Chapter 71

Selene’s POV.

“What?” Nathaniel frowned. I turned to him too and noticed the look on his face. Ok, so we’re all confused again, glad to know I wasn’t missing out on something.

“Yeah, you guys will be staying the night,” Jonathan now said. It was no longer a question but a confirmed statement.

“Come on, you three can most certainly stay here. There’s already a children's bedroom for when your cousins and their kids come over. I assume you and Selene can share a room?” Jennifer assumed. “We can make this room to his liking, and you guys get to stay here. I know you didn’t plan on it, but I can assure you you’d have a great time,” Jennifer explained, handing over products from the fridge to Roman to carry to the counter, but he was short, so instead he gave them to Jon, who placed them on the counter for him.

“Dad—" Nathaniel was about to complain.

“We could stay here,” I shrugged. I truly wouldn’t mind staying here with his family. It would be easier to bond with them anyway.

“Are you sure?” Nathaniel asked quietly.

“They only have around two to three weeks with Roman, let them enjoy,” I explained. I knew privacy-wise we might not have too much, but this trip was for Roman and his grandparents, and this would be the right opportunity for them to enjoy themselves.

“If you say so,” Nathaniel smiled and pulled me to his side. “Are you sure? Don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with just to please my parents,” he whispered to me, rubbing my back.

“No, Nate, I truly want this. This place is a lot closer to where Kai and Ans are staying. There’s a much bigger backyard and also a pool. It has all the things that Roman would like,” I assured him, and a soft smile formed on his lips.

“Fine, whatever you want, milady,” Nathaniel kissed my hand. “Thank you for allowing my parents to have this moment with their grandson.

Staying with the Sullivans ended up being the best decision ever. Roman got to spend a lot of time with his grandparents, Nathaniel and I got to go out on so many dates. By now, the press knows about our relationship, but we couldn’t care less. They didn’t speak ill of us, so we were accepting things as they were.

The grandparents had been spotted with Roman, but the PR team managed to keep his face out of the pictures, as we had hoped for.

Nathaniel and I had great fun, though. The dates were perfect; Jennifer and Jonathan got to meet Kai and Anya, and they were welcomed into the family just as I had been. Sadly, the trip ended far quicker than we thought, 3 weeks flew by too fast.

Roman missed his grandparents and would video call them on a daily basis at this point. When Christmas was around the corner, we already knew what we had planned. We went back to New York, the Sullivan’s mansion to be exact, to spend Christmas.

Roman opened all his gifts, which were a mountain full. Nathaniel and I looked at each other a bit shocked. There was no way we’d be able to bring all of this with us abroad.

“We’re not gonna bring all of this,” Nathaniel whispered to me.

“We’ll watch closely what he plays with the most, and those will be packed,” I whispered back, and a smile formed on his face.

“Guys, the last gift is for Selene, you wanted this for a while now, and we’re so happy to give it to you,” Anya announced and walked over with a small box in hand.

Kai and Anya had been invited too. We’d also get to meet Nathaniel’s extended family, and from what I’ve heard, they were just as kind as these two. But Nathaniel assured me that if they dared to speak ill of me, his mother would put them in their places.

“Oh, I’m so excited,” I said as I took the box. I had no idea what this could be. Between all three Sullivans in the room, excluding Roman, they have spoiled me rotten with gifts. Even Kai and Anya had given me everything. I couldn’t think of a single thing I wanted more.

I began to open the box, and inside were sonograms. I gasped and immediately looked at her stomach. Oh my god, this explained why she turned down all the eggnog, why she wore so baggy these days. She was pregnant! Judging by the sonogram, I could tell she was in her early stages.

I dropped the photo to the side and got up to carefully hug Anya. “Oh my god! Congratulations! Roman will finally have cousins,” I gushed and hugged her again. Nathaniel began to do the same thing while I went to Kai now.

“Dude, you’re gonna be a dad!” I said and hugged him tightly.

“It was so hard to not tell you right away, but we wanted to wait a little, then we realized we could give it to you as a present,” Kai explained, happy tears in his eyes.

“Wait, why are there two?” Jennifer frowned when she saw the photos.

“Because we’re going to have twins!” Anya cried a little out of happiness, I assumed. These two deserved the family they wanted, and finally, they’d have it!

“I’m so excited for Roman to have cousins,” Nathaniel whispered.

