"The baby is coming! The baby is coming!"
"Wait, what?" Zac pokes his head up from the cookbook he's reading as soon as I announce it from the top of my lungs. "Like, now?" His eyes widen.
"Yes, now! When else?" I shake my head at him, grabbing the keys to my car.
He quickly pushes the stool back and grabs his belongings as well. He was already dressed and was merely waiting for me to be ready. We were supposed to go on a picnic date he planned, but clearly Cass' baby has different plans.
"Well, such great timing." He dares to comment as he leads us to his car instead. I make no arguments. The car don't matter as long as it takes us to our destination.
"Yeah," I agree. "She's three weeks early from her EDD. Seems like your nephew just can't wait." I grin, dying to meet the new Gray addition.
Everyone arrived promptly and waited in Cass' private suite while she and Carson are in the delivery ward.
Drew came alone as usual; still yet to settle down with anyone. Although his reason is simply because he has too many of a choice to pick from. Who wouldn't want a bit of our famous soccer player? He already has a dedicated fanclub online with nearly a million followers.
"How long will this be again?" Drew asks, rudely lying on Cass' hospital bed in her absence.
"That depends how long the little one takes to come out of her vajayjay." I laugh.
Wayne saunters in with Ally in tow, both of them with coffee cups in hand. I'd have to say I was immensely proud of my brother for being determined enough to woo the love of his life back. It surely wasn't easy for them as Ally needed a lot more than just words; but they made it through regardless and had already moved in to live together.
"Is it me or do you have a baby bump?" I gasp, pointing at Ally's slightly protuding belly.
Ally's eyes widen, glaring at me from across the room. "Owens!" She yells incredulously, using her free hand to hide her stomach.
Wayne chuckles, pulling her in by her shoulders. "Not that you need to know, Kel, but I'm confident with my pull out skills."
Drew and Zac both stifle a laugh.
"Do you blame me? Haven't seen either of you for three weeks and here she is with a belly." I say, wiggling my brows suggestively at Ally whose cheeks are flushed.
Ever since Ally moved in to Wayne's house, he made her quit her waitressing job at the Pizzeria. His boxing school thrived and he'd shifted operations to a much bigger space. Ally occasionally helps out with his work administrative wise; but she's mostly a stay-home girlfriend now.
"I feed her good." Wayne smirks, ignoring the daggers Ally shoot him.
"I've just been really bored and hungry. I mean, what else do you do other than eat?" Ally sighs. "Then again, this bloat is getting a little ridiculous. I'm not pregnant, am I?" She glances to Wayne.
"Mini Wayne. I can picture that." Drew teases.
Wayne merely rolls his eyes. "Pretty sure you're not. But if you're scared, we are at the hospital now. We can always book an appointment if you want." He rubs on Ally's shoulder lovingly.
The inner me battles between wanting to swoon at how my brother's evolved and wanting to puke at the same time.
Just then, two nurses wheel in Cass while Carson pushes the infant crib along.
"Well, that's fast." Drew hurriedly hops down the bed so Cass can rest.
All of us quickly crowd around the little prince, cooing at how adorable he looks. He has hair as thick and dark as Carson's and a cute little button nose.
"Yeah, nice. I just pushed a baby out of my vagina and everybody crowds around the baby." Cass grumbles, sounding completely lethargic.
We burst out laughing, covering our mouths with our hands so not to scare the newborn.
"You've done well, babe." Carson goes to comfort his wife, kissing her forehead.
"Thank you for your compliment but I'm never giving birth again." She lets out a deep breath.
"That's what you said when you gave birth to Nicole." I remind her.
She rolls her eyes. "This time I'm goddamn serious. I'm so done with sleep deprivation and all the fricking backaches." She sighs, leaning against Carson while we take turns holding her baby. "Speaking of which, where's Nicole?"
Nicole has already turned 3, lord how quick time flies. She is incredibly smart for her ageâalready able to speak in sentences and write. That girl is the little princess in our clique since she's the first and only child among us. But with the arrival of her brother, she's been sort of upset for not having sole attention anymore.
"With mom," Zac answers to his sister-in-law. It indeed was weird at first but we slowly realize nothing really changed other than just a label.
The Gray's mother, Dion, has been utterly doting to Nicole ever since she was born. Cass moved in to their mansion after she and Carson got married and their daughter has been Dion's companion most days.
There were several times I was invited to have dinner with them at their house but I could still sense some tension from Dion when I was around. That made me sort of disappointed seeing as she didn't have an issue with Cass despite their shotgun marriage; and I didn't think I'd done anything to incur her wrath. I was just me, yet she still didn't like me.
