"My mother was definitely a lot worse than you could imagine." I state, and Emmanuelle gives me a grave look.

A lot worse than anyone could imagine.

After a while, I finally decided to open up to Emmanuelle about my mother and why she hasn't met her. I wouldn't want such a wonderful woman like her to cross paths with my heinous mother.

"How long did she abuse you?" She asks.

"It all started when I was thirteen, not long after my father was killed. It progressively got worse over the years instead of better, and it became very clear that she wouldn't stop."

"Why would she do such a thing to you?" Emmanuelle asks, and her eyes are filled with horror.

Because she's a bitter bit—

"What I think is that she couldn't handle the pain of losing her husband, so she took all of her pain and anger out on me."

"Did she think that you didn't love her or something?" Emmanuelle asks.

"Probably." I say flatly, and I look down at the table and awkwardly twiddle my thumbs.

I was always a daddy's girl, but I actually did love my mother. That is, before she started to abuse me, obviously. She probably thought that my sister and two younger brothers gave them an equal amount of love, but that I only loved our dad.

Truthfully, I really did love my mother. But she lost it all once the abuse started. Not one bit of love for that woman is left in my body, and she's become a stranger to me.

She means nothing to me now. Absolutely nothing.

Like Rian said, she doesn't deserve me or my love.

She deserves nothing.

It wasn't a favoritism thing just because I tended to lean on my dad, but I guess she thought of it that way. So once he died, she naturally decided to target me.

I remember talking to Rian about how people deal with their pain in different extremes. As much as I could tell that he hated that truth, he knew that I was right. Everyone's going to deal with certain situations in different ways, and some are worse than others.

The abuse that I went through became inevitable. There was no more questioning if she was going to hit me, because I already knew that she was going to anyway.

"That still doesn't give her the right to do that to you." Emmanuelle exclaims, and she nearly slams her hand on the table, but she stops herself.

"I know, I know. But, it doesn't matter anymore. Rian came and saved me, and I haven't seen her in nearly a year now."

"Rian saved you?" She asks with furrowed brows.

"God, there's a lot of untold stories in our relationship that haven't been told. Rian's the one who took me into his place and cares for me after I had been badly beaten."

Emmanuelle smiles at me, and her cheeks slightly change color. Rian definitely has made her a proud woman, not only because that he continues to follow the lessons that he was taught as a kid, but also because he went out of his way to help me and protect me.

If Rian hadn't stopped to check on me and see how I was, I'd still be with my mom. I'm so grateful that he came and helped me through my ordeal, and he shaped me into a better person.

"That's my boy. Always just looking out for people. Before he even became a doctor he tried to make sure that people were okay. It's just who he is as a person." Emmanuelle chuckles, and I smile.

"He became that way because of you and Mr. Peterson. Rian is the most chivalrous and kind and amazing man I've ever met. He makes me feel like I'm the only woman alive. That was totally cheesy and over sentimental, but it's true."

I can still remember how wrong it felt to be lusting over my doctor, and how desperately I tried to stop myself from having feelings for Rian, but with how generous he was being to me and how helpful he was, I didn't even try to deny my feelings for him.

Rian affected me deeply, and I'll always thank him for that.

"No, I'm a sucker for those overly romantic lines. And, with the way Rian talks about you, he feels like he's the only man that's right for you. A while ago, I asked him if he thought that you were the one, and he didn't even hesitate to say yes." Emmanuelle admits, and my chest becomes warm.

After she says this to me, I want nothing more than to have him here with us. Just so he can actually see his mother and stop worrying about her, because I know he's driving himself crazy over how she is.

"Rian is definitely someone who I can rely on. Especially once I have this baby, because Rian has been by my side ever since he found out." I say, happily sighing afterwards.

The image of Rian holding our son or daughter in his arms after I give birth is in my head, and I can't wipe the goofy smile off my face as the thought continues to swirl around my brain.

He's going to be an amazing father just like Mr. Peterson was.

"He's very happy, Alex. Ever since you two started dating he has been." Emmanuelle says with a grin.