“This means you two will be on babysitting duties for us,” Anya joked.

I didn’t mind it for one second though. The family was growing, and everyone shared the excitement.

Nathaniel’s point of view.

Early July and it was getting cold here in Melbourne. I’d been living here for a little over a year already. I couldn’t believe how much time had passed. These past few months, I’ve spent my days working on the start-up project between my company and the Tempest siblings. It was going so great that we could consider expanding some more. Our new team of cybersecurity experts was hitting all the marks we hoped for.

Our collaboration was going far better than we had predicted, but of course, there’s always a price to pay. Many tabloids claimed that the only reason the Tempests now had success was due to my money and influence, which was nowhere near the truth. They’ve been doing all their work rather spectacularly without my help. Everything was already running smoothly, and my money was never needed.

Just when I thought the media couldn’t get any more twisted, it came out that Roman was my biological son— that was never the issue. It’s the rumors they spread about Selene and me. That she was taking money from me, and that’s why she started Tempest Inc. with Kai— which again, was nowhere near the truth.

I could tell by the way Selene had been acting these last few days that it truly bothered her, despite her saying it didn’t and that she could handle it. I knew she hated every moment of it. These last two months, we had been in charge of Roman’s care completely. Kai and Anya were busy getting ready to become parents, and we didn’t wish to add to their stress.

Pregnancy had been hard on Anya; she was a high-risk case with those twins she carried, so she and Kai had to be very careful. Selene managed to convince Kai to step down for the moment, she’d handle everything, which she had been doing just fine. Anya’s bakery is being run by her team, but Kai took care of the management for her. I was well aware that Anya had twins and not one baby, but I still couldn’t help but think of how hard pregnancy must’ve been on Selene.

Selene always brushes it off; she was used to being this tough woman. I wish she’d admit how she truly felt. But it was fine, I was here now. When we have more kids, I’ll be sure to be as supportive and helpful as possible.

I finished making breakfast and set the table. Waffles, fruits, bacon, along with juice. Roman and Selene would love every bit of this. I went to help Roman get ready for school. I couldn’t believe we already had a child in kindergarten. He was adorable and so big already.

“Come on, bud, let me do your hair,” I said, holding onto his small hand. I had to fight to get him to wear his uniform. Sadly, with the press and all, we can’t send him to public school, so instead, he goes to this fancy private school. He loved it but he hated the uniform because of the tie and pins he had to wear.

“Mama always does it,” Roman groaned. Yeah, he was starting to get annoyed sooner these days.

“I know, but she’s still sleeping,” I reminded him gently. I caressed his face as I looked at him, seeing so many things of myself recognized in him.

“Ugh,” he groaned dramatically. The drama comes from his grandmother for sure.

“What if I style your hair like mine? Would you like that?” I offered, knowing just how much he liked that. He was giving me a hard time because I had a business trip last week and didn’t take him with me— I couldn’t take him when he had school.

“Hm… Fine,” he gave in.

I styled Roman’s hair, and he was off to the dining room. I walked up to the bedroom, and Selene lay sprawled on the bed, perfectly asleep. The mattress dipped next to her as I took my place next to her. I graced my fingers over her bare back, then leaned over and pressed soft kisses to her warm skin.

Soon enough, she began to hum, then buried her face deeper into the pillow. She was hiding from waking up, how cute. I carefully and teasingly trailed my hand down her side and began to lean closer to her neck, placing soft kisses. My lips ghosted over her skin, and the soft moan that escaped her lips was proof of how much she loved it.

Moving in together was the greatest decision we ever made. I still owned the penthouse, and we went there on weekends and such, but living in her house was the best for Roman and how we imagined our future with a cute cozy family.

“Nathaniel… Five more minutes,” Selene groaned.

“Sorry, baby, not today. I can’t drop Roman off, so you’ll have to do it,” I said.

“Ugh, fine,” she got up, but not before making out with me in bed.

Once she was up, she got ready swiftly, and we both joined Roman at the table. We had our breakfast, and I made sure to kiss them both goodbye before taking my leave. My first stop was a press meeting. I hadn’t done one in a while, but I felt like it was needed now.

“So, Mr. Sullivan, are the rumors true? You paid your son’s mother to have your child? Is that truly how she started up Tempest Inc.,” one of the reporters asked. My PR agent rested his hand on my shoulder to stop me from making a rash decision.