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I squint at him.

“Who cares about Elon Musk?”I say in a ravaged tone.“I’m talking about the here and now.”

Dominic nods slowly.

“Yes, I know.But let me continue because I took action early on to keep the gold-diggers away.I had a vasectomy in my late twenties after being the victim of one too many pregnancy scares.At that time, I didn’t want children, and was absolutely uninterested in becoming a family man.A vasectomy made sense, so I had it done.It was quick, easy, and a simple fix to my problems,” he says in a careless tone.

I stare at him.

“You’re lying becauseyouare the father of these boys.I haven’t had sex with anyone but you in years, and before, it was only my husband, Ned.He’s dead.”

“Yes, I know,” Dominic says.“But you can see why I didn’t believe you when you said you were pregnant.A vasectomy is generally irreversible, and I figured you were faking because you wanted my money.Or you were pregnant by another man?”

“What?”I explode, cradling my bump.“Who would it be?What are you talking about?”

Dominic shrugs, but then his expression goes serious.

“That’s why it was so confusing.It was a puzzle because there was no way you could be pregnant by me, according to what I believed, and yet you were definitely pregnant.Bywhomwas the question, and so I had you monitored, Angie.I know you haven’t had contact with any men since setting foot in Rome.”

I stare at him.

“You had mewhat?”I screech.“You had me surveilled?What the hell are you talking about?This is an invasion of privacy!”

His black brows quirk.

“Is it really surveillance if you’re living in my house though?I should know who comes and goes under my roof.But the only calls you were getting were from your friends Kristie and Emilia back in the States, and you never mentioned a man to them either.”

“You listened in on my calls?”I scream with rage, jumping to my feet.“What the hell?”

“Calm down,” Dominic soothes, gesturing for me to sit again.I seethe at him, my face hot, but my belly’s ungainly and heavy, and my knees ache.I sit down again, cradling my bump.This man is going to be the death of me because I’m so mad that my blood pressure is surely in the dangerous area.But the billionaire continues, unperturbed.

“So yes, Maria and Roberto kept me apprised, and said you had no gentlemen visitors.You had no calls from other men, and never spoke about another potential babydaddy to your girlfriends.In fact, you were often crying on the phone, and Maria begged me to reconsider.She asked me to explore other possibilities given your obvious misery, and after a few months, even I began to question myself.”

“Oh really,” I bite in a sarcastic tone.“Let me guess what comes next: immaculate conception, right?It’s the only answer to this medical mystery.”

He grins at me, eating up my feisty attitude.

“No, not immaculate conception, but rather regular conception.Vasectomies can spontaneously reverse.It’s rare, but it can happen, and I began to consider the possibility.I remembered all the times I came in you, and how there was often a huge volume of seed.My semen was always leaking from your body because there was so much, and I wondered if something had happened.So I took myself to the doctor, and had my semen tested.There was sperm in it,” Dominic says in a wry tone.“My little swimmers are alive and well.”

I stare at him.

“Wow,” I whisper.

“Yes, wow,” he acknowledges, his handsome features wry.“Recanalization only happens in a small fraction of cases, but it happened in mine.Patrick and Lochlan, I think you called the boys?They are my sons, and I’m ready to acknowledge them.”

“No way,” I spit immediately.“We don’t need you!We didn’t need you then, and we don’t need you now.”

Dom suddenly goes serious.

“I know,” he says in a low tone.“You’ve been a wonderful mommy to the children so far, and I know you could bring up our twins alone if you set your mind to it.Of course, I’d provide anything you need,” the billionaire rushes, “but I know you’re capable, Angie, because that’s the kind of woman you are: feisty, proud, capable, and a wonderful mother.”

I stare at him.

“So you’re going to leave us alone.”

“No, I’m not,” Dominic says immediately, opening his palms in a beseeching gesture.“All I’m asking for is a second chance, Angela.I’ve explained to you why I was so suspicious from the start.Again, a vasectomy is supposed to be permanent, and there’s less than a 0.05% chance of reversal.Those are pretty long odds, especially since I had mine done almost two decades ago.I hope you understand why I blew you off, and why I was convinced you were lying.”

“But you began to re-consider,” I say in a slow tone.