Fake Daddy To Be

“She said you left for the bus station, but she wouldn’t tell me where you were going. I almost screamed my head off, I was so angry. But after that, I called every bus station in the city and had them review their security cams. One of them got back to me with footage of you boarding a bus, and we tracked your ticket to California.”

Jolene stares at me.

“And then you got in your helicopter and intercepted the bus.”

“That’s right.”

She stares at me.

“Does that seem normal to you, Channing? Is that what people do after a woman doesn’t take their calls? Get their helicopters out and stage a daring intercept?”

I merely shrug and give her that you gave me no choice look again. Damn, this isn’t going the way I thought it would. Doesn’t Jolene see that I need her? Why else would I go to these lengths? Why else would I put everything on hold? I need her to understand that it is not okay to take off without telling me. It is not okay to disappear without a trace. I need her too much.

Instead, Jolene merely looks down again, asking in a dull voice, “Channing, what do you want from me?”

“I want answers!” I explode. “Do you not love me?”

The question hangs between us and she looks at me again, those big brown eyes filled with tears. Then, my lovely woman breaks down. Her sobs are so pitiful and so heart-wrenching that I can’t bear it. My anger melts away as I rush to her side.

“Sweetheart, I have been in love with you from the moment I saw you at the Black and White Ball,” I say. “Can’t you tell?” She shakes her head, and those brown curls bounce. I continue, my words rushed and filled with emotion. “I don’t even know how many laws I’ve broken just to find you. Stopping traffic on a motorway, for one. Forcing Port Authority to search for you, for another. I’m sure they think I’m insane.” I’d hoped to lighten the mood with my examples, but she just cries more before turning that beautiful tear-stained face my way.

“You love me, Channing?” she asks. “Really?”

“Yes, I do, sweetheart. I have for a long time now, and I’m so sorry that I didn’t show it. But you must have known.”

She shakes her head again, choking back sobs. “No, I didn’t know but Channing, I love you too. I’ve loved you all this time.”

My heart pounds with emotion as I gather her into my arms.

“Then why did you leave?” I breathe into her hair. “Why did you make me worry?”

She lets out a rather loud hiccup, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

“Because I don’t want to ruin your life. You have everything, and I would just –”

I cut her off.

“Jolene, honey, what are you talking about? Ruin my life? You make my life a thousand times better because you’re a part of it.”

She shakes her head again, and then takes a deep breath and meets my eyes. My heart almost explodes at her next words.

“Channing, I’m having your baby.”

For once, I’m shocked into silence. My mouth hangs open as the pretty brunette continues. “I knew you never wanted this. I knew that having a baby was never part of the plan. We were strangers when we met at the Black and White Ball, and it was just pure coincidence that I was your new maid too. But this was never part of the deal. You want convenience and freedom rolled into one, and a baby’s basically the opposite of that,” she says in a low, trembling voice. “A baby would mean ties and responsibilities. Lots of them.”

I can’t take it. I sit back and grip her by the shoulders, so hard that she gasps.

“Is that really what you think of me?” I rasp in a low voice. “Is your opinion of me so low?”

She shakes her head miserably, tears springing to her eyes again.

“I don’t know! But I looked at my bank account today, and another five thousand dollar deposit showed up. What am I supposed to think? I’m a woman who exists for your pleasure! I do the things you want me to do, wear the things you want me to wear, and basically exist because you say so! How do you think that makes me feel?”

I stare at her.

“If you’re unhappy with our arrangement—”

“Of course I’m unhappy with your arrangement,” she almost screams, unable to control her sobs now. “I don’t want to be a paid mistress anymore! I want to be … I want to be …”

But her sobs take over then, making it impossible to speak. I take her in my arms, holding her trembling form close while whispering in her ear.

“Good, because I don’t want our arrangement anymore either,” comes my rasp. “I want to be with you for real, Jolene. None of this paid mistress crap. I want you to be my girlfriend, and for you to have my baby. I want both of you to live with me, and for us to be a family.”