Denouement (14 page)

“Why?” He finally let himself look at her and bathe in
her sweet kiss. “I don’t deserve you.”

“I could say the same thing.” She shrugged. “We all
have our demons that make us feel like we are not worthy.”

“But you are…you are so perfect.” He cupped her face
and almost purred when she leaned into it.

“I missed that.” She sighed. “You always had a way of
making me feel like a million bucks.”

“Says the woman who is worth more
than a hundred million bucks.
I was thinking that maybe we could buy a
new house—” He went silent when he saw the pained expression on her face. “I
sold the other apartment. You said you didn’t belong there anymore, so I
thought we could get a bigger space especially with the baby coming. If you’ll
take me back that is. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s too late for that.” She frowned, then took his
hand and put it on her belly. “She kicks so hard.”

“She’s kicking?” He gasped as he felt something push
against his hand. “Does it hurt?”

“When she kicks it’s kind of like this.” She pinched
him and he winced. “When she’s got the hiccups it kind of like this…” She
pressed her fist against his arm. “Like a dull ache.”

“There is a baby in your belly,” he said as he stared
at her in awe.

Tobias pulled her toward the bed. He sat down and
moved her toward him before laying his head on her belly. He was listening for
something, he wasn’t exactly sure what. He lifted his head when he felt a
repetitive push, it wasn’t like the kicks. He looked up at her for an
explanation.

“Hiccups,” she said.

“Should I get some water?”

“For me?
Sure, but it won’t
do the baby much good.” She giggled.

“I’m going to protect the both of you, I swear it. I
will die before anyone hurts either one of you.” He caught the tear rolling
down her cheek as he stood up.

Tobias pulled her against his body as close as
possible. He wanted to kiss her, he desperately needed to. He looked at her for
a second. “May I?” And when she nodded he did.

The kiss wasn’t rushed. It was passionate and
intimate. It was more about reaching for something more pristine than it was to
quench the passion inside him. He felt the void in his heart fill bit by bit
with each second the kiss lingered. When he pulled away her eyes were still
closed. “It was like taking a step toward Heaven.”

Marietta smiled, then begun to
chuckle.
“You said that to me almost four years ago. Those same exact
words.”

“It’s the only way I can describe kissing you.” He
paused, hating himself because he was about to ruin the moment. “Do you want to
talk about Sarah?”

“You want to get it out of the way?” she asked.

“Yes, I really just want to focus on building and
putting our marriage back together.” He sighed. “It didn’t mean anything.”

“You said that already. I really don’t want to talk
about this. I would much rather push it to the back of my mind and try to
forget it.” She hushed him when he started to speak. “But burying things doesn’t
work. They always seem to bubble to the surface somehow. I forgive you because
I love you, you are human and it wouldn’t do me any good killing the father of
my baby. I need someone to do the two am feedings.” Her smile dropped when she
issued the warning, “If you do it again, you won’t know what hit you. I will
disappear from your life so fast your head will spin.”

“Got it.”
Tobias searched her
eyes and only saw truth to what she said. It sent a shiver down his spine and
for a second he felt like he was looking into the eyes of the real Marietta. He
needed to get to know her true self if they had a chance at saving what was
between them. “I need to see the real you.”

“I’m strong and weak in equal measure. I love with
everything in me but have been forced to be more reserved. I don’t trust easily
and loyalty is everything to me. I need to know that I can give you everything
that I am without you using it against me. I want a love that is pure and true
and safe.”

“And you want that with me?” he asked as she leaned
into him, affirming his greatest desires.

“I can only have that with you,” she said.

*
* * *

Tobias held Marietta tightly against his side as she
slept. He hadn’t been able to sleep, all his mind seemed intent on doing was plotting
the murder of Robert Samuels. When morning came he was tired but the fire that
burned in his belly kept him going. He watched as Marietta slept and smiled
when she woke up. When she opened her eyes there was no cloak, no pretenses and
no secrets. It was like she was looking into his deep brown eyes for the first
time, and he loved it.

“Good morning, beautiful.” He released her when she
moved to lie on her back.

“I’m hungry.” She moaned. “I smell pancakes.”

