Page 63 of Obsessive Love

"I might be pregnant," she wails, burying her head against my chest again as she cries uncontrollably.

My brows raise in surprise and my heart plummets into my stomach at her admission. I curl my arms around her, holding her shaking body against mine as I stare at the marble floor, replaying her words in my mind over and over again.

Hope swells in my chest as I think about Sophia carrying my baby. Images of her walking around with a swollen stomach assault my mind and I find myself feeling joyful and excited by the news. Warmth spreads through my body as I picture us cuddling whilst I hold her stomach, waiting to feel the kicks from my unborn child.

"Hey, it's okay," I whisper, stroking my hand through her golden locks as I try to soothe her. "We'll figure this out."

I turn to look at my brother and find him standing across the room, openly gaping at us with wide, panicked eyes.

"This is going to cause so much trouble," Sophia cries, wiping her hands across her wet cheeks as she pulls away from my chest. "This can't happen."

"We all need to calm down," Jess says, stepping further into the house and closing the door I hadn't even realised was still open. "Let's save the panic for after she's taken a test and we know the result."

"So you don't know for sure yet?" Jericho asks, staring at Sophia who's still tucked into my chest as I stroke my hand against her trembling back.

She shakes her head and then Jess holds up a carrier bag, giving it a shake.

"We stopped off to get this on the way back. She still needs to take one before we can be sure."

Sophia takes a few shakey, deep breaths before she steps away from me and takes the bag from Jess.

"Is it okay to use the bathroom down here?"

Jericho nods in answer to her question, and she glances back at me, giving me a scared smile. She walks away, Jess following closely behind her.

I watch her retreating figure until they're out of the foyer and then I turn to my brother, finally letting the smile on my face break free.

"I'm going to be having a baby," I tell him.

He looks at me in horror and walks over to me to slap the back of my head.

"Stop with the crazy thoughts for a minute and use the logical part of your brain," he hisses. "If she's pregnant, this is going to cause hell!"

I scowl at him, already knowing I'm not going to like what he's going to say.

"If she's pregnant with your child, we're either going to have to get divorced, or we're going to have to pretend that the baby is mine until we figure out a way to get rid of Dad. I'm not happy with either of those options because one would cause a war between the families and likely end in a whole heap of death and misery, and the other option would drive you insane and you'd end up losing your shit, creating a war between you and I."

I frown at him and shake my head.

"I don't like thinking about this logically."

"Yeah, I know," he says, clapping his hand against my shoulder. "I can see that you're excited at the thought of her having your baby, but you need to think outside the box. Not to add more salt to the wound, but think about her reaction as well, Kaleb. She's clearly not over the moon at the possibility of being pregnant."

Pain slices across my chest as I think about her reaction.

"You think she doesn't want to have a baby with me?"

He shrugs.

"I'm not sure if she had such a bad reaction to the possibility because of the fact that it's your child she might be pregnant with. You need to talk to her and find out why her reaction to this news is so bad, but all I'm saying is that this is obviously something she's not happy with. So if that test comes back positive, you've got to keep your own thoughts and feelings to yourself and think about her."

"You say that like I don't think about her twenty-four-seven. I'd never put my feelings above hers," I scoff, pushing his hand off my shoulder and walking past him in the direction that Sophia and Jess went.

I round the corner, walk down the hallway, and find Jess sitting in the kitchen.

"Where is she?"

Jess whips around to stare at me, watching me enter the room.

---