PREGNANT AFTER ONE NIGHT STAND

My plan was completely canceled. Zain suddenly had a fever. We didn’t know why because everything seemed normal with his activities. He had enough rest, ate well, and was breastfeeding fine. Anya and I were struggling the night before our departure. Zain was extremely fussy, to the point that Anya had to sleep sitting up. He didn’t want to be put down at all and only wanted to be held by his mother.

I couldn’t bear to see Anya like this.

Zain either.

His body must be in pain somewhere, causing him to be so fussy. Eventually, Anya’s mother advised us to take him to the doctor. It was Zain’s first visit to the doctor, other than his regular vaccinations. It was different this time. During the examination, we found out that Zain was teething for the first time, and not just two teeth, but four.

We exchanged glances in the doctor’s office, and then we laughed.

“New parents, it’s understandable,” I honestly told the doctor. The doctor who had been handling Zain from the beginning just smiled warmly.

“It’s alright, sir. If the fever persists, give him this.”

I nodded obediently. Afterward, I saw that Anya was also relieved. The visible relief was evident on her tired face, even though she had a thin layer of makeup covering it. I knew she hadn’t slept much.

And, well… our plans were canceled. Anya was sad, but Zain came first. She said, “We can still go on a trip another time.”

I think she said those words to encourage herself. All I could do was gently pat her shoulder and say, “Yes. We’ll do it next time, Mama. Don’t be sad. Right now, Zain is the priority.”

Anya nodded in agreement.

But my plan still had to proceed. The tickets were void, and I didn’t get much money back from the cancellation. It didn’t matter. Zain was sick, and I didn’t want to force the trip. Anya might keep thinking about it if I followed her mother’s suggestion to leave Zain behind and go with just the two of us. I couldn’t do that.

Zain and Anya were inseparable. Even though it was only a three-day vacation, I felt like a villain for even considering separating them. So, I decided to cancel all the plans there. But not at home. I changed the surprise location to the backyard of the main house.

So that Anya wouldn’t find out.

Throughout the day, I accompanied Anya and Zain. I deliberately didn’t let Anya go to her mother’s house. Zain seemed to be soothed only when he was close to his mother. Perhaps Anya thought it was time for her to fully take care of Zain while at home. Even though she did that on Saturdays and Sundays, Anya said it wasn’t enough.

So she kept herself busy, helped by Miss Dede, while I monitored the preparations for later in the evening. Exactly at midnight, I held the surprise. Everything went smoothly. Krystal occasionally updated me on the progress. We just had to wait for the right moment.

Luckily, Zain wasn’t fussy like the previous night. My handsome son slept soundly next to his mother at exactly nine o’clock. I could see that Anya didn’t move at all in her sleep. The rise and fall of her chest indicated that she was soundly asleep. The combination of exhaustion and lack of sleep must have taken a toll on her.

I just needed to prepare the final touch.

At exactly midnight, Anya’s phone rang. It was me calling her. I monitored the situation through the CCTV connected to my gadget. She was startled after the third loud ring.

When Anya answered the call with her eyes wide open, I could clearly see her panicking. Zain wasn’t there. She immediately grabbed her phone and answered my call.

“Where are you? Zain is not here!” she said, sounding hysterical.

“Zain is in Mama’s room, Joice. Just calm down.”

“Cedric! Don’t play games with me!”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I’m not playing games.”

“Where are you!!!”

I smiled wider. “Just look at the bouquet on the nightstand. There’s a clue.”

She didn’t waste time finding out what was really happening. The bouquet of red money envelopes arranged like roses was neatly placed there. The big writing said, ‘FOLLOW THE ARROW, AND YOU WILL FIND ME,’ which she had already read.

Instead of smiling, she just discarded the note. She only grabbed the bouquet of flowers and hurriedly walked away. I forgot to tell her she should have worn a jacket! Some of the buttons on her blouse were still undone! Oh my!

Along the stairs, the arrow was already lit up. At the end of the stairs, I gave her another gift. This time, it was a car key. I remembered when she talked about how I often used her car and said she didn’t need to think about it if it wasn’t important. She had her own car, and it was usable. This time, I gave her one specifically for her as a gift.

Guess what her reaction was? She left the key hanging there!

“Where is Zain, Cedric?!” she yelled angrily on the phone. Maybe I went overboard? Instead of smiling because of the surprise, her tone of voice turned threatening.

“Just follow the arrow, Joice.”

No small talk, she just hung up. Anya’s steps continued until she reached the front door. A key hanging with a card was there.

I put together the words without holding back. I hoped Anya would understand that my feelings for her were sincere.

“I know I’m not perfect, but I become perfect because of you. I understand that it’s difficult to balance with you, but I believe you have reasons behind your strong ideas. I don’t regret anything that happened between us. There’s only one thing I regret and it still bothers me to this day. The sadness in your face when I said who I was. I’m sorry. Even though it’s in the past, I still feel guilty.”

This time, I saw that she didn’t discard the note. She held it together with the bouquet of flowers. Then she continued to follow the directions. I didn’t know how her expression was because I saw the path she would take, surrounded by candles. I reduced the lighting to only a few garden lights, just to make it more dramatic.

As she approached me, standing at the small table that I had transformed into a romantic dinner setup with candles, I felt that something was wrong. Anya’s gaze didn’t soften, there was no amazement, and she didn’t seem to feel surprised at all.

