"You really did not have to co over, mom. Adolf could have done this," Tom said as he rose from his seat when his mother walked into his office carrying a suitcase.
"I wanted to see what you've done with the place. Besides Janet, Jamal and Candace wanted to take a look around the place," Evelyn said with a bright smile.
Sothing about her eyes put Tom on guard. There was a sort of pleased, knowing look in her eyes that he couldn't tell its source.
"You all ca together?" Tom asked in surprise, and Evelyn nodded as she looked around the office.
"Yes. They're busy looking around. Don't worry. We won't be here for long. We are heading to Harry's to see his father after we leave here," Evelyn assured him as he took the suitcase from her.
"Thanks," he said as he placed it on the table to check if she had included all he needed.
Tom blinked back his surprise when he saw a pregnancy test kit packed on top of his clothes, "What is this, mom?" He asked, looking at her with a confused frown as he wondered why she had included that in his luggage.
"I should be asking you," Evelyn said, watching him closely as she took out the pack and held up the kit.
She had been surprised to find Lucy's handbag hidden in the corner of the closet and had picked it up to hang it along with the others when the pregnancy test kit fell out from it. She had been both shocked and elated to see a positive test kit.
"Why should you be asking ? Do I look like I missed my period?" Tom asked dryly, and Evelyn narrowed her eyes.
"It does look like Lucy did. Am I to assu you weren't aware?" Evelyn asked, and Tom frowned.
"This belongs to Lucy?" He asked as his gaze moved to the kit she was holding, and Evelyn nodded.
"It was in her handbag, hidden away in your closet, so I suppose it's hers unless you're sharing your bedroom with another lady I know nothing about," Evelyn said, and Tom's heart skipped a beat.
"You saw this in Lucy's handbag? And it's positive?" He asked again, unable to believe it.
Seeing the surprise on his face, Evelyn realized she had made a mistake, "I guess you didn't know about it yet. Perhaps it was ant to be a surprise. I should have asked her first," Evelyn said, regretting her thoughtlessness.
Tom said nothing as he kept staring at the kit in disbelief. Was Lucy pregnant? How? And why would she be pregnant and not tell him about it? That didn't seem like sothing Lucy would do. She had her flaws, but she wasn't the type to keep such secrets to herself. Or had she kept quiet because she thought it was the wrong timing, especially after their misunderstanding?
"You should take it back," Tom said, not bothering to touch it, and Evelyn returned it to the pack and dropped it in her handbag.
"Are you going to ask her about it?" She asked curiously, and Tom sighed, resisting the urge to comb his fingers through his hair.
"No. I'm sure she will tell about it when she is ready."
"What is going on with you, Tom?" Evelyn asked as she lowered herself to the chair closest to her.
"Nothing. I'm good," Tom assured her as he sat on the edge of his desk, wishing his mother would leave so he could think.
"Were you serious about not wanting to get married?" Evelyn asked, and Tom scratched the back of his ear.
"I'm not ready at the mont, but I will eventually. I still need to figure out so stuff," Tom said, and Evelyn let out a sigh of relief.
"You should have just said so last night. I could barely sleep last night because I kept worrying about you," Evelyn complained, and Tom watched her curiously.
"Can I ask you a personal question?"
Evelyn smiled, "Sure."
"It's unrelated to the topic. But I'm curious. When you didn't want to get married initially, did you appreciate dad trying to change your mind?" Tom asked, and Evelyn broke into a smile.
"Getting married and having you and your siblings is the best decision I ever made," Evelyn said without thinking twice.
"That's what you know now, over three decades later. But at the ti, did you like being persuaded?" He asked, and her brows knit together thoughtfully.
"I can't say I did or didn't. Your father was quite subtle. He snuck up on and slipped past my defenses. Before your father, I was always independent and self-sufficient, and then one day, I realized I wasn't anymore," Evelyn said with a soft smile as she thought of Desmond.
"You an he exposed you to a need you didn't realize you had?" Tom asked, and Evelyn bead a smile at him.
