She knew he meant each word he said. She had to somehow convince him the kid wasn’t his, or there was a real chance she could lose her child before she even had a chance to know her.

Please, she screamed inside her own head, please don’t take away my child. “Lucas, I’m sorry, but she isn’t yours. That night we had together was great but I moved on quickly. I don’t know what else to tell you…” she said to him with as much conviction in her voice as she could manage.

“Fine, if you say the child isn’t mine then we’ll go have a DNA test done tomorrow. The procedure will be somewhat painful to you but will cause no harm to our child,” he said, calling her bluff.

Amy turned stark white at his words. He could tell she had no idea such a test even existed. She probably figured he would have been glad not to be the father and just run as far as he could. She obviously didn’t know him well at all.

She started to speak and then just gave up.

Game.

Set.

Match.

He just smiled. He knew that getting married wasn’t what either of them wanted but there was no possible way that he would ever let another man raise his child or that he would be a weekend parent. She was carrying his baby, therefore the only solution possible was for them to wed immediately. He’d never understood how a man could walk away from his family.

Lucas was angry and he was confused but he knew what the right thing was for them to do and that was to provide a home together for the baby she carried.

Chapter Seven

Lucas decided he’d had enough for one night. “We’ll finish this business tomorrow. Enjoy your last week as a single lady, because on Friday we will marry,” was all he said before walking out her front door.

Amy collapsed on the sofa and allowed herself a good cry. How could she have ever fooled herself into thinking he would believe that her child wasn’t his. Why had she not gotten rid of that test? If she’d only emptied her garbage can, then she could’ve held her secret to herself for a few more precious months, maybe even more if she found the right clothing.

She’d only confirmed the pregnancy recently. She started to feel sick and ran into her guest bathroom, which was the closest. She rarely used it, unless she got sick. She threw up in the toilet as all the stress from the day caught up to her and then laid there for a moment.

When she got up to wash her face, she looked down and moaned. Stupid, stupid, stupid, she berated herself as she spotted the test in question. How could she have left the pregnancy test in there?

She couldn’t believe she’d left the smoking gun out where he could see it. This was all her fault.

Feeling defeated, Amy dragged herself back to her room and cried herself to sleep. She just wanted the day to be over with. She would find a solution to her current problem in the morning.

The next morning Amy woke up feeling miserable. She ran to the bathroom and emptied her entire stomach, plus some. She showered and threw up some more. She was just starting into her second trimester; the morning sickness should be over with.

She knew she was losing weight, as her clothes were fitting her loosely, which should’ve been the opposite. She really hadn’t worried too much about it, as everything she’d read so far had shown that morning sickness was a normal part of the first trimester.

She weakly sat on the floor of the tub as the steaming water washed over her. She threw up some more and when there was nothing left, she continued to dry heave.

She sat in the tub shivering, but was too weak to climb out. She was frightened by the weakness in her body. “Please God; let nothing happen to my child. I will bear nine months straight of sickness if you will just spare my child,” she weakly muttered out loud.

Since she couldn’t find the energy to climb out of the tub, she grabbed the nearby towels and threw them over her in an effort to keep warm.

She couldn’t even get up to call into her job. She would get fired for sure, as Lucas would just assume she was a no call, no show, in an attempt to avoid him.

She fell asleep from the pure exhaustion that had stolen throughout her entire body. She thanked the blackness so she wouldn’t have to feel the overwhelming cold and achiness consuming her.

Lucas decided to wait until Amy left before he would head to work, just in case she decided to try and run. He’d put the guard on alert to notify him during the night at any time if she was to leave the building. The employees of his company were very loyal to him as they were treated well. No questions were asked; they just told him he would be notified.

He hadn’t slept well and was feeling cranky. When it was starting time and she still hadn’t left the building, he was furious. So she figured now that she was pregnant she could skip work.

Over his dead body! She wasn’t avoiding him to try and come up with more lies for him.

He marched down to her apartment and let himself in. She wasn’t in the living room or kitchen.

He was even more furious. She hadn’t even bothered to get out of bed. Well, she’d gotten the husband, so he figured she didn’t want to work anymore. Why work when you could get all you wanted for free?

He walked down to her bedroom and swung the door open, ready to rip the covers off of her and have a rip roaring fight. He needed to yell and vent his anger and she was the expected target. He was angry about everything and he desperately needed a target to take out his frustrations on.

When he opened up her door and her bed was empty, he began to feel his first stirrings of unease. Had she left without him knowing? That wasn’t possible. He had a very secure building.

She wasn’t a prisoner but his staff was very loyal and they would’ve told him if she’d left. He double checked his phone to make sure he hadn’t somehow missed a call.

