SILVIA'S POV
I waved at Jane as the taxi drove her away. I smiled happily to myself. I couldn't believe l had gained a true friend in a span of two weeks.
Jane at that!
My depression had wore off and l now looked forward my future with a happy smile. In a few months, l was going to be a mother. I was going to have someone to love and cherish. Someone who was going to return my love and never abandon me. I was going to have someone to call my own. The knowledge filled me with so much happiness. The painful thoughts about Claudius were now buried in the back of my mind.
Jane was really an amazing woman. I now understood why Claudius and Lucas were crazy in love with her. She was kind , caring and loving. She even helped me to shop for the baby. I had decided to make a nursery for the baby before l became heavily pregnant.
My mother had called me silly and told me to hire people for the job but l had refused. I had spent my entire life with servants at my beck and call. For the first time , l wanted to do something on my own especially for my baby.
I walked over to my car. I was about to open the door when someone roughly spun me around. I gasped when l saw Claudius's furious face under street lamp.
My heart started to gallop in fear.
"Claudius!," l whispered in a dry voice.
My throat had gone dry all of a sudden. He pulled me closer until his face was mere inches from mine. Anger glittered in his grey eyes. A muscle ticked in his jaw and he was breathing harshly in rage. I had never seen him so furious. I flinched in fear.
Could it be ...
"You never planned on telling me, did you ?," he gritted out through clenched teeth.
My eyes widened in shock and horror. He knew about the baby.
"How did you....," l asked in a breathless voice.
His nails dug into my forearms and l winced in pain.
"You planned on keeping me in the dark and then abduct my child to France and never return. Didn't you? ," he shouted at me.
How did he found out?
No one besides my aunt knew of my plans. I lied to Jane that l planned on telling Claudius later when in fact l wanted to emigrate to France without telling him anything. The nursery l planned to make was for my apartment in Paris.
I didn't want to tell Claudius because l didn't want my child to have the same miserable childhood l had. Claudius was never going to love the baby as much as l do. To him , she was going to be a responsibility! I didn't want my child to feel unloved and abandoned as l felt when l was growing up.
"It was for the best," l replied in a cold voice.
He pushed me away. Tears rolled down my cheeks as l stared at his face. He was looking at me in pure despise and disgust.
"You will never change , Silvia. Still a little scheming witch. Is this how you planned to make me pay for calling off things that morning," he spat out.
I swallowed over the lump which had formed on my throat. No one had the ability to hurt me with words as much as Claudius did. Every hurtful word from him was like a pierce to my heart.
"Now that l know about the baby, l won't be kept away! If you try to run away , l will sue you and your entire family for kidnapping. Got that?"
He glared at me for the last time and walked out of the parking lot. I drew in a deep shuddering breath and leaned against my car , my whole body feeling weak.
~****~
JANE 'S POV
The incessant ringing of my cellphone woke me up from a deep slumber. I was shocked to see Claudius's name flashing on the screen. I wondered what had happened for him to call at such an ungodly hour.
"Hello!"
There was a moment of silence from the other end of line. Maybe he had called up by mistake. I was about to end the call when l heard a loud and harsh breathing from the other end.
"Claudius?," l cried out in a worried voice as terrible images ran through my head.
"You knew about it , didn't you? ," he asked in a dangerously low voice.
My heart skipped a beat. He knew about Silvia's pregnancy.
"I am sorry , Claudius but it was not my position to disclose such..."
"Shut up!," he cut me in a screeching voice.
"You call yourself my friend yet you chose to hide such crucial information from me. I have always stood by you , Jane yet you were prepared to sit back and watch Silvia plan to migrate to France with my unborn baby with plans of never returning!"
A gasp escaped me . My hand flew to my mouth. I couldn't believe Silvia planned to do that. Just when l began to trust her , she went ahead and did this.
"I swear l didn't know about that. She begged me not to tell you because she wanted to do it herself. I never knew she planned on taking off to..."
The line went dead. Claudius had hung up on me. I released a long sigh and walked back to the bed feeling down. Ferracco stirred in his sleep. His sleepy eyelids flew open and he squinted his eyes at me.
"Who was that?," he asked in a groggy voice.
"It was Claudius."
"Why is he calling at such an ungodly hour," he asked with a disapproving frown.
I laid back my head on his naked chest and sighed.
"Silvia is carrying Claudius's baby."
Ferracco's eyes widened like saucers then he laughed . Really laughed! He laughed until his eyes watered. He stopped when l shot him a glare.
