Gregory Kingston
——

I walk over to my office chair, sitting down and covering my face with my hands. I couldn't help but be mad at myself. I should have done more to prevent this. I should have-

"She'll be okay Greg." I look up to Robert as he enters my office, tears filling my eyes.

"My baby girl will never have kids again Robert. Never. I told her mother I did not want her to have an abortion, but she didn't listen. She went ahead despite my objections, and now my baby girl will never be able to have children of her own."

"You did all that you could have done Greg, and Paulina sees that; as she told me herself, she could never hate you." I bury my face in my hands, as I begin to cry.

Robert places a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze in a quiet gesture of comfort.

"I feel as if I failed her Robert." I look to him.
"That I could have done a lot more to prevent this from happening."

"Gregory." I hear Tabatha softly call my name, but as Robert glances her way, I turn my back to her, a silent display of the anger simmering inside me.

"Leave my office Tabatha. I do not desire to speak with you right now."

"Gregory please-"

"I said I do not want to speak to you!" I turn around to face her, Robert placing a arm in front of me to hold me back.
"I can't even look at you right now! Sky baby girl is never going to have children of her own Tabatha! If you had just listened to me and not force her to have that abortion we would not be here right now!"

"I KNOW! DO YOU THINK I DON'T FEEL ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE!? I ALMOST LOST MY ONLY CHILD GREGORY! I never meant for this to happen." She cries.

"I make no excuses for what I did Gregory. I'm so so-rry." Her words break at the end. She covers her face with her hands, lowering to sit on the ground as she cried bitterly; the only sound heard in the entire office.

"Go to your wife Gregory." Robert suddenly says and I look to him as if he is crazy.

"No."

"I didn't mean for this to happen Gregory." She brokenly says to me. I feel a small push against my back, and I glance back at Robert and he nods to tell me to go.

I sigh heavily, walking over to my wife. Her eyes were red from her tears, face blanketed with sorrow and regret, yet I wouldn't let this pass. She needed to change.

"You are going to have to apologize to her Tabatha." I tell her as I take a knee in front of her.
"Though I know it will not be accepted by her and will not change the situation, for the first ever Tabatha, you need to admit you are wrong to her." I rest my hand against her face, my heart aching. I was still so angry, but I have never seen her this broken. The sight of it, aching my heart even more.

I take hold of her arms, helping her to stand to her feet.
"Our baby girl needs her mother Tabatha. Not the woman whose mind is set on keeping reputation, but the woman who I remember to be so full of life, and excited at the thought of having children. I know the loss of our parents had significant impact on your character today, but I-we need the real you back."

"I can be that again." She desperately declares, grabbing hold of my hands.
"I'll be a better mother. I don't want- I thought I had lost her Gregory. I thought she was never going to wake up."

"She's with us love." I softly tell her, pulling her into my arms.

——
Carl Kingston

"You will move back in with us, and we will work out a plan to issue your divorce from that girl." Mother states as we sat down in the living room. Well..father and I sat, she kept pacing in front of the window.

Even after everything and finding out the truth she is still adamant on me divorcing Paulina.

"For the hundredth time mother, I am not divorcing Paulina." Her head snaps to me, anger filling her eyes.

"Oh yes you are. She was tainted when you married her. Tainted Carl! She had already given herself to another man!"

"And I to another woman! We would not stand or sit here and pretend like I was not a virgin when I wedded her mother! Why must she be the only one considered tainted?" I exclaim and she scoffs at me, looking to my father.

"How could you allow this tomfoolery?"

"Your son had made up his mind Grace, what was I to do?"

"Force him not to make the biggest mistake of his life! Have you seen the articles over these last two weeks. They are assuming the worst Parker! They are saying that she cheated on my son with those two men; some are even saying we should check to see if she is pregnant for one of them, and don't get me started on that irritating flea of a woman called Barbara. She has ruined the ratings of the Women of Influence broadcasting, seeing as it has come out that she has been pocketing most of the money given to her charity, and now this, when Paulina is suppose to be the winter personnel. But that won't happen now will it, because even she has some scandal to her name."

"I love Paulina mother." I affirm, standing to my feet.

"I will not allow it."

"There is nothing for you to allow mother. I knew she was not a virgin when I married her mother. But it's not as if she was being loose, she had fallen in love. Just as you had with father but unlike the both of you, her parents did not let her marry the boy she loved." She glances to father.

