89. She will always hate me.

[Luke]
"Claire!" I screamed and I rushed to break her fall.
"Careful." I held her in my arms and sighed out of relief, I was grateful that I'd caught her in time.
"Jean." I could hear the distress in her voice and it showed clearly on her face.
I was sure that in that split second, her life and the life of the child had flashed before her eyes.
"It's okay, I got you." I steadied her and pulled her into my embrace.
"You two look like a lovely couple." Her parents met us hugging on the stairs and they beamed at us.
They'd not been aware that she'd almost fallen down the stairs.
"That's enough, father, please can you go?" She frowned at him but she made no move to leave my arms and that warmed my heart.
"Fine, fine, we're leaving." Her father took her mother's hand and left us on the stairs.
I took her down the stairs and led her to the couch.
"Get off me." I frowned when she pulled away from me and took a seat opposite me.
"Claire, why are you being like this?" I frowned, it was like she didn't know that she was hurting me.
"I can't." She looked away from me and took a deep breath.
"I love you, Claire, you say you don't trust me but even you know that I'm sorry for what I put you through but please don't take it out on our child, you know that he deserves to be with his father too," I said.
"A father." She said and I frowned.
"What?"
"My child deserves to have a father and I'll give him one, Jake is a great man, he'll be a great father to my child, you don't have to be involved at a—"
"Claire, I beg of you, please don't do this to me, please." I stood up from the couch, walked over to her, and knelt with one knee in front of her.
"Please." I took her hands in mine and brushed her knuckles with light feathery kisses.
"I need to think about it." She snatched her hands from mine and when I looked up, her cheeks were red.
"That's fine, I'll take that for now, please think about it." I stood up and pecked her on the forehead. "I'll take my leave now."
"I'll see you out." She stood up and led me to the door.
"Claire!" I called out just before she shut the door.
"What?" She frowned at me.
"You're so fucking beautiful." I chuckled at her reaction before I turned away and left her house.
Claire's father was such a reasonable man, it was such a shame that his daughter wasn't but I hoped that she'd reconsider in my favor.
Her father had been upset when I first told him who I was and why I'd come to see him, her mother had even slapped me pretty hard. It left me reeling from the pain but I took it all because the purpose of my visit was worth it.
It had only taken one apology and my title to get her father to warm up to me, I was glad that Claire was not like him in that sense.
I think she was like her mother because the woman still kept glaring daggers at me until I reassured her that I wanted to make things right, especially for the child.
She already had a soft spot for her grandchild and it hadn't been born yet.
I felt terrible for lying to Claire and also lying at the press conference but I hoped she could forgive me.
Sir Thomas had called, the King's condition was improving and the doctors were hopeful that he would wake up soon.
I wanted to keep the news of Claire and the baby on the low for now because I didn't want him to go into another shock or cardiac failure.
I saw my family in her eyes as I held her in my arms earlier, Claire was the absolute love of my life and I would do anything to be with her and my child.
"Hello." I dialed a number into my phone and waited for the person on the other side to pick up.
"Your royal highness." The man picked up without delay.
"Yes, I need you to get me all the information you can on Jake Preston, he's the CEO of Preston's firm and the scumbag who's trying to take my woman from me." I didn't add the latter part but I thought it in my mind.
"Yes, Sir, give me a few hours." He said and I smiled as the call ended.
This was what I loved, professionals, I loved people who were good at their jobs and didn't take long to deliver.
.
.
[Claire]
"He showed up here!" I screamed into the phone as soon as they picked up.
"What?"
"Of all freaking places, he showed up here at my house."
"Calm down, child, we can't understand you, who showed up, where?" They asked.
"Sophie, Michele I'mma need you guys to drop whatever you're doing and pay attention to me because this is an emergency." I bellowed.
"Fine."
"Okay, okay."
"Just calm down, no?"
"Tell us what it is."
"I've been very stupid." I groaned.
"You're supposed to have been back from the reunion right?" Sophie asked.
"How did it go?" Michele asked and he gasped. "Don't tell me that you kissed him?"
"No, I mean, yes but it's not who you—"
"Take a deep breath girl, calm down and for my sake and Michele's, please construct your sentences properly."
"Yeah, boo."
"Okay, okay." I took a deep breath, flailing my arms around. "It was Jean okay, I met him at the reunion."
"Jean?"
"Yeah."
"Jean as in Prince Luke?" They asked.
"Yes!"
"Jean as in Prince Luke the Prince of Denmark?"
"Yessssssa!" I answered frustratedly. "It was him, okay, now can move forward."
"There's more?" Sophie asked, raising one eyebrow.
"Of course, there's more, if not she won't be so stressed like this." Michele rolled his eyes at his sister. "Now stop interrupting and let her speak."
"Go on, Mon Coeur."
"We kissed and now he knows that I'm pregnant," I said and waited for their reaction.
"Is that it?" Michele asked and I frowned.
"No, I fucking asked you guys to keep my fucking secret," I yelled at them angrily.
"No, calm down Claire, we didn't say a word to no one."
"Then why are you not—?"
"Surprised?" Sophie asked and I nodded.
"What's there to be surprised about, he's a freaking Prince, Claire and he's so in love with you, it's not a surprise that he knows how you've been all this while and we all know that the kissing part was bound to happen, anyway." He said and I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Wow, so I've been freaking out for shite."
"Yeah, there's nothing to freak out for," Sophie said. "Now give us another gist, did something happen with the CEO?"
"No." I sighed. "Luke came to my house and met my parents," I announced.
"What?"
"Fuck, when's the next flight to Boston?"
"Now, you're surprised?" I shook my head at them.
"Of course, this is big, how was it?"
"You can't even fucking imagine, Jake drops me off from the party and I walk in the house to be greeted by this man and my parents having fucking tea in the living room."
"It must be nice." Michele teased. "They must have gotten along pretty well."
"Oh my God." I groaned. "They were like father and son."
"Oh, you have a real problem on your hand's girl." Sophie laughed.
"Don't I know that?"
"What did he want?" Michele asked.
"The child, obviously." Sophie rolled her eyes at her brother.
"Yes, but that's not all," I said.
"See." Michele glared at her.
"He wants me to forgive him, he wants us to be together, he wants to be part of his child's life," I explained.
"And that is only fair so…" Sophie asked, trailing off.
"I really don't know." I facepalmed myself. "It was so freaking hard seeing him again." I sobbed.
"There, there, there, there, Claire, it's okay, we'll be on the next flight to America, tomorrow, promise." They said and I smiled.
"Thank you so much, I really don't know what to do." I sniffed.
"It's alright boo, we got you."
I turned off the phone and dropped to my bed sadly, I had a lot on my mind today so I doubted I would get much sleep but to had to, for my child's sake.
I still remembered the fear I felt when I nearly stumbled down the stairs, I could have lost my sweet baby.
Fresh tears poured out of my eyes as I remembered what had happened.
If Luke hadn't been there to catch me then…..
.
.
[Crystal]
"Luke is in America."
"I know." I held the phone with my shoulders as I looked through my bag for a key card.
"I'm on my way to see him, now." I beamed as I found the car and ended the call.