Chapter 179 A Worthy Reunion

Chapter 179 A Worthy Reunion
~Jeremy’s POV~

Pregnant.

The word wouldn’t leave my head. It kept looping, echoing like it had been branded into my skull. 

The medic had said it calmly, like it wasn’t a life-altering sentence. Like it was just another diagnosis. Stress-induced fainting. Early pregnancy. Dehydration. Emotional overload. But for me, it had changed everything. My entire body was calm. I hardly remember I won a race today.

After stabilizing Teyana at the track's medical unit, they transferred her to a private hospital in Monte Carlo.

Now, we were here.

I stood by the hospital bed, my body refusing to sit, refusing to relax, refusing to believe that she was really lying there— pale, breathing steadily, and—pregnant. With my baby. It felt surreal. 

Machines hummed softly around us, monitors blinking, the sterile smell of the room grounding me in a strange way. I was starting to get so familiar with hospitals. The white room didn’t bother me anymore. I had been there a lot this year.

I ran a hand through my hair for the tenth time or more in few minutes.

“Jer,” Zayne called quietly beside me, his calm voice contrasting the storm in my chest. “You’ve got this.”

It had turned out Teyana told him first before she came here. Zayne already knew she was pregnant.

I nodded, but I didn’t look at him. My eyes were locked on Teyana, on the rise and fall of her chest, on the way her lashes rested against her cheeks like she was only sleeping. 

I anticipated her waking more than I had anticipated anything else in my life. I knew she was totally fine. But stubborn Teyana had been stressing herself than her body could take. Pregnant, grieving, and traveling. That was a lot.

If she had informed me on phone, I swear- I would have abandoned the race and traveled down to her instead. This was too much effort on her end. But maybe I needed it- to believe she still wanted us as much as I did. God, this is crazy. 

Taylor, Zayne’s girlfriend- leaned against the counter near the wall, arms folded, amusement dancing too lightly in her expression for my liking.

“Can’t believe Jeremy’s already knocked someone up,” she teased, her lips curving. “Ooou. Sounds intense to me.”

I didn’t even register it properly. Didn’t react. Didn’t have the energy to acknowledge the joke. Nothing in me was available for anything except the woman on that bed.

Charlotte stood a little apart, quieter than she’d been all day. She was observing. My hands trembled every time I reached for Teyana and stopped myself, afraid I’d wake her too abruptly. Afraid I’d confirm that this was real. 

Then—

Teyana stirred.

Her fingers twitched.

My entire body jolted.

“Tey?” I was already leaning over her, crowding her space without meaning to, my voice urgent and stripped of pride. “Hey—hey, can you hear me?”

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, unfocused at first, then blinking as life returned to them. She winced faintly, bringing a hand to her temple.

“Jeremy?” Her voice was soft. Confused. “How… how did I get here?”

Relief crashed into me so hard my knees nearly gave out.

“You’re okay,” I said quickly, reaching for her hands and holding them before she could pull away. “You lost consciousness earlier. You’re safe now.”

I smiled at her then. I couldn’t help it. It just… happened. 

Her eyes searched mine, something dawning slowly in them.

“You already know,” she said quietly. Not a question. “Don’t you?”

My throat tightened. I

I nodded, fighting the burn behind my eyes. I squeezed her hands gently, grounding both of us. “Yeah,” I whispered. “I know.” I had been so curious after what she said about being there for the baby before collapsing earlier. My heart wouldn’t stop beating fast. And after the doctor confirmed it by checking her vitals, I almost forgot how to breathe. Zayne was the one who grounded me.

Teyana’s breath hitched loudly, like the reality of this was surreal to her too. “I’m so sorry,” she said, panic threading her voice. “Jeremy, I—”

“Ssh.” I leaned closer, pressing my forehead lightly to hers. “I forgive you. I can’t not forgive you.” I pulled back just enough to look at her properly. “But tell me something.” My voice wavered despite my effort. “You didn’t come back to me just because you’re still pregnant… right?”

Her head shook immediately. Fiercely.

“No,” she said. “Even if the baby didn’t stay… I would’ve still fought for you. I didn’t come only because of that. I came because of you.”

That did it.

One tear slipped free before I could stop it. I didn’t wipe it away. I didn’t pretend. I let it fall.

I bent forward, resting my face against her stomach, kissing her belly softly through the gray hoodie she had on—the one that used to be mine.

My hands trembled as they settled there. I heard her exhale.

“I love you, Jeremy,” she whispered. “I want us back together.”

I lifted my head slowly, kissed her knuckles one by one, savoring the intimacy, the familiarity, the ache of everything we’d survived. Then I looked at her fully.

“I promise you, you don’t have to say too much.” I said easily.  “You own me.” And I meant every word.

She nodded, tears pooling in her eyes.

Then, hesitantly, she asked, “So… she isn’t your girlfriend?” Her eyes found Charlotte. Oh, I had forgotten that anyone else was here—were here rather. Zayne, Taylor, and Charlotte. We must have given them a free show just now.

Charlotte chuckled quietly beside us before I could answer.

“Girl, you’re lucky you showed up fast,” she said, stepping forward. “I was going to secure a single Jeremy to myself. But don’t worry—I don’t do men in relationships. And definitely not men expecting babies.” 

Laughters broke the tension instantly. 

Charlotte wasn't done. “And he wasn't giving me any green light, so…you are safe, girl.” She shrugged.

I smiled, and Teyana let out a breath she’d clearly been holding, relief washing over her face.

Taylor stepped closer then, standing before Teyana. “I heard about your mum,” she said carefully. “I’m really sorry for your loss.”

Then Charlotte added, “We lost our aunt too. It’s sad we never got to meet her because she and our mother were into some kind of sibling enmity before we were born. They reconciled during her sickness. Just recently. And sadly, she lost her life to cancer two days ago before we could meet her. She was also buried yesterday.”

“In Los Alamos as well,” Taylor chimed in.

I felt Teyana shift on the bed then, her expression changed too. She looked back and forth between Taylor and Charlotte, like she was trying to view them properly. “You’re twins?” she asked.

Taylor sighed dramatically. “Unfortunately. Yes.”

I frowned, “Do you… know them?” I found myself asking.

Teyana didn’t answer me. Her gaze stayed fixed on the girls.

“By any chance,” she said slowly, “is one of you an actress… and the other a model?”

Charlotte’s eyes widened. “Woo-hoo. How did she know?”

Taylor blinked, stunned.

Zayne straightened. “Okay,” he finally interfered. “What’s going on here?”

Teyana smiled weakly from the bed. “What a very unexpected way,” she murmured, “to meet my cousin sisters.”