Loved by the Billionaire: A Torrid, Romantic BWWM Story (7 page)

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CHAPTER TWELVE

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CHAPTER NUMBER TWELVE

Since she hadn't wanted to get married as a visibly pregnant bride, LaKeeta had opted for a quick wedding.

LaKeeta parked her late-model Ford Explorer outside of Anthony mother's home. She was meeting both Anthony's mom and sister there to map out her last minute wedding plans.

“You sure Anthony's mom is okay with us tagging along?” Adina asked from the back seat.

LaKeeta turned around and gave her good friend a smile. “Of course she is. I only met Mrs. Paulson a couple of weeks ago, but she's a real sweetheart. Anthony's sister, Lauren, too.”

LaKeeta's sister, NyAsia, smiled from the passenger side of the SUV. “Both you and Adina are lucky. When my girl Denise got married last year, she found out that her new in-laws hated her ass.”

Two and a half hours later, after they had hashed out  a pretty good small wedding plan, LaKeeta smiled. She had just given her future mother-in-law and sister-in-law sincere hugs. As they were saying their goodbyes, she realized just how true NyAsia's words had been—she
was
lucky to have great in-laws.

She grinned.
More than lucky
, she thought to herself.

* * * * * * * * * *

Across town, Jan stood in her one-bedroom apartment and grimaced. She'd just gotten off the phone with her old friend from Body Work Zone.

A scowl washed across Jan's sharp features. Caroline Atkins was a janitor at her old workplace and Jan used the term 'friend' loosely in regards to the pathetic girl.

She'd only kept in contact with Caroline — after being fired — because she needed someone on the inside letting her know what was going on with Anthony at Body Work Zone.

According to Caroline, that black bitch has gotten herself knocked up by Anthony and now he's marrying her slutty ass
.

A sinister smile made it's way across Jan's face. “We'll just see about that.”

* * * * * * * * * *

A week later, LaKeeta looked out her peephole after she heard someone ringing her doorbell. She frowned at the FEDEX delivery driver on her porch — she hadn't been expecting a package. Next, she pulled the door open and gave the deliveryman a smile.

The man returned her grin. “I have a delivery for a Miss LaKeeta Hunt.”

“I'm LaKeeta.”

He handed her the electronic clipboard that he'd had in his hands. “I'm gonna need your signature on this. Your delivery is listed as perishable and was shipped overnight.”

LaKeeta signed for the package and allowed the driver to leave the box in her foyer. After she'd given the man his tip and he'd driven away, she looked at the cardboard box a little suspiciously.

When she saw that the return portion of the label said that the box had been sent from an Abigail Paulson, she immediately assumed that it was one of Anthony's relatives. One that she had yet to meet.

She carefully opened the box and read the card. The card confirmed her suspicions. It said that Abigail Paulson was Anthony's cousin and that she wanted to welcome LaKeeta to the family. The card also said that this Abigail wouldn't be able to attend the wedding, since she was going to be out of town for the next six months, but to please accept the gift basket enclosed as a 'welcome-to-the-family' gift.

LaKeeta smiled as she inspected the tastefully put together basket. It contained fruit, tins of her favorite tea, and her favorite chocolates.

If I didn't know any better, I'd think that my future cousin-in-law knows me personally
. She tore one of the wrappers off a piece of the expensive chocolate.

She smiled, she was in heaven. “Mmmm, delicious.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Two weeks later, LaKeeta allowed Anthony to escort her out of his car. They were on their way to her first official prenatal appointment.

She gave Anthony's hand a gentle squeeze as they made their way to the obstetrician's third floor office. Her eyes met his. “You know everything with our baby is going to be okay, right?”

He gave her a tiny smile. He couldn’t shake the memory of what had happened to his first child. He couldn’t help but be afraid for this one, too.

LaKeeta gave Dr. Melville a warm handshake. The obstetrician had come highly recommended to her by both Anthony’s sister and her friend, Adina.

The woman gave LaKeeta a smile. “Based on what you’ve told me about your last menstrual cycle, I would say that you’re two months along.”

LaKeeta nodded her head. That sounded about right.

