"So I have a proposition," Theo said out of the blue as I was putting on mascara.
Today was the day I was going to meet his family and I couldn't be more nervous. I'd asked Theo if my hair looked alright more than a hundred times!
"And what would that be?" I said, referring to his earlier statement.
"Marry me," He said simply.
I almost stabbed myself in the eye with my mascara wand.
"What!?" I exclaimed, not expecting that. Was he on drugs or something?
"I mean, just until the baby is born. If it truly doesn't work out then we can break it off," he said, explaining himself.
I turned around to see if he was joking but he looked dead serious. The fuc-?
"Don't you use that baby card on me Mister. You said you only used the word 'wife' because it sounded cooler. What's the real reason?" I said suspiciously.
"Okay, I give up," he sighed before continuing. "I'm afraid of what my family will think of this. They haven't even met you and we're already expecting a baby. They're pretty traditional, besides if after the baby is born you want to break it off, you could." he said, explaining his reasoning further.
I considered his proposition for a few moments before answering.
"And what will I get out of it?"
"Anything. What do you want?" He said quickly, hoping I wouldn't change my mind.
And then I thought. What do I want? When have I ever had the opportunity to want something?
And then it hit me. All these years of harsh beatings, loneliness, but most importantly, staying in shelters.
"I want to start my own homeless shelter," I said with no regrets. There was nothing else I wanted.
He looked shocked, but slowly a smile grew on his flawless face. "I would love to help you with that," he said, and I've never seen so much pride errupting from a person in my life.
And then it was settled. We were to announce our engagement at the dinner tonight. We didn't decide how but he said he had everything planned out.
On the car ride there I felt like I was entering the hunger games. Walking towards my own death.
Theo kept assuring me that his parents have been waiting for him to get married since they day he was born. His sister however, he was unsure of.
I was wearing a simple black and white striped dress with my hair in a messy bun. Makeup was minimal. The dinner was supposed to be relaxed so I didn't want to be over the top.
We decided to keep the pregnancy a secret for now but we would tell them later on. I wasn't showing yet so hiding it was not an issue.
"We're here," I heard Theo say, and my nerves spiked up.
I looked out the window and saw a mansion very similar to the one I was living in.
Large. Beautiful. And so incredibly fancy. It must run in the family.
I didn't have much time to inspect the house because Theo opened the door for me.
"Don't be nervous, my parents are nice," he said as I walked out of the car. I nodded and held his strong hand for support.
Theo opened the door using his own code, not bothering to ring the bell.
The house was spectacular. Not a single thing out of place.
I could hear what I'm assuming are his parents in the kitchen. Oh god. Will they like me? I smoothed out my dress and made myself look as kind as possible.
Walking to the kitchen I saw a few maids cleaning around.
What are they even cleaning? Everything is already perfect.
When we reached the kitchen, his parents' backs were to us. They were chatting and looked so adorable together. His mother was a petite woman with beautiful thick brown hair and a slim body. His father was the total opposite with a very tall, buff frame, he also had brown hair.
"Hey guys," Theo said, drawing their attention towards us.
They looked startled as they turned around.
"Oh my god Theo," His mother said surprised, "Give us a warning next time," she said, before engulfing him in his arms.
Once she finished hugging him she immediately did the same to me. I brought my arms around her, surprised.
"You must be the famous Anya," she said, smiling warmly towards me.
"It's so nice to meet you Mrs. Jackson," I said just as kindly.
"Oh just call me Linda," she waved it off.
His father walked towards me and gave Theo a pat on the back before shaking my hand. "It's great to finally see you," He said smiling, "Call me Dan."
Wow his family was nicer than I thought.
"You guys can go ahead and seat yourselves at the table. We'll be coming in a minute," his mother told us.
"Of course," I said, before bascically dragging Theo with me, who was on his phone. Typical.
"I think they like me so far," I said unsurely to Theo.
"They definitely do. Trust me. Who wouldn't?" He said making me blush.
"Thanks," I said back.
Once we reached the eating area I was shocked. So much food. Food from every country you could think of was laid out in front of us.
I wasn't complaining.
I know I had to wait for his parents to come before I started, but it was so tempting. Dang these pregnancy cravings.
Suddenly a girl I vaguely remember seeing before showed up. She was beautiful with long blonde hair and a model body. She smiled hugely when she saw Theo and ran to give him a big hug.
"Its been so long," she said in his shirt.
He smiled back and said, "It's been like a month."
And then it hit me. She was that girl I mistook as his girlfriend at Marlow's. His sister.
She looked at me briefly in distaste. Great.
"Hello," she said, barely taking a glance at me.
"Hi," I tried to say kindly, but something about her bothered me.
"Whatever," she sneered before sitting down, starting conversation between Theo, who didn't seem to catch the tension. Men.