Everything begins to play in my head, from the day we met, to the first time we made love, and up to now. Each memory makes me smile until my cheeks begin to hurt, because before my father died, this has been the longest amount of time that I've been truly happy.

Man, I hit the jackpot.

After the brief talk, we change the topic and decide to start talking about the wedding.

"Have you decided who you want as your bridesmaids?" She asks inquisitively.

"I already know that Savannah and Xiu will be my bridesmaids." I unhesitatingly add.

"Who are they?"

"My best friends. I've known them since middle school." I inform her, and she nods.

"Xiu. That's such an interesting name. Where's she from?"

"She was born in America. Xiu is Chinese American." I say.

Everyone would always assume that Xiu was born in China just because her and her parents know Mandarin Chinese, and that they were born there. Xiu was born in California, but people still didn't understand.

"Okay, anybody else that you have in mind?" Emmanuelle asks, and I nod.

"Vanessa, obviously because she'll be my sister-in-law. I need to get in touch with my sister, Laura. She'll be finishing up college by the time I'll be ready to give birth, and shortly after the birth of our baby, we decided that we'll have the wedding." I explain.

"Okay, that's great! You're off to a good start so far on this wedding." Emmanuelle exclaims, clapping her hands together.

"Yeah, I'll text you once Rian and I come up with some more ideas." I say, standing up.

"Okay."

Emmanuelle leads me to the door, and as I stand in the doorway, she gives me a small grin.

"Thank you for checking up on me. Tell Rian that I'm fine, and that we talked." She says before clearing her throat.

"Absolutely. I definitely will think about what you said about being your partner. I'll have an answer for you shortly."

"It was really nice seeing you, Alex." Emmanuelle says, and I smile before hugging her again.

We say goodbye to each other, and I drive back home with a million things that my brain is trying to wrap around.

~~~

A few weeks later, one day after my twentieth birthday, we have another ultrasound appointment with Dr. Annamarie Carter. I eat multiple slices of the birthday cake that Rian made me for breakfast, and I have to stop myself before I devour the whole thing.

Lately, my hormones have settled down a bit, but some are still stronger than others. I still have this demon like hunger inside of me, but luckily my morning sickness has toned down a bit.

I walk upstairs to get ready, and I see Rian in the bathroom spitting out his mouthwash before wiping his mouth off with the towel. Rian briefly kisses me, and I smile before walking past him so that I can brush my teeth.

While we're getting dressed, Rian comes over and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"How's my mom? I know you checked on her, but I never got to ask." Rian suddenly asks into my ear.

"Yeah, you're like four weeks late." I say, chuckling.

"I know, I know. I'm the one who wanted to check on how she is and I don't even know."

"Truthfully, she's doing okay, but she still isn't quite like her old bubbly self yet. It's probably going to take some more time." I say bluntly, and he nods.

"I knew it. My mom denies a lot, so I could tell that she really wasn't okay so that's why I wanted to know the truth." Rian admits.

"Yeah, I had to force it out of her. She finally admitted how she felt, and we had a heart-to-heart conversation." I explain, and he furrows his eyebrows.

"About what?"

"Well, she told me about how it still hurts to know that her husband isn't going to come back to her. I told her about my mother and how things were like."

"That takes a lot of courage to talk about something like that, especially because it haunted you for so long." Rian says, commending me.

"Yeah, I was trying not to break down in front of her. But, after that brief walk down my dark past, we started to talk about you." I say, smiling up at him.

Rian's eyes widen, and I giggle at how surprised he looks. Whenever Emmanuelle and I talk, Rian always somehow manages to slip into the conversation. I know for sure that I'm not the only one who constantly thinks about him.

"Oh, really? I hope this talk about me was good." Rian playfully says, and he smiles.

"It was very good." I say flirtatiously, quirking my eyebrow at him.

I lean in, and our lips meet. His lips are soft and supple, and his minty breath makes its way into my mouth. I smile, and my hands make their way up his strong arms. Our mouths create a smacking sound as our kissing becomes quicker and more desperate.

"Rian—," I moan against his lips, trying to get his attention to stop, but he keeps going.

"Hmm?" He says against my lips before kissing me again.

"We...should...stop. Can't...be...late." I say in between each kiss.

Rian pulls away, and he grins before nodding in agreement to what I said.

"You're right. This ultrasound is extremely important because we get to find out the gender today." Rian says excitedly.

"What do you think we're having?" I ask, craving his opinion.

"I'd like to think we're having a boy." Rian says, slightly over confident in his answer.

"I knew you'd want a boy! You said you don't care about gender, but I know you want a boy!" I exclaim, and he chuckles.

I do feel the same what, sometimes. The gender doesn't matter, but I find myself praying that we have a girl.

"I'm just going with my heart and my gut. They're both telling me that we're having a boy." Rian boasts, and I playfully slap his arm.

"Oh, what would you name this little boy?" I curiously ask.

"Evan or Ethan. I've thought about the names since the morning after I proposed."

"Well, since you say that, I hope we have a girl." I tease, and he laughs.

"Bet! $40 that we're having a boy." Rian says.

"And if it's a girl, I'm getting that money!" I exclaim.

"I stick to my promises, Alexandrianna."

He holds his hand out for me to shake, and I put my hand in his while giving him a wide smirk. Rian arches his eyebrow at me as we continue to shake hands.

"It's a bet."

After that, we hold hands and walk out of the door. The baby kicks a few more times on the way to the hospital, and Rian takes one hand off the steering wheel so that he can feel the jolt in my stomach.

"It's still so unreal that there's a little baby in there."

"Maybe it'll feel real when she arrives." I say, adding extra emphasis.

"You mean when he arrives?" Rian asks, and I laugh.

"Nope. I said what I said."

Rian just chuckles before shaking his head and returning his focus on the road. I smile to myself, and think about the bet that we made.

"You know what's funny? That we're making a bet on someone that's going to change our lives." I say, and Rian laughs.

"Yeah, I found that really funny. We're still like kids when we made that bet."

"I know. We'll definitely experience that when our daughter gets older."

"I really cannot wait until Dr. Annamarie says that we're having a boy. Then I can rub it in your face."

"We'll see about that." I say, giving him a wink.

After saying that, we pull into the parking lot and make our way into the maternity sector.