“
Okay. In that case, let’s get in an official pregnancy test done.” The doctor smiled at this point. “And we’ll even do an ultrasound.”

LaKeeta gave Anthony’s hand a tiny squeeze. She was so excited. She couldn’t wait to see their baby. Even though she understood perfectly that at that early in the game, there wasn’t going to be too much to see.

Twenty minutes later, after she’d come back down the hallway from leaving her urine sample for the doctor’s in-house laboratory, she was ready for her ultrasound. She glanced over at Anthony. “I’m excited babe, what about you?”

He grinned, then rubbed her still-flat belly. He couldn’t wait to see it swell with the product of their love. He nodded his head and dropped a quick kiss on the top of her head. “Yep, I’m excited.”

Dr. Melville looked at the couple and grinned. She loved to see people in love.

Five minutes later, LaKeeta knew from the frown on the doctor’s face that something was very wrong. So did Anthony. He gave LaKeeta’s hand another tiny squeeze, this time in fear. He turned to the doctor. “What’s the problem, Dr. Melville.”

The doctor gave LaKeeta a serious look. “You’re sure you’re two months along and not a month?”

She nodded her head. She knew her body. “Yes. I’m  positive. My estimation could be a few days off. But not a whole month.”

The doctor frowned. “Mm-hm.” She laid the ultrasound wand down.

“
Again, Dr. Melville. Is there something wrong with our baby?”

The woman met his direct gaze. “Your baby should have been almost double the size it is now if Ms. Hunt was two months into her pregnancy. Let me go down the hall and get the results of your HCG level test.”

Anthony knew from the ordeal he’d gone through with his last child what the doctor was hinting at. He hoped like hell that he was wrong in all of his suspicions.

LaKeeta was trying really hard not to panic, but she knew something was very wrong. She closed her eyes and placed her hand over her womb. “There’s something wrong with our baby, Anthony. I just know it.”

Two hours later, Anthony brought his car to a stop outside of his ranch house on the outskirts of town. The sprawling ranch had easily become his and LaKeeta’s favorite place. He felt like someone had wrenched his heart out of his chest, but he knew he had to be strong for his woman.

“
Our baby is gone, Anthony,” LaKeeta moaned out on a sob. “Our baby is gone.”

He reached across the console and wrapped her in his arms. Her body trembled as she cried. He couldn’t help but allow a tear drop or two escape, as well. He’d loved his child.

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

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CHAPTER NUMBER THIRTEEN

Two Weeks Later:

“
I know you’re hurting right now, Sis, but you owe it to yourself to get this testing done to try to narrow down what went wrong.” NyAsia sighed. “Most women never discover why they miscarried, but you should always try to rule out possibilities. If you know what happened this time, you could prevent the same thing from occurring during your next pregnancy.”

It had been two weeks since LaKeeta had lost her child. She hadn’t wanted to know the sex at first, but she’d finally asked Dr. Melville. The doctor had said that she'd been carrying a daughter.

Both she and Anthony were hurting like hell over their loss, but they were leaning on each other for strength during the ordeal; and they still intended on getting married.

LaKeeta frowned. What her sister was saying
did
make sense. “Okay, NyAsia. You win. I’ll make an appointment with my doctor tomorrow.”

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A Week Later:

LaKeeta looked at Dr. Harris and frowned. “No. I wasn’t taking any types of drugs for arthritis, Dr. Harris. You’re my primary care physician….you should know that.”

Dr. Harris frowned. “The blood work that we did found faint traces of both Diclofenac and Misoprostol in your system. They’re both prescribed for arthritis….and they both
can
and
do
lead to miscarriages.” The doctor sighed. “I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that those two drugs are the reason why you lost your baby.”

“
Are you sure those drugs were found in my blood work?”

The woman looked down at her chart again. “Yes. I’m positive.”

By the time LaKeeta left the doctor’s office, she had a frown on her face. She had no idea how she had been exposed to the arthritis meds, no one in her family and none of her friends had arthritis.

Instead of going home, she decided to drop by NyAsia’s place. NyAsia had been the one to encourage her to get the testing done, so she naturally wanted to share what she had found out with her. She planned on telling Anthony later on that night when she made it back to the farmhouse. Ever since the miscarriage, they'd been living together.

