ALEXANDER POV:

I have always dreamt of becoming a father. I have always wished to be at least the kind of father that mine was. Dad was such a remarkable man and I am so fortunate to have had him as an example of what a man--a husband and father should be.

Having one of my dreams come true with the love of my life is just a blessing on top of many others. I know that I say this all the time but I am truly blessed with with one of the best women in the world. Rosalie is a great person, she is a perfect wife but now she is going to make the most amazing mother.

I am bouncing from excitement just from the sheer fact that she is carrying our child and I cannot wait for her bump to be visible. She is already glowing and we've only known that we have a little one on the way for about two weeks now.

After finding out that she has been pregnant for almost two months. I did the math while we were at the doctor's office and concluded that we conceived while we were in the Netherlands. I took her there to celebrate her birthday and we unknowingly came back home with a baby.

Ever since our honeymon it has been hard for me to keep my hands to myself. It's been the same for Rose and our powerful physical need for one another finally brought us a baby.

"Rose, are you ready to go?" I speak out into the open space as I make my way down the stairs.

I get no reply and I find the reason why as I reach the kitchen. She's eating. A beautiful smile is plastered on her face and her eyes closed as she enjoys the last of the brownies that we had made last night. She woke me up in the middle of the night and said that she wants to eat something sweet.

So instead of grabbing something from the pantry that is filled with all types of sweets and treats. My wife decided that we would make chocolate peanut butter brownies.

I walk over to her and her eyes snap open, her smile never faltering. "Hey!", she says happily.

"Hi love.", I murmur before placing a kiss on her cheek, careful not to ruin her makeup. I grab a piece and help her finish the last piece of brownies.

She takes a sip from the glass filled with milk placed right next to the plate. "Hey." she says to me once she places the glass down.

"We should be leaving my love."

She nods before taking a huge gulp of the milk then handing the glass to me. I drink the rest of the milk and place it with the plate she was using in the sink. I walk back towards her and take her purse from the table before we walk out of the house onto the driveway where I parked the car earlier today.

I open the door for her and she smiles while murmuring a soft 'thank you' while she slips inside. Her well-mannered nature always makes my heart skip a beat. This woman is just so remarkable.

The drive over to Isadora and Tommy's place is relaxed and Rose and I both enjoy the cool breeze of this beautiful day. It may be the last days of Autumn as Winter comes in but the sun came out and brought brightness and warmth today; and that also brought forth my lovely wife in a sundress.

Rose looks good in basically anything she wears, but...her body in a dress does things to me and little me if you know what I mean. Her body was made for dresses and I say that in the most respectable and appreciative way possible.

Our light conversation over the music softly playing in the background until we reach our destination.

After we go past the gate we are greeted by a few parked vehicles on the driveway. I find a place to park and help my wife out. A moment later Isadora walks out of the wide open front door and pulls Rose into a hug. It makes me happy to see that they both found friendship in each other.

"Hey Xander.", she says as we also hug. Her short frame wrapped around me. I am lucky to have her as a sister. Isadora has always been my side through everything that we have faced in life.

"Come on in. Tommy is with Shiloh and the rest of the guests."

Rose and I walk in hand in hand further into the house. The lounge area has a few people around but it is not until we reach the backyard that I see the rest of the people invited to this party. Children run around playing with each other. The lawn has various jumping castles and all other manner of toys and entertainment for children aged ten and younger.

"You went all out for Shiloh, huh?", Rose says to Tommy as he makes his way over to us. My niece in his arms.

He chuckles, "I'm sure Shiloh is not going to remember any of this but who am I to go against what my wife wants for our daughter's first birthday celebration?", he says the last part with a grin and hands over Shiloh to me.

A smile creeps upon my face as she pulls at my beard. I recently started growing it out again since Rose loves it so much.

Rose leans over to give Shiloh a kiss. Her cute giggles fill the space as she hides her face in the crook of my neck.

