Her Asian Billionaire: A BWAM Pregnancy Love Story (9 page)

“That’s
rough,” her friend agreed. “I know it will work out.”

“I
hope so,” Rosa said contemplatively.

*****

Rosa
frowned absently as she stared at the figures in front of her. She
had been trying to work out how much it would cost to get her
restaurant up and running. She was getting restless about her dream
and she was tired of working for someone else; she wanted this to
happen. She had put away a lot of savings but the fact remains that
when she added up rent and the overheads she was still going to be
short. It was frustrating and on top of it all she had a baby to
think about. It didn't matter that John was there for her; how long
was it going to be before he broke under the pressure of his family
loyalty? He had told her he loved her several times but he was used
to extreme wealth; was the love he had for her going to sustain him
when all that was taken from him?

It was
so unfair. She thought in anguish, they had so much money and they
were using that money as leverage over their son’s life, what
kind of parents were they?

He had
called her earlier to find out if she was coming to his apartment
later and she had told him yes because she wanted to talk to him.

“Have
you eaten?” he had asked as he always did.

“Aren’t
you tired of asking me that?” she had teased him.

“No,”
he had answered her firmly. “Have you eaten?”

“Yes
dad,” she had answered with a sigh. “And before you ask
what I ate, I will tell you that I ate a piece of grilled chicken and
tomato soup and I had a craving for pickles so I ate that too.”

“That
sounds like a totally disgusting combination but as long as you ate,
that’s all right,” he told her softly.

“Thanks,
I live to please,” she told him dryly.

“What
time shall I pick you up?” he asked her.

“Around
seven,” she answered.

“Okay
baby, see you later,” he told her.

She
returned to the figures in front of her and started to move around
some figures again, a cheaper rent perhaps? She was going to stint on
equipment, that she was determined not to do; but a cheaper rent
meant a bad neighborhood and that would mean customer base would be
of a certain type and maybe not able to afford what she had to offer.
Her mother had offered to lend her the savings she had but Rosa had
refused; there had to be another way and she had to find one fast.
She automatically put her hand on her still flat stomach and smiled;
the little one growing inside her made her want to fight to make her
dreams possible.

She went
out to the eating area to make sure everything was ready for the
dinner shift. The waiter needed reminding every day to make sure the
tables were waxed and polished after the lunch hour, she did not
tolerate a dirty restaurant and she made sure to enforce the rule.

“The
table in the corner needs cleaning Andre,” she told the young
man impatiently. “I don’t need to be reminding you every
few minutes.”

He
hurried to do her bidding and Rosa went into the kitchen to see about
the dinner menu. She felt the dizziness assailing her again as soon
as she reached the door and had to hold on to the door jamb to steady
herself.

She felt
her lunch starting to come up and she rushed into the bathroom and
made it just in time. She leaned against the cool tiles wearily and
wished John was with her. He always held her head when she had to
throw up and would hold her in his arms while she recovered from her
bout of sickness. She felt so alone when he was not with her during
this time. It took several minutes for her to feel strong enough to
get back on her feet and she decided to avoid the kitchen for a
little bit. It was time to get a little rest.

He had
dinner waiting for her. He had surfed the internet and found out that
the less herb and spices you put into the meal of a pregnant woman
the easier it was to digest. So he had prepared chicken chop suey and
pumpkin rice for them. Beside her plate, a tall glass of milk.

" I
hate milk," she told him with a grimace.

"It's
good for the baby," he told her going into the kitchen to finish
making the salad.

"So
I don't exist any longer?" she asked him with a raised brow.

"Of
course you do but your needs become secondary from now on," he
kissed he full on the lips as he pulled the chair for her.

"Is
that so?" She gave him a steely glance.

"Just
kidding," he grinned at her as he took his seat. "We are
eating with chopsticks tonight, so you're going to be learning a
little bit of my culture."

"It's
not going to bite you baby," he told her with a grin as she
picked up the sticks gingerly. "It's all in the wrist," he
added, demonstrating it to her as he held it between his fingers and
scooped up some of the rice.

She
failed on her first try and he laughed as she spilled the rice on the
table. He bit back a smile at her look of determination as she tried
again, this time she got some in her mouth and she never stopped
trying until she got it.

"What
do you think of that?" she exclaimed in triumph as if she had
mastered some impossible feat.

"I
think you’re a natural," he told her indulgently.

"Damn
straight!" she told him pointing the sticks in his direction. "I
think I will be eating with these babies from now on."

She
helped with the washing up when they had finished eating, even though
he protested against it but she insisted and he reluctantly allowed
her to dry. She told him about her day at the restaurant and even
told him about the episode in the bathroom.

"I
wished you had called me," he looked at her in concern.

"What
would you have done?" she asked him in amusement. "Run over
and hold my head?"

"Yes,"
he told her seriously. "I want to be there for everything you go
through Rosa."

She
stared at him and saw the intensity of his expression and realized he
wanted to show her he would not let her go through being pregnant by
herself, Rosa felt a warm glow circle her heart and cringed at what
she had to say to him later on.

*****

"My
mom and dad brought me up to believe in family," Rosa began.
They were in the living room, Rosa had taken a shower and was in one
of his T shirt, he had also given her some socks to put on because
her feet felt cold. "Mama always said that when it comes right
down to it, family is all that matters in the long run."

"What
are you saying?" he had a feeling he knew what she was coming up
with and he felt his heart staring to beat fast.

"Your
mom and dad are your family John and I cannot, will not, be the one
to come between a family, your family," she told him, determined
to keep the emotion out of her voice.