“Can I get a kiss first?” He chuckled. Tobias felt
comforted at how she looked so normal lying beside him. He thought he had lost
this moment, watching her sleep, being the first one she saw in the morning and
being the one who knew her first thought after she woke up. Right now she was
more concerned with sinking her teeth into the pancakes than she was with
kissing him. He didn’t mind, he knew that was his baby talking, and besides,
the aroma of the pancakes was mouthwatering.

“One kiss then pancakes.” He loved how she giggled
when he lowered himself over her. Placing a hand on each side of her head, he
balanced his weight over her as he kissed her. The feeling of her hands caressing
his back almost did him in. He wanted to take her but he didn’t dare. Tobias
wasn’t sure how safe sex was for the baby, and the kind of sex he was after, he
knew it wouldn’t be safe.

“I’m guessing that you want to do something more than
just kiss me.”

“I want to make love to you,” he groaned in her ear,
as he planted kisses on her neck.

“I can tell.” She giggled, gave him a quick kiss and
pushed him until he rolled off her.

“I guess morning sex is out of the question.”

“Pancakes first.”

Tobias laughed as he watched her make her way out of
the room. He worried when he noticed that she was having some trouble walking.
It looked like she was waddling around like a penguin. He grabbed a T-shirt,
pulled it over his head, and followed her. Tobias found her at the top of the
stairs and just as she was about to take the first one, he rushed to her side.
Wrapping his arm around her while she held onto the other one to steady
herself, they took one step at a time.

“I swear I wasn’t this big yesterday.” She moaned as
she took the last step.

“I love how big you are,” Tobias said as he kissed her
belly.

“Good morning, guys.” Tobias noticed the surprised
tones in Chris and Jessie’s voices.

“Pancakes,” Marietta said as she eased into a seat at
the dinner table.

“Morning, guys,” Tobias responded as he pulled his
chair closer to Marietta.

“Did I hear someone ask for pancakes?” Mrs. Bennett
emerged from the kitchen with a plate full of pancakes.

Tobias laughed when Marietta begun to clap and
rejoice. It looked like everything was much clearer since the secret was out.
Her eyes were clearer, her laughter more melodic and her face seemed relaxed.
It was like she was a new woman. But Tobias felt like everything that she had
let out the night before had settled inside him. He didn’t mind taking his
wife’s
burdens.He
just had to figure out how he was
going to offload them before they weighed him down.

“You are really big for six months,” Mrs. Bennett
pointed out with a worried frown.

“I’m seven months in two weeks,” Marietta scoffed out
in between bites.

“When is your next doctor’s appointment?” Tobias asked
as he rubbed her belly.

“I don’t have a doctor. But I thought I would go in
two weeks, just after Christmas.” She looked away from her plate and to
Chris
.“Nearest
hospital?”

“Twenty minutes from here.”

“Good, I was just making sure.” Tobias saw something
in her eyes that he wouldn’t be able to take away from her even if he tried.
The loss of their first baby was ever present in her mind. He saw it in the way
she asked for the nearest hospital.

*
* * *

Marietta could feel her stomach turn. The way Jessie
kept on looking at her with pity in her eyes didn’t sit well with her. She
didn’t like to be pitied, things happened for a reason. Marietta had to believe
that God just didn’t watch bad things happen without there being a greater plan.

“Just ask, because you are giving me indigestion,”
Marietta put in.

Jessie hesitated at first, but Marietta urged her on.
There was nothing she could ask that would surprise her or make her feel worse
than she used to. This morning she woke up with a new goal, a new perspective,
and to achieve that she had to get rid of all the bad stuff.

“You told me Chris was your first?” Jessie asked after
Chris’ mother left the room.

“I love you for who you are…”
Marietta
begun.

“Through your eyes I see the purest of souls,” Chris
finished.

“What was that?” Tobias asked.

“That was what I told your wife before I looked up her
skirt.” Chris laughed.

Marietta chuckled when Tobias used his hands to cover
his ears as he shook his head. He was just like a little boy trying not to
listen. But then she hadn’t answered Jessie’s question. “My father never
touched me with anything other than his hands.”

“Why do you call him that?” Tobias put in. “I’m going
to be a father and the only thing I can think about is how her eyes are going
to look, going to her ballerina recitals, getting a shotgun when she’s sixteen
and walking her down the aisle.”

