297 Favorite cousin-in-law
For the rest of the evening, they watched videos of proposals and set a date. It was worth noting that Natalie had set a date ten months from the current date, making sure she wouldn’t steal any thunder. Zaria didn’t care when she proposed but she smiled at how considerate the latter was.
She yawned tiredly, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
“I think we should turn in.” She suggested.
“Sure. Do you want to sleep in my bed? If not, I’ll get the guest room ready for you.” She asked.
While it was tempting to have the same kind of sleepovers she often had with Ximena, she turned it down. “I wouldn’t want to get on Devonte’s bad side. He’s already jealous enough that you spend more time with me lately.” She laughed in jest.
Natalie rolled her eyes but got up to change the sheets in the guest room. She was certain they were clean, but there wasn’t any such thing as too much caution with a pregnant woman. Desmond would kill her if his Zaria so much as sneezed because the room was slightly dusty.
By the time she was done, Zaria was nodding off on the couch. She tapped her gently and showed her to the guest room, then turned in herself.
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In the middle of the night, Zaria woke up parched and gasping for breath. The light from outside was seeping in through the drapes. Deciding she didn’t need to turn on the lights, she got out of bed and crept to the kitchen, careful not to make any sounds. Natalie was a light sleeper and had trouble going back to sleep if she was awoken.
.....
She had almost made it to the kitchen when a voice stopped her dead in her tracks. It was a yell and she distinctly heard it. Natalie was arguing with someone.
She stopped to listen, but the argument was over before she could. Natalie shouted something about not doing no such thing and groaned, ending the call. Zaria battled whether or not she should make her presence known. It didn’t take much thinking. The guest room was on the same side of the apartment as Natalie’s room. If she was going back to sleep, they would bump into each other—unless she crept back to the guest room, and it was already too late for that. So, she braced herself, cleared her throat so she didn’t startle her, and joined her in the kitchen.
“Hey, did I wake you?” Natalie turned around, worry written all over her face.
“I was awake.” Zaria admitted. “Are you okay? I heard shouting.”
Guessing why the latter would be awake, Natalie poured her a glass of water from the fridge door and handed it over.
She picked it up with a gentle thanks and waited as Natalie debated whether or not to tell her the truth.
In the end, she decided to come out with it. “Apparently, I should win you over, get you to trust me completely and tell me everything my parents need to know about your mother.”
Zaria placed the glass on the granite island and pulled her into her arms. “Oh Nat. I hate that you have to carry this weight on your own.”
“It’s not some weight I have to carry.” Natalie bit her lip defiantly, not wanting to show any weakness. However, she couldn’t fight it forever. She let go and wrapped her arms around Zaria, making a joke as she pulled away.
“Is it just me or are your breasts slightly bigger?”
“Natalie!” She blushed. Natalie was right. She’d had to buy new bras recently, but she didn’t think It was noticeable—especially to anyone who was not Desmond.
“Pregnancy looks good on you.” Natalie smiled, slowly steering the topic away from what her parents wanted to pregnancy and children. When they finally went back to bed, she couldn’t sleep. Dread filled her at the thought of the only thing her parents wanted to discuss. They had insisted on meeting her the following day. If she didn’t comply, they would follow her around for a chance to talk.
So the following morning, she let Zaria know where she was going and offered to drop her off at Preston and Fort Group.
As luck would have it, Lucy happened to arrive at the same time as she got out of the car. She had decided to say hi to Desmond and Liam but she was already regretting it.
Lucy smiled at her without saying a word and turned to Zaria. “Hi, honey.”
Zaria hugged her before returning to Natalie’s side. “We are going up.” Her implication was for Lucy to take a different elevator even though they were all going to the same floor.
It was less awkward when she didn’t have to be in the same cramped space with Lucy, so she cast a grateful smile at Zaria.
They got to the top floor faster than Lucy, which was a relief. She kissed Zaria on the cheek and proceeded to Desmond’s office.
“If it isn’t my favorite cousin-in-law.” He smiled in greeting.
Natalie rolled her eyes. “I’m your only cousin-in-law. But now that you mention it, I have no clue how I will be able to tolerate your insanity now that you are going to be in the same family as me. I thought I had successfully gotten rid of you.”
“Not a chance.” He smirked as though he had won. “While I appreciate your company, do you mind if I pop into my fiancee’s office for a second? I miss her.”
She shrugged. “Go ahead. I have nothing in the world but time.”
She had a partnership too, and the promise of a successful startup. That was just a dream now that she knew what Lucy had wanted all along. If she didn’t love Zaria and Desmond so much, she might have considered joining forces with her parents.
Speaking of which, she pulled out her phone and let them know she would drop by the hospital in an hour. That would give her enough time to prepare for whatever they had in store.
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