Page 51 of A Billionaire's Secret

I huffed and puffed, pulling my undies down, shoving the pregnancy test between my legs, and waiting for my urine to flow against it.

“Do you mind?” I yelled at the two pairs of eyes staring at me and kicked the door shut.

Once alone in my bathroom, realization of the circumstances crept over me, and the hand holding a pregnancy test shook between my legs.

My bodily fluids trickled over the plastic device, making my head spin with possibilities. I placed the test on the counter and swung the door, letting in the longest, most grueling three minutes of my life. My mother and sister remained frozen, glancing at each other while I returned to bed, masking any sign of emotions.

“Go on, do the honors. Both of you,” I mocked them and threw the covers over my head. My body trembled under the covers as I swallowed the fear of the unknown and let in the hope that whatever the result showed, I’d be OK.

The anticipation of waiting for a pregnancy test result was second to none. No other test came with this much equal parts fear and excitement. At times the fear of it being positive morphed into fear of it being negative, confusing every fiber of my brain. Luckily, modern technology had found a way to confine all these feelings to three minutes.

I listened to my mother and sister’s reactions. I heard them whispering and shuffling in the bathroom, but I remained under the covers. When a few minutes had passed without either of them shrieking to high hell, I figured that meant the test was negative and decided it was safe to come out.

Wrong.

They towered over me, my sister staring down at the test in her hand, her eyes popping out of their sockets. My mother stood frozen, hand over her mouth.

“No…no, no, no!” I bounced off the bed, snatching the test from Lizzie’s hand, my mouth flying open at the sight of the two pink lines.

“Give me another one! These things can be faulty,” I demanded frantically.

“Vicky,” my mother removed the hand from her face and sat on the bed. “They’re not faulty when combined with your excessive vomiting. You’re pregnant.”

The word ‘pregnant’ bounced off my mind as if unwanted and unwelcome. Then vivid flashbacks of me on top of Christian in the majestic hotel bed slowly unlocked the door for acceptance and submission.

“Vicky,” Lizzie spoke calmly this time. “How are you feeling? Did you suspect this could happen?”

“No,” I stared into space. “But I know when it might have happened. What am I going to do?”

I curled up on the bed with my sister and mother on either of me.

“I think Christian is a nice man,” my mother startled me. “I had a few words with him when he dropped you off.”

“You did?” I lifted my head to look at her. “What about?”

“Hm, I don’t know. About the weather,” my mother joked. “About you, silly! He looked deeply concerned and truly genuine. The man is in love with you, Victoria.”

“Of course he is! Have you seen my sister?” Lizzie proclaimed proudly.

Lizzie looked over me, bulging her eyes at my mother with a questioning look. “Tell her already,” she whispered, hoping I wouldn’t hear.

“What? Tell me what?” I jolted up, getting increasingly annoyed with these two.

“He invited us all to dinner tomorrow,” my mother grinned from ear to ear. “His daughter Diana will also be there.”

***

My hands hadn’t left the vicinity of my belly since finding out the news of my pregnancy. The only thing I could think about was how I would tell Christian and if Diana would approve. Happiness and excitement washed over me wave after wave, and I could feel my heart growing bigger to allow another human inside it.

I didn’t know if Christian would be on board, nor did I care. I wanted this baby with every fiber of my being, and if it were up to me, I would raise one fine jockey. I hoped it would be a boy so that he'd grow up smart and handsome like his father. But then, I wished for a wild, free-spirited girl whose hair would sway with the wind as she ran the fields. And then I realized that it didn’t matter. I just wanted to hold him or her in my arms and love them eternally.

The trips to the toilet became less challenging now that I knew the reason behind them. My mother shared some helpful tips, which I obediently followed, and felt better by the minute.

“Vicky, do you feel any better?”his text vibrated on the bed.

My fingers eagerly flew toward the ‘call’ button, but I stopped them and simply typed,“I feel much better! I heard about dinner tomorrow. Can’t wait!”

I wanted to shout the news from the rooftops, but I had to see his face when I told him in person. I had to know if he’d be genuinely happy or if the news would cast a shadow over us. Until then, I’d revel in the unknown, absorbing every second of this new and truly marvelous feeling of life growing inside me.

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