“You don’t want to hear the answer to that.” Chris
groaned.

“Maybe I should start calling him Robert. He no longer
has a hold on my life.” Robert Samuels had always been her father. Seeing him
as anything but that, as his true self only caused her pain. But now with all
these people around her she knew that she could see him as the monster he was and
not feel like she was drowning.

“I second that,” Tobias said as he kissed her.

“I third it,” Jessie called out.

“I fourth,” Chris
said
.“A
shot gun?”

“Too much?”

“I was thinking of something like a grenade.
That way you blow them to bits before they are in your drive way.”

“I like how you think.”

Marietta looked at the two men who were going to be a
constant in her daughter’s life and she couldn’t feel more secure and proud.
She knew they would protect her baby with their lives and that put her more at
ease.

Chapter Ten

Christmas and New
Yearshad
flown
by and now Valentines was knocking on the door and so was the baby. Marietta
stretched on the couch as her parents in law fussed over her. Elizabeth kept on
bringing her freshly squeezed juice while Edward propped up her pillows. At the
start she loved the attention but now she wished she had insisted on tagging
along with Tobias on his covert mission. It was the day before Valentines and
he was trying to make sure that it was romantic. They had decided that this
would be the first time that they made love since their
separation.There
was a lot of pressure on Tobias to make it just right.

Chris had taken Jessie into town for that weekend,
while his mother and her parent’s drove her insane.

Marietta was also trying to get into the Valentine’s
spirit. It wasn’t as hard as before, but now that she had told Tobias
everything she seemed to be on a new emotional journey. And that journey
included mourning her brother on his birthday. David had been a Valentine’s baby
and it suited him, because all he had was love for everyone. Tobias didn’t know
about this and he misunderstood her somber mood to be how uncomfortable she was
beginning to feel. Marietta was as huge as a house, it didn’t help that Jessie
kept on referring to her as a whale. She certainly felt like one.

Mrs. Bennett and Elizabeth kept on pointing out how
odd it was that she was that large but the doctor had reassured them that
things were going smoothly. Marietta had resigned herself to the fact that she
would be giving birth to a ten pounder. She could almost see her chubby cheeks
and her short pudgy legs and arms, but no matter how she looked or weighed, she
was going to be her baby.

Marietta had already come up with a few names for the
baby, and she wanted to surprise both her husband and mother in law. According
to her, the name was appropriate and thoughtful.

She watched as the sun came down and sighed with
relief. The Spencer’s would soon be going to bed and she would finally be free
of their fuss. They didn’t have dinner together because Tobias’ Valentine marathon
began tonight. She went into Jessie’s room and changed into a dinner dress
Elizabeth had brought with her. She didn’t bother with putting on shoes, her
feet wouldn’t fit in them anyway and she was more comfortable bare foot. She looked
at herself in the
mirror
,the
white chiffon flowed beautifully over her body and did the impossible, down
played how huge her belly was. Marietta giggled when she felt a flattering
sensation in her belly. She wasn’t sure if it was the baby or the nerves.

When she looked back at her reflection she caught
sight of Tobias staring at her. He was donned in full black. His silk shirt
clung to his body like a lover desperate for a kiss.

“What do you think?” Marietta said as she twirled
around making a note not to step on the long dress and fall down.

“You take my breath away.” He whispered as a smile
played on his lips and pure desire burned in his eyes.

“I know just how you feel. The baby seems to be taking
my breath away,” she joked.

But her teasing didn’t meet the reception she hoped it
would. A worried frown formed on Tobias’ brow as he moved closer to her. He put
his hand on the top of her belly and patted.

“I’ve noticed you find it harder to breathe these
days. I know what the doctor said but I’m still worried.” He lowered his lips
to her belly and kissed her.

“Just four more weeks and she will be in my arms and
not on my lungs.” She laughed.

“Why don’t you go to the hospital and get another checkup?”

“No, I don’t want to leave this house. Besides if something
was wrong I would have known.”

“Is it because of
him
or is it because you don’t want the rest of the world to know you are pregnant.
You never liked the Hollywood lifestyle, the attention and the paparazzi.” He
stroked her cheek a sympathetic frown on his lips.

