Forbidden Heat

Moving On

“I’m…sorry,” I said before I started crying.

“Stay strong, Natalia…” Edward whispered into my ear as he tried to comfort me.

I felt his strong arms around me, and I buried my face into his chest as I continued crying. So many

people got hurt. I cried for the people who suffered because of the medical trials. I cried for Lucien,

Edward, and Zak. I cried for my parents who had passed away. Then, I just cried some more for

myself.

After a while of sobbing in Edward’s arm as he stroked my back comfortingly, I slowly stopped crying.

“Where is Zak right now?” I asked in between my sobs.

“In a press conference. He’s on live TV. You want to watch?” Edward replied, his warm hand stroking

the top of my head before wiping away my tears with his fingertips.

I nodded. I didn’t want to be kept in the dark, I wanted to see what was going on. I wanted to see Zak…

“Your eyes are all puffy. Blow your nose, Natalia…” Edward said while handing me a tissue.

“Thanks…” I whispered.

When I went outside the room so that we could go watch the news in the living room, the staffs were

already sent away, and the mansion was very silent. I heard the sound of the television and the

mayhem before I even entered the living room.

“Zak…” I whispered.

Zak’s face was on the big television screen as he gave statements and answered questions from the

news reporter. This has got the be the biggest scandal in the business world and the upper social circle

in the last century, I suppose. That wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

I sat down on the sofa and placed a hand over my mouth as a sense of nausea took over me. I had a

massive headache, and I could hardly breathe. I didn’t want to believe that this was happening.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine how Zak was feeling right now, standing there in front of all those

reporters while he exposed the crime of his family and his own mother.

After a while of watching the television, the screen suddenly turned black. I looked at Edward in

surprise when I realized that he had switched off the television.

“Enough…” Edward said.

“But Zak…” I started to protest.

“There’s nothing he’s going to say to the public that exceeds what I’ve already told you. You look like a

mess…I’ll take you to bed,” Edward declared.

I didn’t have time to protest further before Edward scooped me into his arms and carried me princess-

style back to the bedroom.

For next two to three months, I juggled hospital visits for my regular baby-bump checkups with hiding

from the paparazzi. My short-lived corporate career sadly came to an awkward pause. However, after

the public lost interest in my marriage and moved on to other gossips, I was able to slowly return to my

former life and could return to the office once again.

The crimes of the Rosenhall company and Francesca ironically saved me by diverting the public’s

attention away from my scandalous wedding.

…

“Should we get the doctor to tell us, or do you want to keep it a surprise?” I asked Edward, curious

about his take on the matter.

“I’m not sure. Keeping it a secret would be more exciting, I guess…but if we knew in advance, we could

better prepare things, right?” Edward said deep in thought as he debated the two options.

It was adorable to see him take this matter so seriously.

We were on our way to the hospital together for my regular checkup. This round of checkup was sort of

special because the doctor would be able to tell us and show us the gender of our baby. To be honest, I

didn’t have a preference for the gender of our baby because I would love him or her regardless, but it

was still exciting to wonder and guess.

Ralph and the staff had already placed their bets on the gender of the baby, so keeping it a surprise to

find out at birth would mean that they would have to wait for the result of their bets for quite a long time.

Poor them.

“Do you prefer a son or a daughter, Edward?” I asked curiously.

“Hmm…I guess…a daughter?” Edward replied hesitantly.

“Why’s that?” I inquired.

“Maybe she’ll look as cute as you. I’m not a good son so I wouldn’t want a boy that’ll grow up like me…”

Edward replied with a wry smile.

“Hmm…I guess a daughter would be cuter and I can spend more time dressing her up, but I would

worry less if we had a son,” I said cheerfully.

“Should we just ask the doctor to tell us?” Edward asked but I felt like he was excited to know.

“Yeah…let’s do that,” I said before leaning over to kiss Edward’s cheek.

We arrived at the hospital shortly after, where I met with our regular doctor who was in charge of my

case. Her name was Doctor Susan and she is such an angel. So kind and ever so patient when dealing

with our questions and our worries.

“Hello! How are you two doing?” Doctor Susan greeted us energetically as she entered the room.

“We’re doing great. Thank you!” I replied politely.

Doctor Susan was probably in her fifties if I had to guess and was recommended to us by one of

Edward’s friends because she was super experienced. Since it was my first pregnancy, having her here

to guide me through was really a big help.

Edward supported me as I lay down on the patient’s bed for my routine ultrasound checkup. I alwaysnovelbin

felt nervous but today I felt extra nervous.

“Just relax. I’m going to apply the gel to your belly like always so it might be a little cold…” Doctor

Susan said as a nurse started applying the gel.

“Ok…let’s see…” Doctor Susan mumbled as if to herself and she began scanning my belly with the

machine.

Edward and I both looked at the ultrasound screen where we could see the scan of the inside of my

womb. I always got emotional when we did this because I felt like I could connect with the baby so

much more by seeing the baby’s face.

--To be continued…

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