Marcus’s jaws dropped seeing the baby girl in Lucas’s arms. Hearing her address Cara as her mom, blew his senses off. Was it what he was too scared to hope? Was she his baby girl? One look at her features indicated the obvious.
“Cara, what’s going on?” he asked, looking dazed. His glance went toward his mom as well as Lucas’s happy face.
Cara took Marianne from Lucas and held her to her chest with relief. “I’m so glad that you both are safe, Liam. I really don’t have words to thank you for what you’ve done. Come and give me a hug,” she said, holding out her other arm to him. Liam colored a little and gave her a brief hug. He was a grown-up and didn’t need hugs and kisses!
“I’m a teenager already, Cara. It’s my duty to protect my family,” he laughed making Cara chuckle as well.
“Can someone please tell me what’s going on?” asked Marcus impatiently.
Cara walked up to him with a gurgling Marianne in her arms. There was a tense silence as she sat beside him. “Marcus, meet our baby girl, Marianne. You’re a dad now!” she said, her eyes filling up with tears of joy. She had been waiting for so long to be able to tell Marcus about Marianne. She had never imagined the day would come, that too so soon! Marcus gaped at their eager faces and then at the little bundle of joy in Cara’s arms, staring back at him with blue-gray eyes just like his own. Then slowly realization dawned upon him and his eyes filled up with tears of joy.
“Really? I’m a dad now!” he said, touching Marianne’s baby soft cheeks with trembling fingers. “She looks just like me, doesn’t she?” he whispered, his heart suddenly filling up with love for her.
“And a little like me,” pointed out Liam, making them all chuckle.
“And me too,” said Vera as she walked in with Adam and Nicholas.
“Yeah, Marianne has all our features, right?” said Marcus’s mom, and they all agreed.
“Can I take her?” asked Marcus, a little hesitantly.
“Be careful, you’re injured, Marcus,” said Cara.
“I’m fit enough to hold my baby!” scoffed Marcus, eager to hold Marianne in his arms.
Lucas’s phone buzzed with an incoming call from officer Berkeley. He immediately walked out of the room to take the call. Marcus held his baby gently against his chest, kissing her forehead lovingly while Marianne stared wide-eyed at him. “Annie, that’s what I’ll call you. Do you like your name?” said Marcus, making her gurgle with happiness. It was a sight to behold, and it brought tears to Cara’s eyes. The way they connected within seconds of seeing each other was indeed amazing.
“I think your ribs are hurting, Marcus,” said Cara seeing him wince a little. She took Marianne from his hands. The kids went away to have their breakfast when Lucas walked in with a grave face.
“Officer Berkeley called just now. Frederick has been shot while attempting to escape last night. He’s critical and in the hospital. There are very less chances of his survival,” he informed them.
“Oh,” gasped Cara. She was curious to know what had happened while she was sleeping. So Lucas and Nicholas updated her and Marcus while his mom took away Marianne give her a feed. “I might sound mean, but I really don’t want him to make it through. He has tortured me so much that now I want to live a peaceful and happy life. A life without Frederick and his threats!” said Cara.
“I’m glad that all his men have been arrested but how did we manage to sleep through it all?” asked a bewildered Marcus.
“The walls here are soundproof!” informed Nicholas making Marcus’s heartbeats speed up at the thoughts his mind started conjuring up hearing him.
“Oh! I love this house already. I’m planning to move in. Will you have me here with you, Cara?” he asked, his eyes devouring her with its intensity. Cara blushed while Lucas walked away with a chuckle pulling Nicholas too along to give them privacy.
“You didn’t reply, Cara,” said Marcus, looking at her hopefully.
“Are you sure you want to move in here? I mean, your gallery is in New York and you like working in Southampton. That’s why you moved there after I left, isn’t it?” she asked shyly. Marcus’s jaws dropped with surprise. How did she know where he had been after she left him?
“Hmm, interesting! How did you know where I was?” he asked, catching hold of her hand in case she considered fleeing. Cara looked a little uncomfortable but his gaze didn’t leave her face even once.