~~~

Dr. Annamarie Carter applies the same gel to my stomach again, and goosebumps appear on my arms as the familiar chill begins to spread.

Rian holds onto my hand, smiling at me before putting all of his attention on the screen as the image pops up.

"Okay, the baby looks nice and healthy. Has there been any kicking recently?" She asks, and I nod

"Yes, a lot of kicking." I say with a giggle, and she smiles at the both of us.

"That's totally normal at this point. There's nothing to worry about. Your pregnancy is running smoothly."

"Can we see the gender? Or are the genitals still not able to be seen?" Rian eagerly asks.

"Let me see." She says, carefully looking at every inch of the screen so that she doesn't miss a single detail.

It takes a while for her to look for the genitals, but she gasps and points at the screen once she does.

"It's a girl. Congrats!"

Rian and I hug each other, and I'm trying to stop myself from jumping up from the table and doing all of the happy dances that I know.

A baby girl.

"I'm so happy." I whisper into his ear, and he kisses my cheek.

"Me too, babe."

"I'm so excited!" I squeal, clapping my hands together.

"I'm excited for you guys!" Dr. Annamarie says, and we all laugh.

We view the screen, watching the baby and I feel a jolt as I look at the screen, and I giggle like a schoolgirl as I look at her little foot kick me again.

"Somebody's excited in there." I say, smiling at Rian.

"She's ready to meet her mommy and daddy, that's why." Rian says, and I laugh.

"Get me out of here!" I exclaim in a goofy voice, and Rian smiles before kissing my stomach.

As the ultrasound appointment continues and Dr. Annamarie Carter continues to inform us on my pregnancy and other bodily changes that I'm going to go through for the next few months. Rian and I listen to her carefully, taking one every piece of advice that she gives to us because we know it'll be beneficial for us.

We shake her hand once the appointment is over, and we walk down the corridors. The hospital smell of bleach and iodoform fills my nose, and my heightened senses cause me to feel slight nausea.

