Two Months Later
"Does this mean we will have to call you Mum and Dad now?" Allysyn asked in a solemn tone.
Reyona looked at Maxwell with a smile before responding to Allysyn.
"It means we are forever your family now. It means we have got you forever. In as much as you do not forget that, what you call us doesn't matter."
Although she knew how beautiful it would be to hear them use those words.
"I am Thomas Junior Rohan?" Junior asked with his head tilted after he pronounced what he had been using his hand to trail in spelling.
"Do you like being Junior Rohan?" Reyona asked with a smile.
He looked thoughtful for about ten seconds before saying, "I love it." To Maxwell, he said, "Does this mean I get to drive your car now?"
Reyona and Maxwell laughed as Allysyn rolled her eyes.
Reyona sucked in her breath as the laughter waned.
"Well, maybe in the future, if you've been very good, of course. But not yet."
"Aww," Junior said with a pout. Then he brightened in the next second. "I will be good. I will be very goooood! Can I go tell Jane now?" He asked excitedly.
"Sure, why not?" Maxwell said before he noticed Reyona's slight wince.
"How are you feeling?" he asked her in concern.
She smiled thinly and just nodded without talking.
Maxwell held her hand and gently rubbed her side.
Reyona sighed as the sensation passed again.
"I would like to tell Toria. We talked about it." Allysyn said slowly.
"It is fine, baby. Go ahead. We can celebrate this later," she said in a strained voice.
"Are you okay?" Allysyn asked in a worried tone.
"Yeah, of course, I am fine," Reyona said with a fuller smile. Then she made a shooing motion as she repeated "Go on now."
Maxwell reached out to pat the sweat on Reyona's forehead.
She was looking a bit peaked, but then she had been looking peaked for days now.
The day before, Maxwell had driven her to the hospital with the thought that the babies were due.
Her back pain had come on suddenly and had steadily increased.
Then the contractions had started. Not so intense and widely paced but they were there.
It wasn't until they arrived at the hospital that they realised that it had been false labour.
The babies were not ready.
When Maxwell suggested to Reyona that they could try a C-section to get the baby here, since they were due anyway, she disagreed by saying; "I will wait for my babies to be ready for me just as I am ready for them. Also, no C-section unless it is totally necessary," she had said.
Yet it had been hard on Maxwell watching her go through so much pain in the past few days, the contractions hit every day, increasing her back pain.
She was getting more and more fatigued and her stomach had dropped so much now that walking had become a hard task.
Yet she didn't complain.
She took the pain and difficulty in her stride while constantly talking about how happy she would be when she saw her babies for the first time.
Maxwell couldn't help but be super proud of this amazing woman.
Even when he had gotten too worried on her behalf, she had found ways to cheer him up.
Then she told him that they should focus more on the task at hand.
Getting their babies a worthy identity.
Allysyn and Junior had always borne the Lanoth name.
Now that everything had come to light, it was apparent that that identity was faux.
Maze was definitely out of the question, so Reyona and Maxwell asked the kids what they thought about adopting them.
Junior had not understood the term and Allysyn had looked hopeful yet unsure.
It was almost as if she couldn't believe the possibility of it.
Despite his vow not to have anything to do with the bitch again, Maxwell got in touch with Susan about it.
For once, since he had known her, she seemed truly apologetic about the things she had done.
Maxwell felt the news of her lover's death might have contributed to that.
Or maybe it had something to do with the rough, pathetic patch she was in on her journey of sobriety.
Whichever it was, she said the most agreeable thing Maxwell had ever heard from her when she said that being adopted by them would be the kids' greatest luck.
"I can not offer them anything from here. You can do so much more. Thank you, Max" she had said before the visitation time was up.
Then out of the blue, she asked for his forgiveness and that of his magnanimous wife.
Maxwell was not fooled by her for once. To him, a leopard doesn't change her spot that easily.
Her apology was as useless to him as Thomas's own had been to Reyona.
What mattered was he could go ahead and do what they wanted without any second thoughts.
Telling Susan about it had been Reyona's idea anyway.
And Guy had also agreed with her reasons.
As he held his wife in his arms while slowly massaging her temple, Maxwell was happy that they had eventually finalised the adoption papers.
The lawyers left minutes ago.
Now all that was left was for the twins to finally make their appearance in his family and his world would get much more perfected.
A world perfected by the most incredible woman he had ever met.
He turned his head to kiss her forehead, tasting the salt of the gathering sweat that had dotted her skin again.
"Hmm," Reyona crooned slightly at the feel of his lips on her.
Then she sighed and shifted slightly before saying in a drowsy tone, "I am so glad we have finally got that done. I think I would like to lie down now."
Maxwell immediately got to his feet and helped her up, so he could carry her.
She gingerly stood and released the breath she had held.
Maxwell bent to carry her.
Just as his arm came in contact with the back of her legs, he heard a spurting sound as he felt a warm wetness against his arms.
"Oh, oh my God." Reyona's widened eyes met with his astonished ones as he realised what had just happened.
Her water broke!