“I followed your social media accounts. I saw all your posts. I wanted to know more about the latest series you were working on,” she admitted shyly. Marcus’s heart skipped a beat with excitement.
“Why?” he asked softly, desperate to hear more. He had waited for so long to know why she bought them all.
“You know why, Marcus. All the paintings depicted the best memories we shared together. They were more precious than anything else in the whole world for me,” she whispered back. Marcus pulled her closer, his eyes searching her face.
“More than me? You didn’t even ask for me that night,” he complained. “I’m sure that from my posts you knew that I wasn’t with Cassie. Why didn’t you reach out to me, Cara?” he asked her softly. Cara’s eyes filled up with hurt.
“How could I? I couldn’t forget the way you were kissing Cassie. You never told me you loved me. I felt that I was just like the other women in your life. Your mom told me that you and Cassie would finally marry. She asked me to get out of your life for good. How could I reach out knowing that I wasn’t wanted?” she said, staring at their joined hands. Marcus sighed and held her by the chin, compelling her to look up at him.
“Look at me, Cara. I want you to know that I love only you. Promise me that you’ll never give up on me that way. Promise me that you’ll fight for me. After seeing me with Cassie, you should have barged in and demanded an explanation instead of going away silently,” he explained.
“I had just realized my feelings and was about to take you out on a date that night and propose to you but you left. Without a forwarding address, without a number, you just walked out of my life. You have no idea what I went through. I went crazy looking for you. There was a time when I wanted to just finish myself off. I read the news of your wedding and tried to end my life but Ben Duncan saved me,” he told her, making her gasp.
“I’m sorry that you had to go through that. It wasn’t easy for me either trying to carve out a niche for myself while being pregnant. I couldn’t return home to my family. They would have been shattered. I met my old friends from Kingston Club and they helped me get a job at the Broadway Theater. That’s how I met Frederick. It was the worst mistake of my life,” she admitted.
“I’m so sorry that I couldn’t be with you when you needed me the most,” said Marcus, feeling really upset.
“It’s over and done with, Marcus. Now we have a bright and happy future waiting for us. Let’s be thankful that we’re together,” said Cara.
Mrs. Jenner brought in Marcus’s breakfast and Cara served him on a laptop table. “Why don’t you get yours here? I want us to eat together,” said Marcus. Mrs. Jenner brought in her food as well and they ate together like they used to. Cara told him how she changed her name and became a star while managing her pregnancy. They finished breakfast and Cara cleared everything. She picked up Marianne and returned to Marcus’s room.
“Took you long enough?” complained Marcus. Cara rolled her eyes and deposited Marianne beside him although her heart somersaulted with joy seeing that Marcus was still the same as before, possessive and impossible, only more now.
“Play with her. I need to make a few phone calls in the meantime,” she said, making Marcus groan. Despite having a lot of work, she just felt like lazing at home for a change.
“You can’t go to work when I’m unwell,” he reasoned like a baby. She grinned and called her assistant, Gwendolyn Drew who had been managing her schedule for the last three months. Frederick couldn’t tolerate her around Cara and usually drove Gwen away when he was with her.
“Frederick sir died five minutes ago. Haven’t you seen the news, ma’am? The paparazzi have gone crazy chanting slogans. They all feel that he has been punished by God for the evil he has done to you,” said Gwen. Cara sighed and asked her to cancel all her appointments for the whole of next week.
“Inform Peter that I won’t be going on the Canada tour,” said Cara. She disconnected the call and looked at Marcus busy playing with his daughter. He looked so relaxed and happy, his hair falling over his forehead, his eyes brightening up to a brilliant shade of blue. She noted the way he had lost a lot of weight. Was it because of her? She remembered what he told her. He had attempted to give up his life for her. A shudder went down her spine. What would she have done if Ben Duncan hadn’t saved him? She was really indebted to the old man for everything he had done for them. Maybe she would call him here since he had no one to call his own.
“Princess Annie, can you call your mommy? She can’t just stand there and stare. I’m getting all worked up here,” said Marcus, making Cara come out of her reverie and giggle.
“Tell your dad that he needs to be patient. He has to get well first,” she said, making Marianne gurgle with happiness.