Chapter 143 Deep Affection
Following the photographer's instructions, Lauren went with the staff to change into the outfit for the photo shoot. So, this so-called maternity photo was merely about exposing the belly and taking a few pictures.
She realized that their marketing tactics were indeed impressive.
Although Quentin was a genius in the business world, he was simply a fool in life!
After changing into the outfit, Lauren revealed her prominent belly. Since it was already the dead of winter, Quentin frowned when he saw Lauren dressed so thinly.
"Are you cold?" Quentin strode over, took Lauren's hand, and checked her temperature.
Lauren shook her head. "Don't worry, the heat is nice and warm here. Let's get this done quickly. It's not a big deal."
Quentin felt a bit regretful. He turned to the photographer and said, "Does she have to dress like this for the photos?"
His wife was for his eyes only, not even the photographer's. He felt uncomfortable.
Sensing Quentin's displeasure, the photographer patiently explained to him, "Yes, sir. Be reassured. The shoot won't take long. We'll finish as quickly as possible. It won't take up much of your time."
Quentin took off his coat and draped it over Lauren, hoping it would keep her a bit warmer. He only allowed Lauren to take her coat off when it was time to shoot.
Lauren posed as the photographer requested, resulting in a smooth process. Soon, it was time for the long-awaited family photos.
The photographer had taken many family portraits, so he seemed quite experienced. He arranged for Quentin to pose as if kissing Lauren's belly, but Quentin felt awkward and refused to cooperate.
"Quentin, why is your face so red? Are you shy?" Lauren teased Quentin with a playful smile, deliberately exposing him.
Quentin glared at Lauren. "How could that be? It's just too warm in here. I'm hot."
Lauren knew Quentin was pretending. Fine, she could continue to play along with him.
"Then hang in there a bit longer. Once we're done, we can leave. You can kiss the baby now. Don't be shy, okay?" Lauren said mischievously.
Quentin wanted to get angry. 'This pose is ridiculous and doesn't fit my character at all!' he thought.
Quentin rolled his eyes. "Can we change the pose? Let's stand together and take a few pictures. Don't do such weird poses!"
In the end, Quentin couldn't convince himself and directly voiced his opinion to the photographer.
The photographer was baffled. He didn't realize anything inappropriate about the pose. Everyone liked this pose, so why didn't Quentin like it?
"Sir, it's meaningful. You're kissing both your wife and your child. Isn't that meaningful?" The photographer tried to persuade Quentin.
Quentin only knew that with others watching him, he felt uncomfortable and couldn't make such intimate gestures. Naturally, when he was back home in the bedroom, he had the freedom to kiss Lauren in any way he pleased.
Quentin didn't want to argue. Seeing Lauren look at him with a laugh, he wished he could immediately pin the mischievous Lauren down and love her thoroughly, making sure she wouldn't dare mock him.
In the end, Quentin gave in. After all, he had to complete the choice.
As the camera shutter clicked, Quentin planted a kiss on Lauren's belly while she gazed at him with a smile on her face. This moment was forever captured.
"Very good, thank you both," the photographer said with a smile.
Quentin immediately draped his coat over Lauren and accompanied her to get dressed. Only then did they leave.
In the car, Lauren tried to hold back her laughter but eventually burst out.
Quentin looked at her as if she were crazy. He couldn't realize why Lauren would suddenly laugh like that.
After finishing her laugh and regaining composure, Lauren began to lecture Quentin.
"Quentin, did you realize that you made some mistakes today?" Lauren said seriously, looking at Quentin.
"Mistakes? What mistakes?" As expected, Quentin had no clue.
Lauren didn't expect him to figure it out on his own, so she spoke earnestly, "Don't you think you're being fooled when you shop? We already bought a lot of stuff, some of which we didn't even need, but you insisted on buying them. Fine, but why did you listen to that salesperson and take these maternity photos, especially at such a high price?"
Quentin's face remained unchanged, revealing no regret. "Don't you think it's very meaningful?"
Lauren sighed and said, "Yes, I admit it's very meaningful. But if we wanted to take photos, we could go to a specialized studio. It wouldn't cost so much, and the photos would be more professional."
"Why go through all that trouble? Today's photos turned out well." It was rare for Quentin to praise someone. If the photographer heard this, he would probably be moved to tears.
Lauren was both amused and exasperated. "I'm not just talking about these maternity photos. I mean, the next time we go shopping, don't get swayed by the salespeople. They only think about selling things and don't care if the customer really needs them."
Quentin ruffled Lauren's hair until it was a mess before letting go.
"Got it!" Quentin said indulgently.
"I'm serious. Be more serious," Lauren glared at Quentin, trying to get him to take her seriously.
"Alright, I'll answer seriously. I got it!" Quentin replied.
"That's more like it," Lauren said with a satisfied smile.
The days of waiting for the baby were both happy and anxious. Lauren felt heavier and got winded just walking a bit.
They said that pregnancy for ten months wasn't easy. Specifically, the pregnancy period was about forty-two weeks. However, Lauren was now at forty weeks.
Sometimes, at night, she either got kicked awake by the baby or needed to use the bathroom frequently..
So, she rarely had a good night's sleep. Fortunately, Quentin was always by her side. Every time she woke up and saw Quentin sleeping peacefully next to her, her heart would calm down.
Lauren mustered the courage to have a child for Quentin.
In the quiet of the night, Lauren would think about her original intention for having this child. Back then, she had schemed to get into Quentin's bed, just wanting to have a child to fulfill Jessica's wish.
It happened unexpectedly in one night. From then on, Lauren's feelings could no longer be as simple as they were at the beginning.
Giving birth to and raising a child required a lot of love, and the process was not simple.
