#29 The baby's gender

Four weeks passed by very quickly. Sebastian had changed a lot; he was always polite to me and cared for my well-being. I agreed to stay in his house, at least until I give birth, because this seemed to ease his worries. He never again mentioned that contract, but I had agreed to sign the Paternity Acknowledgment once the baby was born. I was still a bit wary of Sebastian; it seemed like he had changed, but I couldn't be one-hundred percent sure…
On another note, a small Publishing House had accepted me to their trainees' program. I wasn't going to be paid, but I could learn how the job works, and if I managed to impress my supervisors, they'd offer me a permanent position. They also agreed to let me work from home as long as I delivered my assignments on time.
They must have been impressed because, almost after two weeks, they offered me a permanent job position. I'd work as an assistant for one of their book editors.
Sebastian wasn't very thrilled, but he agreed to let me work from home. The Publishing House was very understanding of my situation and allowed me to keep working from home. I was mainly given a few manuscripts to review, something I could do from home just fine.
Sophie, Nickolas, and Clara visited me regularly. I also met Austin Leclair. Sebastian's father was also thrilled about the news for his grandchild. My parents came to the loft, or Sebastian drove me to their house regularly. He knew how important my friends and family were to me, so he didn't stop me from meeting them.
My baby's father made sure to escort me on long strolls at the nearest park. The mild exercise was required, so we went for a walk almost on a daily basis.
After spending almost a month in the loft, I became accustomed to the interior and the staff. My favorite place was the library; I used to go there to read and work. The leather armchairs, the smell of the books, the vintage atmosphere made me more productive.
However, that day, I felt like something was off; the atmosphere felt heavy, and I felt a knot forming at my neck. I sat on the sofa, trying to concentrate on the manuscript I was reading.
After rereading the same paragraph thrice, I decided to look around more carefully. And that's when I noticed broken glass near the vintage oak desk. I frowned and strolled towards the mess near the office. It looked like someone had thrown all the contents from the office on the floor. Shattered glass, scattered papers, torn books were laid all over the place.
What happened here? Was it a fight? Or someone broke in looking for something?
I observed my surroundings closely, looking for something else out of place. My eyes fell on a half-opened cabinet at the bottom of the large bookshelf. I carefully walked around, avoiding the sharp pieces of glass. I crouched down, and with trembling hands, I opened the cabinet wide open. There were different boxes and frames in there. I pulled a box out and opened it.
My breath hitched at the back of my throat as I took in the photos. It was Sebastian with a beautiful young woman. Her long, brown hair reminded me of melted chocolate, and her light brown eyes looked at Sebastian with so much love and affection. Sebastian was younger, around his early twenties. He looked happy and carefree. There were many photos of trips, or parties, and even some of their everyday life at college. The couple was so in love. Sebastian was glowing and laughing.
They were indeed made for each other…
I found a few handwritten letters, some tickets from a baseball game, and even a scarf that faintly smelled like flowers and vanilla. I put everything inside and closed the cabinet.
This wasn't appropriate. I wasn't one to snoop around other people's things. However, I had a rough idea of what happened there...
Now I knew that Sebastian was still not over her. And from what I saw, I doubt he'd ever be. I couldn't understand why I felt a sharp pain piercing through my chest. I took a few deep breaths and sat back at my place on the sofa.
I shouldn't care about Sebastian and his feelings. I should focus on my health and the baby growing inside me. My baby bump was still not showing much, but I liked to caress my tummy; it helped me relax.
"What are you doing here?" Sebastian's voice startled me. He was standing at the door, arms crossed in front of his chest.
"Hello, to you, too. I'm working…" I replied, trying to repress an eye roll.
Why was he back at this time of the day?
"Why are you working in the library?" he questioned again.
"Because I like the atmosphere. Is there a problem?"
"No. I'll ask Martha to clean; there's a lot of dust…" Sebastian trailed off.
I followed his gaze to the desk at the other end of the spacious room. I didn't manage to say anything, though. Obviously, he didn't want to talk about it, and I didn't want to push him more.
"Were you crying?" Sebastian asked, breaking the awkward silence.
Was I? I really couldn't remember...
"I always cry when reading romance books," I replied casually, looking at my laptop's screen.
Sebastian rolled his eyes and sighed. "Why are you doing this job then?"
"Because I like it…"
"Okay, whatever; I won't argue with you about this again. However, please remember that even emotional stress affects the baby."
I nodded, tilting my head to the side. Was he now an expert at pregnancy issues?
"Are you ready to go?" Sebastian asked once again.
I looked at him with a small frown. Where were we supposed to go?
"Oh, my! We have an appointment with the doctors at the hospital!" I exclaimed as realization dawned on me.
"We still have plenty of time. No need to rush…"
"I just want to put my shoes on," I muttered as I closed my laptop.
Sebastian waited for me at the hall while I fixed my makeup and put on my shoes. He escorted me towards the car and helped me get into the passenger's seat.
"Do you think the doctors can tell us the baby's gender today?" Sebastian asked as he maneuvered the car outside the underground parking.
"Last time, Dr. Hunt said that he'll try to identify it, but it won't be that accurate…"
"Aren't you curious to learn?"
