Chapter 78: Mystery Woman
Moana
When Edrick finally told his mother at lunch that I was pregnant with his baby and not some other man’s baby, there was a long silence. I felt my heart jump into my throat as my hands shook nervously underneath the table. What was his mother going to say? Was she going to accuse me of trying to lock down her son with a baby in order to gain money or social status? Was she going to tell me to leave and stay away from the Morgan family before I sullied their reputation with my status as a human nanny?
All of these things swirled around in my mind for those long few moments when no one spoke, causing a slight wave of nausea to wash over me. Suddenly, I lost what little appetite I had for my lunch, although I was already so nervous before that I couldn’t bring myself to eat much anyway.
Finally, and much to my pleasure and surprise, a broad smile spread across Verona’s aging face.
“Oh, how wonderful!” she said, clasping her hands together happily. “I’m so happy!”
Beside me, Edrick’s eyes widened. “Really?” he said, sounding just as incredulous as I felt.
“Of course!” Verona exclaimed. “Another grandchild!” She quickly lowered her voice then, realizing that someone might overhear if she got too excited about it. “I must admit that I am a little worried, though,” she said, her smile fading somewhat.
“Worried about what, exactly?” Edrick replied.
Verona sighed and looked down at her plate. “Well, you’re not married yet,” she said. “What’s your plan for raising the baby?”
Finally, I took an opportunity to chime in and said proudly, “We’ve decided to co-parent.”
Verona raised an eyebrow and looked back and forth between Edrick and I for a moment. She looked a little confused, and I felt a bit embarrassed then as I realized that a wealthy woman from an older generation might not be so understanding of an arrangement like ours.
“Moana will continue living with Ella and I at the penthouse,” Edrick elaborated. “We’ll raise the baby together so he or she can experience having both parents in the same household… Plus, Ella loves Moana as her nanny, so it wouldn’t be fair otherwise.”
Edrick’s mother was silent for a few moments, seemingly processing this new information. I felt my own anxieties growing as I wondered what she would think of our unconventional arrangement.
“You know, this could be harder than you think it will be,” Verona said finally. “Think about how it could confuse the child. Are you sure you wouldn’t consider just getting married? Besides, with your father—”
“I won’t get married,” Edrick suddenly said, somewhat abrasively at that. Verona seemed a bit taken aback. Although I was used to this sort of behavior from the Alpha billionaire by now, I was a little hurt by his abrupt statement of intent, too.
“Well…” Verona sighed and picked up her tea, taking a long sip. She set the cup back down in the causer with a slight clang, seemingly a little annoyed; I couldn’t tell if that was because of her son’s refusal to get married or if it was because he accidentally impregnated a human nanny. “Just don’t make any arbitrary decisions,” she said, looking sternly at Edrick. “Make sure you really consider all of the factors involved before you make such broad, sweeping choices.”
Edrick didn’t answer Verona’s comment. Admittedly, although I felt a little awkward, it was also nice to know that maybe the Alpha billionaire’s mother was at least a little bit on my side. While I had come to terms with our co-parenting arrangement, I also wondered what sort of emotional impact it would have on our child.
Finally, Edrick spoke again. “There’s one more thing, mom,” he said, adjusting in his chair uncomfortably. “It’s about dad.”
Verona frowned. “What is it?”
“I’d like it if you wouldn’t tell him until we have absolutely no choice,” he said quietly. He paused and sucked on his lower lip for a minute, thinking. “Moana has only been pregnant for a short while. I’m… Afraid that he might do something to the baby if he found out now.”
Both mine and Verona’s eyes widened. Edrick hadn’t mentioned this concern, and suddenly I felt incredibly anxious and put my hand over my stomach protectively out of instinct. Was my baby in danger?
“Edrick,” Verona said, shaking her head disappointedly, “your father isn’t that bad. But… If it really means so much to you, then I won’t say a word. Your secret is safe with me.”
…
After lunch, we hugged and kissed Verona goodbye before heading back to the penthouse. I felt a bit of a relief now that Edrick’s mother knew about the pregnancy, but Edrick’s mention of his father potentially doing something to the baby made me suddenly feel even more anxious than before. I finally began to understand why Edrick might not have wanted to say anything just yet… He was trying to protect our baby. But was his father really all that bad?
When we arrived back at the penthouse, however, my anxieties raised even further. We hardly even had time to get out of the elevator before Selina came scurrying over to us with her phone in her hand.
“You two will want to see this,” she said quickly, shoving the phone in our faces. Edrick frowned and took the phone, and I leaned over to look at the screen.
On the screen, there was an image from an internet tabloid.
It was a picture of Edrick, Verona and I at the restaurant that day. My eyes widened as I saw that there was a big, red circle around my belly, which was protruding a bit in my dress. I had my hand on my belly in the picture, emphasizing it even more. Meanwhile, mine, Edrick’s and Verona’s faces all appeared grim, and Verona’s mouth was open. It was clear that we were having a very important discussion.
Below the image was big, bold text that read:
“MYSTERY WOMAN WITH WERECORP CEO! NEW ADDITION TO THE MORGAN FAMILY ON THE WAY?”
I felt my heart sink as I saw all of this. I glanced up at Edrick, whose face went white as a sheet. Without another word, he quickly took out his phone and walked away, leaving Selina and I standing speechless in the foyer.
“Hello?” I heard him say as he went into his office. “Yes. This is Edrick Morgan. I’d like to pay you to take down that article…”
With that, the door shut and I couldn’t hear what he said afterwards. I swallowed the knot in my throat as I looked at Selina, whose face seemed both concerned and apologetic.
Without another word, I held my head high and returned to my bedroom to rest. As I laid down atop my quilt and stared at the ceiling, however, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for what happened. It was all my fault for that image being published; if I hadn’t demanded that we speak to Verona again, that picture never would have been taken. And now, Edrick had to clean up the mess I made before his father found out.
