I may have bluffed a bit about the phone calls I'd made, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. I knew he wouldn't bother checking my story, and I could tell by the look on his face that he knew he was backed into a corner.
“We were engaged.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Why does it matter? You wanted a baby anyway. I was just trying to speed up the process.”
“It matters because you took my choice away! It matters because it's my body, and only I should have a say of what I put into it.”
“You're not happy then?”
“I'm happy about the baby, yes. But I'm angry as hell that you're it's father.”
“You'd rather it be this guy?” Derek laughed. “What's he got to offer you that I don't?”
“Love.” I said simply. “Real, honest, love.”
“Everyone has secrets, Ronnie. It's only a matter of time before all of his come out.”
“I only wanted you to know that I know. I don't want anything from you, and honestly I could care less if you're in this baby's life or not.”
“It's my baby, Ronnie. Of course I'm going to be in it's life.”
Owen stood from the table abruptly, and walked towards the door before pulling it open.
“You can leave now.” He said.
“Is that what you want?” Derek asked me.
“Yes.” I said with conviction.
He stood, pushing his chair in before stopping just in front of me. He got down onto his knees and placed his hand over my stomach. Goosebumps instantly covered my skin, but not the good kind. The creepy kind. The kind you get when you see a shadow in a dark alley.
“Daddy can't wait to meet you.” He said.
“That's enough.” Owen said, as he came to grab Derek by the back of his shirt collar.
He lifted him to his feet almost effortlessly, and released him. Derek quickly adjusted his shirt, and stood a little straighter.
“You'll both be hearing from my lawyer.”
“About what?” I asked, as I left the table as well.
“My new found brother and I have some unfinished business to handle when it comes to our father's will. And you and I baby girl? We've got a custody fight on our hands.”
“Custody!” I practically yelled. “I'm barely two months pregnant, and you want to talk about sharing custody?”
“Not sharing. Full. If you don't want to marry me and make our family whole like my dad wanted us to be, I'll make sure you never see that child again.”
“Get the fuck out!” Owen seethed. “I won't tell you again.”
Without another word Derek walked out of the open door, and Owen slammed it roughly behind him. When he turned to face me I had tears in my eyes, and he quickly made up the distance between us. When he pulled me into his arms I let myself go. I let the events of the entire day pour out of me, and he was right there holding me steady.
I was overwhelmed with everything I'd just heard. Not only did Derek not give a shit about switching my pills, but now he was threatening to take my baby? A baby he purposely conceived without my knowledge. There had to be some kind of law against that, right? If Derek wanted to play hardball, then I was going to fight fire with fire.
TWENTY-ONE
IT HAD BEEN TWO DAYS since my conversation with Derek, and it was also Mister Foster's funeral. Owen had basically moved in. He didn't want to go back to his dad's place, and his only other option was to find an apartment of his own. Neither one of us felt like being alone right now, so it made perfect sense to me. Morgan didn't seem to mind either, so for now things were working out.
Owen had already showered, and changed while I was still trying to make myself look presentable. I found the most modest black dress that I owned, and put on a pair of matching heels. I tried to tame my hair, but wound up twisting it into a sleek bun instead. Morning sickness decided to rear it's ugly head today of all days, but I was really trying my best to hold it together.
When I finally made my way into the kitchen to find Owen, he was casually leaning against the counter. He wore a pair of black fitted slacks, and a crisp white shirt. His tie hung around his neck, and there was a black leather jacket on the back of one of the chairs.
I couldn't help but smile. Of course he'd choose a leather jacket opposed to a tailored one. I approached him then, carefully tying and adjusting his tie for him. He pulled me into his arms when I'd finished, and rested his chin on the top of my head.
“Are you sure you're up for this today?” He asked.
“I'm fine. Morgan ran to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription.”
“Derek will probably be there.”
“Unfortunately, Derek is a part of our lives forever now.”
“Don't remind me.”
I pulled away from him, looking up into his eyes.
“Are you sure you're up for this?” I teased, shooting my brow up in question.
He leaned down to press his lips to mine.
“As long as I have you, I will be.”
“Gag me with a spoon!” Morgan said as she tossed my prescription bag onto the kitchen table.
“She's been saying that a lot lately.” Owen said.
“Right? Maybe she needs to get laid.” I said.
“I'm pretending that I didn't hear that.” She said, before sashaying past us towards her bedroom.
I laughed, leaving Owen's arms so that I could take one of my pills. With any luck, they'd work long enough for me to make it through the funeral. I'd already thrown up once in the presence of Mister Foster, and I didn't want to do it again. Especially today. Owen was going to need me, and I had a feeling that I was going to need him just as much.
Since I didn't exactly know my way around New York