Marietta couldn’t help it. At times she wished she
could still walk up to someone she had never met before and introduce herself.
Now they chased her down the street, asking for a signature she didn’t think
was important. She missed walking onto a movie set a stranger and leaving a
friend. She didn’t like that people knew her and she didn’t know
them
.“
I
miss my life of anonymity.
But I have you,
that’s
all that matters.”

Tobias smiled at her then lowered his lips to hers. He
didn’t kiss her at first, but brushed his lips against hers and whispered ‘I
love you’. Ever since she got pregnant everything Tobias did was erotic to her.
Her libido was on overdrive and it didn’t help that her husband paid more
attention to his fear of harming the baby than to his own desires. But tonight
it was definitely going to happen. They had been planning and anticipating the
day for the past couple of weeks.

“Are you ready?” He asked. He looked at her feet and
an amused and questioning expression claimed his face, “I know you’ve got baby
brain but shoes aren’t something someone easily forgets.”

“My feet are too swollen for shoes. Besides I’m more
comfortable like this,” she pouted.

“That’s fine with me. Let’s go.”

Marietta took Tobias’ hand and let him lead her to the
bedroom that they shared. At first she didn’t want to step foot in the room,
sure that she would ruin the whole picture. The room was dimly lit just by tens
of candles surrounding the room. She took a step inside the room and felt
something soft beneath her feet. White and red rose petals were scattered
everywhere on the floor and the bed. On the floor there was a small picnic, a
bottle of what she assumed was apple cider was in a bucket of ice, thick juicy
looking strawberries lay in a bed of chocolate and there were two covered
plates on the mat.

Responding to the urges within her, Marietta headed
for the chocolate covered strawberries. She turned towards Tobias when she
heard him laugh, “Don’t judge me I’m pregnant. Besides it’s your fault I can’t
stop eating.”

“Do you want some company down there?”

“Only if you’ll let me eat dessert
first.”

“That is definitely not dessert.”

Marietta felt a smile creep up on her lips. Everything
inside her rejoiced, finally she was going to have a piece of her man candy.
She licked the chocolate off her fingers as she pulled him down next to her.

“How about we skip dinner and go straight to the
dessert,” she said as she drew a line of chocolate on his neck and sucked on
it.

She smiled when she felt him shiver. She loved how he
responded to her. She might not like her appearance very much but to Tobias she
was perfect. After everything that had happened between them, they had somehow
managed to reach this point, sitting on the floor licking chocolate off each
other.

“The things I would do to you if you weren’t pregnant,”
he growled.

“Pretend that I’m not.” Marietta rose to her feet and
stepped back so that he could see all of her.
Although she
was kind of hard to miss.

“I can’t do that,” he said as he stood up and pulled
his shirt out of his trousers, “My baby is staring right at me.”

“Then just imagine that I am well rounded.” She
laughed when Tobias begun to chuckle, “It’s perfectly safe. The doctor said
so.”

“He did? Well then-,” Marietta didn’t hear the rest of
the words as her claimed her neck. All she felt was his hot breath against her
skin and it made her tremble. She felt a slight twinge in her lower belly but
it was immediately masked by the desire raging inside her.

She quickly unbuttoned his shirt and caressed her
hands over his muscled chest. It reminded her of the first time she called his
body hers. But this time it was different. She was herself, a new woman and
that meant a whole new feeling. She gasped as he kneaded into her tender
breasts. She felt his hands move to her back and felt him slide the zipper of
her dress down. Soon the chiffon was gathered at her feet and she was left with
a slip that held onto her every curve.

“You are so beautiful,” he said against her lips.

Marietta followed as he pulled her towards the bed. He
carefully lowered her to the bed and stood over her as he took off the rest of
his clothes. She chuckled when he decided to leave her slip on. Somehow the
silk slip was the barrier that made him not cower away in guilt. She had
perfect knowledge of how beautiful making love with Tobias always was. But this
time she felt a more powerful pull towards him. She felt how cautious he was
and she pulled every trick in the book to persuade him to let himself go. She
was quickly rewarded when the waves of orgasms rolled through her one by one.