"As long as the baby's fine, I don't mind about the gender. But you clearly want to know…" I chuckled.
"I can't help it. Plus, we should start planning the nursery room," Sebastian replied, his eyes never leaving the road.
He had taken all this very seriously! It was a huge change, and I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. I mean, the man used to fuck one woman after the other, without caring about their feelings, and now he wanted to start planning a nursery room!
"So, what gender would you like for the baby to be?" I asked, trying to put an end to my upsetting thoughts.
"I'd like for us to have a boy," Sebastian replied, a small smile forming on his lips.
"It can also be a girl, you know," I shrugged just to get into his nerves.
"The firstborn in my family is always a male, so this is pretty much impossible," Sebastian stated.
That was another piece of information I didn't know about. "Interesting, but we still can't order the baby's gender…"
"We must work on your sense of humor…" the man muttered, rolling his eyes at me.
I chuckled and opened the radio, letting the pop music play until we reached the hospital.
We were both now familiar with the process of the examination. Sebastian gave my information as I changed into one of the blue hospital gowns, and a nurse took me a blood sample. Dr. Hunt joined us shortly after into the examination room.
"How have you been, Evelyn?" the middle-aged man asked, putting his glasses on.
"I'm great, Dr. Hunt. Thank you!" I replied with a small smile.
"She's almost free from her morning sickness, and we measure her blood pressure daily. We have a nutritionist plan her meals; she has three main meals and two snacks. She drinks plenty of water, chamomile, and orange juice. We take short walks to the park at least five times per week," Sebastian filled in the doctor.
"Thank you, Mr. Leclair. That was a detailed report," the doctor chuckled as he took his seat.
Sebastian nodded, darting his eyes between the US screen and me.
"Can you come up here, please?" I asked him, my cheeks flushing bright red.
I was definitely not comfortable for him to watch the whole process of the US.
Sebastian sighed but did as I said.
Dr. Hunt started the examination and showed us a few things on the screen. A few minutes later, a knock was heard on the door, and Owen walked inside. I hadn't seen the red-haired man in quite a while. He seemed a bit tired, but his light brown eyes lightened upon seeing me.
"Dr. McWaters, I'm glad you managed to join us. I was about to measure the Nuchal Translucency," Dr. Hunt muttered, his eyes never leaving the screen.
"I'm sorry for being late, but we had an emergency. How are you, Miss Russell?" the younger doctor asked, giving me a polite smile.
"Everything is fine up until now," I replied politely.
Owen stood close to the monitor and glared towards Sebastian's way.
For a few moments, the two doctors exchange something between themselves quietly. I turned to look at Sebastian, who was still glaring at the redheaded man.
"Sebastian, please don't make a scene," I mouthed at him silently.
He frowned but nodded and took my hand in his. I looked at him with a small frown, but he had his grey eyes cast again towards the two doctors.
"The Nuchal Translucency is normal, and the baby's heartbeat is strong and rhythmical. However, after the eighteenth week, we will be completely certain that the baby doesn't have any heart deformity. We'll have to wait for the blood test results, too. But for now, you can go visit Dr. Sloan," Dr. Hunt informed us.
"Thank you, Dr.," I said, sighing in relief.
Everything seemed fine for now, so I tried to reassure myself that no complication would occur.
"Dr. Hunt, when are we going to be able to determine the baby's gender?" Sebastian asked, and I could detect the nervousness in his voice.
"I thought you didn't want to learn the gender. Let me see," the doctor said and opened the screen once again.
The two men with the white robes were focused on the screen once again. They seemed to argue a bit, but I couldn't hear them clearly.
"You're having a baby girl!" the older man exclaimed, a genuine smile plastered on his lips.
"It's not certain yet. We'll have to re-evaluate the sex again after a few weeks…" Owen continued.
"Oh, that's wonderful!" I said happily, my eyes welling up with unshed tears. I turned to look at Sebastian, who had a small frown on his face.
"I never expected to agree with Dr. McWaters, but we'll definitely check that again next time," Sebastian grumbled.
It seemed like I was going to break his family's tradition, after all.
"We certainly can, Mr. Leclair. Until next time, I'd like to keep taking care of your beautiful young lady. Evelyn, you'll start showing off your baby bump during the next few weeks." Dr. Hunt informed us.
I beamed happily, hearing the doctor's words, and I thanked him once again.
Sebastian conversed with Dr. Hunt casually, ignoring Owen as the three of them walked out of the room. I cleaned myself and changed into my regular clothes.
"Are you thirsty or hungry? We still have twenty minutes before the appointment with Dr. Sloan," Sebastian asked me the moment I stepped outside the examination room.
"Evelyn, may I have a word with you, please," Owen's voice was heard before I had the chance to reply.
I turned to look at the red-haired man approaching us. I bit my lower lip as I saw the two men glaring at each other. A sigh escaped my lips, and I hoped they could both behave like grown-up men and not like two hormonal teenagers for a few minutes…

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A.N. Thanks for reading! One week to Valentine's Day, and I plan a small surprise for you. Can you guess what it might be? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!