"So how's everything been?" His sister asked him, ignoring me blatantly.
"Everything's been great, especially with my girlfriend, Anya," he said, putting his arm around me.
Okay, so maybe he did notice.
"Yeah I noticed that. Isn't she the girl that got my friends fired? Sandy and the others?" she said rudely. Jeez, what did I do to her? I tried to keep up my calm facade but it was becoming more difficult by the minute.
"Jess, look, I was the one-" Theo started but his parents arirved so they decided to drop it.
Everyone served themselves and dug in. It was after the second bite that his mom started asking me questions.
"So Anya, where are you from?" His mother asked curiously.
"India, I moved here a long time ago though," I said.
"Oh that's so cool! I've always wanted to go there," she said taking another bite. I smiled at her enthusiasm.
"What do your parents do for a living?" She asked.
There it was. The question I dreaded most.
"Um," I started flustered. "They died when I was really young. I've been on my own ever since," I said quickly, hoping to get it over with.
"Oh I'm so sorry. Forget I ever asked that," she said sympathetically. I didn't want sympathy but I was used to it by now.
"Its okay," I shrugged. "I've learned to grow and disregard things that drag me down," I said confidently, hinting towards his sister.
Jessie looked like she wanted to murder me. Theo held my hand for support.
"So when did you guys get together? He's never brought you up," His father asked.
"I think Theo should tell you the story," I said, nervous about lying.
He coughed at being put on the spot. I handed him some water before he continued.
"Uh, sure. We met in India for a business meeting a while ago. We were pretty young, and I had only started the business a few years beforehand. I got her number and here we are today," he said, quoting my words in a romantic tone. I bit back a smile. There were obviously a few missing details in our story but I think it's cute.
"Aw that's so sweet. I wish he told us about you. We found out a few days ago from the magazines," his mother said sadly.
"I wasn't ready, mom," he started to explain.
"I know, I know. I'm glad you are now though," she said, calming him.
"Me too," I said just as happy.
Everyone ate in silence for a few minutes, just light chatter here and there.
And then suddenly... Theo took something out is his pocket and tapped my thigh.
"Wh-" I began. Until I saw the ring.
No way.
He didn't discuss this with me.
He pulled out his chair and got on a knee. His whole family gasped. Even the maids.
I wass speechless as he looked up at me with those eyes and held out the box.
His mother had tears filling her eyes, and I could sense happiness errupting from his father too. I didn't bother looking at Jess.
"Anya. My beautiful girlfriend. Will you make me the happiest man on the planet and marry me?" He said, and it looked sincere. Dang he was a good actor.
I stayed silent for a few seconds, scaring everyone -except his sister- before stuttering out "Y-yes!" And hugging him tightly. He slowly placed the beautiful silver ring on my finger. I couldn't believe I owned something so beautiful.
His mom "awed," and his dad gave a few cheers. His sister looked bored.
Theo on the other hand looked estatic. We did make a deal.
"So when's the wedding?" His mom asked eagerly.
"Whoa whoa mom, take it easy. We just got engaged. Besides, we want to plan the wedding," he said. We didn't technically discuss that but I would love to plan my own wedding. Lots and lots of flowers.
"Aw, I'm so happy for you two," and she stood and gave us a huge hug.
I was still starstruck about everything that I couldn't form words. His mother seemed to understand because she patted my back.
Theo looked over and must have seen I was pretty exhausted, being pregnant and all.
"Well, we should head back home now. It's getting late" he said, looking a bit disappointed.
"Oh so soon?" His father said.
"Yeah sorry dad. I have lots of work to do. We'll send you the invitation to the wedding when we're ready," Theo said convincingly.
"I understand son. Safe travels."
And then we left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The car ride back no one said anything. I was distracted by the extra weight on my finger and Theo was too busy driving.
I walked inside and immediately went to the washroom to change. I dressed in my cutest pajamas and brushed my teeth.
When I got out of my washroom Theo was sitting on the bed texting someone.
"Jeez, you could at least let me know you're here," I said startled. What was with this guy and surprises?
"Sorry. I was just bored. What did you think of my family?" He said curiously, putting his phone down. He looked incredibly delicious in his loose sweats and plain black T-shirt, his abs slightly peeking through.
"Your parents were very nice, but your sister on the other hand, hates me!" I exclaimed.
"She'll come around," he said soothingly.
"Yeah," I yawned and lay down on my bed. "I hope so."
"Goodnight," he whispered, tucking me in.
I felt his presence for a few more seconds before I felt warm lips on my forehead.
I feel asleep wondering what our child would look like.
**
Sorry for the late chapter. Had a bit of writers block. I'm still not happy with the chapter but I told myself I would upload this weekend.
Please point out any spelling errors (Unedited)
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