Chapter 26

LILIAN

Lilian had decided to stop by Sebastian’s office to say hello.

“Hello, cousin,” Lilian said in a sing-song voice as she stepped into Sebastian’s office.

Sebastian chuckled as he rose to his feet. He approached Lilian and gave her a hug. This was their first time sharing any sort of friendly bodily contact.

A few days back, they’d been enemies. Thanks to Jayda, they now acknowledged themselves as cousins and maybe friends.

“I almost did not believe my receptionist when she said you were here to see me.” He ushered her to take a seat opposite his desk.

“Well, I was somewhere around so I decided to stop by to greet you. I promised your baby mama that I was going to come to see you in the office and discuss a few things with you.”

“I don’t want you to call her that. She means so much more to me,” Sebastian said protectively.

Lilian chuckled with her hands up. “I apologize. Anyway, as Jayda’s best friend and your baby’s godmother, I come in peace to give you an official warning not to hurt them in any way or else, Mr. Sebastian Miller, you’ll have me to deal with.” She said this with a serious face.

“I learned my lesson, Lilian, and hurting them is the last thing on my mind right now. I’ve lost Jayda once, and I don’t want to lose her again. I know all I went through to make her talk to me or even see me, and I don’t want to go through that phase again.”

Lilian nodded. “I feel better hearing this from you. Jayda has never taken any of her relationships seriously, but she promises to give her all to make things work out for you two.

“What I’m saying is that some things are going to be new to her so please be patient with her,” Lilian clarified, and Sebastian nodded.

“So, you are our baby’s godmother? Jayda never mentioned that,” Sebastian teased.

“Of course I am,” Lilian said proudly. “And don’t you dare take such a position away from me,” she threatened.

Sebastian smiled. “I promise that I won’t.”

Lilian’s eyes connected with the cute frame on Sebastian’s desk. She took a closer look at it when she saw it was the ultrasound picture.

“This is beautiful,” she whispered.

Sebastian smiled proudly. “I know. Every time I look at the picture, I feel more motivated and blessed. The thought of having a younger version of me who will call me Daddy and look up to me for so many things sends chills down my spine.”

“I’m really happy for you and Jayda. She said she wants the baby to be a boy.”

Sebastian smiled. “She told me the same thing, but I’m sure we’ll be fine with either gender.”

“Jayda’s birthday is in a couple of weeks, and I’m informing you so you’ll start planning something elegant for her. Maybe we can throw her a surprise party, inviting family and friends.”

SEBASTIAN

Sebastian nodded. He didn’t know her birthday was close, and that made him realize they didn’t know much about each other. This made him all the more determined to be sure this birthday was special for her. Her best ever.

***

VANESSA

Vanessa was having dinner with her husband and daughters at their house when a question crossed her mind.

“Have you girls congratulated your brother?”

“Why?” Olivia asked.

“For what? Did he buy a new car?” Amelia questioned.

Vanessa took a glance at her husband before she spoke. She thought Sebastian would have told them about it.

“Maybe I should let Sebastian tell you himself,” Vanessa concluded and continued eating her food.

“Why, Mom? Tell us! We’re anxious to know,” Olivia bugged.

“I agree with Olivia. If it’s good news, we’d love to know,” Amelia added.

“Okay.” Vanessa put down her cutlery. “Your father and I are going to be grandparents.”

The young women were both shocked. Olivia looked from her mom to her dad, who nodded, confirming what his wife just said.

“Wow,” she said after a moment. “That means Amelia and I are going to be aunties,” Olivia said with a smile.

“That’s if the person claiming to be pregnant for our brother is saying the truth and not just a gold digger like Susan,” Amelia pointed out.

“Can you just be positive for once?” Albert said to his elder twin daughter who internally grumbled. No one got a hint of what she said.

“Mom, Dad, don’t mind Amelia. She’s always been jealous of all the women Sebastian has been with.”

“Anything that makes you sleep at night. Excuse me.” Amelia picked up her plate and her glass of orange juice and walked out of the dining room.

“I thought she would at least be happy for Sebastian,” Vanessa said as she went back to her food.

“Like always, she will come around. Let’s just give her time to digest the news.”

“But Mom, Dad, this girl is for real right? She loves my brother, and the baby she’s expecting is Sebastian’s?” Olivia asked hopefully.

She’d been as crushed as Sebastian when they found out Susan’s intention. She wouldn’t want any of her loved ones to go through that again, most especially her brother.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Vanessa replied.

“But we will leave it to Sebastian to tell you more about it,” Albert said.

Olivia nodded in understanding and proceeded to devour her grilled chicken.

***

OLIVIA

After clearing the table and catching up with some funny talks with her mom, Olivia returned to her room, took a shower, and changed into her comfy nightdress. She was about to go to sleep when she decided to call her brother to congratulate him.

Sebastian picked after a few rings.

“Am I speaking to the most amazing father to be in the world? The one who refused to inform his sister that she was going to be an aunt?” Olivia teased.

Sebastian chuckled. “I’m sorry for not telling you sooner, Liv. A lot has been going on in the past few days.”

“No problem. I called to congratulate you, but at the same time I’m worried.”

“Worried about what?”

“The woman you are with. You love her, right? And I hope she feels the same way about you. She’s not like Susan, right? I don’t want you to go through another heartbreak.”

SEBASTIAN

Sebastian smiled at the concern in his younger sister’s voice.

“There’s nothing to be worried about, Olivia. I finally found the right woman, and she’s the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

“Congratulations then. If you’re happy, I’m also happy for you,” she said to him.

“Thanks, Liv.” Sebastian paused. “So, I assume Mom and Dad didn’t tell you who the person is.

“No. They said they would leave it to you to tell Amelia and me,” Olivia replied.

“Okay, let’s just say you know the person, and you see her almost every day,” Sebastian said.

“Seb, you know I’m not good at guessing.” She groaned.

“Okay, she’s Lilian’s best friend,” he announced.

OLIVIA

“Our cousin, Lilian? Lilian’s best friend??” Olivia thought for a while and then it hit her.

“Oh my God! Seriously? Wait, are you for real?”

“Yes, dear,” Sebastian answered proudly.

“Oh my God!” Olivia screamed in excitement.

SEBASTIAN

Sebastian burst into laughter as he removed his phone from his ear.

“How? Where? When? I’ve been working with Jayda recently, and I see her almost a hundred times a day. I even run errands for her, and she never said anything to me.

“Jayda is so perfect for you. How come you are this lucky? How did you guys even meet? How come I never knew about this?” Olivia added.

OLIVIA

Even though she was surprised about everything, she was glad Jayda was the one carrying her brother’s child. She couldn’t have asked for a better person for her brother than Jayda.

SEBASTIAN

Sebastian chuckled. “Calm down, miss.” He could picture Olivia walking up and down her room, rambling on the phone, and that was exactly what she was doing.

“It’s a long story, Olivia. I fucked up along the way because of my fear of getting hurt again. But Jayda forgave me, and now we are planning on making things work between us.

“She didn’t know you were my sister until recently. I love Jayda, and I plan to spend the rest of my life with her.”

OLIVIA

Olivia held back happy tears. She could feel the joy in her brother’s voice and that made her extremely happy.

“I wish I could hug the hell out of you right now, Seb. I’m so happy for you, and at the same time, I’m so proud of you,” Olivia confessed as she plopped down on her bed.

Sebastian chuckled. “Thanks, sis. Now that you know about everything, don’t go around bugging Jayda.”

Olivia giggled. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”