Chapter 12 - Penny
I wake up and yawn, stretching slowly. I’m still overfull from all the weird craving snacks I snacked on at two o'clock in the morning. Who knew Kervyn could be so funny and so witty? It’s a side of him I didn’t know existed. I just assumed he was always bossy and businesslike, but last night was different.
Well, this morning, I should say.
I get up and showered, and for once, I’m actually looking forward to breakfast. I dress in my usual dress and sandals and head downstairs. As I go, I pass Mrs. Beth, who is ordering Maria to polish the banister properly. Maria must have done something wrong to deserve that as a punishment. I’ve never seen them polish the banister.
I practically float onto the terrace, and I’m excited to see it’s a full English fry-up for breakfast. That’s been my favorite lately, and it’s probably the reason that they are making it. I sit down and immediately start dishing up toast, fried eggs, bacon, and fried pork sausages.
“Good morning, Kervyn,” I comment, smiling in his direction.
Kervyn drops his paper for a moment, and a small smile plays on his lips. “Morning, Penny.”
He sets his paper down and picks up a piece of toast to butter it. “I notice it’s your next appointment with the obstetrician this morning. The next scan.” He bites into the toast.
I touch a hand to my belly lightly. He really does care about our well-being. “Yes, it is Kervyn.”
Zakahr walks onto the terrace, and Kervyn clears his throat. “You’re welcome.” It’s a gruff, quick response before he goes back to his newspaper. That boils my blood. Now I know he can be fun and caring, and as soon as someone from his family is here, he acts like a heartless dickhead. He can’t have it both ways.
I eat my food in silence, and when he tries to kiss me goodbye, I shift away from him. He grumbles to himself about women and leaves, and I stare at my plate.
“Trouble in paradise?” Zak asks.
I look up “No.” Why am I lying to cover up for Kervyn? “Well, I’m just upset he can’t come to my prenatal scan.”
“I can,” Zak offers. “I’ll be happy to accompany you.”
I smile. Zak has been a Godsend, and we’ve become fast friends. I know it bugs Kervyn that I hang out with him. I’ve seen the jealous looks he gives. I suppose this could be a fun way of getting back at him.
“Yeah, okay. We should probably get ready to leave.” I stand up, and Zakhar follows suit.
“I’ll drive us,” he says with a charming smile. “That way, we can sneak off and shop if we want to.”
I giggle and nod. “Okay. Deal.”
I get my things and walk out of the house to Zakhar’s Range Rover. I get in the passenger seat and buckle in.
“Ready?” he asks.
“As I’ll ever be,” I say.
He drives us to the doctor without any issues. He’s actually quite a good driver. He’s very similar to Kervyn except far more charming, even when the family is around.
“Do you mind waiting in the waiting room for me?” I ask.
“Sure. I’ll be right here,” he promises.
“Maybe afterward, if you don’t mind, we can go past my best friend's house. Just to see how she’s doing?” I look at him hopefully, and he gives me a heartwarming smile.
“Of course,” he promises. “That will be fine.”
He takes my hand, lifts it to his lips, and kisses it softly. “Kervyn is a fool not to treat you right.”
I blush. I hate it when he gets flirty. “Zak, Kervyn wouldn’t like it if you flirted with me. I’m marrying him. Look, I have to go. We’ll talk about this when I’m back.”
I get changed and get set up in the stirrups. The check is a bit awkward because I’ve never seen this doctor before, but it’s a woman, which is a bonus, and she’s very friendly.
“Right, we can actually tell the gender of the baby. Would you like to know?” she asks, smiling.
“Oh, could you seal it in an envelope? My fiance wants to have a gender reveal.” Not that I should do this for him. I should find out and tell him because he’s a jerk. But there will always be that nice side to me that doesn’t like to hurt people.
“Baby is all healthy, and you’re over four months pregnant now, which is about right according to your previous records. I see you were with Dr. Green. My condolences. My colleague can be really old-fashioned sometimes.” She smiles. “And please don’t call me doctor. Just call me Sofia.”
“Thank you, Sofia,” I say.
I get changed back into my clothes, and she writes out a list of things I need to know and check, and she reminds me to schedule my next appointment at the front desk.
I walk out and pause at the front desk. Zakhar is sitting there playing on his phone with a smug smirk on his face. I don’t even want to know what the cheeky little devil is up to.
I speak to the receptionist and book another appointment before I walk over to him. “All set.”
“Any hideous deformities because your baby is related to my cousin?” he asks as he gets to his feet.
“That at least is one good thing. Your cousin is handsome, so my baby has a fifty percent chance of being a gorgeous baby.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, Penny. You are fucking sexy.” Zak opens the door for me and stands close as I get in. So close that I brush up against him.
I awkwardly buckle myself in, blushing furiously.