Oh God, not now.

I swallow it down my throat before it can escape, and the taste causes me to shudder as the acidic tang lingers in my throat. Rian looks over at me, rubbing the small of my back to comfort me and let me know that he's there.

"Okay, where's that $40 I was promised?" I ask, remembering our bet.

"In my pocket."

We stop in the middle of the busy lobby, and he reaches into his back pocket and hands me two $20 bills. I snatch them from his hand, giving him a mischievous grin and laughing evilly as I inhale the money.

"Thank you." I sneer.

"Hey, I really didn't care about the gender."

"Mmhmm, sure. You're just saying that so I'll feel bad and give you back the money." I say, and he shakes his head.

"No, I mean it! Boy or girl, I'm still going to love this baby." Rian insists, and I know he's telling the truth.

The sparkle in his eyes is visible, and his smile is wider than it was during the appointment. Everything in him is excited and anxious, but in a good way.

"Me too."

As we kiss, I can hear an awfully familiar voice near us. I want to turn around and see who it is, but everything in me is screaming not to.

"Thank you for the meds, I appreciate it." The voice says, and the nausea comes back again.

Rian pulls away from my lips, and our heads snap over at the same time to where the voice is. She turns around, and my stomach churns.

Mom.

"Alexandrianna." Mom says, sounding surprised to see me.

"Mom." I say in a bitter voice.

"I haven't seen you in almost a year. How are you?" She asks, and I scoff.

"Are you seriously trying to act all sweet to me?" I nearly shout, and my cheeks heat up.

"Alex, I know that things may seem damaged beyond repair when it comes to our relationship but—"

"May seem? Things are damaged beyond repair! It's too late to try and get your daughter back." Rian growls, and I nod as he's defending me.

"Dr. Peterson, stay out of this, please. This is between me and my daughter." Mom irritably says, and I grit my teeth.

Daughter? I'm your daughter? I'm not anything to you anymore.

"Don't talk to him like that." I spit, and Rian holds me back.

"No, I've been involved in this since for a while now. Especially now that she's my fiancée." He exclaims, and her eyes widen.

She just stands there with that idiotic look on her face, and I want to smack it off her ugly face. I just want to give her a small taste of the pain she's inflicted on me.

Just one chance to do that.

"Alex, are you sure that you want to marry this man? He's clearly not able to control his anger, and I don't want him to hurt you." She adds, and I scoff.

"The only person who hurt me is you. Don't you dare try to blame this all on Rian, you manipulative bitch."

I step in front of her, looking her straight in the eyes. My fists are balled up, and my body is trembling with anger as she stares at me.

"Alex, I'm taking my meds, I'm going to therapy, I'm trying to better myself for you!" She exclaims.

"It's too late. You've already lost me."

Rian stands behind me, and the warmth of his body pressed against mine calms me. He places his hand on my stomach from behind, and I place my palm on top of his. My mother just looks down, and she looks even more shocked.

"You're pregnant? Alex, how could you do this?"

"Shes an adult, and my fiancée. We're having a baby together and there's nothing you can do about it."

"How could I do what? Have sex with the man that I love and conceive a child?!" I yell.

"Alex, please just hear me out. I know that I've made mistakes, but I just want you to forgive me."

I can't contain my anger any longer, and my balled fist strikes her hard. She holds the side of her face, and a tear falls down her face, but I don't feel bad at all.

"That's for everything you've put me through."

"Alex, please let's just—" Rian starts, but stops himself.

Smart move, Rian.

"No, I'm not done with her." I grunt.

Rian just stands there, and I grab her arm, and drag her to an empty room. I slam the door shut and lock it, and I lunge towards her. I hit her again, this time blood comes from her nose.

I won't show her any mercy.

"Alex, I won't hit you back." She cries, and I growl.

I shove her to the ground, and her head hits the nearby table. I kick her multiple times in the side, and she whines and whimpers.

Now she knows how it feels.

We've traded places. Now she's the one who's cowering in fear, and I'm the one who's getting to hurt her.