Chapter 24

SEBASTIAN

They walked down to a fancy restaurant not far from the hospital. Sebastian and Jayda were ushered to a private table for two. He pulled out a chair for her before settling down opposite her. A waiter came with the menu. They went through it and ordered what they wanted.

Soon enough, their orders came, and they dug in. Sebastian spent the first few minutes admiring Jayda as she ate. He liked the fact that she was herself around him.

“So, how’s work?” He tried to start a conversation.

“Fine. Since I found out about the pregnancy, I’ve been on my best behavior and trying not to overwork myself.”

Sebastian nodded, happy that she was taking their baby and her health into consideration.

“I had no idea your sister was interning at my firm. I found out from Lilian not too long ago,” Jayda told him.

“I also learned about it recently. Olivia adores you. My mom said she talks about you all the time. You’re her idol.”

JAYDA

Jayda was flattered whenever she heard compliments like that. She knew that many aspiring lawyers and learned colleagues looked up to her because of all her achievements, but she never let it go to her head.

“I hope she doesn’t change her mind when she learns about the baby,” Jayda said.

“I don’t think so. She will definitely be happier and proud that you’re now part of the family. It’s only Amelia who might get a little bit jealous.”

“Amelia?” Jayda asked, confused.

“Amelia is Olivia’s twin sister.”

She nodded, realizing there was so much she didn’t know about him or his family. They would be her baby’s family too.

After breakfast, they walked back to the hospital’s parking lot in silence.

“Do you have a few more minutes? I’d like to talk to you about something important,” Sebastian asked Jayda.

She was worried he was going to tell her he’d changed his mind and didn’t want to be in her life, after all. She smiled reluctantly. “We can sit in my car.”

They got settled in the front seats.

Sebastian sighed before breaking the silence. “I need to explain to you what happened that turned me so cold. I wasn’t always like that, but because of my status, a lot of women always wanted to associate themselves with me. Some even made it clear to me that they wanted to carry my heir, but I was extremely careful about the women I had a one-night stand with.

“Before you, two other women claimed they were pregnant with my child.”

A bubble of jealousy rose in Jayda’s throat. She kept a calm face, but inside, her heart was racing. Was he going to tell her he had children already? Or maybe he was in love with another woman? She’d just begun to forgive him, and now he was getting ready to disappoint her again!

“It turned out one was lying, and the other one was pregnant with another man’s child,” Sebastian continued.

He paused to look at Jayda, who was listening attentively to all he was saying. Relieved at his words, she nodded and encouraged him to continue.

“A few years back, I met Susan and fell in love with her. At least, I thought it was love at the time. I never felt for her half of what I feel for you.

“We met in a club and hit it off from there. We went on a couple of dates before I made it official by asking her to be my girlfriend, and she happily agreed.

“Almost four months into our relationship, she told me she was pregnant. I felt on top of the world. I was the happiest man that day. She confessed she hadn’t been feeling well, so she went to the hospital for a test. She showed me the test results which confirmed she was a few weeks pregnant.”

Jayda didn’t know what to say. She could tell this story was very hard for Sebastian to tell, and she was glad he was being honest about his past. She didn’t like to hear about him with another woman, but she tried not to show it.

“I was ready to do everything for Susan. I gave her everything she asked for. She went shopping every week, and I always paid the bill. Even if it was twenty-five thousand dollars. She loves flashy and expensive stuff, so I spoiled her with surprise jewelry on different occasions. There were times she would be sad and burst into tears because she misplaced her jewelry, and just to make her feel better, I would buy two more of the ones she misplaced.”

Sebastian paused again. Jayda frowned. She was getting suspicious of Susan’s motives.

“I was ready to propose to Susan and give her a dream wedding. I’d already bought a mansion for us to move into after the proposal.” By this time, Sebastian’s eyes were filled with tears.

Jayda noticed it. She also noticed the hurt in his face and voice as he spoke. Her heart went out to him.

“To cut a long story short, I overheard Susan talking to someone on the phone the day I planned to propose to her, and my whole world crumbled based on that conversation.

“It turned out Susan had a boyfriend and the two of them were using me to get a fortune. She never loved me. I was just their prey. From that conversation, I learned that the pregnancy test results were forged, and she’d lied about all the pieces of jewelry she misplaced. She was giving them to her boyfriend, who was selling them along with other expensive items I bought for her.”

Sebastian’s gold-flecked eyes and voice turned colder than ice.

“I also learned that her real name wasn’t Susan, and that night she was planning to fake a miscarriage scene before breaking up with me.”

Jayda gasped at the other woman’s cruelty. No wonder Sebastian had turned into such a monster!

“I felt used, manipulated, and very angry. My mom trained me not to lay my hands on a woman, or else I would have strangled her with my bare hands.

“Susan wasn’t ashamed of what she did. She didn’t even deny any of it when I confronted her. Instead, she blamed me for being so naive and even made fun of me that I couldn’t satisfy her in bed. She did all of that to make me feel less than a man, and she succeeded. I was depressed for days.

“I hired some guys to locate her boyfriend. After hours of torture, they were able to recover over half of the money Susan and her boyfriend got from me.

