Page 18 of The Grumpy Billionaire Baby Daddy

"One more thing, Moon's coming with me."

"Who's Moon?"

"My dog."

"What? No way!"

Chapter 7

Fiona

Thesmellofsmokefills the entire house, and I cover my nose, running to the kitchen.

"Mom! What happened?"

"I completely forgot the pasta was still cooking," she says, coughing.

"How bad is it?"

She gives a nonchalant shrug, and I make my way over to inspect the damage. To my relief, it doesn't look too serious. A small wave of gratitude washes over me - this could have been a complete disaster. I turn and walk back to the living room, where my father is seated, engrossed in a TV show. This was the last room we put together, a space that we'd taken great pride in designing. We'd sold our old gray sofas and replaced them with sleek black ones that matched the curtains perfectly.

As I take a seat beside my father, I feel a sudden surge of emotion that threatens to overwhelm me. Leaving my parents for fifteen months feels like a heavy burden, and my chest feels tight as I try to swallow down the lump in my throat. But I remind myself that this is for their own good, that I'm trying to spare them the heartache that will inevitably come with my presence. I rub my chest, trying to calm myself down, and ignore the beads of sweat that have formed on my forehead. At least this way, I'll be the only one dealing with the pain.

Dad coughs and goes over to the windows, opening them up.

"Who forgets they had something cooking?" He wipes off the tears from his eyes and coughs again, louder than before.

"Uhmm… Mom. Dad. I have news."

Mom turns to me from the kitchen. Dad walks over to the sofa and sits beside me. My heart slams in my chest. I've never had to live apart from these people. Worse, I've never had to lie to them. The thought drives a wedge in my heart and I tighten my fingers around my denim shorts. Drastic situations call for drastic measures.

"You know how I've always wanted to go to Vet school?"

Dad lowers the TV's volume and faces me. I swallow.

"Uhmm… the good news is, I got a scholarship online."

Mom's hand covers her parted lips, and she rushes toward me, taking me into her arms.

"Well done, Fifi. That's amazing!"

Dad grins at me.

"But what's the bad news?"

I straighten out my clothes and clear my throat in finality.

"It's in New York, and I'm leaving next week."

The silence in the room is palpable, and I can feel my heart racing as I avoid making eye contact with either of my parents. I nervously chew on my fingers, feeling the weight of the secret I'm keeping from them pressing down on me. How will I ever be able to look them in the eye for the rest of my life, knowing that there's a grandchild out there with the Greene surname, and that I've kept this from them?

As I bite my lip, my eyes dart up to my mother, who's standing motionless, seemingly lost in thought. My father's gaze remains fixed on the TV screen, oblivious to the turmoil that's raging inside me."C'mon, aren't you guys gonna say something?"

"We're happy for you all the same. It's just…" Dad looks up at Mom, "so sudden."

I nod.

"I know. I feel the same way."

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