Page 168 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

‘About my mother?’

‘You saw?’ she asked, surprised.

‘He spoke to me too.’

Her brows shot up. ‘Did he really?’

Sebastian turned and wrapped his arms around his wife. ‘He told me you’d made him see the error of his ways. Or rather, that the only way to fix things was to admit his mistakes.’

Rosie’s cheeks flushed. ‘I didn’t intend to get involved, but when he asked me for my opinion, I had to give it.’

‘Of course you did,’ Sebastian agreed, with a kiss to the top of her head.

‘What did he say to you?’

‘That he recognised his behaviour was impossible to forgive, but that he hoped we could forge some kind of relationship. He said he would never be able to make up for what he’d taken from both of us, but that he wanted to at least know me.’

Rosie held her breath. ‘To which you replied?’

‘That my own instinct has long been to walk away from him. However, as we both cherish and adore you, it makes sense for us to try—for your sake—to forge an easier path.’

Rosie shook her head. ‘You don’t have to do this for me.’

‘Yes, I do. And what’s more, I want to. For my mother, as well. If there’s any chance of establishing a peaceful relationship, I want that. I will never agree with his decisions, but that’s not to say that I can’t learn from him. As you’ve pointed out, time and time again, he loves this country and has spent a lifetime governing it with grace.’

Rosie’s smile was beatific. ‘I’m so glad. But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.’

‘No?’

She shook her head.

‘Then what, my dear wife?’

‘Well, you know how we talked about waiting to conceive?’

‘Let me guess,’ he said, squeezing her tighter. ‘You’re ready to start trying?’

‘Well, yes and no.’

He arched a brow. ‘You want to wait even longer?’

‘Well, the thing is, the decision has sort of been taken out of our hands.’

His expression gave nothing away, so she blurted out, ‘I’m pregnant, Sebastian. It wasn’t planned, obviously.’

‘You’re pregnant?’

His smile was instantaneous, but he sobered a moment later. ‘How did this happen? How do you feel?Whendid this happen? When did you find out? Are you okay?’

‘So many questions,’ she laughed. ‘Let me start at the beginning.’ And she began by describing the few niggling symptoms that had started to add up in her mind, to the pregnancy test she took just to know for sure that she wasn’t pregnant, only to get the shock of her life in discovering that she was in fact expecting.

‘I knew you’d worry, and I wanted to be able to offer you reassurances when I told you, so I’ve been seeing an obstetrician and I’ve done a heap of tests and scans. Sebastian, everything’s fine. Everything is just as it ought to be, and he has a plan for managing the later stages of my pregnancy to keep the risks as minimal as possible.’

‘Good God,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘I can’t believe it. I feel as though it’s a miracle, Rosie.’

‘Oh, you haven’t heard the rest of it,’ she laughed, taking his hand and pressing it to her no longer super flat stomach. ‘It turns out, it’s twins.’

‘Twins,’ he practically spat the word. ‘What are you talking about?’

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