Chapter 17

RAINA

Ronald excused himself to go hang out with Gabriel. While Raina sat with Jemma, she saw Loretta approaching her. She mentally grumbled as she wondered who had invited her.

“Hi,” Loretta said with a small smile as she approached them. She sat in the empty chair beside Raina. “I came to talk to you, Raina.”

She seemed to not care that Jemma was at the same table with them and was likely to hear whatever she had to say.

“I’m truly sorry for everything I put you through,” Loretta said. “I guess I was so obsessed with Ronald, but you need not worry. It’s all over now. He’s engaged to you, and there is nothing I can change about that.

“I believe if I put myself out there and give myself a chance, I will find someone like your fiancé. I’m happy for you two, and congratulations on your engagement.” Her voice was without any trace of jealousy.

Raina was shocked—she was definitely not expecting all that to come out of Loretta’s mouth. What surprised her the most was that she saw the sincerity in Loretta’s eyes as she spoke.

“T…Thank…y…you!” Raina stuttered. She was trying to process the fact that what just happened was real.

Loretta nodded, excused herself, and hung out with some people Raina did not recognize.

“Did that just happen?” Jemma whispered.

Raina chuckled. “Unbelievable. But I’m happy and relieved.”

“Why aren’t you drinking your wine?” Jemma asked.

“Hmmm, I just want to match you. It wouldn’t be fair for me to drink wine when my best friend drinks lemonade because she’s breastfeeding.”

“You sure?” Jemma asked, not believing her, but Ronald interrupted them before she could respond.

“Hey! Can I borrow my fiancée for a while?” he asked, directing his question to Jemma. “I want to introduce her to some of my business associates.”

“Sure,” Jemma replied, and Ronald helped Raina up. They walked hand in hand as he introduced her to his business partners.

When he was done introducing her to his guests, Raina pulled him into a quiet area, one of the VIP sections. She couldn’t keep it a secret anymore, so she decided to tell him.

She closed the gap between them and took his hand in hers. She looked into his beautiful eyes.

“Thank you, Ronald. This is the best birthday gift ever. My dress, shoes, jewelry, the surprise party, the restaurant, and the proposal. I feel so loved. Thank you.”

He smiled. “You’re welcome, my love.”

“I have something else to say, so I will just go straight to the point,” she said. He nodded, encouraging her to say whatever she wanted to.

She took his hand that was still in hers and placed it on her belly. “Your baby says hi,” she said with a smile.

Ronald looked at her surprised, after which his lips curved into a smile.

“You’re pregnant?” he asked with so much happiness in his voice.

Raina nodded.

RONALD

This was the best news Ronald had heard in a while, and happy would be an understatement to describe how he was feeling; he was over the moon.

“Thank you. Thank you so much, Raina. You don’t know how happy this made me,” he whispered as he leaned against her forehead. His hand was still on her belly.

Raina chuckled. “Why are you thanking me? It takes two to make a baby.”

Ronald kissed her on her lips, after which he dropped down to his knee and kissed her belly.

“Hey, little one, I hope you can hear me. It’s me, your daddy.

“I’m so happy to hear about your existence, and I can’t wait for you to be here with us. I love you so much already. Mommy does too, and I’m sure your sisters will be so protective of you.

“Be good to Mommy while in there, okay,” he said, after which he kissed her belly again.

Then he stood up and pulled his fiancée into a hug, followed by a long passionate kiss.

RONALD

~THREE MONTHS LATER~

Raina and Ronald got married exactly one month after their engagement. It was a wonderful wedding attended by friends, family, and well-wishers.

As promised, Alexa and Adrie were the flower girls, and they looked beautiful on that day, but not more so than the bride herself, Raina.

The newlyweds had their honeymoon in Dubai while the girls stayed home with Clarice.

Alessandra and Adriana’s reactions were priceless when Raina and Ronald told them they would be big sisters in a few months. The girls couldn’t get over the fact that their younger sibling would be joining them soon.

Raina’s restaurant had been doing extremely well and was already known in the city as one of the best.

She went to work every day to supervise the restaurant since there were more than enough workers to do everything. But sometimes, she did do some cooking and baking.

“Girls, you have to go to bed. You two have school tomorrow,” Ronald said tiredly, which earned a chuckle from Raina.

As usual, they were tucking the girls to bed, and Ronald was reading their bedtime story to them. He sat on the edge of the bed while Raina was in the middle of the girls’ bed, her head against the headboard.

Adrie and Alexa cuddled Raina with their tiny arms wrapped protectively around her five-month bump.

Ronald was frustrated because they refused to fall asleep after reading three bedtime stories to them.

“We want to spend more time with Jayden.” Alexa pouted as she cuddled Raina’s bump all the more.

Yes, Raina was expecting a boy. They found out during her last checkup. Everyone went crazy with the news, especially Ronald, who couldn’t get over the fact that a smaller version of him would be born soon.

Alexa and Adrie came up with the name Jayden for the baby. They were so protective of him already and did not fail to kiss Raina’s belly every morning and every night before they went to bed.

“Yes, Daddy, please,” Adrie pouted.

“Okay. Just one more story,” he said, and the girls grinned as they looked at each other. They had their daddy wrapped around their little fingers.

Thankfully, they fell asleep even before Ronald finished the fourth story. He did a happy dance in his head. He has been wanting to spend some alone time with his wife.

Raina carefully came down from the girls’ bed, covered them properly with the duvet, and she and Ronald kissed them on their foreheads. Then they exited the children’s bedroom.

“So, how was work today?” Raina asked her husband.

They were on the balcony, the one connected to their room. Ronald was sitting on the sofa while Raina was lying down with her head on his lap. It was a beautiful sight with the moon shining toward them.

Raina and Ronald looked forward to their alone time every night, where they got cozy and talked about their day and anything else they had in mind.

“Mine was fine. What about yours?” he asked as he gently caressed her hair, looking into her beautiful eyes.

“Mine was fine—” She stopped and let out a small scream, and her hand went over her belly.

“What is it, my love? Are you okay?” he asked, worry evident in his voice.

“He moved,” Raina whispered with a smile, trying to sit up.

She sat on the sofa and moved closer to Ronald, placing his hand on her belly, and then their son kicked again.

“Wow, that’s amazing,” Ronald said with a smile bigger than the one on Raina’s face.

He made her sit on his lap and hugged her.

“Thank you for sharing this amazing moment with me, thank you for accepting to be my other half, and thank you for giving us Baby Jayden,” he said.

She chuckled against his chest. “Baby Jayden? I thought you didn’t like the name.” She looked at him with a smile playing on her lips.

“I guess I like it now since Adrie and Alexa won’t stop calling him Jayden.”

The girls named the baby Jayden from the moment the ultrasound confirmed it was a boy. Ronald didn’t like the name then but thought it was growing on him now.

“I love you,” she said as she looked at the love of her life with so much adoration in her eyes.

“I love you more, babe. You’ll forever be the queen of my heart,” he said and sealed his promise with a long passionate kiss.