Claiming her babies

Monica POV

LATE IN THE EVENING

Getting home and finding an empty house, I felt sad and lonely once again.

This week has been hectic for me. From Ethan showing up at our house and asking about the kids to finding out about my illness and then now, seeing my long-time mother.

“Could this week get any worse?” I asked myself as I took the stairs to my room. As soon as I got to the room, I took off my clothes and got into the shower.

Luckily for me, my kids were at aunt Ella, and that made me have enough time for myself. After some time in the bathroom, I was done showering and I put on nightwear.

Going to my closet and taking out a short blue nightgown, I put it on and went to the balcony of our room to get some air and clear my mind.

I was so lost in thought that I didn’t notice when Nicholas had entered the room. “I’ve missed you and I’ve been thinking about you since morning” Nicholas startled me by placing his hands on my waist as he plastered kisses on my bare neck and shoulder.

“How was work?” I asked him as I turned around and placed my hands on his shoulder with a warm smile on my lips.

“Work was stressful. I kept signing papers and hopping from one meeting to another that I forgot I had to eat something”

“So have you eaten something now?” I asked worriedly.

“No I haven’t” he replied and I frowned instantly.

“Honey, you can’t continue like this. Food is very important. I pleaded with you to eat before leaving this morning but you said you had a meeting to catch up to. At this point, you’re certainly going to lose weight” I said, clearly not happy with how my husband was not eating enough food.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. How was your day? Did you still take the kids to the hospital for their vaccination?”

“Yes I did and they also did some check-ups and Doctor Helen said they were healthy” I responded “That’s good to hear” he uttered and I forced a smile as memories of everything that happened today filled my mind.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Nicholas asked, jolting out of my thoughts.

“Like how?” I asked in confusion

“Your eyes are dull and staring back at me sadly. Is anything the matter? You look exhausted and your eyes” he used his thumb to touch the eye bags that had managed to come out “you look like you’ve been crying. Babe, are you all right?”

Nicholas asked, his eyes staring at me as they observed me more closely “I’m fine honey. You worry too much” I said, forcing a smile as I tried to assure him

“Your eyes are puffy babe. I know what I’m saying. You’ve been crying. What is the problem? What happened today?” Nichole asked, worry etched on his face.

Tears gathered in my eyes once more as the memories of today crashed on me like a bucket of water. I can’t believe I have only three months to live. Then also found out that the woman who took Ethan from me was my sister.

“I met my mom today” I whispered, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Your mom? Do you have a mother? I thought you said you were an orphan?” Nicholas asked, holding me gently by my waist.

“I haven’t set my eyes on her since I was six years old. She left my dad and me and got married to a popular journalist. I just saw her today and I could barely recognize her”

“Honey come here,” Nicholas said, his voice calm and soothing as he engulfed me in a comforting embrace.

Finding out that I only have three months to live, I’m going to live my remaining life well and spend enough time with Nicholas. I will spend more time with my kids and with everyone I love.

“And the worst part of everything is that Mia is her daughter” I uttered as I sniffed and sobbed on Nicholas’s shoulder

“Mia? You mean the lady that took Ethan from you?” Nicholas asked and I nodded my head, giving him a positive answer.

“She is my younger sister,” I said.

” I’m sorry about how your day went. Seeing your mother again would have brought a lot of painful memories and I’m sorry about that” Nicholas whispered in my ears as he held me tightly but gently, placing little kisses on my head.

She was the reason I lost my dad. Dad left me and tried to talk to her about coming back to us. He wanted to beg her and ask her to forgive him but they didn’t even let him into the building. He crossed the road without looking sideways and a driver took him off the ground. I watched everything happen right before my eyes and_”

“shh, that’s okay honey,” Nicholas said “It’s going to be all right” he added.

“I miss him, Nicholas. I miss my dad so much. I wish he was here” I said, my voice trembling as I spoke.

“I’m sorry you had to go through all that at a tender age,” he said.

“If I had known, I wouldn’t have allowed my father to go after my mother. I would have stopped him. I’m weak and stupid and inconsiderate and_”

“Hey stop saying those things. Stop hurting yourself. You’re not weak. You’re the strongest woman I know. You were bold to walk up to me and tell me about your child. You were strong enough to deliver our twins even when you weren’t expecting twins” he went mute as he used his thumb to clean the flowing tears off my cheeks.

“You were strong enough to stay alive up to this point even after your father died. Monica, you’re not weak. You’re not stupid and you are not inconsiderate. Please don’t say such words again. Learn to speak positive things about yourself and always know that I love you”

My tears flowed even more as he uttered those words. The fact that life wasn’t giving me enough time to be with the man who loved me sincerely was unfair.

Three months was too short to laugh, play, and spend time with my family. There has to be a solution to this. I can’t just die and leave the people I love behind.

I leaned more on Nicholas’s shoulder as his embrace seemed to be something I didn’t want to end.