The thing with Dion itself caused quite a stir between Zac and I back then. I began to distant myself from both him and Cass, as I was admittedly jealous and upset that I wasn't as welcomed as Cass was into the family. It took awhile for me to get over it on my own seeing as I never told either of them what was bothering me.
About a year ago, after my college graduation, Zac brought up the idea about moving in together. I was surprised yet in a dilemma at the same time. Did he want me to move in to his family home? Because I didn't think I'd be comfortable living in someone's house when I knew they didn't approve of me. It was that that made me said no to Zac.
He was stunned. That's when he found out what bothered me all these years. He tried to convince me I was over-thinking and that I was mildly unreasonable about how his mom managed to accept Cass and not me. It stirred up yet another argument and trust meâI thought it was the end of us then.
Thankfully, it wasn't. We managed to work things out and I promised I'd stop seeing things in negativity. Zac gave in too. He agreed it wasn't such a good idea to be staying at his mom's at the age of 25, so we ended up renting our own house and have been co-habiting ever since. Albeit it wasn't a mansion or anything even close to compete with, but at least we were contented with what we achieved on our own.
I return the little prince to Cass' arms carefully, afraid of hurting him because he still looks so fragile. "Have you thought of a name yet?" I ask.
Cass glances up to meet Carson's gaze, and they both grin. "Nathaniel Gray." They say in unison.
âââ
"You're acting weird." I tease Ally as the two of us go window-shopping at the hospital shops. Cass needed to feed the baby so we all decide to loiter on our own until we return to her room for our make-up picnic meal.
"No I'm not." She rolls her eyes, blatantly averting my gaze. After five years of friendship she should've known I can easily spot when she's lying.
"Fine, whatever." I shrug, but the curiosity keeps gnawing at me. "Dammit. Are you pregnant or not?" I pry.
"What?" She turns and gapes at me. "Of course not!"
I eye her suspiciously. "So did he pop the question? Are you engaged?" I keep asking, not even giving her a chance to answer. "Because I know your face when you're hiding something." I raise a brow, my arms crossed.
Ally lets out a frustrated groan. "At least pretend!"
"Pretend what?"
"Pretend you don't know something is up."
"So there is something!" I point at her accusingly. "Tell me!"
"Nope."
"Why?" I fake hurt with large puppy eyes. "Please? I'm so curious!"
"Yep, I know." Is all she provides me with.
Pouting, I stare at the ground as we continue our walk in silence. Until she gives in.
"Jeez. You will know when it's time! Stop it with that face." Ally pinches my cheek mercilessly.
"Okay? So when is it time?" I ask impatiently.
She throw her hands up in the air. "Later! Goddamnit."
I keep bothering her with my repetitive questions all the way until we reach Cass' private room. By now Ally has had enough of me and has resorted to pretending she can't hear me as a distraction.
"You will shut up now once you push open the door." Ally warns me sternly, clearly annoyed.
I let out a sigh. Fine, maybe I was indeed irritating. But it's been awhile and I feel like everyone has sort of drifted apart due to our own commitments. I haven't heard any gossip for weeks!
Without another word, I push open the door to Cass' room only to find that it has been transformed. Helium balloons fill up the empty ceiling and confetti are thrown all over the floor.
"Holyâ" my eyes widen at the sight. Cass lies on bed and grins widely at me. "Is there supposed to be a party? I didn't bring presents!" I inform her.
Cass shakes her head, gesturing for me to come in. I step in to see Carson, Drew and Wayne standing by the wall like statuesâunmoving.
Then a laugh draws my attention and I turn to another corner of the room only to be surprised by the presence of my parents.
"Mom? Dad!" My jaw drops. What on earth are they doing here?
But they don't approach and neither do I, my feet suddenly too heavy to move. Dion and Nicole has returned too and are sitting just beside my parents on the couch. I scan the room in wonder. Did I miss something?
Just as I am about to question them, Zac enters the room with a gigantic rose bouquet in his hands.
My heart begins to race. Oh my god. This isn't what I think it is, is it? I watch as my boyfriend of four years stands in front of me.
"Baby?" I look at him wide-eyed, flickering my gaze between him and the amazing flower arrangement in his hands. The bouquet is so damn big I'm guessing there must be at least a hundred stalk of red rose in it.
