His Blessed Bride

Chapter 2

Gabriella simply stared at her sister for a moment, certain she'd heard wrong. A prince? Surely that was something that you should know about someone before you slept with them and surely it was the sort of thing you would know after a year of working for them.

"I am an idiot," she stated and her sister nodded in agreement.

How the hell had this happened? Why hadn't Lissa told her? Her and Blake had seemed pretty serious for a while so how had she not informed her of something as huge as this? It wasn't the sort of thing people usually kept from their loved ones was it? Surely someone who was dating a prince would want her family to know that minor detail.

"At least the parents won't care as much now," Lissa said. Gabriella simply glared at her unhelpful sister.

Their parent might not be as mad about the baby but it still wasn't ideal. And now she had to contend with Blake. It was daunting enough when he'd just been her boss and the guy she'd slept with but now he was also a prince. That meant that all the power she'd thought she held was gone.

When she'd contemplated telling Blake about the baby she'd figured that he wouldn't have much say in anything. Courts tended to look favourably on mothers didn't they? And if it came to a fight they were evenly matched finance wise. Now though her whole plan was blown out of the water. Surely a prince would have more rights than her and she assumed that meant he had more money and certainly more power. What the hell was she going to do?

"Oh Lissa, it's all such a mess. Help me," she pleaded. She'd never had to ask her sister for anything before but now Gabriella was begging because this wasn't just about her anymore and she was terrified that she'd messed up her baby's life before it was even born.

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is," Lissa soothed but she sounded doubtful. Gabriella was even more doubtful because she knew that everything was about to be destroyed.

She'd made a fairly good life for herself and she wasn't ready for it all to be over so soon. When she had thought about what life would be like with her baby she had imagined that it would slot easily into her perfectly ordered life and that if Blake had anything to do with the baby then it would be just the odd weekends but now that vision had changed. When she considered what a prince would have to say about raising his child she couldn't see him letting her raise the child alone in her small flat. She wasn't sure what he would expect but she could guarantee that he would make demands.

Panic fluttered inside her as she realised that she had made a massive mistake. Suddenly it wasn't her parents that she was concerned about letting down. Instead she was terrified of letting Blake know he was going to be a father and losing all the power. She didn't know what the hell she could do to stop him from taking over. Then it came to her and she hesitated as soon as the thought occurred to her. She considered the ramifications of not telling him about the baby at all even as guilt consumed her. She'd never thought of herself as selfish before but she figured this would class her as such. Would her child resent her for not giving it's father the chance to be a part of it's life? Would their life be better off without Blake in it? There were so many questions spinning round in her head and she didn't know what to do for the best.

"I don't think I can tell Blake," Gabriella said in a horrified whisper. She couldn't believe that she was even considering it yet it suddenly all made sense to her. If Blake didn't know then he couldn't take her child away from her.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Lissa told her with a worried frown.

"What choice do I have? Do you really think he would let me raise the child alone without a fight?" Gabriella asked as she placed a hand protectively over her stomach as though to protect the unborn child.