"You sound just like your father. And yes. He made realize that not all n were like my father, and I didn't deserve to be lonely or do life on my own because of sothing my father did," Evelyn explained.
"Did you ever get help? I an, therapy?"
"I did, but it didn't really help. I guess I had a terrible therapist, and he completely put off therapy. But your dad was right for . He was the therapy I needed," Evelyn said, and Tom sighed.
"That's nice," Tom said as he rose, and Evelyn eyed him with interest.
"It's Lucy, isn't it? She doesn't want to get married?" Evelyn asked knowingly.
"It's not a big deal, mom. I can change her mind," Tom assured her, not wanting her to make a big deal out of it.
"I could talk to her," Evelyn offered and rose to et Tom.
"Please don't. I don't think she would appreciate that," Tom said and looked at his mother when she stood in front of him and pald his face in the cup of both hands.
"You are like your father in so many ways," she said with a soft smile.
"Don't worry. I won't interfere. I know you love Lucy, and I love her. I just really hope she doesn't take as long as I took," Evelyn said, and Tom smiled, grateful that his mother was not overreacting.
"I hope so too, mom. I really do," Tom said, and they both glanced at the door when Eric knocked, wanting to remind Tom of his eting.
"I should let you get back to work. Let know when she tells you about the pregnancy," Evelyn said with a twinkle in her eyes.
"Mom, all of this has to remain...."
"Between us. I know. I won't say a word to anyone," Evelyn promised, making a zipping gesture on her lips.
"Have a safe trip," she said before leaving the office.
As she walked away from the office, Tom shut his suitcase while thinking about the positive pregnancy kit. Was Lucy really pregnant? How did she feel about it? What did she plan to do? Tom mused, beginning to feel very worried about her now.
Away from there, in Lucy's office, she sat with Sonia, who had decided to stay back in the office with Lucy while Janet, Candace, and Jamal had gone on a tour of the company.
"You can't make such a decision without informing Bryan," Lucy said with a worried frown as she sat on the chair beside Sonia, holding her hands for support.
"What good is going to co from telling him about it?" Sonia asked, and Lucy raised a brow.
"No good has to co from it. It's just the right thing to do. You both ford the baby together, and Bryan has a right to know...."
"It's my body," Sonia said stubbornly as she pulled her hands away from Lucy's.
"Seriously? Are you going to go the pro-choice route now? We both know this doesn't make any sense. Bryan deserves to know and make the decision with you. He should be with you through the process if you both agree on terminating the pregnancy. If the situation was reversed...."
"Lucy, please!"
"I love you, Sony, and I know you don't want to hear all this from right now, but I'm obligated as your best friend to tell you the truth. Didn't you both just have a fight over the fact that you make decisions that involve the both of you without consulting him? How do you think Bryan is going to react or feel if he finds out about this after the deed has been done?" Lucy asked, and Sonia raised a brow.
"How is he going to find out about it? Do you plan to tell him about it?"
"For Christ's sake, Sony! I understand how you feel and why you think you need to do this, but I think it's a bad idea."
"So you won't support ?" Sonia asked as tears glead in her eyes, and Lucy sighed.
"If you still decide to go ahead with it, I will surely stand by you, but I hope you change your mind," Lucy said, and Sonia nodded.
"As long as I have your support, that's all I need. Now enough about . Were you able to resolve things with Tom last night?" Sonia asked, and Lucy shrugged as she stood up and returned to her seat.
"He asked to move back to my apartnt," Lucy said, surprising Sonia.
"He said so?"
"Yeah. I think it's probably a good thing for us both. Lucas also thinks I should return to my apartnt," Lucy said, and Sonia sighed.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? Won't you both drift further apart?" Sonia asked, and Lucy smiled.
"Says the sa person that wanted to do the sa thing with Bryan. Didn't you say things were moving too fast? I think it's the sa for us. It's probably best we stay apart," Lucy said, and Sonia sighed.
"Why do things have to be so complicated for us?" Sonia asked, and Lucy shrugged.
"Maybe we still have so much we need to learn. Tom wants to et him in the middle. I don't even know where that is," Lucy said, and Sonia raised a brow.
