The Daring Billionaire’s Wife (Vanessa and Dominic) novel Chapter 117

Vanessa

Of all the people who could've called Dominic right now, Mr Westwood wasn't even on my list. Hearing his name only ruins my mood as it's the one thing Dominic and I can't seem to agree on.

His phone keeps ringing and I glance at it, then back at his face as I say, "Will you just let it ring?"

"You say that like you want me to pick up when I know you don't," he says.

"You even know that I don't like Mr Westwood because of his personal life."

"But that has nothing to do with his professional life and he's one of the best in project management."

"I already told you how I feel about this, but you won't listen to me. I should be excited to begin this journey, but I just don't like him."

I look away, pursing my lips.

He sighs. "Fine. He's off the team."

I furrow my eyebrows, looking back at him. "What?"

"Yes, he's off the team." He nods as his phone stops ringing.

"Just like that?"

"Of course."

I suspiciously tilt my head. "You've been against my decision the entire time. Why have you suddenly changed your mind?"

He takes a step forward, shoving his phone in his pocket. "Starting now, I'll give you anything you want. I don't want anything upsetting you."

Hearing this only makes me feel like I'm on top of the world. Pressing my lips together to hide my smile, I nod lightly.

"Fine, he's off my team," I say to him, facing the other side to join everyone else in the dining room.

Without my face showing to him, I smile a little, glad he finally did as I asked. The fact that I didn't expect it has only made it more satisfying for me.

"There you are, my dear," my mother-in-law says to me. "What took you so long?"

"Dominic and I had something private to talk about."

"And where is he?"

I look behind me and there's no sign of him.

"He's just on the phone. He should be here soon," I assure her.

She holds my hand, smiling with excitement. "Now I can finally give you that gift!"

"Really?" My face brightens up.

She giggles, placing her fingers over her mouth. "You're going to love it!"

We sit down at the table together and Dominic joins us shortly afterwards.

Then, my father makes a toast to the new life growing inside of me and everyone cheerfully drinks to that.

As everyone has dessert, my father wants to have a word with me, so we excuse ourselves and he brings me to the balcony.

"Words can't even describe my emotions right now," he says with a warm smile. "It feels like yesterday when you were just a little girl and now here you are, about to make me a grandfather. I couldn't have asked for anything better than this."

Though I can't seem to fully understand what his last statement means, it still warms my heart and I wrap my arms around him.

With my head on his shoulder, he says, "If only your mother was here."

Had he said this to me a long time ago, I would be in tears right now, but I've learned to live with the past. Though it still hurts me, I can handle it all now.

He breaks the hug and says, "You should head back before Dominic comes looking for you. I've already noticed how he wants you close to him almost at all times."

I chuckle, thinking about it because I've noticed that as well. The thought of it makes me blush, but I remind myself to guard my heart.

~

Dominic and I return home in the evening and as I step out of the car, I'm on the phone with Mia, telling her the good news.

"Girl, congratulations!" she cheerfully says from the other end of the line. "I finally get to be an aunt! I've been waiting for this my entire life!"

I scoff. "Come on. That can't be true."

"I always knew you'd make me an aunt before I'd make you one and here we are. Have you already thought of names?"

"Not yet."

"I have one in mind."

"Yeah? Tell me."

"Mia!" she says.

I roll my eyes. "Seriously?"

"Yeah! Imagine your child being named after me. That would be awesome! Oh, damn! Just give birth already!"

Her reaction warms my heart, especially when she talks about all the plans she has as aunt. Even after I get to my bedroom, she keeps talking about the same thing. She's already thought of different scenarios in her head of what she'll be like when my child is born and I can't seem to get tired of it.

It seems that everyone's looking forward to the birth of my baby, which is so many months away.

After the call with her, I sit down on my bed, closing my eyes with a smile as I think about how quickly Dominic agreed to let Mr Westwood go. I know it's because I'm pregnant.

With that in mind, I reach for my bear on the bed and say, "Mom, I'm going to be a mom."

My vision gets a little blurry, so I face the ceiling, trying to hold back my tears of joy.

Though I wholeheartedly wish she could be here with me, it brings me comfort knowing that she might be watching.

~

Dominic

It's been a few minutes since I came up to my bedroom and I haven't gone past removing my necktie as I'm on the phone with Frank, who sounds extremely surprised, as expected.

"Are you kidding me right now?" he says from the other end of the line. "Why did you finally give in to Vanessa when this entire time, you've insisted on keeping Mr Westwood as part of the team?"

"She's pregnant." I'm filled with pride.

After silence for a few seconds, he loudly says, "What?"

"Yeah."

"Whoa! When did you find out?"

"Two days ago."

"Then why are you only telling me now?"

I chuckle. "Relax. We didn't want to tell anyone just yet. Even my family only found out a few hours ago."

"I see. Well, I can't wait to be an uncle!"

"Why?"

Our eyes meet in the mirror again.

"Maybe that isn't the appropriate word. I was jealous. It's not fair that my mom's giving you a gift and I get nothing."

She bursts into laughter, placing a hand on her stomach as she looks right at me in the mirror.

"It's not funny," I say to her with a blank face.

"Are you forgetting that I'm the one who's pregnant?"

"But it's because of me that you're pregnant."

She burst into laughter again, making me clench my jaw. "It's seriously not funny."

No matter what I say, her laughter doesn't seem to fade.

It's only when my knuckle comes in contact with her skin that she stops laughing.

Finally getting some movement from the zipper, I pull it down in one swift move and as soon as her back is midway exposed, I feel a stir in my groin. She gasps at the sensation of the air caressing her skin from the open window and even arches her back a little.

This is the most intimate I've been with her since the last time she rejected me in the study.

My gaze lingers on where the zipper rests and because it's halfway down her back, it makes it the perfect tease.

Not to get carried away and give in to the urge to pull it further down, I drop my hands and take a step back.

"You can carry on from here," I say to her.

"Thanks." She looks back at me with a smile.

Opening the door, I say, "Call me if you need anything."

"I'll be fine," she assures me.

I nod, closing the door behind me.

As soon as I'm in the hallway, I rest the back of my head against the wall, unable to stop thinking about what I would've seen had I dragged the zipper all the way down.

I haven't had such deeply lustful thoughts about her for several weeks now, and it's only because this is the first time in a while that I've seen her like that.

Just as I feel myself getting a little hard, I shut out whatever it was I hoped to see with a deep exhale, then return to my bedroom.

The moment I begin taking off my jacket, I find myself thinking about how she arched her back and the sensuality of my knuckle brushing against her skin. Fuck.

What breaks my concentration is the sound of my phone ringing. It's my father-in-law, which makes me curious since we were there not too long ago.

"Hello?"

"Hello, my son. Are you busy right now?"

"Not at all."

"Even if that's the case, I'll make this quick. Tomorrow evening, I need to see you and my daughter."

"Is everything alright?" I ask with concern.

"Just come over and you'll find out. Please don't tell anyone else." His tone is serious.

The call abruptly ends, making me pause for a moment. No matter how I think about it, I can only come to the same conclusion - something's not right.