His Belated Apology–1
Thea’s POV
I sat nervously in the clinic’s waiting room, fidgeting as I waited for the doctor to call my name. My mind was a complete mess right now.
This felt like some ridiculous repeat performance. My second pregnancy, and once again I was attending a prenatal appointment alone. The only difference was that Kane was in prison unable to attend, while Sebastian just couldn’t be bothered to come when I was pregnant with Leo.
I’d been trying to ignore the fact that I was pregnant until a few days ago when I noticed my waistline increasing. My baby bump was beginning to show, and soon everyone would know I was pregnant.
I sighed tiredly, reminding myself that I needed to tell Seraphina and Maximus about this. I hadn’t found the courage to tell them I was pregnant with Kane’s pup. Mainly because Kane was their adopted son. Just think about it–their biological daughter pregnant with their adopted son’s baby. The whole thing was a fucking mess.
“I can feel your anxiety radiating into my bones, Thea,” a familiar deep voice pulled me back to reality.
I whipped my head around so fast I nearly gave myself whiplash. I frowned as I stared at the person before me, too shocked to speak. Sebastian was staring right at me. He hadn’t gelled his hair today, was dressed casually, and even his expression looked relaxed.
“Sebastian? What are you doing here?” I blinked slowly, making sure I wasn’t
hallucinating.
He shrugged, smiling. I continued to stare at him in shock. I think this was the first time he’d ever genuinely smiled at me. The first time his smile was directed at me.
“I’m here to support you. I didn’t want you to face the appointment alone,” he said simply.
There was definitely something wrong with him. Why did this feel like a goddamn trap?
I leaned closer to him, trying to smell if he’d been drinking. Seven years ago, he’d been
drinking that day, which explained his strange behavior.
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His Belated Apology 1
“What are you doing?” he asked with a frown.
“I’m checking if you’ve been drinking,” I said.
He seemed normal and hadn’t been drinking, so why the hell was he here? What was going on in that complicated mind of his?
Before I could figure out what was wrong with him, the doctor called my name.
He grabbed my hand, gently pulling me up, then led me to the examination room. The whole way there, I kept staring at his broad shoulders, completely stunned.
We reached the examination room where Dr. Harper was already waiting for us.
“Nice to see you, Thea, ready to see how your little one is doing?” she asked, as cheerful
as ever.
I nodded, still in a daze.
“I’m guessing he’s the father?” she asked, looking at Sebastian.
“No! He’s just here for support,” I quickly said when I saw Sebastian opening his mouth to say something. He frowned, gripping my hand tighter.
What the hell was wrong with this man? Why did he look upset?
“Alright,” Dr. Harper drawled, “you know the drill, up on the bed and lift your shirt.”
Sebastian helped me onto the bed, and I did as instructed. I shifted uncomfortably as Sebastian’s gaze locked onto my exposed belly. It felt weird because the last time he saw me exposed was probably a year ago.
Before I could think more about it, Dr. Harper squeezed the cold gel onto my stomach and
began moving the probe.
“Hmm,” she murmured, staring intently at the screen.
“Is there something wrong?” Sebastian asked before I could.
“Everything’s fine. Strong heartbeat, and the baby is developing as expected,” she replied, then turned to me, “Do you want to know the gender?”
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9:01 pm
His Belated Apology–1
“No,” I said, while Sebastian said “Yes” at the same time.
“Since you’re not the father, I’ll ignore your answer and go with Thea’s, unless you want to know the gender, Thea.”
I shook my head, “No, I want a surprise, just like with Leo.”
“Then my lips are sealed. I’ll just print the photos for you,” she said, standing up and turning off the machine.
“Can you print two copies?” I asked, remembering I’d promised to send Kane updates.
“Of course.”
She handed me tissues, and I cleaned up before pulling down my shirt. When I finished, I looked up to see Sebastian still staring at the blank screen.
“Sebastian?” I called.
He shifted his gaze to me, then stood up. We left the room, passing by the reception.
After getting everything I needed and scheduling my next check–up, we left the clinic.
“I want to take you to lunch,” Sebastian surprised me again.
His Belated Apology–2
I looked at him suspiciously, “Why?”
“I want to talk to you.”
I scanned the road, trying to see if I could spot a taxi. I’d taken one here because I didn’t
feel like driving.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. We have nothing to talk about,” I turned my gaze back to
him.
He ran his hand through his black hair, looking somewhat frustrated.
“Sebastian…” I was about to tell him I was leaving when he cut me off. His expression
turned hard.
“I’m not taking no for an answer. Either you get in the car yourself, or I’ll carry you,” he
pointed to his car.
“You wouldn’t dare,” I challenged.
“Try me, Thea,” he shot back.
He started moving toward me, and I knew he was about to make good on his threat. I
snorted and turned to walk to his car.
He unlocked the doors, and after I got in, I glared at him as he got in and started the car.
I remained silent, not in the mood to talk. I was both annoyed and confused by his sudden change in behavior. I wanted the old Sebastian back, the one I was used to. This one was a stranger to me, completely unpredictable. I didn’t like it one bit.
We arrived at a restaurant I’d never been to before. He led me inside, gave his name, and we were immediately shown to our seats.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Sebastian?” I asked as soon as we sat down. “Your behavior lately has been really confusing. I mean, for fuck’s sake, you showed up at my prenatal check–up for a pup that isn’t even yours, when you never attended a single one when I was pregnant with Leo.”
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His Belated Apology–2
He didn’t say anything, just stared at me coldly. This was the Sebastian I knew: cold, distant, and detached.
“You never wanted me around before, and suddenly you’re everywhere. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate you pulling me back from the edge during my darkest moment, but can we go back to how things were? Can you continue to act like I don’t exist?” I pleaded.
I didn’t want any more changes in my life. More importantly, I didn’t want trouble with Aurora. They didn’t want me in their lives before, and then suddenly everyone wanted to be a part of mine?
I wanted to be left out of their lives. Stay away from anyone or anything that reminded me of pain and misery. I just wanted to be left alone. I wanted to heal, and I couldn’t do that if I was still around the people who caused the hurt in the first place.
“You can’t heal in the place where you got hurt.”
“I’m sorry,” he said after a while. His voice was so low I almost thought I imagined it. “I
was angry with you. I didn’t want to acknowledge my behavior that night, yet I fucking let
you take the blame and continue to punish you for something that wasn’t entirely your
fault.”
He shocked me once again. He was full of surprises today, wasn’t he? Sebastian was never
one to apologize; he always maintained his Alpha pride, so him apologizing was a fucking
miracle.
His voice grew angrier as he spoke. I just wasn’t sure who his anger was directed at.
“I was so terrible to you when you were just trying to make the best of a bad situation. You were only 20, scared, and I let you go to all the doctor’s appointments alone. You’ll
never know how much I regret that.” He took a deep breath.
“Why are you doing this? Why are all of you apologizing after everything’s been said and done? You have to know it doesn’t change anything. The damage is done. The best thing we can do is be civil to each other,” I said quietly.
What was wrong with everyone? When I wanted them all to apologize, none of them would. Now when I was ready to put them in my past where they belonged, suddenly everyone was apologizing for hurting me.
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His Belated Apology–2
“I’m sorry for the role I played in hurting and breaking you. I’m not a man who makes mistakes often, but I admit, I made the biggest one in the way I treated you,” he said.
I heard what he was saying, but I just couldn’t comprehend it. How could I forgive him? How could I forget everything he put me through?
I remained silent, staring at the table. I had nothing else to say; I just didn’t know if I could forgive him.
