn’t scared. Not even a little.
She was exactly where she was supposed to be.
And everyone in the room – whether they were ready or not – could feel it.
This wasn’t a phase.
This was a beginning.