He moved
away from her and Rosa watched with a sinking heart as he went over
to the mantel. The fire was blazing in the hearth and it reflected on
his face, showing his features in stark relief.

He was
quiet for so long that Rosa wondered what he was thinking.

“Marry
me,” he said abruptly, pushing away from the mantel where he
had been staring at the red glow of the fire as if seeking guidance
there.

"What?"
Rosa gave him a startled look.

"Don't
look so surprise Rosa," he gave a rueful laugh. "You knew
that was coming. I have been leading up to this from the second time
I met you and even though I have told you over and over that I love
you, you have not said it back to me."

"I
won't be responsible for coming between you and your family John,"
she told him stubbornly, even though her heart clung to a little hope
inside her. He had asked her to marry him.

"You
are my family, dammit!" he told her tersely, coming to stand in
front of her. "You and my baby.” He placed a hand on her
stomach. ”You are my family and I have lived without my parents
for a long time now. I could not wait to get out of there. I cannot
say the same about you and our child. If I have to stand on the
street and sell whatever it is I have to sell or if I have to go and
work in some corporate company then so be it, whatever it takes. I am
not letting you go. If you are not sure about being my wife then I
will still be here by your side but I am not leaving."

"I
don't want you to resent me when you wake up and realize what you
have given up because of me John,” she told him tremulously,
her hands clasping his face as she looked up at him. His words had
managed to weaken her and she was almost ready to believe that it
would work out.

"The
only way I will resent you is if you give up on me, on us," he
told her grimly, holding her hands against his face as he looked into
her eyes. "Let me love you Rosa, let me show you what incredible
mind blowing love can be, the love I have for you and the baby we
made together. Feel this," he took her hand and held it against
his erection and Rosa cupped it, her hand trembling. "You have
the power to make me ache for you; you have the power to make me weak
for you and know that there is nothing I would not give up for you.
Let me show you."

"Yes,"
she whispered, the word hardly getting past the lump in her throat.
Never in her life had she experienced a love like what he was giving
her and she wanted it so much that she could taste it.

"What?"
he breathed, not daring to believe that she was saying yes to him.

"Yes,
John Phillip Yang, I want to marry you!" she told him, her eyes
shimmering with tears.

He did
not dare breathe. He did not know what to do with his hands, he had
always been laconic and indulgent about life, things had come easy to
him because of his parents money and because women had always been
easy for him to get. Now, before her, he was humble and so grateful
that she was in his life that he was lost for words. "You will
never regret it," he told her thickly, pulling her against him.
"I promise you, on everything that I hold sacred that you will
never regret being my wife and as long as we live I will show you how
much you and our baby mean to me."

*****

"I
am going to speak to my parents again," he murmured as he held
her against him in bed. Their lovemaking had taken on a new height
and they had cried together. John swore he had felt the baby moved
inside her belly.

"Are
you sure?" she asked him, not wanting him to get his hopes up
and then have it dashed to pieces.

"Don't
worry," he told her softly as he rubbed the small of her back.
"I have already made up my mind about us, no turning back for
me."

"I
love you," she whispered against his chest. He was naked beside
her and she had decided she wouldn't be wearing any clothes either.

"Tell
me again," he murmured, his hand had stopped its circular motion
as he went still at her words.

She
raised her head to look at him, her eyes brimming with love. "I
love you," she repeated, training a finger against his mouth. "I
love you so much that it is like a pit of fire inside my stomach and
when you touch me it is like you touch my very soul. I was afraid of
such intense feelings and I could not believe that something like
this actually exists but I can't run away from it anymore and what's
more, I don't want to. I want to spend the rest of my life with you
and I don't care if you don't have a cent."

He held
her face between his hands and Rosa saw the tears that he was not
ashamed to let her see. "My heart," he said hoarsely as he
raised his head and took her lips with his.

*****

He met
with them at the house for dinner which he did not really want to do
but he was on a mission. He was determined to make a life for himself
and Rosa and the baby so if it meant sucking up to his rigid and
unbending parents then so be it. He kissed his mother on her soft
cheek and she gave him a gentle smile. She had tried to be a good
mother to him but was so bowed down by tradition that it always
seemed to come between them.

His
father told him there would be no discussion during dinner so the
meal was consumed in silence except for the polite clinking of the
chinaware. John had always detested dinner time at home and even
though he was told sternly to chew his food properly, he had tried to
finish as quickly as possible so that he could escape to his room.

As soon
as they had finished eating and the table had been cleared he spoke,
"I am staying with Rosa and I have asked her to be my wife."

They
remained silent. John wanted to light a fire under them.

"So
you are determined to throw away a tradition that has always been a
part of our lives for a girl who is not one of us?" his father
asked him mildly.

"I
am not throwing anything away father, I am starting a family with a
woman I love more than life itself." John answered steadily,
determined not to get upset.

"So
you love this woman?" her mother asked him softly.

"Yes
mother, I do," he said smiling at his mother. "I am not
asking that you embrace her and our baby but she wants to open a
restaurant and I am asking for some help to do so."

"This
restaurant, you think it's a good business venture?" his father
asked gruffly; leaning forward, his hands clasped in front of him.
John knew that look: his father was a very smart businessman and that
had served him well in accumulating a vast amount of wealth. He had
started peddling his wares out of the trunk of his car and had moved
up to a small shop catering to peoples' needs and had built up from
there.

"I
think so, she has some great ideas and is very ambitious," he
leaned forward earnestly. "We are determined to make this work
father, I promise."

They
left him alone in the huge dining room to discuss the matter between
them and John spent the time pacing the carpeted floor. He wanted
this to work but as he told Rosa, even if he had to go corporate he
would make sure they were taken care of.