"She's been through so much mother. So much. I am not going to leave her because people are talking, or because she had an abortion, or because she cannot give me any children—I love my wife, I really really do." Tears gill my eyes as I professed my love for Paulina to my parents.

"I can not explain the full extent of my love for her mother, for it is far greater than words. I don't understand why I love her as greatly as I do, even after all that has happened, but I do. She is the only woman I desire to have in my life."

"Mr. Kingston?" I look towards entrance, finding Marsha standing there with a faint smile on her lips.

"Marsha, what's wrong? Is she okay?" She smiles at me, nodding.

"She is doing well Mr. Kingston. I only came to let you know that Madam desires to see you." I immediately move towards the door, leaving my parents there. I find myself almost running towards our bedroom, stopping in front of the door only to catch my breath and calm my nerves, before going in.

She was sitting up on the bed, her back supported by a pillow. She wasn't in the greenish hospital gown anymore but in a sundress of her own.

"You have freshened up?" She nods, her eyes was no longer dull of emotion but still sadness lurked within them.

"Marsha helped me." I nod, turning to close the door behind me, before taking a seat in the chair beside her bed.

"Have you heard?" She asks and I nod.
"I will speak to father and Robert so that our divorce will not be as problematic as-"

"I am not divorcing you." I firmly declare.

"Carl please...no man wants to stay with a woman as broken as I. It is the duty of a woman to give a man a child, and I cannot give that to you. So much for the idea of us having to choose which child will bear which last name, none ever will." She bitterly stated.

"We can adopt."

"Stop fibbing Carl!" She shouts, clenching her hands into fists, her face twisted with anger. "Just stop please. We will divorce and you can go marry another. I would have recommended Barbara but she is in the hot seat right now."

"I won't divorce you." I proclaim again, and she glares at me.

"Why are you so adamant on staying with me?" She asks.

"I love you Paulina. And I fib not about that."

"They are saying the elite of Pemberton are crumbling. That I have ruined the reputation of my both of our families with my affair with Assad and Dennis; that among many other horrible things, yet you continue to proclaim your love for me."

"I know-"

"I'm tired, Carl." she says, her voice heavy with exhaustion.
"I'm tired of fighting constantly between my mind and my heart, tired of mother's antics, tired of treating you like you are the villain, I am tired." She sighs heavily.

"I just want to be happy." I stand to my feet, taking her hand into mine.

"Let's go to London." A subtle smile tugged onto her lips as she looks up at me.
"I can talk to Dr. Edna, see if you are in the clear to travel. We can go for as long as you want." She shakes her head, and my shoulders slack in disappointment.

"I still want to do the winter issue." She tells me. Oh.

"Are you sure? You don't have too."

"I know. But to back out now will only spark more rumors. I want to put them to rest." I nod, silently acknowledging her reasoning.

We remain silent for a moment, both of us staring quietly into each other's eyes.

"What of Assad and Dennis?"

"They have left for Sarton." She hums nodding.

"Dennis has left his number, if we ever desire to contact them." She shakes her head.

"I think it is best to just let him go." I sit down at the edge of the bed.

"I..." she stares at me. What do I say? Of course I am happy she is letting him go, but I know how much he meant to her.

"You..." I try to find the right words again, but nothing comes close. The corner of her lips lift slightly, a soft chuckle slipping pass her lips.

"You don't have to reply Carl." I let out a soft, awkward chuckle, the kind that escapes when words feel insufficient but the moment calls for something lighter.

"I don't think a hooray would have suffice." She shakes her head with a laugh, a mix of disbelief and amusement playing on her face.

The sound was simply honey to my ears, a feeling of pride knowing that I am the one that caused it.

"I had pledged to myself to never love you Carl." She declared, and I feel a tension rise in my shoulders.
"Yet even within my anger, I always saw glimpses of what being loved by you could be like. Your caring nature, your kindness and compassion—I truly do not deserve your love Carl." I hold her right cheek, gently stroking it with my thumb.

"No other woman will behold my love." I declare to her. The sight of her eyes glistening with tears, causing my own to water.

"I'll do everything I can to make you happy Paulina." She faintly smiles at me.

"I have no doubt."

——

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Happy New Year Everyone🎉
I hope we'll all have a great year next year.

As Always,
Stay Safe. Stay Sweet.
God Bless.

I'll see you in the next chapter✌️

🄺𝑜̈𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛 🄵