“What?”
She pauses. Takes a deep breath.
I can’t wait any fucking longer.
I need to tell her.
“I love you, Destiny Renee,” I tell her.
“I’m pregnant, Austin” she says, and I don’t know if she just replied or what.
Wait.
What?
I didn’t see that fucking coming. “What did you just say?” I ask her in disbelief.
“Never mind me,” she says to me. “What did you just say?”
My mouth hangs open as I try to understand the ramifications of what she just told me. Pregnant? As in p-r-e-g-n-a-n-t? I must have heard wrong.
“Austin,” she says again. “I love you too.”
“Pregnant?” I ask.
She nods. “Do you still love me after I told you?”
Is she fucking joking?
No, I didn’t hear wrong. She’s pregnant. Pregnant! I jump on top of the bed and hug her so tightly she has to push me away from her.
“I don’t even know what to say.” I look at her with a dumb smile, feeling so fucking happy.
I wasn’t this happy when I became a millionaire for the first time, and I wasn’t this happy when I opened Python.
This is a different kind of happiness. A fucking baby?
I mean…a baby?
Can you fucking imagine it? I’ll tell you something, with Destiny’s genes and my DNA, it’s going to be one badass baby. Smart, beautiful and brave. My child.
“I was afraid of what your reaction would be,” she confesses, her weak smile turning into a genuine one. There’s a glint in her eyes, and I realize that my reaction was everything she needed.
I realize something.
“Yes I still fucking love you, Destiny Renee,” I tell her.
She smiles.
“Good,” she says. “Because I fucking love you too. And I’m glad you’re not upset.”
“Are you crazy? I’m so fucking happy, babe,” I say as I hug her once more, and then kiss her on the lips. “Now I know why you want to leave.” Now that we’re going to have a child, everything changes. I’m not just fucking around with my life, or even with Destiny’s; there’s a whole new life to consider.
“Yeah… I’m just a bit afraid, that’s all,” she whispers, instinctively placing one hand over her belly, as if she’s trying to protect our kid from the whole mess of the world we’re in.
“Okay, okay. Let me think,” I take one deep breath, trying to rearrange the thoughts inside my head. This changes everything. But one thing is obvious: I can’t go forward with the plan I came up with. I can’t put Destiny in danger. “You’re leaving then, Destiny. I’ll arrange a place for both of us… Somewhere warm where you can rest and enjoy yourself. California? What about Europe?” She cuts me short by placing her index finger over my moving lips.
“Austin… You said ‘you’re leaving’. I’m not going anywhere without you.”