The Whitby's.

The Whitby's.

"Nick! Hi" I wave a little at Nick who walks slowly towards us. He glares at Ross as he approaches.

I sit upright in my bed as he drops the flowers on my bedside table.

"Let me guess, you two are back together?"

Ross and I glance at each other quickly before looking back at Nick.

"Yes we are. Thank you for the flowers Nick"

I pick up the bouquet of roses and smell them. They smell lovely and fresh. Ross moves closer to me as he squeezes my hand, this only makes Nick look angrier.

"Ross? Can you give us a minute please?" I plead with him and he nods his head after a few seconds of silence.

"That's fine. I'll be downstairs checking on Kathy."

"Kathy is here?" I ask surprisingly and Ross nods.

"She has to have her checkup, so I'll be staying with her till your Grandma comes to pick her up."

"Thank you Ross"

Ross smiles.

"Anything for you. Call me if you need anything" he said as he dropped my phone on the bedside table.

"I will"

I reply as I watch Ross walk away.

I pick up my phone and find several missed calls from Ross, Grandma Marcella, Nick and even Julian.

I must have given everybody quite a scare.

"How are you doing?"

"Kathy called me and told me what happened. I got here as soon as I could"

I turn to Nick and smile.

"I'm fine. It was just a silly scare but I'm good."

"Silly scare? You need to take this more seriously than what it is El!"

Nick moves close enough as he sits next to him and I adjust to give him a little space.

"Ross is handling it, the police are involved, it's all going to be fine."

Nick laughs nervously.

"Fine?? Are you really so stupid that you think being with that guy will keep you and your babies safe?"

I am taken aback by the harshness of Nick's tone. His face is contorted in anger and he doesn't even look like he feels the slightest bit of remorse for calling me stupid.

"In case you forgot, I'm a grown woman not some helpless teenager. I know what's good for my children and I."

Nick runs a frustrated hand through his hair, he looks so agitated I'm sure there's something else on his mind. Something must be bothering him, maybe it was the fact that Ross said he loves me that set him on edge, I don't know but I'm going to find out sooner or later.

"You don't know! If you're still with that guy, then you obviously don't know what's good for you! It's obvious that he's involved in some kind of shady stuff. Why don't you just leave him already?"

"Okay! You need to stop talking about Ross that way! Regardless of who you think he is, he's the father of my unborn babies and my husband. What's gotten into you Nick?!"

I shout as I breathe heavily out of exhaustion, the whole conversation was tiring but Nick doesn't look like he's ready to back down.

"Is it because of the money? Is that why you're with him? It's the money right?"

Nick taunted as he comes closer to me, I know he's only saying all these things out of anger and spite but I have honestly never felt so mad at him in my entire life.

"Get out! Get out of here! I don't want to see you anymore" I scream as tears blur my vision.

Nick is my oldest friend, he has been with me through thick and thin but the things he's saying to me right now, they are simply unacceptable.

"Open your eyes Elenora! He's just lying! He doesn't really love you! He can't love you, you're both from totally different worlds!"

"I Said Get Out!" I scream again and a sharp jab of pain bolts through my belly.

"Owwww!!!" I bend over in pain as I try to breathe.

Nick hurries to my side and despite the pain, I try to push him away.

"Get your hands off me!" I cry out while clenching the side of my belly.

A nurse hurries in, she looks confused.

"What's happening to her?" She asks Nick as she picks up my file and quickly takes a look.

"I don't know. We were talking and she suddenly felt pain..."

Nick mumbles as the nurse pages a doctor and she turns to me.

"Deep breaths! Deep breaths! You may be having contractions!"

I glare at the nurse in shock.

"Contractions! I'm only seven months gone!"

"Yes, yes, I know but it happens." The nurse explains as she tries to get me comfortable on the bed.

"I'm sorry Elenora! I'm so sorry..."

"Nurse" I call out to the nurse through clenched teeth.

She looks at me expectantly.

"Please escort this man out of my room."

The nurse turns to Nick who is already walking out of the room.

"I'm very sorry Elenora." he says one last time as he walks out.

The doctor briskly walks into my room with Ross following closely behind.

He looks so worried that I wish I could wipe away the worry from his face.

He holds my hand and I squeeze it, feeling deeply reassured by his presence.

"Are you alright?" He asks nervously as he clumsily smooths my hair.

"I've never been better."




The next three days I spend in the hospital under observation. In those three days, I get visited by Kathy and Grandma and Ross stays with me day and night only leaving when he has to shower and change.

Even though we both underestimated Sophia, she ends up shocking us by giving us the information we need. It turns out Carter is telling Mr Dunham that the board is planning to overthrow Ross as CEO due to the fact that he is incompetent. He is trying to get Mr Dunham to not go through with the partnership so the Board can have a reason not to keep Ross as the CEO.