He smiles, reaching out to hand me the bouquet. It's a lot heavier than I expected and I needed both hands to hug it to my stomach. The flowers are real. Oh, god. Oh, god. The inner me had to panic.
Before I can say a thing, Zac drops onto one knee in the middle of the room and I gasp.
"What are you doing!" My breathing increases. Is he really doing this here, now?
He chuckles, reaching into his pants pocket to retrieve a small velvet black box. "I think you know."
I nibble on my bottom lip, glancing at our audience nervously. "You can't do this here!" I whisper-yell at him. "This is Cass' big day!" How can he steal someone elses' spotlight and propose in their hospital room?!
"Baby, I've planned today for months. This is supposed to happen on the grass at the park but I guess here works as well. Besides, it's your best friend's idea really." He reassures me.
I turn to look at Cass only to see she's all in smiles, nodding at me.
"You knew?" I ask her, then glance at everyone else. "You all knew?"
"You have no idea." Cass chuckles, waving a hand at me to turn back to Zac.
I feel my eyes welling up, overwhelmed. This is way too abrupt.
"Marry me, Kelsey Owens. Marry me so you can officially ditch the room you still have at Wayne's. Marry me so we can finally build an over-the-top wardrobe for the both of us. Marry me so that you will be the one making all the decisions for our new house. Marry me so that your last name will finally change to mine. Marry me, because I've loved you for the past four years and I don't want to spend any moment longer without calling you my wife. I don't want this to be a question but I guess I have to askâbaby, will you marry me?" Zac lifts the top of the box revealing a dazzling diamond ring.
My world seems to freeze at this frame as I see nothing but just him in my eyes. He kneels there on one knee with the same charming grin I fell in love with all those years before. His hair is still as dishevelled and blond, while he's kept his stubble neat and trimmed ever since I once told him how much I liked it on him.
I bend down slightly, wanting to lower my voice to a whisper so only he can hear. "Are you sure?" I ask hesitantly.
But clearly everyone can hear me just fine because I hear them stifle a laugh.
"Sure of what?"
"Sure you want to marry me? I mean, you're only 27 while I'm 24. Are you sure this is what you really want? Do you really want to marry me already? Besides... you know that my..." I debate whether to bring up the bad memories of my miscarriages. If he wants to get married, he should be reminded of my odds of pregnancy, right?
Zac cuts me off with a stern shake of his head. "I love you Kelsey, you know that already. And that means each and every version of you there is. Plus, I've already asked for your parents' permission beforehand. I'm serious, love. I want to marry you so fucking bad."
A single drop of tear rolls down my face as I glance at the intensity in his brown orbs. How did I ever find someone who loves me so damn much? I just wanted to cry at that thought.
Somehow amidst all my bad experiences, I kept thinking Zac will probably leave me someday. That what we have is only temporary and I shouldn't look too far into the future. Maybe a part of me is afraid that nobody will ever want me for my baggages; refuses to believe anyone would.
But we've both grown so much. We've overcomed so far and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to marry him. God, he's the only man I'd ever want to call my husband in this lifetime.
After a minute of silence while everyone waited for my answer, I finally give a firm nod while holding back my tears. Zac grins, plucking out the ring from the box to slide it up my finger.
"You won't regret this?" I mumble into his chest as he wraps me up in his arms. Our family and friends clap and cheer, picking up confetti from the ground to throw at us.
"Never. I love you so goddamn much." He leans down to take my lips in his passionately. "Don't ever doubt that again."
âââ
"I'm glad you said yes, Kel. I know Zac will take good care of you." My brother ruffles my hair annoyingly, pulling me in for a hug.
I smile against his chest. "And if he doesn't?"
He pats my head gently. "There will always be your room in my house no matter what."
⢠⢠â¢
THE END
A/N: That's it, guys. -insert crying emoji-
We have officially come to the end of IHMB's journey. 50 chapters, 10 months long. Along with over the few hundreds of you who've patiently followed through the book. Thank you so much for your support and all the kind words you guys have given me all these time.
As sad as I am to say this, there will be no sequel to this book. I feel like I've given the characters enough closure for you all to imagine what comes next for them.
If any of you have any questions for any of the characters, feel free to ask them and I'll answer to my best ability. Just for a free pass, I'll let you know that Cass and Carson will have 4 kids in totalâher 3rd pregnancy is a set of twins. ð
Meanwhile, if you've enjoyed reading this book, please give my other books a chance! There will be a new book coming up soon, so follow my profile if you'd like to keep updated with my progress ð
For the last time here, goodbye guys. â¤ï¸