NyAsia gave LaKeeta a warm hug as soon as she pulled her front door open. “How did it go at the doctor’s office, honey?”

LaKeeta took a seat on NyAsia’s sofa and frowned. “Dr. Harris said that there were traces of two arthritis drugs in my system. She said that’s what lead to my miscarriage.”

NyAsia looked at LaKeeta in confusion. “Arthritis drugs? You don’t have arthritis.”

“
I know right? I told Dr. Harris that, as well.”

Then for some reason, NyAsia’s mind flashed back to the woman who had stolen Anthony’s sperm. She frowned. “Sis….didn’t that news article say that girl who was carrying Anthony’s baby had traces of arthritis drugs in her system, too? That that was the reason she miscarried?”

LaKeeta felt a sinking sensation in her heart. NyAsia was right.

“
I don’t think the fact that both you and this other girl miscarried Anthony’s baby — because of arthritis drugs that neither of you take — is a coincidence.”

LaKeeta frowned. She loved Anthony like hell, but she saw NyAsia's point. She couldn’t help but wonder if he had poisoned her.

* * * * * * * * * *

Later on that evening, Anthony frowned as he arrived to the ranch to find LaKeeta and NyAsia moving her things out of his house.

He bolted out of his car and grabbed her by the arms. “What’s the matter babe? We’re supposed to get married next week. Why are you moving out?”

She refused to look him in the eye. If she did that, she was afraid she wouldn’t have the strength to tell him what she needed to say. “The wedding is off, Anthony.” She handed him back his ring. “I had blood work done at my doctor. I just found out today that somebody obviously poisoned me and caused me to lose our baby.”

She gritted her teeth, then continued. “And guess what? They used the very same drugs that caused your other baby mama to lose her child.” She shook her head. “I need time to think and process this all.”

His blood boiled to think that someone had intentionally killed their unborn daughter. “Please don’t leave me, sweetheart. I will spend whatever it takes to find out who did this and make sure they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We can work through this together.”

Her eyes were cold when they met his. “I don’t think so, Anthony.”

It was at that moment that he realized that she somehow thought that he had a hand in what had happened to their daughter. He couldn't believe the hurt he felt from her thinking that he’d murder their child.

He frowned. “You can’t really believe that I would harm our child, LaKeeta?”

She shook her head. She felt like crying. “Right now, I don’t know what to believe, Anthony.”

As she and NyAsia drove away from his property, she knew what she had to do in the morning. She had to go to the police.

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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

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CHAPTER NUMBER FOURTEEN

The next morning, LaKeeta frowned as she shared all the details of what had happened to her and her unborn baby with Detective Monroe with the Houston Police Department.

Detective Monroe frowned and pushed a hand through the thick bush of red hair on his head. “You mean to tell me that you suspect your fiancee of poisoning you?”

This time it was LaKeeta who frowned. “I’m not saying that he did detective. I just know that he had another baby who died under similar circumstances as my daughter.”

The detective nodded his head. “This Anthony Paulson….is he the same one who owns all the Body Work Zone franchises? The billionaire?”

LaKeeta sighed. “Yes. He is.”

Detective Monroe frowned. He’d met Anthony Paulson before. He’d made very generous donations to the Police department in the past. He seemed to be a real stand-up type of guy. Plus, he was good friends with one of the best sergeants in their department, Brad Wilshire.

He sighed. He would hate for Anthony to have had a hand in the foul shenanigans that LaKeeta Hunt had just told him about.

“
Okay, Ms. Hunt. I have all of your information right here and we’ll be opening up a case.” He looked her in the eyes. “Is there anybody that you know of who would have wanted to hurt your and your unborn child?”

LaKeeta shook her head. “I don’t know of anyone. I don’t have any enemies or anything.”

The detective typed what she’d just shared into his computer. “Anybody weird give you any unusual food or something?”

She grimaced, then thought about the package that she’d received via FEDEX from Anthony’s cousin. “Um, there was a shipment that was sent to my house out of the blue. It was a fruit basket with teas, chocolates, and things. It was from Anthony’s cousin, but I’ve never met her.”