“Not that I needed that money, but I would be happier if it was donated to people in need than have two crooks and liars benefit from it. I donated the money to charity.”

Sebastian at last drew in a long, heavy breath. His shoulders slumped, and he hung his head. He was the picture of a man who’d gone through something incredibly difficult. When he lifted his head to look at her, his eyes gleamed.

“My experience with Susan damaged me so much, I became the arrogant bastard you met. I was scared of any form of commitment. I thought keeping myself hard and distant from anyone would keep me from getting hurt again.

“The night I met you, I intended for it to be the same as it had been with all the other women since Susan. A quick romp and nothing more. But something about you got inside me, and I found myself opening up to you. We spent the night with such passion. I’d never felt anything like it.

“But the next morning, I remembered Susan. That’s why I said horrible things to you. I swear to you that I didn’t mean any of what I said. I never wanted to make you cry.”

At his sincere confession, Jayda wept a few tears of compassion and joy. This man had gone through so much and been so hurt. What she’d experienced with Zach could never compare.

Sebastian sat up straight. “Days went by, and you were the only one I could think of. I tried to have other flings, but I couldn’t do more than kiss. You spoiled me for other women, Jayda.

“Caleb advised me to go after you, apologize for everything, and tell you the way I feel about you but I didn’t because of my ego. And then unexpectedly, you walked into my office with the test results, informing me that you were pregnant. All I could see was history repeating itself again, so I lost it.”

His voice shook. Tears streamed freely down Jayda’s cheeks. She couldn’t believe she’d ever considered tossing him out of her life. This was a totally different man in front of her!

“You are a good person, Jayda, and I’m sorry for everything I put you through. You chose to come clean to me about our child when you could have just kept it to yourself.”

He took one of Jayda’s hands that were placed on her lap.

“I’m not justifying all the wrong I did to you. My past with Susan was no excuse to treat you the way I did. I wish you could feel how sorry I am. I know I cannot change the past but for the rest of my life, I promise to make it up to you and our child.”

Jayda’s heart soared. Sebastian kissed her hand. She kept their fingers linked and gave his hand a squeeze.

“This child is our first baby, and I want us to enjoy every moment of its growth until he or she is born and beyond that. I’d also like us to explore what we feel for one another.” He gave her a pleading look.

She knew now what had made him turn into such an arrogant bastard, but she could forgive him. Her hands rested on her belly for a second as she thought about how hurt he’d been in the past. She would never do such a thing to him.

“I lost my other relationship because I wasn’t ready to have a family and be a mother,” Jayda said. “When I found out I was pregnant, I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want it. But now I can’t imagine anything I want more than to have my first baby with you. ~Our~ first baby.

“I want to share this special time with nobody else, Sebastian. I’m sorry for all that you went through, I’m sorry for not forgiving you sooner, and I hope you forgive me too.

“I’m willing to give us a chance. I’ve never been good when it comes to commitment or any form of relationship, but I promise to give my all to make us work. Please, just don’t break my heart.”

Sebastian smiled. He brought her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on it. “I promise, I won’t break your heart,” he assured her.

“Can I consider us in a relationship?” he asked hopefully.

Jayda nodded.

“Thank you.” Sebastian kissed her forehead.

Jayda took out the envelope of ultrasound pictures. There were six copies. She took three copies for herself and handed Sebastian the remaining three.

SEBASTIAN

“I’ll send one copy to my parents. They’re really excited to be grandparents,” Sebastian said.

A question popped in his head.

“How did your parents take the news?” he asked Jayda.

“Being a retired nurse, my mom saw the signs in me. She knew I was pregnant when I refused to admit it to myself, but she and my dad are okay with it.”

Sebastian nodded.

“I want to show you something. Promise me you won’t freak out,” Sebastian said shyly.

Jayda smiled. “I’ll try not to.”

Sebastian rolled his left sleeve up a bit to show her the bracelet on his wrist. It matched the one he sent to her along with the necklace she currently wore, but his bracelet had some words written in a foreign language engraved on it.

But that was not what Sebastian was trying to show her. He had her name tattooed on his wrist.

Jayda’s eyes widened in shock. She reached for his wrist and ran her fingers over her name. It was written in tiny cursive words.

~Jayda my love~.

Her entire face glowed from the force of her smile.

“I initially went for a haircut with Caleb. We made a stop at a tattoo shop because he wanted to get one. He forced me to get one too. You were all I could think of, so I chose to tattoo your name. That way, everyone will know I’m taken,” he said proudly.

JAYDA

“No one has ever had a tattoo of my name. I love it, thanks!”

Before she could ask him what the words engraved on his bracelet meant, they were interrupted by Jayda’s phone. She had an incoming call from her secretary, who informed her a client was waiting for their appointment.

Jayda had actually lost track of time. It was already past noon.

“Sorry, I’ve got a client waiting for me.”

“It’s fine. I should return to the office too.”

He looked into her eyes and spoke. “Drive safe, and please take care of yourself. Don’t forget to call me if you need anything.”

She nodded.

SEBASTIAN

Sebastian leaned closer to her and kissed her cheek before he got out of her car. He made sure to take his own copies of the ultrasound pictures. He watched as she drove away before making his way to his car.

Nothing could go wrong now, he thought triumphantly.