Chapter 133: 133 ~ Mira
It was a fine morning. The beginning of a very beautiful day.
I turned on my bed and was lucky to see Jace staring down at me with a smile.
I sat up, furrowing my brows in confusion at his smile.
"Why are you smiling like that?" My voice came out groggy but I didn’t mind. Neither did he.
He arched a brow. "You forgot?"
"Forgot what?"
He turned, opening the drawer by his side of the bed. He handed me something.
It was a birthday card. That was when it clicked. It was my birthday. I had been so busy fighting different mental battles, I had completely forgotten about it.
"Happy birthday mia cara," he pressed a kiss to my temple.
I forced a smile as I thanked him. Then I read through the shimmery black and gold card he gave me.
"I’m no poet, nor am I a man of many words.
But on this day I want to wish you, my wife, a happy birthday. I promise to do my best to make this day so special you would be unable to forget it.
- J"
He leaned in to kiss me, I tried to dodge it due to my morning breath. He was well aware but pulled my face to his and kissed me regardless.
When I got downstairs, I saw that he had the living room decorated for me.
I grinned at him as sighted the boxes of designer stuff and the large bouquets of flowers.
"This is way to much Jace,"
"Nothing’s too much for the woman I love."
I smiled wider.
"Also, these are also for every birthday I missed while you were aware."
My smile dimmed slightly. The two years we were apart still surfaced in our conversations every now and then.
"Thank you." I said, standing on tiptoes to kiss him. He deepened it .
And it took the interruption of the chef to break us apart.
There was a full spread for breakfast and a sumptuous looking birthday cake.
This man would always go above and beyond for me. It was over the top but that was Jace. He would always be this way.
~
I got ready for dinner that night. Jace had made reservations at this fancy rooftop dinner.
I dressed up in the dress he got me. I did my makeup absentmindedly.
Birthday blues were hitting hard and honestly, I didn’t feel like going anywhere anymore.
But then I realized how much effort my husband had put into this and I didn’t want to ruin a seemingly happy evening.
I met him downstairs and he stared at me like I was the moon and stars. It sent butterflies on a rampage in my belly.
He held out his hand, I took it and sighed as he kissed my knuckles.
"You take my breath away,"
"I see that." I giggled.
"I can’t wait to get this dress off you tonight." He growled in my ear.
I bit on my lower lip, fighting the urge to pull him by his tie and make him take me on the stairs.
We entered the elevator and I stayed quiet as he took calls. We entered his vehicle parked right in front of our building.
That was when I realized we had a ton of guards following us.
Jace saw the question in my eyes.
"Don’t stress about it."
I looked away and nodded even when it honestly bothered me that we needed to walk with such a crowd of armed men.
As expected, Jace had the whole restaurant rented out for us. According to him, we had a few guests joining us for my birthday dinner.
I wondered who he would have invited. I didn’t have any friends.
But to my greatest surprise, his mother and my brother were right there as well as Tomas and Ariel.
I ran into my brother’s arms.
"Oh my goodness, I really thought you forgot my birthday."
He grinned. "I could never."
Then he nodded at Jace who gave him a curt nod in return.
These two were never going to be close but at least they could stand being in the same room for the first time in years.
I honestly wondered how Jace was able to get him to be here. I would ask later, I thought as I went over and gave Donna Carmela a hug.
"Happy birthday beautiful," she said and handed me a small gift bag.
"Thank you donna," I smiled.
I said hello to Tomas and went ahead to hug Ariel. I had not seen her in such a long time.
My eyes darted between her and Tomas and the way his palm sat on the small of her back. There was definitely something going on between these two but it was not in my place to ask.
We soon settled down and had dinner. There was a cake brought to me and I blew out the candle as they played a birthday song in the background. Obviously no one here could sing a proper line without going off.
We talked and laughed. And honestly, I felt much better than I did before.
There was music so our guests did some dancing. I did too but sat back down to eat my piece of cake as the sadness came back again.
Jace sat next to me as we watched everyone else have a little bit of fun.
"What’s wrong, Mira? Talk to me." His concern was palpable.
Nervously, I dropped my cutlery while he watched me closely.
Heaving a sigh, I decided it was now or never. "I think I might be pregnant." I bit out and shut my eyes, anticipating a crashout from him.
When my ears were greeted by silence, I opened them, expecting quiet fury which would be worse in the case. But surprisingly, I saw Jace’s stormy gray eyes light up like fireworks.
"You’re not mad." It was not a question but a statement of surprise.
"Why would I be? This is fantastic news."
I was immediately suspicious. "What? Are you sure?"
Jace held my hands in his softly. "Mira, it’s about time we have a child don’t you think?"
"Um, but with everything going on I thought-"
He shook his head. "This would be bring so much joy into my life. I need that."
"Wow," I sighed, not expecting the reaction at all. I was completely blindsided.
"Well, I haven’t taken the test so I don’t know for sure." I told him. "Let’s not get our hopes up too much."
"No matter the outcome, I just want you to know that I’m ready for us to have children of our own. You want that right?"
I nodded slowly. I wanted to have kids of my own but I wasn’t so sure I was ready for it at this point in my life. My miscarriage happened nearly three years ago and while it felt like a long time ago, the fear that came with that experience resurfaced at the thought of me possibly being pregnant.
It was disturbing to say the least. But I had to carry on anyways.
The night ended on a good note. It was a good birthday and I hoped that this time the next year, things would be so much better than they were.
~
The next day, I finally garnered the courage to take the test.
Jace had someone go to the pharmacy to get the test kit and bring it to me. He waited outside the bathroom as I took the test.
My heart was beating. It was the longest fifteen minutes of my life as I waited for the for the lines to show.
And when they did show, my heart sunk as I saw that it was...negative.
A heavy feeling found its way to my chest. This was the disappointment I had been trying to avoid. It was the same feeling I tried to run away from and the same thing I wanted to stop myself from seeing in Jace’s eyes. I should never have blurted it out at dinner last night. I should have just kept it to myself and let it pass.
"Mira, are you okay baby?"
I swallowed, staring at my reflection. The tears I had been trying so hard to hold were about to spill.
Jace didn’t wait for my response, he burst into the bathroom.
I looked at him. He stared back, immediately understanding what exactly was going on.
Without a word, he scooped me into his arms and I let the tears flow.
He just held me like if he let go I would break. And maybe that was true.
"It’s okay. We can always keep trying,"
"What if I can’t have a child after-"
"Shhh," he hushed me. "Let’s think positive thoughts only. We definitely can have a baby. This is only one negative test. We have time."
He didn’t understand what this reminded me of. Every time I saw a negative pregnancy test few years back, it chipped at different parts of me. He never saw that struggle. I bore it all on my own.
When I finally got a positive result, I was so relieved. But my joy was shortlived. Even when I wanted to totally move on from it, a part of me still blamed him for it.
"Look at me," he lifted my chin.
My teary eyes stared into his.
"It’s not the end of the world. There’s no pressure. We’ll have our baby whenever we’re ready. Okay?"
I nodded.
He hugged me again and I just stayed there basking in the warmth of his arms around me.
No pressure I guess...