Chapter Thirty-Seven
One Year Later
"Ready Carmella? The flight's in an hour. Let's go," said Jaxon. A few days back they received a call from Serenity. Her wedding was coming up and she wanted the whole family to be there for her in Los Angeles where she currently was.
Lucas and Violet had their first baby and were celebrating so Carmella was excited to attend two family events.
The whole of last year had been a very busy one for Carmella, trying her market her business as well as design innovative clothes. This would be a much-needed break for her which she really needed badly. Even Jaxon had been busy with Gilbert taking a break and getting married. The last break they took was their honeymoon ten months back to Italy.
They reached Los Angeles in six hours and went straight to Lucas's house. The whole family was gathered there. Carmella hugged her parents, Tyler and River, her uncle and aunt, Serenity, Lucas, Violet, and Liam. It was an emotional affair since she had last met them on her wedding day a year back. Although she kept in touch over the phone, it was possible for her to go to Las Vegas to meet them.
"Sweetie, you look so good. New York has suited you well," gushed her mom embracing her.
"I'm proud of what you've achieved, " said her dad.
"Thank you mom, dad," she said overwhelmed to get the opportunity to come home to her loved ones after so many months. Her uncle Eric and aunt Eugene too hugged her and she hugged them back. Violet came out holding baby Valerie and Carmella's face brightened up at the sight of their baby. She took her in her arms and rocked her gently.
In the last year, she had very low hemoglobin and vitamin D levels and was advised against a pregnancy till her body was fitter. So she ate a balanced diet as prescribed by her dietician and Jaxon was very particular that she follow the diet chart strictly. Serenity who lived at her fiancé Alexander's house behind Lucas's came over with her three-month-old twins, Alexa and Adriel. Due to some misunderstandings, Serenity had parted ways with Alexander when she was pregnant only to be reunited a few weeks back.
"They're so cute, Sera," gushed Carmella. "They must be quite a handful."
"Yes they are," agreed Serenity as Alexander came forward and took one of them in his arms. He greeted Jaxon, having met him at Lucas's wedding and they went away for a drink with Liam and Tyler. River came out with a two-month baby boy in her arms.
"Ryder, meet aunt Carmella," she said in a squeaky baby voice and Ryder looked at her with his baby eyes and her heart melted. She gave Valerie to Violet and took an eager Ryder in her arms.
Carmella and Jaxon settled down in one of the rooms in Lucas's huge mansion, eagerly waiting for the wedding.
The wedding day finally arrived. The men were all getting ready at Lucas's house so that the women could get ready in peace at Serenity's house. River and Carmella helped Serenity get ready. Nancy who was Serenity's housekeeper, Violet and Valerie's nanny, Mary looked after Valerie, Ryder, and the twins.
The wedding went like a dream reminding Carmella of her own wedding. She was a bridesmaid and walked carrying baby Alexa down the aisle. Afterward, they all went to the reception party to enjoy themselves. A huge white tent-like structure was made under which everyone was gathered. The entire area was decorated using natural tones like sandy beige, white and gray complemented by bright purple and lavender. Bouquets and centerpieces were also kept simple and featured white roses, vibrantly deep purple tulips, and lavender sprigs.
The 20-foot head table covered in a white cover was lined with real white and neutral sea coral as well as floating candles and lavender ranunculus. The chairs were covered in white with lavender bows tied around them. Carmella ate some meatball appetizers and sipped a mocktail which she couldn't resist with Jaxon.
"My head is spinning every now and then since the wedding ceremony started," she told Jaxon and he was very concerned. Carmella felt very nauseated and placed her mocktail into Jaxon's hands and rushed inside Alexander's house to throw up.
After throwing up, she felt sicker but a bit relieved. Jaxon who had followed her inside was more concerned than before. "I shouldn't have eaten those meatballs. Now my stomach bug's worse. I got it yesterday when we ate out, I think. I've been throwing up since then," said Carmella.
"I don't think it was because of those meatballs or the food that we ate yesterday. I tasted them too. They were good," said a concerned Jaxon.
"I'll lie down for some time and then I'll down. Okay?" She said, lying on the bed of one of the spare bedrooms. "You can go back. I'll call you if I need you."
"Are you sure?" Asked Jaxon, very worried.
"Yes. I'll sleep a little," she said. Jaxon nodded and went back to the party but he couldn't enjoy himself anymore as he was wild with worry for Carmella. He saw Serenity at the reception party after feeding the twins and went off to inform her about Carmella.
"Hey, looking good," he said.
"Thanks, where's Carmella?" Serenity asked him.
"Carmella is nauseated. She's been throwing up since yesterday. I think she caught a stomach bug, we might need to take her to the doctor," he said with a worried expression on his face.
"She could be pregnant, you never know for sure," she suggested. Jaxon's face lit up with hope.
"You think so?" He asked hopefully. He had made love to her without any protection for the last two weeks since her health had improved and she was healthy.
"Maybe. I'll have a word with her after all this is over. Get her a few home pregnancy test kits to be sure," Serenity suggested.
"I'll do that. Thanks, " he said, going out of the party to the nearest pharmacy to buy some pregnancy test kits. His heart wanted to sing out loud or break into a happy dance at the thought that he would get a chance to be a father again. Buying the kits, he went back into the house to Carmella. She was sleeping, so he slipped the kits into her handbag which was kept near her. He returned back to the reception party more a little relieved than before. He kept checking up on Carmella every now and then and when she woke up, he took her to Lucas's house. He cooked her a homemade soup and bread.
"Thank you, Jaxon. I don't know what I'd do without you. Do I need to go to a doctor?" She asked with apprehension.
"Not here. Why don't you take a pregnancy test and see if it's a bug or not?" He asked her casually.
Carmella's eyes lit up. "You really think that I could be pregnant?" She asked hopefully.
"Why not? For the last two weeks we haven't used any protection, " he reminded her.
He took out the kits and handed them to her, "I bought you these at Serenity's suggestion, " he said with a smile. Carmella took them and went into the en-suite. "I want to see the results too. Don't dispose of them. Take at least two tests," he said, pacing the floor outside the en-suite impatiently.
Finally, Carmella opened her door and they waited for a few nail-biting minutes for the results. Carmella had tried all three kits to be very sure. Jaxon looked at the results and grinned happily at the positive results on all three kits.
"You are pregnant, love," he said coming into the room and picking her up in his arms. "I can't believe that we're going to have a baby soon."
Carmella felt tears of happiness sting her eyes and cascade down her cheeks. "I can't believe that I could be so lucky Jaxon," she said between tears.
"I won't let anything happen to you and our baby," he said, as he kissed her.
The next day they announced their good news to the whole family. Everyone congratulated them and finally it was time for the goodbyes. Carmella and Jaxon flew back to New York.
He took her to a good gynecologist/ obstetrician for tests. She prescribed vitamins and a plan for the next whole month followed by another follow-up visit. Jaxon instructed their housekeeper, Fanny how to look after Carmella.
She was touched by his concern. He was already the best father to their unborn baby. She hired a manager to look after her boutique and work although she did supervise everything. This time she wanted to enjoy her pregnancy more and give it top priority having waited for it for such a long time. She followed the doctor's instructions religiously and took care of her health.