Since Ross assumes that Mr Dunham is a reasonable man who cares more about business profits over sentiments, Ross is confident a dinner with him to explain things about how much Milton Corps has benefited under his reign as CEO would be able to convince him to take the final plunge in their partnership.

Ross being the CEO has doubled the earnings of the company and he thinks that since Mr Dunham is a man that cares much more about results than theories, he would take action regardless of the risk.

After being cleared by the doctor, Ross and I agree that I will spend my mandatory two weeks bed rest with his grandparents.

Since it's going to be a busy two weeks with Ross trying to close the Dunham deal, I'm going to have to spend it with his grandparents without him and away from any stressful situation or terrible news.

Requesting for a two weeks leave from work was not as hard as I thought it would be after it is established that I will work from home.

Honestly, I am a bit nervous about spending time with them since I haven't seen them since the dinner that almost made me lose my pregnancy but Ross trusts them enough to put me in their care.

The car ride to Ross's grandparents is quiet even though I try to start a conversation with my new bodyguard Guzman, he doesn't say much.

He is the brooding large type who only gives one word replies. The first time I met him I was a little bit scared of him. He was tall and heavily built with a bald head and permanent frown.

We arrive at the townhouse a lot sooner than we expect. Guzman helps me with my luggage as the housekeeper welcomes us.

The Whitby's housekeeper Lucia helps me with my luggage the minute I arrive.

"It's nice to finally meet you Elenora." she greets as I enter the house with a hand on my belly.

"Thank you Lucia. It's good to be here"

I hope I am presentable enough for Ross's grandparents. I smooth my grey maternity smock and pull my long peach sweater closer.

I have taken extra effort in my appearance today because of Ross's grandparents, I don't know if they really like me or just tolerate me because I'm married to Ross but I know I will find out in the coming weeks.

The living room is uncomfortably large. It reminds me of a 5 star hotel foyer. It's almost like the perfect magazine cover.
I'm almost afraid to sit in case I wrinkle the fabric.

  The couch is cream but inlaid with a fine green silk; leaves embroidered so delicately that they might have landed there in spring and just sunk in, but I know they took hundreds of hours to sew.

The white curtains are linen, the kind of white that is untouched by hands and devoid of dust. A cursory look to the right shows me the almost hidden cords that are used to open and close them. There is no television, no bookshelf, only the couch arranged around the large piece of artwork that adorns half the wall's centre.

The sculptures and flowers on the centre table looks so delicate that the slightest breeze might cause them to fall.

The photographs are black and white, not casual family snaps, but arranged to look like such by a professional. There is a picture of who I assume to be Ross as a young boy and his mother sitting side by side. Ross has a wide smile on his face and his mother leans into him lovingly while the photo is taken.
The floor is a high polished wood, dark and free of either dust or clutter. There is a large grey rug in the middle of the room and a half closed book on the table which seems to be the only proof that someone actually lives in the house.

I'm still seated waiting for Ross's grandparents while Guzman and Lucia take my luggage to the room that has been prepared for me.


"Elenora! Lovely to see you" Mrs Lydia Whitby appeared from the stairs alongside her husband.

Lydia Whitby must have been a very beautiful woman, even in old age, her pale blond hair sprinkled with grey still looks as healthy as ever and tied up in a neat bun at the nape of her neck.

The only signs of aging is her wrinkling face. Nevertheless, she still has a very pretty smile. She is wearing dark coloured pants and a grey turtleneck cashmere jumper. Mr William Whitby is no different, he is dressed just as similar as his wife except he is wearing light coloured chinos and a striped grey cashmere sweater.

He has thinning grey hair and a pair of reading glasses rests heavily on his nose as he squints at me.

"It's lovely to see you both Mr and Mrs Whitby" I reply with a smile and Lydia leads me back to my seat.

"Just call me Lydia. No need for formalities"

Her eyes travel to my bulging belly and she smiles.

"Ross and I haven't had the chance to talk much, but he did mention that you were having twins. Have you found out their genders?"

She asks as she leans in closer, with a keen hand on my shoulder.

"Yes, it's a boy and a girl."

"Oh! That's something..." Mr Whitby says as he congratulates me.

Mrs Whitby on the other hand looks even more excited than ever.

"Oh! That's wonderful. Have you thought of any names yet?"

I am a bit hesitant to share names with them, but I suppose since it's their great grand kids they're very curious.

"Yes, Ross and I were thinking of Audrey and Alexander."

Mrs Whitby nods her head in approval.

"We were also thinking of naming our daughter Viola. But I want to ask if that's okay with you."
My voice is barely a whisper as I watch the smiles evaporate on both Lydia and William's face.

Uh- oh!

Maybe I should have waited a little for Ross to talk to them about it.