Detective Monroe’s internal radar perked up. “You wouldn’t happen to have anything leftover from that basket would you?”

She frowned. “Um, yeah….I actually have a few of the chocolates and quite a bit of the tea left. When I became pregnant, my system wouldn’t tolerate the chocolates for some reason. It made me feel like throwing up.”

Detective Monroe nodded his head. “You don’t mind if I send a couple of CSI agents to your place and pick it up do you?”

LaKeeta shook her head. “Of course not. I’ll get it ready.”

“
Uh, I’d prefer if you didn’t touch it again. I need to treat it as part of a criminal investigation.”

She felt her heart rate increase from his statement. “Sure, detective. I’m on my way home now. I won’t bother it.”

After LaKeeta had left his office, Detective Monroe dialed Brad Wilshire’s number. He picked up on the first ring.

“
Hi, Sergeant Wilshire, this is Detective Monroe down in the CI Unit. I need you to come to my office. There’s some interesting developments that I need to share with you about your friend, Anthony Paulson.”

When Anthony got off the phone with Sergeant Wilshire, he knew there was a problem. His cousin, Abigail, the one who had supposedly sent LaKeeta the gift basket had passed away suddenly a year ago. Someone was perpetuating a fraud and he was willing to spend every dime to his name in order to get to the bottom of it all. Whoever had sent that basket, most likely was the person who had murdered his child — maybe even both of his kids.

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A Week Later:

“
Brad, this is Anthony Paulson. Is your department done with the analysis on that gift basket?”

Brad nodded his head over the phone connection. He frowned. “Yep. The results just came in five minutes ago. The teas and the chocolates are laced with both of those drugs that contributed to your fiancee’s miscarriage.”

Anthony didn’t have the heart to tell Sergeant Wilshire that LaKeeta was no longer his fiancee. It really didn’t matter to him anyways, because he had every intention of remedying that situation — that is as soon as he found out who had poisoned her.

Sergeant Wilshire continued. “We’ll be charging whoever sent that shit to her with homicide as soon as we catch the bastard. The return address on the package lists an address in California, but according to FEDEX’s tracking system, it was shipped from right here in Houston. The delivery people are really working with us. We should know who really mailed LaKeeta those tainted goods by tomorrow.”

By the time Anthony had gotten off the phone with Sergeant Wilshire, he had a smile on his face. It wouldn’t be long before him and the love of his life was back together.

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Across town, LaKeeta picked up her cellphone and flopped down on her sofa. She’d been doing a lot of thinking over the past few days. She was convinced that no matter how bad things looked, Anthony hadn’t poisoned her.

She sighed.
I know he loves me as much as I love him….and I know he loved our baby. He would never intentionally hurt either of us
.

She knew her family and friends were probably going to think she was crazy because of what she was about to do. She didn’t care if she had to beg his forgiveness, she had every intention of marrying Anthony.
That is if he still wants me
.

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When Anthony heard his cellphone ring with the special tone he’d assigned to LaKeeta’s cell number, he couldn’t believe that she was actually calling him. He took a deep breath and answered the phone, almost on the first ring.

“
Anthony….I can understand if you don’t want to talk to me, but I hope you’ll allow me to come over. I have some things I need to say to you.”

“
Of course you can come over, LaKeeta. I’m at the ranch right now.”

After they’d disconnected the call, he felt his heart hammering in his chest.
Can I even hope that her calling means that she’s changed her mind and wants to come back to me? That she still wants us to be together? That she trusts me?

Minutes later, he found out that the answer to all of his questions was yes. As soon as Anthony opened his front door, LaKeeta’s eyes met his. “I’m sorry for doubting you, sweetheart. I know you’d never harm me or our child. Can you ever forgive me?”

Anthony didn’t answer her question with words. He used his lips and actions.

An hour later, as they lay in his bed basking in the afterglow of a very hot lovemaking session, Anthony turned to LaKeeta and smiled. “I love you, LaKeeta Hunt. I know I’ve already asked you one time, but since you returned my ring, I’ll ask you again….will you be my wife?”

She nodded her head. “I love you, too, sweetheart….for now and forever. Wild horses couldn’t stop me from being your wife.”