“Where is my son, Cedric!”

I swallowed hard. Having a beautiful and fierce wife in the form of Anya Joice was truly shaking my world. Everywhere, when given a surprise, her eyes would sparkle with joy or something. But not now!

“He’s in Mama’s room, Joice. Asleep.”

“You’re not lying, are you, Cedric?!”

Even the endearments she usually used for me, which always sounded cute, were gone.

“Why would I lie to you?” I moved closer, tidying up her slightly messy hair that got blown by the wind. I also put the long cloth around her that I had asked from Kak Krystal, remembering Anya with her slightly unbuttoned blouse.

“So, what’s all this for?”

I sighed softly. “Today is your 31st birthday. Forgot?”

Her eyes blinked slowly. She looked at me with an unbelieving gaze. “Oh… it’s my birthday today, right?”

“You forgot?”

She grinned innocently. “Not really, just never really treated my birthday as something special.”

“This time, I made it special.”

She scoffed. “Yeah, special, making me all anxious!” Then she playfully hit my shoulder, without using the bouquet of flowers, of course. Maybe she realized that there was a lot of cash in there. “Don’t play games with my son.”

“He’s my son too, Joice. We made him together.”

Once again, I got hit. When the synchronized voice from the main house was heard, Anya finally stopped. Her gaze was incredulous at what she saw. Perhaps she was so shocked that her hands covered her open mouth.

“Anya’s cruelty is never-ending, Cedric. You’re willingly subjecting yourself to torture!” said Dona along with everyone who helped me. Ibu was holding Zain, who happened to wake up just as my mother was giving her the surprise. The birthday cake for Anya was brought by Krystal, and several presents were brought by Jacob. Meanwhile, Naomi and Dona were ready with confetti.

Anya just grinned and then asked to have Zain in her arms. She showered our son with kisses full of love.

“Well… who wouldn’t be surprised? My son is missing when I woke up. I thought he was kidnapped or something,” she said, eliciting laughter from everyone there. Instead of covering up her embarrassment, Anya ended up hiding behind me.

The event proceeded as planned. In fact, I thought the sense of togetherness in her family had not diminished at all. Jacob seemed a bit awkward with his presence, but Anya didn’t let that happen. She skillfully introduced her brother to her two best friends. I also engaged Jacob in a casual conversation.

We had a relaxed dinner while engaging in light conversation until I decided to take Anya to a big surprise that I hadn’t mentioned before. Ibu and Zain had already gone in, followed by Papa. Only Krystal, Jacob, Naomi, and Dona remained.

“Where are we going now?” she protested a little when I pulled her away while we were enjoying chatting with everyone.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

There was one room that had been in the process of renovation for the past year. I couldn’t fully manage it, as I had left it for a while due to being busy with the café. However, for the past two months, I made time to consult and build the room according to the perfect design for Anya.

“This is a gift for you. A place where you can have some ‘me-time’ at home.” I gently pushed the door that was located near the backyard garden. Anya didn’t know that the room was being renovated. I intentionally kept it a secret so that everything could be as tidy as possible when she saw it. I prepared this as her birthday gift.

She was taken aback. Her eyes wandered around, examining everything in the room. There was a tall bookshelf with books arranged alphabetically, a table and chair placed in a corner because I knew that she would put a small table in the middle for Zain’s activities. Anya’s books that she rarely touched because of Zain were stacked neatly one by one. There were many empty slots for her to fill later, as I only knew she liked romance novels but was too afraid to buy them for her, fearing that I might pick the wrong ones.

“Happy birthday, My Wife,” I said, hugging her waist. She turned around slowly and wrapped her arms around me.

“This room is for me?”

I nodded.

“Thank you, My Husband.”

“Thank you for being born and being there for me. You’re my soulmate.”

She laughed in response.

“I’m serious, Joice.”

“When did I ever doubt you?”

“But you laughed just now.”

Anya approached me even more. Her steps slightly back as if pulling me to stand in the middle of the still empty room with no furniture.

“Your words sometimes make me feel amused, you know.”

My brow furrowed.

“You know I’m not too fond of sweet words, Honey. Your actions are already sweet enough for me.”

Can I admit that my chest swelled with pride?

“That’s what made me fall in love with you,” she said as she gently caressed my hair. I closed my eyes, feeling the softness of her fingers on my scalp, causing me to tilt my head slightly towards her, savoring the tender touch she gave me.

You are everything to me.

“Are you singing?” I signaled her to be quiet and savor the moment.

You are the pouring of my heart.

I could never leave you.

There is no one else I hope for, only you alone.

“Thank you, Cedric. For giving me so much love and affection.” Anya hugged me tightly. I deeply inhaled her sweet scent, completely losing myself in her embrace, which always makes me feel alive.

We remained in each other’s arms for a long time before she finally let go of me gently. “I have a gift for tonight.”

My brow furrowed.

“Just thought of it.”

Without any further explanation, her graceful fingers confidently touched what belongs to me.

“Do you wanna play with me?” she said, winking seductively.

“Here?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Sure.” I had no doubt in responding to her temptation. I’m always tempted. In the remaining sanity I had before it disappeared because she deliberately and slowly removed her blouse, I prayed to God.

Keep our love always.

Keep the fire of our love and affection.

Until death do us part.

Until the end of time.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Until our tiredness traverses this world.