A moment later, Shiloh holds out her arms for Rose, I hand her over and watch as my wife walks with her to go socialise with a group of ladies where Isadora is brightly talking.

My heart beats erratically in excitement at how we are also going to be the ones hosting birthday parties for our child and hopefully our future children. I may be getting older but I still want more than one child. If it was possible I would have a whole litter of babies with Rose.

Tommy hands me a beer which I decline and have a glass filled with juice instead. He doesn't question my choice of beverage which I am happy about. I have made the choice of not consuming any alcohol while my wife is pregnant. I am taking on an oath of sobriety until the baby is born.

Rose was thrilled of my decision which in turn made me thrilled. Whenever she is happy, then I become happy too.

I mingle and exchange smiles and pleasantries with a few familiar faces. Most of them I know as business associates of Tommy and some have been helpful when it comes to improving things within a few of my companies.

"So Cain...How's the married life treating you?", Carl Benson asks. I believe he was one of Tommy's most sought after clients. When you're a high profile corporate lawyer like Tommy, everyone wants to be your client. The man is good at his job.

I turn my attention to Carl, "It's great. I'm happier than I've ever been."

He nods with a goofy grin, "Marriage sure does look good on ya. Sure helps that you got a young wife.'' This causes the rest of the much older men in the group to nod in agreement.

I shrug with a grin of my own planted on my face,

"What can I say? I'm a lucky man Carl."

"To being lucky." Carl says as he raises his glass. We also follow suit and raise our glasses to meet his in the air and toast, "To being lucky."

I'm more than lucky. I'm blessed, my subconscious murmurs at the back of my mind and I couldn't agree more.

The party is going great. I met some of the mothers around. Isadora's friends and business associates aren't total snobs I thought they would be. There are a few women who I'd like topunch because even though they are married they still think it's okay to objectify other men around us, one of those men being my husband.

Thankfully Gigi got here and pulled me aside before I could inflict any harm; be it physical or verbal.

"So...how's the baby?" she asks a little too loudly.

I swat her hand, "Shush...not too loud."

She looks around us and once she sees that no one is paying attention to us, her eyes stare into mine waiting for me to speak. "The baby is doing well. I'm great too, thanks for asking by the way.", I throw in the last comment sarcastically.

She rolls her eyes, "I can't wait till you guys announce it. It's been hard to keep my mouth clamped."

Panic sparks in my chest, "Gigi, you didn't te-"

She shakes her head to the side, "No, calm down. I didn't say anything, not even to Bryce. It's not like he has even been paying any attention to me lately."

Her tone suddenly shifts to irritation as her gaze sweeps the room and lands on Bryce who is deep in conversation with Tommy, Lex and a few other men. He throws his head as he laughs at whatever the other guys were also deeply laughing at. I see Lex's shoulders shake as he holds on to Tommy's arm as if he might fall from the magnitude of the laughter.

Someone must have delivered one hell of a punchline.

Turning ,my attention back to my friend, "Is everything okay with you guys?" I ask as curiosity gets the better of me.

A heavy sigh escapes her lips and her shoulders visibly sag, "We're good. It's just that he has been so busy with work and we haven't had time to ourselves in almost a week."

"It sucks and Rosie you know how I am. I can't stand it when this happens."

By this, she means that when she is not getting enough attention. Gigi is not clingy but she likes to connect with people. And when she feels a lack of attention, for her that's a total disconnect. She reminds me of when Tinkerbell doesn't receive enough attention from those around her, her light slowly fades.

I pull her into a reassuring side hug, "Don't overthink it."

She wraps one arm around my torso and squeezes me lightly, "I'll try."

Isadora walks over to us with Shiloh in her arms. The poor child looks exhausted from all the festivities. People have been wishing a happy birthday and kids have been around her the whole day.

"Time to cut the cake."

Gigi and I follow her and the rest of the guests as we pile up around the patio and sing to Shiloh. Lex has his wrapped around my waist while Gigi stands next to Bryce. After Tommy and Isadora blow out the cake candles, they help Shiloh with cutting the unicorn decorated cake.