Marietta rolled to her side and watched her sleeping
husband. He looked so peaceful with a smile on his face. He was content and so
was she. This was how she wanted them to be, true to each other in every aspect
of their relationships. It was worth going through all the pain to get here
tonight. She looked over at the clock and saw it was a few minutes past one. It
was Valentine’s Day and her brother’s birthday.

At first she thought she would go at it alone, but
quickly decided against it. They were going to share everything together. It
broke her heart to have to wake him from his sweet slumber but she had to.

“Wake up!” She waited until his beautiful eyes
flattered open, “I need you to do something with me.”

“Is the baby okay?” He mumbled as he sat up, his hand
dropping to her belly.

“The baby is fine, a little hungry but fine.” She
chuckled.

“Well we did skip dinner.” He kissed her softly, “What
do you want me to do with you?”

“Everything, but I thought we could start with
celebrating my brother’s birthday.” She was nervous at how he would react. “He
would have been twenty nine today.”

“You do this every year?” He asked as he slipped his
jeans on.

“Nope.”
She tied his robe
around her round belly, “I thought since I was doing this ‘turning a new
emotional leaf’ thing, I would go through all the processes that I neglected to
all these years.”

“Okay.” He held out his hand for her but she
hesitated.

“Maybe you should put on a shirt.” She could already
feel her center begin to tingle, and every sexy nerve on her wanted to lunge at
him.

“Really?” he looked at her as if he didn’t believe
her.

“Really.”
Marietta bit on her
lower lip as her eyes took in all of him. She watched as he pulled on a
t-shirt, his muscles tightening and stretching as he did.

“I’m absolutely sure you were some Greek god in your
past life,” she mumbled.

“And you were my goddess.”

“Smooth.”

They made their way to the kitchen where Marietta
retrieved one of the cupcakes Mrs.
Bennet
had made.
She searched the drawers and found a candle. It was obviously too large but she
used it anyway. She held the lit candle and gave Tobias the cup cake.

“What now?”

“We crawl under the table.” She laughed at the skeptical
look on his face, “I can still fit under a table.”

“I never said you couldn’t,” he lied, “You want me to
help you.”

“Definitely.”
It didn’t take
too much effort on her part. Tobias lifted the table and lowered it over her
once she was settled. The space was tiny but this was how she and David did it
on each of their birthdays.

“You want to say something?” Tobias asked once he was
settled across from her.

“Umm…,” she could feel the tears welling up in her
eyes. She didn’t bother hiding them and let them fall free, “Hey little one.
I’m sorry I never celebrated your birthday all these years, but it was a bit
too much for me. But now I feel almost normal and it’s because of this guy with
me. Toby has been awesome with this whole thing, Chris too. I guess we both
know how to pick the best out of the crop. Happy birthday little bro, and know
that I love you so much.”

She almost blew out the candle when she saw Tobias’
tear stained cheeks. She had neglected a few other people, “Tell mom I said hi
and not to worry I will be celebrating her birthday too this year. There was
someone else who left us before his time. He’s little and probably looks a lot
like Toby. Tell him that his dad and I miss him very much and that we will
never forget him. He shouldn’t worry about his little sister, we are going to
watch out for her, and love her.”

“Do you mind if I-,” Tobias cut in, “Tell my little
boy that we love him and we will never forget him. I am going to be a better
man for his mother and sister.”

“You already are.” Marietta squeezed his hand and he
squeezed back, “I need to get out from under this table.” She chuckled. “I miss
you David, and I love you.
Happy birthday.”

Marietta blew out the candle and they were surrounded
by darkness once more.

****

Marietta was awakened up by a sharp pain in her back
and her lower belly. She sat up and as soon as she did she felt something warm
pooling around her legs.

“My water broke.” She turned towards Tobias’ side of
the bed but he wasn’t there.

She swung her legs off the bed and stood up and as
soon as she did another gush poured out of her. Immediately her mind went back
to the set where she lost her baby. It was too early. She looked on the soaked
carpet and saw huge blotches of blood Panic ripped through her and out of her
lips.

“Toby!”

Tobias looked up in the direction where the scream had
come from. He knew the tones of Marietta’s voice by heart. She wasn’t just
calling him, she was screaming out for him. She needed him. Immediately a chill
settled in his bones. This wasn’t good.