Longing For The Beach Billionaire Daddy
Chapter 209

*Shelby*

“You can’t be serious right now,” I said in complete disbelief.

“Come on, Shelby. You know that this is a conversation we were eventually going to have to have. The doctors at the fertility clinic said as much. Even if we aren’t forced to by the court, don’t you want to know for sure that they are ours?” Michael asked. He looked at me, his eyes imploring me to see his side.

I stared at him with my mouth hanging open a bit, shocked that in the same breath, he could tell me that our son and daughter looked like me, then spin it around and ask me if I wanted to find out if they were truly mine. That was what he really meant. He wanted to find out if they were really mine because we both knew that they were both his.

“Screw the fertility clinic. They’re the reason we’re in this position in the first place. As far as I’m concerned, they have no right to ask anything of us after all of the pain they have caused to our family. They are just lucky we aren’t suing them into the ground. That’s a conversation we really should be having. I’m still not sure we made the right choice not to sue them. What if they let the same thing happen to someone else?” I asked my anger building by the second.

“Shelby, you’re trying to change the subject. We can have that conversation too, but first, we need to have the conversation about DNA testing. It could be important,” Michael said patiently.

“No, we don’t have to have this conversation, Michael. We don’t ever have to have this conversation. In fact, we should just drop it now,” I said, feeling the heat in my cheeks rising, coloring me an angry red.

I knew I was being short with him, but at that moment, I didn’t care anymore. If I wasn’t holding tiny Amelia in my arms, I would have run to get away from having that conversation. I would have done anything to get away from the sick feeling in my stomach I got every time I entertained the idea that Thomas or Amelia wasn’t biologically mine.

He had no idea how much it devastated me to know that one of them could potentially be someone else’s child. And I didn’t care if they were, they were mine now.

Amelia nuzzled close to me, her mouth parting slightly as she slept. As I watched her, how perfect she was in every way, I felt a tear escape and slide down my cheek. I couldn’t imagine a world where she or Thomas weren’t mine. My body housed them and brought them into this world, nobody could tell me they weren’t mine.

“The thing is, we do need to have this conversation eventually, Shelby. It has been a month and a half since the babies were born. I didn’t want to approach the subject while the twins were in the NICU and you were still healing. Then we got so busy once we brought the babies home, but we still need to discuss what we’re going to do. Don’t you want to know for sure?” Michael asked me.

“Michael, don’t you get it? I don’t need to know anything for sure because I already know,” I said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Why did he not get it?

He had been so great about the babies, it was throwing me for a loop that he couldn’t wrap his brain around the idea that I didn’t need to know because they were both mine already.

He stared at me wide-eyed. “How do you know? I thought you would have told me if you got the DNA testing done. What were the results?”

“No, I didn’t do any testing. You aren’t listening to me,” I said with a loud sigh.

How could he be so smart and yet seemingly unable to understand me? Michael sat in silence, clearly waiting for me to continue. I took a deep breath, but I took another minute to put my thoughts together. I brushed my thumb along Amelia’s cheek and she immediately opened her mouth, starting to search for my breast by moving her tiny head from side to side. I pulled her close to me and got her resettled, nursing.

“I grew these two babies in my body. I have nurtured them and cared for them from the time they were no bigger than a pea. I went through the pain of unexpected labor and dealt with the heartbreak of having to see them through a thick wall of plastic every day. I’m still feeding them from my body. Thomas and Amelia are my babies. I am their mom. There is nothing else I need to know,” I said with finality.

We sat in silence for a long time, and I hoped that Michael understood that I was done having this conversation. I bounced Amelia gently, watching her eyelids flutter as she was sleeping soundly.

“But what about… Katie?” Michael asked.

It felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. We had not said that woman’s name in our house in such a long time that it felt foreign to hear it come out of Michael’s mouth. I couldn’t believe he was bringing this up now.

“What about… her?” I asked sharply, unable to say anything more.

Just the thought of her made me feel sick. My entire pregnancy I knew that it was a possibility that one of our children could be hers. I tried to ignore it as much as possible but sometimes, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

She’d done something unspeakable to us and I would never forgive her. She’d ruined something for me that could never be fixed. If one of my children was biologically hers, I didn’t care. She would never take them from me. She gave up the right to be their mother the moment she gave Marmie permission to use her eggs for money as far as I was concerned.

“What if she comes back?” Michael said softly. He knew he was in very dangerous territory. “What if she tries to take us to court? That was the whole plan, to begin with. If she can establish some sort of custody then she can come after our money.”

“That woman has not shown her face around here since before Marmie’s death. We both know that Marmie was the mastermind of everything that happened at the fertility clinic. We’re not going to hear from Katie ever again. She has no one left on her side to help her plot,” I said.

“You’d be surprised what desperate people would do for money,” Michael said as if I had not seen the desperation of Blaine to get Michael’s money. Had he forgotten that I was in that boat too? I knew just how desperate people could get. I would never forget it.

“She abandoned her baby before it was even implanted in MY womb. She used her unborn baby as a pawn to help her scam money out of you. She’s obviously not fit to be a mother. Plus, if she did come back, it would just prove her guilt in the entire scheme. I don’t think she wants to deal with the fallout from that,” I said angrily, making Amelia fuss.

I bounced her up and down and made soft shushing noises until she settled again. I looked up to find Michael watching me and our daughter.

“I never said that she would be a good mother. She could not even compare to how great you are as a mother, even if she tried. All I’m trying to say, Shelby, is that she is out there somewhere. What if she shows back up one day?” Michael asked me, the lines in his forehead wrinkled in concern.

“She won’t,” I said, knowing full well that Michael was right. I just wasn’t ready to admit that to myself, let alone Micheal too.

He sighed loudly and continued to stare at me. He was likely thinking that I was trying to avoid the very real possibility that we had not seen the last of Katie. He ran his hands through his hair like he always did when he was stressed.

“You’re probably right,” Michael said. It was obvious that he knew he was getting nowhere with me. “But, don’t you think you’ll ever wish that you knew for sure? What about when the babies get older? Are we just never going to tell them?”

“No, I never want to know. I just want to go about our lives with our children and forget that the mix-up at the fertility clinic ever happened. We have already gone through so much heartbreak, and I don’t want to risk it again. Plus, what good would it do Amelia or Thomas to know? Do you really think it would help them to find out that I may or may not be their real mother? All they need to know is that they have parents who love them beyond anything else. Can’t you just be happy with what we have now?” I asked, getting desperate for him to understand where I was coming from.

“I can do that,” Michael said solemnly.

He looked down at Thomas, who was sleeping soundly in his arms, completely unaware of the sorrow his mother was feeling. For that, I was grateful. If I could shield them from the harshness of our situation, I would.

Michael stood up and set Thomas in the bouncer next to the couch. Then he came and took Amelia from me and put her in the other bouncer next to her brother. I watched him in silence as he took his place back on the couch. He pulled me into his arms, and I rested my head on his chest.

We sat in silence, and I listened to his heartbeat thudding against my cheek.

“I’m so sorry I upset you,” Michael whispered. “We don’t ever have to do a DNA test if that isn’t what you want. You’re right, they are our babies, and no one else’s. We love them both and will do whatever is best for them. You are what is best for them, Shelby.”

“Thank you,” I said softly, relieved that the conversation was finally over.

However, the sick feeling in my stomach remained. Michael had agreed with me for now, but I knew deep down that he disagreed with me. Would he really be able to go forever, not knowing the truth?

I desperately hoped he would be able to keep his word.