The presents follow a little after the kids at the party each have a slice of cake. It becomes a lot of admin and becomes messy but the smiles on the children's faces are worth the hassle it is for us adults. Most of the gifts consisted of playsets and various princess themed gifts.

Lex and I just found it hard to agree on a gift so we gave our niece a ten thousand dollar cheque.

***

The other guests leave a few hours later and leave just the close family. Gigi has gotten quite a bit tipsy from drinking a few cocktails, I give her a glass of water right before I settle next to my husband on the couch.

Tommy put shiloh to bed about twenty minutes ago and we have been relaxing and conversing on how well the day's event went.

"I just wish your family could be here." Isadora says wistfully.

I nod in agreement. My parents wanted to come but then Nana fell very ill so they took her to the hospital. When mom told Lex and I of the reason they won't be able to come visit, we wanted to jump on the jet and be with them with immediate effect. However, she assured us that it was not as serious as it seems and that we should attend Shiloh's party.

Harvey and June flew out to be with my parents and Nana about two days ago. I haven't broken the news to them because I wanted everyone (except Gigi) to find out at the same time.

Lex and I plan to visit in the next few days though.

While everyone else talks amongst themselves, I look up at Lex's handsome face. When he feels my eyes on him, he turns to place a tender kiss on my forehead, "Are you ready?". His voice is soft and raspy.

"Yes.", As soon as that single word leaves my lips he grabs his phone from the coffee table and facetimes my dad.

A few seconds later, dad's jolly face appears on the screen, "Hey Xander!". His voice causes the rest of the chatter in the room to quiet down.

"Darius, good to see you. How's Francis?" Lex asks.

My heartbeat accelerates in pace as my nerves take over. It's a happy nervousness.

Dad informs us of how well Nana is doing and that they are back home and grateful to have June and Harvey with them.

Lex hands me the phone and dad's smile widens. I can see Mom, June, Nana and Harvey in the background. After greeting them too I ask that they huddle around the phone because I have something to tell them.

"You guys.", I say out to the people on the phone and to the others in the room. Bryce looks quite interested in what I am about to say. Something tells me that he might even know it before I have even said it.

After inhaling deeply, I tell them the good news, "I'm pregnant."

"What?!", comes from a startled Isadora.

"I knew it!", Bryce exclaims.

Mom and June let out shouts of joy over the screen while Harvey smiles warmly.

Tommy's voice booms over everyone else's, "Xander you sly dog!" he walks over to Lex and pulls him into a hug, pride and joy expressed on his face.

Isadora comes and pulls me into a tight hug which results in me almost dropping the phone in hand but thankfully Lex grabs on to it and continues to speak to dad and the rest of the gang.

I hear my father say, "If it's a boy you're definitely naming him Reginald!" he sounds so happy.

Laughter rings out into the room at this. I'm still not on the Reginald wagon.

Mom tells us how happy she is for us and June echoes her words. A while later the call ends and the room is filled with smiles and laughter.

"Today is such a great day. Congratulations you two." Tommy says to us. His eyes shifting between Lex and myself.

My heart fills and swells with gratitude and an overwhelming amount of positive emotions. I am so excited for our baby. For Shiloh to meet her little cousin.

Byce stands from where he is seated on an armchair and clears his throat. "Since we're delivering big news. I have something to say." his words gather our attention and focus it on him.

My brain goes crazy with guesses of what he might say.

It's probably a job promotion or something.

"Gigi.", he turns to her and holds his arm out to her. She stares at his hand for a second before placing her hand in his. Bryce pulls her up to stand in front of him. I watch his shoulders rise and fall slowly as he takes deep breaths.

He seems extremely nervous.

"Georgiana Roberts, when I look into my heart, I only see you. When I think about you, I know that no one else will ever hold my heart the way you do."

No way! My subsconscious screams at me.

"My heart was once as open as an ocean until you bottled it for yourself." Bryce continues to say to Gigi while my brain puts the pieces together.

