I'm Having a Royal Baby {ORIGINAL VERSION; BOOK 2}

Chapter 16: The Unexpected

"But," I began. "We have to postpone the wedding."

The joyful expression on Melanie's plump face completely disappears and is replaced with a look of forlorn, then anger.

"E-excuse me!? WE WHAT," she exclaimed, taking a large step away from me. "This can't be happening," she added under her breath.

"Mel, listen, I-" she cut me off with a shove to my chest.

"NO! How could you do this to me!? To our BABY," she asked frantically as her breathing was starting to get labored.

I breathed a deep, exasperating sigh before answering her. "Listen, Love, I'm not ending the wedding, I'm postponing it... to a later date," I said as I inched closer to her angered frame.

She took another step back. "No, Vincent! Tell me why you're postponing the wedding!? Are you trying to avoid marrying me!?"

Yes.

"No. I'm just not ready for matrimony. I need a little more time," I explained. Although I was lying, but she didn't have to know that.

I could clearly see the tears forming in her reddened eyes. She turned around, marched to a nearby dresser and smashed a framed photo of myself.

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! I'm not having it! We will get married soon, not later! We will get fucking married," she screamed as she was beginning to reach for a glass vase.

I grabbed her upper arms and pulled her away from the vase. "Melanie, stop it. Calm down," I pleaded against her hair.

She struggled out of my grasp and turned around to face me. Her beautiful, flawless face was masked in wet, fallen tears. I was so mesmerized by her saddened expression that I didn't notice the stinging sensation on my right cheek.

"Until you decide what you want to do with your damn life, then I will 'calm down'," she spat with venom as she pushed past me and towards the door. I didn't even go after her, I was too distracted.

__________

Midnight

Shadé

I was lying down on my back, staring emptily at the white, dull ceiling above me. Usually, I'd be asleep at this time, but considering that Vincent wanted to discuss our unordered 'family', I had to be a grown up and hear him out.

I purposely left my door unlock so he wouldn't have to knock and cause a disturbance amongst the other servants. So, when I heard the creak of my door opening, closing, and then being locked, I wasn't very surprised as I knew who it was.

I felt the weight of his body slowly fall onto my mattress. I snapped my head in his direction and glared. "Get off of my bed," I said in agitation.

At the same slowness that he got on, he got off. "I'm sorry, ok," he said as he held his callous hands up in mock surrender. He headed towards the small sofa positioned in the corner of my room and sat down, finding himself a comfort spot, if there was one. "I just got here and this is how you treat me?"

I stared at him questioningly as I sat up beneath my blanket. "Vincent, don't star-"

"I'm not trying to start anything. Shadé, tell me what happened today. You know that baby is mine as well," he interrupted sternly.

With me being the persistent woman that I was, I wasn't having it. I breathed an exasperated sigh and ignored the fact that he interrupted me. "Vincent, as much as I want you in my baby's life, I doubt it would ever happen," I replied depressingly. After too much thinking, I've realized that it would be best to have Vincent in the twins' lives. Every child needs its mother and father. But at the same time, after what he's done to me, I don't think I can take it. He's getting married and he's going to be a king soon.

Vincent rose from his position on the couch and made his way to my bed. "Then why don't you let me," he asked soothingly. He didn't touch me, but his voice had its way of always mentally caressing me.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but you are getting marrie-" he, once again, cut me off in mid-sentence.

"No, I'm not," he said quickly.

"What," I inquired in shock. That was unexpected.

"I broke off the wedding with Melanie. I need to be in your life, as well as our baby's," he explained.

The fact that he broke off the engagement with Lady Melanie still hasn't registered in my head just yet. Was he really willing to ruin his family's name just to have a family with me? No, I doubt it. I never like to look on the bright side of things because they just seem so impossible, unobtainable. And building a family with Vincent is contrary to reason. It could never happen.

I pulled the blanket off of me and walked to the door. I unlocked it and opened it slowly, making sure no one was in the hallway.

"Vincent," I asked quietly, just below a whisper.

"Yes," he answered, his voice was hoarse and raspy as he mimicked my insinuation.

"Would you do anything for me and our baby," I asked, never losing the murmur in my tone.

"Yes, of course," he answered eagerly.

I turned around to face him, willing the tears to hold on for a little longer as I continued, "I want you to go back to Melanie."