He turned to go into the living room and noticed her bathroom door was shut. He walked over to it and listened for a moment. There was no sound from inside. Without thinking of her privacy he opened the door and walked in.

Lucas was terrified when he saw her small body lying there, barely covered up in the tub. Had she taken her life? No!!! He ran to her and fell to the floor, then breathed a sigh of relief as he saw her chest move up and down. She was shivering, even in her sleep and had dark purple smudges under her eyes.

He took a good look at her and then noticed how small she looked. She’d dropped some significant weight. Weren’t pregnant women supposed to gain weight? How hadn’t he noticed the changes in her body?

That was an easy question to answer. He hadn’t noticed because he’d done all he could to avoid looking at her too closely. He’d avoided her as much as possible so he didn’t take her right there on her desk at work. He’d hoped to have gotten over her by this time, as he’d never been so hooked on any woman.

He knew no one could fake this kind of illness. He immediately felt guilty at what he’d put her through last night. Thinking back, he could see where she’d looked worn and exhausted and he’d not cared at all. He’d only cared she was trying to fool him.

Lucas stood up and wrapped his arms under her body, lifting her from the tub. She immediately snuggled closer into his grasp, seeking warmth, even in her sleep. The towels fell from her body and his gut clenched in shock.

She’d lost even more weight than he’d first thought. She wasn’t having a good pregnancy. He should’ve been paying attention. He laid her on the bed and covered her up, while her body curled into a ball. She let out a slight moan, not once waking. He noticed the slight bump on her stomach for the first time.

Wow, he thought, that bump is my child. It really slammed into him that he was going to be a father in six months. Now that his anger had fled away, the idea of a son was an amazing thing.

In six months he would be holding his baby. He would be throwing balls with him in a few years and bouncing him on his knees.

He was shocked to find that he already loved his unborn child. He loved the precious baby that was growing inside her. He wouldn’t let anything happen to him or his mother.

Lucas called the family doctor and then climbed into the bed and pulled her into his arms. He simply wanted to warm her up. He needed to protect both of them. He’d never felt such terror as seeing her lying in that empty tub.

She curled around him and let out a sigh. After a few minutes her body finally quit shaking. He held her and rubbed her back, willing her and his child to be okay.

When Lucas heard the knock at the door, he let the doctor in, scared that there was something seriously wrong.

“Amy, there you go, open up your eyes. That’s a good girl. My name is Dr. Scott and I’m going to check you over okay. Do you know what happened this morning?” was what Amy woke up too. She had no idea how she’d gotten into her bed, but the warmth felt so good.

“I was throwing up a lot and then climbed into the shower and couldn’t get back out,” she mumbled in a cracked voice. She finally looked around and noticed Lucas standing there behind the doctor.

“I don’t know how I got here, or really what happened. I was just so cold and so tired,” she finished.

“Save your energy Amy. We’re going to make sure you and your child are okay,” said the doctor, comforting her. She closed her eyes again, since they felt like they had ten pound weights on each one.

She felt him touching her and then a slight pinch, but the worst part of the whole thing was being uncovered periodically. She faded in and out of sleep. Finally she heard the doctor quietly talking to someone. It felt more like a dream. Maybe it was.

“She’ll be fine. She needs to be on bed rest until I get these tests back, but it looks to me like severe morning sickness, leading to dehydration. There’s no bleeding but she’s undernourished.

The baby seems to be fine though. I will want her to come in to the offices in a day or two for an ultrasound, but it seems she’s about three months along and otherwise healthy. Get a lot of fluids into her today such as soups and juices. The more calories, the better.”

“That’s great, Scott. I appreciate you rushing over here so quickly. I’ll see you on Friday.” Then she heard some steps and the door shutting. She faded back out to the blissfulness of sleep.

Lucas paced in the apartment after he called in and cancelled all appointments for the day. He wanted to shake her awake and force feed her, but the doctor had told him that rest was just as important as food. He’d given her sleeping aids and anti-nauseous pills and told him to keep an eye on her to make sure she ate and drank whenever she woke.

She partially woke several times and he practically force fed her. She mumbled complaints, but took his administering.

By the time darkness hit Lucas was exhausted. He went into the room and climbed in bed next to her once more that day. He pulled her close to him and fell into a deep and exhausted sleep. He felt that he could sleep an entire week with her in his arms.

Lucas felt Amy squirming around a bit and opened his eyes. They were facing each other and she was staring into his eyes with shock, embarrassment and panic. “Morning,” he mumbled. “Did you sleep well?”

Her eyes opened even further at his casual words. He knew she was confused, he could see it.