Just as I reach the conclusion of a marriage proposal, Bryce sinks down on one knee.

Gigi lets out a surprised gasp and a tear rolls down her cheek. Her lips quiver as she stares down at Bryce's nervous face.

His hand reaches onto the front pocket of his black denim jacket and pulls out a red box. He exhales and props it open revealing a shiny ring. "Will you marry me?"

One.

Two.

Three seconds of silence.

"Say yes!", Tommy whispers. This causes the air in the room to get slightly relaxed. Gigi wipes the trail of tears on her face then looks back down to Bryce and then a smile appears on her face.

"Yes you big idiot, I'll marry you."

I watch Bryce visibly relax as he slips the ring onto her finger and then swoops her up in his arms before kissing her.

Congratulatory hugs flow as we pull each other into warm embraces.

"It's so beautiful.", I say as I get a good look at the ring. It is a unique ring made out of rose gold with a halo chocolate stone in the center.

My gaze cuts to Bryce, "Great going bro. This is one hell of a ring."

He chuckles, "I can't take all the credit. Your husband helped me."

I smile at him and turn to look at Lex's grinning face. He really has a gift when it comes to selecting beautiful jewelry. Both my engagement rings and my wedding back are very rare and unlike any other.

"This is truly a great day indeed. My little Shiloh's birthday, a new baby and an engagement!" Isadora excitedly exclaims.

I am in complete agreement with her. Today has been filled with happiness. A happiness that is truly deserved by each and every one of us.

Tommy brings a bottle of champagne and six flutes. Since I am not consuming any alcohol, along with my husband. He then brings a jug of orange juice. Once the flutes are filled with the beverages, he hands them out to each of us before raising his glass in the air for a toast.

"To an incredibly great day and more happy moments."

We raise our glasses and tap them against his as we toast to our happiness.

***

After a night filled with smiles, laughter, love and joy. Lex and I are happy with being back home. The moment we got back to the house, I took off my heels and headed straight for the bedroom.

I ran some water for a bubble bath and soon enough I stripped off my clothing and sunk into the water. Lex came into the bathroom a moment later and quickly striiped before joiningme in the large tub.

My body relaxes as he expertly massages my back. The knots in my shoulder loosen and I lean against his chest while he runs his hands down my arms. The silence in the room comforts us as we breathe each other in and enjoy each other's essence.

Minutes later, we both come out of the water, and finish off our night routine while wrapped up in our fluffy robes. I put on a black lace trim split thigh nightdress and then tie my hair into a messy bun.

The clear starry night sky beckons me to gaze upon it and I find myself standing at our balcony just staring up at the inky blanket.

My mind wanders to how much my life has changed ever since I met Lex. I believe that it was fate that brought us together. We are meant to be with each other and be co-pilots in life. This man has brought me tremendous happiness. He has made me see my worth and has helped me discover that I am stronger than I initially thought.

I never imagined getting married or even getting married and becoming a mother at a young age. I never allowed myself to see that far into my future because I have always had a fear of the unknown. I was always scared of what I never even experienced yet.

Opportunities were rare for me and when I got into college I realised I had to find ways to make my own luck and my own opportunities. I never thought that life would give me such a big shot at finding a source of happiness and to be someone's reason for breathing.

Losing my scholarship sucked. Applying for grants and jobs hurt because I had an endless stream of rejection coming my way. The stress from my grandmother's illness ate away at my soul. My mental health was holding on by a very thin thread.

However, with all of that happening, I am glad that it did. Through swallowing whatever shred of pride that I had, I became someone's maid. I got enough money to pay for my education and still be able to financially help out back at home.

The unexpected happened when I fell for a man who is out of my league. A man who made me feel things that I never thought were possible. A man who completes me and is the love of my life.

I am grateful for the bad; because without it I would not have found the good. The storms came but I endured. I found out that sometimes the storm may not get calm but I could become calm in the midst of the storm.