Chapter 60 The Perfect Symbol

Chapter 60 The Perfect Symbol
As the date of my wedding grew closer, my anxiety levels rose.
My biggest issue was finding the right dress for the wedding. I had a couple of dressmakers flown in who specialized in maternity gowns, but it still wasn't easy finding something that fit me and also looked flattering. Plus, it seemed like my bump was growing with every passing day.
When I brought up my frustrations with Jack one night, he offered to postpone the wedding until after I gave birth. I was immediately horrified by the idea. I knew I was going to be a total mess after the baby came, and there would be so many things to organize like cleaning and feeding it, so put my foot down and insisted that the date of the wedding remain unchanged.
At one point, I had a private moment to catch up with Gavin. It was a bit of a delicate subject to bring up, but I discreetly inquired whether all that unpleasantness with Ricardo had been taken care of.
Gavin gave me one of those sly winks of his and told me that Ricardo had been convinced to return to Mexico and that he wouldn't be a problem.
When I tried to get more details out of him, especially about the money, Gavin just said that Ricardo's needs had been "drastically reduced on a permanent basis," which was a little mysterious, but I trusted Gavin.
Overall, despite the long and hectic days getting everything organized, everything was going more or less smoothly. One time, though, when the caterers were at the estate to give me a tasting of the various menu options, my mother got a little out of line.
First, she started crying for no reason, and then she started asking where Malcolm was. It was all so embarrassing that I had to dismiss the caterers for a moment to take care of it.
"But I don't understand. Where is he?" wailed my mother.
"Mom, you need to drink your mimosa and shut your mouth," I said, patting my belly to try and help me remain calm.
"I just don't understand. Why won't anyone tell me what's going on?" sobbed my mother.
"What's going on is you need to behave," I told her. "Or else I'm going to have to ask the doctor to make an adjustment to your medication. Do you want me to do that, mother?"
"No," said my mother, hanging her head.
"All right then," I said with a little smile. "Now help me decide between the roast beef au jus or the smoked salmon."
There were a few other minor hiccups like that, but for the most part, everything went swimmingly. I even managed to find a company that was going to supply a thousand doves to be launched into the air once Jack and I said our vows. It was the perfect symbol of our undying love, in my opinion.
My only complaint was that Jack was so busy with all of his business stuff that he barely had any time to offer his input on the wedding preparations. I had to choose everything from the color of the bridesmaids' gowns to the symphony orchestra that was going to play live music at our reception. Many of those things were my prerogative anyway as the bride, but I did wish that he could be around more often if only to help me feel less lonely.
Missing him, one evening I went to his office in search of him. As usual, he was on the phone, but I let myself in anyway and sat in the corner, delighted to watch him at work. Having all of those responsibilities on his shoulders had aged him quite a bit, which I thought made him look very handsome, indeed.
No longer was he the fresh-faced boy I'd met at the start of the summer but a rugged man doing an outstanding job of filling his father's shoes, and the sprinkling of gray hairs I could see appearing in his lovely thick hair were a very nice touch.
"Whew, I hate talking to Japan," said Jack once the call was over. "They're always in such a perky mood because it's morning for them."
"Oh, my poor darling," I said, rushing over to him and sitting on his lap. "You're working so hard."
"Well, it needs to be done," said Jack, pinching the bridge of his nose. "All our financing might come from London or here, but pretty much our entire manufacturing base is in Asia these days."
"Darling, promise me you won't work too late tonight," I said, fussing with his hair. "The wedding's only in a few days, and you're going to need your stamina."
"Right, right, I didn't forget," said Jack, sliding open his desk drawer to show me a bottle of pills. "Don't you worry, it'll be taken care of, one way or another."
"Oh, you," I said with a big smile. "You always think of everything, don't you?"
"I try to," said Jack before leaning in to kiss me.
"Darling, there is one other little thing," I said, pulling away so as not to ruin my make-up, which had taken my team nearly an hour to get right.
"What is it, my love?" said Jack, a frown creasing his handsome face.
"Well... it's Malcolm, you see," I said, hopping off of his lap. "My mother was being a pill about him the other day. It's been a while since you gave me an update on his condition, and I'm just hoping he won't be a problem."
"What?" said Jack, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes before he caught himself. "I told you. He's under control."
"I know," I said as I walked over to examine my reflection in the mirror. "But I just worry, you know?"
"Fine," said Jack with a sigh. "Okay, yes, his lawyers are still contesting the involuntary commitment order. But my guys are on it. Anyway, they've got him pretty doped up in there. Don't worry, sweetie. He won't interrupt our perfect day."
"Thank you," I said, bending down to give him a quick kiss on the forehead.
After that, I let Jack get back to work. I returned to my room and opened my laptop and started going through my emails. I was still staying in the same room with the four poster bed.
Initially, Jack had wanted me to move into the master bedroom with him, but I told him that it would be best to wait until our wedding night. Of course, it was just a bit of silly symbolism, but I also felt more comfortable in my suite where everything had been arranged exactly to my satisfaction.
Just then, I felt the baby kick inside of me, which irritated me to no end. The little monster hadn't even been born yet and already was trying to steal all of my time and energy.
I could only imagine what things were going to be like when it was crying and screaming and demanding to be fed. That's why I'd already booked an entire team of people to help me out with that stuff, including a wet nurse from town, a young girl who's baby had died in a car crash or something.
Sometimes, I wish I'd never gotten pregnant at all. Already, my gorgeous lithe form had been transformed into a bloated mess, and my ankles were constantly screaming out in pain.
Even going to sleep was difficult as I never could seem to get in a comfortable position, and I could barely go thirty minutes without having to run to the bathroom to pee. All in all, it was a pretty miserable thing to go through, despite all the nonsense my mother kept nattering on about, talking about when she had been pregnant with me.
I looked on the internet and discovered that there was such a thing as induced labor, meaning you could hurry up and give birth as soon as possible, but they said it was a highly risky procedure and was only done when a doctor deemed it medically necessary. Meaning I was stuck carrying this baby to term whether I liked it or not.
The one thing that consoled me on those long nights when I couldn't sleep properly was that the baby was my unbreakable link to the Kent family. Even if Jack should inherit his father's weaknesses and go crazy one day, no one would ever be able to dethrone me from my rightful position, not if I was the mother to the heir.
Furthermore, I knew that once the baby came, and Jack and I were married, there'd be no more ugly gossip about who the father was. Even my mother, God bless her, sometimes asked some uncomfortable questions, and I needed all of that to come to an end once and for all.
Yes, despite all of my suffering, the grand finale was nearly in sight. I'd be married in a spectacular ceremony to one of the richest men on the planet, and then I'd give birth to his son and heir. Together, we'd forge a dynasty that would carry on down through the generations, and I would be the queen of a vast and powerful empire.
All I had to do was keep it together for a few more weeks, and hadn't I already been through much worse?
With my dreams so close to becoming true, I wasn't about to let anyone stop me now!