"Now that's interesting! The two of them are indeed a match made in hell ," he chuckled.
"Ferracco! ," l scolded him.
"Poor Claudius. I wonder how someone like him is going to handle a tigress like Silvia. Pregnant and mean!"
He dissolved into another fits of laughter.
"Don't be mean, Ferracco. Silvia is not a bad person . She is just bitter with her life , that's all!"
"When did the two of you get so friendly? Is it pregnancy hormones connecting?"
I gasped out loud and raised my head to stare at him. Amusement twinkled in his eyes.
"How did you? I mean..."
He swallowed the rest of my words with a tender kiss. So gentle and tender that it almost brought tears to my eyes. He laid his forehead on mine and his large hand covered my naked stomach.
"Thank you for making me a father again," he whispered in a gentle voice.
I threw my arms around him and hugged him closer to myself.
"We should tell Elena early in the morning . She will be over the moon to hear the news," he said and we both laughed in delight.
"I found out about it two nights ago but l was waiting for you to tell me."
"I wanted to tell you on your birthday. It was going to be the best gift ever. Now you spoiled it."
He gave out a deep rich laughter.
"My birthday is in a month , Jane. It was impossible to hide it for that long."
He turned me the other side and hugged me from behind. I closed my eyes at the delicious sensations swirling through me at his close contact. I felt his large hand caressing my naked stomach and l felt heat pooling inside me.
His hand swept aside my hair from my neck and l felt his wet lips skimming lightly on my shoulder blades. I bit back a moan as different sensations shot through me.
"You are already round with our baby," he whispered in my ear , his hands still moving gently on my stomach.
He turned me around and stared at me with a dark and intense look. My heart started racing in anticipation.
It was going to be a long night!
~****~
SILVIA'S POV
Claudius and l sat in a coffee house after coming from a checkup at the hospital. He had demanded to be notified of every check up l went to so that he could tag along. I had no choice but to agree with his conditions.
There was a charged silence surrounding us. Claudius was staring at his coffee mug with a faraway look. He had not taken a sip of that coffee ever since the waitress placed it in front of him. I bet it was now cold.
His silence unnerved me. I wondered what he was thinking in that head of his.
"I am sorry for not telling you about the baby," l started in a genuine voice.
I indeed felt apologetic for what l had almost done. I had almost deprived my baby a chance of knowing her father.
"We will get married," he responded quietly still staring at his coffee.
I stiffened at his words.
"As soon as l can arrange it , we will get married," he added in a firm voice.
I clenched my teeth in anger and wounded pride. He wasn't even looking at me as he said such life altering words. He didn't even have the decency to ask for my opinion. He delivered his words like an ultimatum.
"You don't need to chain yourself to me in an unwanted marriage for the sake of the baby," l snapped at him.
He slowly raised his burning grey eyes to me. His heated glare pierced through me like an arrow. I flinched in discomfort.
"Don't be stupid , Silvia!," he clipped out.
"This is not about us. Put your romantic dreams away. We have a baby to consider. No child of mine will be born a bastard. He will have my name , my support and my protection," he gritted out.
"We don't love each other , Claudius. We will be miserable in that marriage. Our baby will suffer as a result," l argued.
Claudius reached for my hand across the table. He stared at me under his thick eyelashes as he dropped a light kiss on my hand. A gasp almost escaped me as l felt my skin tingle under his warm breath. Despite convincing myself over a month ago that l was finally over Claudius , I couldn't suppress a shudder which ran through me or the ache of sensation that made me crave for more.
Claudius dropped my hand and smirked at me knowingly as if he knew the effect he had on me.
"Ever since that night, there has always been a magnetic pull , an intense attraction between us. We are crazy about each other and you know it. The feeling is there , simmering between us. Surely you can't deny that!"
I released a mocking laughter at his words.
"That's not love , Claudius. It's called lust. We can't build a marriage on that. Once you satisfy your desire , you will get tired of me and wish you never bound yourself to me."
"We are good together, Silvia and you know it. I am fond of you. We will make it work for the sake of the baby," he tried to convince me.
I shook my head in denial as l blinked back tears. Those were not the words l wanted to hear. I wanted him to profess his undying love for me.
"Fond is not enough for me," l told him.
I got up from my seat and laid my share of the bill.
"I won't stop you from being part of our baby's life but please , don't ask me to marry you."
I walked out of the coffee shop with a sinking heart.