"eting him in the middle ans giving sothing if not all. You could choose to marry him and not have kids, or decide to have kids with him and not marry him," Sonia pointed out.
"I see," Lucy murmured as she picked up her click pen and began to click and unclick distractedly.
"What are you going to do?" Sonia asked with concern, and Lucy smiled.
"I should start by moving back to my apartnt and taking therapy more seriously. I should leave while Tom is away on his trip. It would make it easier. I think I will take things a day at a ti from now on. I need to learn to worry less about the future. Who knows? The world might end, Tom and I might fall out of love with each other, or I may even die before I have to make a final decision," Lucy said jocularly, but Sonia didn't laugh.
"You shouldn't joke about sothing like that," Sonia scolded.
"But it's the truth, Sony. Anything can happen. Think about the Miller family, for instance. Who would have thought that things would take such a turn?" Lucy asked, and Sonia looked at her curiously.
"Did Tom tell you about it?" Sonia asked, and Lucy sighed.
"Yeah. Anita is sort of making a U-turn. Can you believe that?" Lucy asked in disbelief.
"So, are you going to forgive her? I an, after the last stunt she pulled at the spa, do you really believe this change thing? How can she change in just Twenty-four hours?" Sonia asked, and Lucy shrugged.
"I don't know, Sony. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm exhausted, and I don't have any fight left in . I just want to live a quiet, ordinary life without having to plot or plan against anyone. I want to mind my business and live on my own terms," Lucy said and straightened when she sighted her mom, Candace, and Jamal approaching.
"They're here," Lucy said as she rose and smiled as Jamal burst into her office.
"Lucy!" Jamal called cheerfully as he embraced her.
"I'm heartbroken, Jam. I thought I'd be the first person you'd want to see when you walked into the building," Lucy complained, and Janet slapped her arm.
"You shouldn't hit Lucy," Jamal said, looking at Janet with mild disapproval for hitting Lucy.
"Aww! My champion," Lucy cooed as she kissed Jamal's forehead, and he gave her the kind of shy smile that only a smitten seven years old could give.
"Be a responsible adult, and don't lead the kid on," Janet scolded.
"Leading on to where?" Jamal asked innocently, and they all laughed.
Candace, who had taken the seat Lucy vacated, turned her attention from them and looked at Sonia with interest, "Your package was delivered a mont ago," she inford Sonia as she reached into her handbag for the sealed parcel.
She had no idea what Sonia had ordered or why she had placed the order using her details, but she could tell that Sonia wasn't alright.
"Oh, thanks!" Sonia said as she reached for it and placed it in her handbag while avoiding Lucy's gaze.
"Your office looks better than I expected," Janet observed as she looked around while Jamal went to sit on Lucy's chair and swiveled around playfully.
"What about your secretary? The girl that ca over to your apartnt...."
"Amy is fine. She took a leave of absence," Lucy explained, and Janet nodded.
"Did you see Harry's office?" Lucy asked Candace, and she shook her head.
"He's not in. He promised to invite over and show around next ti," Candace said, and Lucy smiled.
"We couldn't go to Tom's office because Grandma Evelyn said he was busy," Jamal inford Lucy.
"Yes, he is."
"We brought his clothes because he is traveling," Jamal said, and Lucy nodded.
"So I heard."
"Maybe now that Tom is traveling, we can have so ti to ourselves. Your father and I have barely spent ti with you since we got here," Janet said happily, and Lucy smiled.
Since she t Tom and moved in with him, it seed like her whole life had begun to revolve around him, and she barely had ti for anyone or anything else. She had beco too dependent on him emotionally, and it was probably best she took so steps back if she didn't want to get hurt at the end of the day.
"Yeah. I was thinking we should move to my apartnt. You know, spend so quality family ti together before you travel back. What do you think?" Lucy asked, and Janet smiled happily.
"That's fine. I'm sure your dad wouldn't mind," Janet said, and Sonia sighed, hoping that Lucy wasn't making a mistake.
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