chapter 86

"You've got a lovely place Adam." My mum looked around.

Thank god I had done it up a bit.

"Thank you Mrs Parker. But please, all credit belongs to Sophia. She helped turn this space into a proper home." He said, smiling at me. "Anyway, I'm sure you both had an exhausting flight and must be starving. Why don't you join us for dinner made by Sophia?"

"Oh we would love to!" My mum beamed excitedly. "I've really missed Sophia's cooking."

"Excellent. Shall we?" He gestured.

Adam led us all to the dinning table. I was really pleased with him, unlike me, he was handling the situation pretty well. But then again, he's always had a way with impressing my parents.

Instead of taking a seat at the head of the table, he actually sat next to me, and my parents sat directly opposite.

I revealed the salmon that was still piping hot thanks to these new set of serving dishes I had bought. My mum was very impressed.

"Of course, this is inclusive of everyone. I know there's certain things that you can't eat, dad. I've avoided all of them." I said.

"Very thoughtful. Thank you my dear." He replied.

As dinner progress, Adam tried to make light conversation with them but only my mum was responding. This was unusual because he'd previously always had something to talk about with my dad. Either my dad was deliberately being quiet or he was still mad at him. Maybe he was still mad at this whole arrangement.

"So, how's the prep for the baby going, have you run any checks or tests?" My mum asked me this time.

"Yeah, I've had one prenatal visit so far. It's still early days so I haven't really done much."

"I hope it's not taking a toll on you. When I was pregnant, it was a very stressful time. Hopefully you'll have it a lot more earlier than me." She smiled.

I don't think so.

I was not about to disclose the emotional and hormonal roller coaster that I have been through because of this pregnancy. But I'm pretty sure mine is worse, merely because of the fact that I did my prenatal much more earlier than usual.

"I've been okay Mum. So far there hasn't been any issues." I lied.

"Good. Because I can't wait to be a grandmother." She smiled.

Once dinner was finished, my mum helped me to clear the place. I noticed that my dad had pulled Adam for a chat. They both headed towards the balcony and closed the door behind them, so we couldn't hear their conversation.

My heart was beating so fast in my chest that I thought it might stop working.

I felt my mum put her arm around mine. She knew exactly what I was thinking.

"Is he still upset?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"Oh my god." I almost broke down.

"Shhh, it's okay Sophia. He knows you've made your decision and he has to respect it. He just wants to make sure of Adam's intention."

"Mum! He intention should be clear by now! We live together! How else can he prove himself?" I cried frustratedly.

My dad was being so unreasonable and annoying. All we wanted was to mend fences with him. But no! Firstly, dinner was awkward because of him and his stubborn attitude. Now he's about to have it out with Adam.

"It's because you aren't married yet. That's the reason he has a problem with this." My mum said.

"But he's going to marry me, ma."

"Are you sure? Has he asked you yet?" She looked at me intently. She was on my side. She wanted this to work just as much as I did.

"No, but he will. I can just tell." I said, wiping my tears.

She gave me a reassuring look and helped me wipe the tears off my face.

"Don't worry honey. I have faith in him too."

***************

Adam Wilson

As soon as I closed the balcony door, the interrogation started.

"What are your intentions with my daughter." He stated plainly. His face held a very serious look.

"Bruce." I started. "I believe I've answered that question before. I once told you about how much I love your daughter."

"Ah, yes you did. Right after you slept with her, under my roof. Without any sense of discretion."

"Come on, we've been over this alr-"

"No, we haven't. I threw you out before I could get a proper explanation from the both of you."

"Okay. Would you like a proper explanation now?" I asked.

"Yes. When did you realize that you love my daughter. Was it before or after you started sleeping together?" He quizzed.

"It was certainly before." I said confidently. "From the day I first set my eyes on her when she came into my office for a job interview, I felt something for her. I didn't know what it was at the time but I hired her on the spot. For about a year and a half, I managed to maintain a professional working nature with her. But I couldn't stop thinking about the feelings that I had. It got to a point where I decided to pursue things with her, but she refused. Yes, your daughter rejected me countlessly."

He seemed taken aback by the fact that Sophia had rejected me. He hadn't known the full story of our relationship before. Hopefully now he can understand us better. Anyone who knew about our history would be thankfully that we are together now.

"But I didn't stop pursuing her. Time after time, I let your daughter know that I wanted her. She quit because she felt harassed."

"But you did harass her." He accused.

"No I didn't, because we made love the same day she quit her job."

"What?"

"Right after she quit, Sophia and I had our first encounter and it was consensual."

"I don't understand." He shook his head in confusion.

"Bruce, your daughter confessed to me that she was also in love with me from the very beginning. She was in a state of constant denial. But it was only a matter of time before it happened. Our second time was in Virginia."

He turned away in disbelief.

"I know this is probably not what you had planned for your daughter but-"

"Probably?!" He said with anger before turning back to face me. "This is DEFINITELY NOT what I had planned for her. She made a mistake and she ran away from you. But you came after her and forced her to make the same mistake again under my roof. And this time, your actions had consequences."

"I didn't force her Bruce. Has it ever occurred to you that your daughter is an independent young woman who is free to make her own choices?" I defended.

"Not after she's been heavily influenced and seduced by you."

At this point, I laughed. There was nothing else I could do or say to him to convince him.

"So are you saying that you are not in support of what Sophia and I have?"

"What do you have? Apart from the child, you have nothing. What's stopping you from taking off with another woman tomorrow?" He said.

That's when I realized where his anger was channeling from.

"Ah, I see. This is about us not being married."

"Damn right it is!" He challenged, stepping closer to me. I had a slight height advantage over him but not significant enough.

If only he knew how bad I wanted to marry Sophia. I was only taking my shrimp's advice by laying off for a bit. In the study earlier, I had been talking to a few suppliers about engagement rings.

"I can't marry her without your blessing."

"Then you should have thought about that before you got her pregnant."

We were both glaring menacingly at each other. I refused to back down from the stare down and so did he. I also noticed his hands were now balled up into fists.

"Perhaps I could have handled the timeline of events much better, but I have absolutely no regrets with your daughter." I spoke to him in a careful tone. "I would say this ONE last time, I am in love with your daughter. In fact, I have already made plans to get married to her. If I cannot get your approval simply because she is pregnant out of wedlock then I will proceed without it."

Having said that, I walked away.