ROBERT On the way home, my phone buzzed with a text. 'All is set, sir,' it read, followed by a wink emoji and, 'Congratulations in advance!' The text was from Mark, who was in charge of coordinating the surprise I had planned for Renee tonight—the surprise that marked the start of our new chapter. Smirking as I read the message, I quickly typed 'thanks' before sliding the phone back into my breast pocket and taking a glance out the window. The car had pulled into the driveway now, and before the driver could even get out to open my door, I was already stepping out myself. The house staff greeted me warmly as I entered, and one informed me that Renee was in the backyard garden. Nodding gratefully, I made my way there. Sure enough, I spotted her. She stood near the daisies—her miracle flowers, she called them. She once told me about a dream where she saw a whole field of daisies. And now she was determined to grow them everywhere in our garden. I smiled softly as I stood there, admiring and taking in every detail of her very, very gorgeous pregnant form. The light from the setting sun illuminated her figure beautifully, emphasizing the delicate swell of her belly as she bent over to pick up the hose from the ground. She hummed softly as she watered the plants, completely unaware of my presence and while I would have loved to watch her forever, I forced my feet to move forward, albeit in a tiptoe and then wrapped her from behind in a gentle embrace. She screamed in surprise, her bump pressing against my stomach as she spun around, splashing water on my face. "Robert!" She cried out, dropping the hose, "Jesus Christ! How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that?" She scolded in a playful tone, and I smirked. "Hm, let me count," I hummed, "One, two, three, four times? No, it is more than that. I just...fuck! Your beauty is distracting." "You horrible..." she giggled, swatting at my arm, "sleaze. I—" She stopped mid-sentence as my lips met hers. Her fingers gripped my shirt tightly, and she melted into the kiss. "Now, Rob," she breathed against my lips after I pulled away, "that's a better way to startle me." "Yeah?" My hands cupped her cheeks, "And how are you, my darling?" "Good," she sighed contentedly, nuzzling her nose into my palm. "And you? How was your day? How was the trial?" "I'm fine. My day was good. And the trial was even better, baby. It went just like we expected." "Like we expected?" Her eyes lit up with excitement. "Do you mean you won the case?" "I mean, we won the case." I corrected, smiling broadly, "We won, Renee." "Oh my!" "We beat Amanda. We fucking beat her. And she can't hurt me or you anymore." I leaned back and met her gaze head-on. "She will never be able to touch us again, my love." "Oh my God, Rob!" Her breath hitched, "We did it! We won!" Tears streamed down her cheeks as she squealed, and began jumping up and down. I wiped away the tears as best I could, but it kept streaming down. I wasn't bothered about it, though. I knew the pregnancy hormones had caused the dam to burst and that the tears were happy ones. "So," she sniffled, "what sentence did they give her? And Dylan? And the other guy...what's his name again?" "Kent." "Yes, Kent. When will their trial take place. Tell me. Tell me." "Well, the trial was expedited so Kent and Dylan got their sentences today too." "Wow." "Yeah. Kent got a 25-year sentence with the possibility of parole after 20 years. Amanda got..." I paused briefly for a minute, unable to hide the smug look creeping on my face as I continued, "...105 years with no option of parole." Renee's mouth dropped open comically, and she stared at me as if she didn't believe what I had just said. "105?" I nodded. "That's life, Robert. She'll never get out." "Yeah." "That is...brutal." "Same thing, I thought, baby. Same thing. But she deserves it. I don't feel sorry for her," I frowned, staring at Renee, whose lower lip was trembling, "and neither should you." A lone tear slipped down her cheek, "I don't. I just," she inhaled shakily, "I don't know." "And what is there to know? It's okay," I whispered, pressing a light kiss against her cheek. "She'll rot in there. That is enough." "Oh, Robert," a small laugh bubbled from her. "You are both funny and wicked." "Am I now?" She simply winked in response before asking, "And Dylan? You have not told me what he got." "He got five years." I smiled, "But..." "But?" "He won't be serving it." I paused and added, "Because he got a $100,000 bail, which I paid." Renee's jaw drop in disbelief again, and her lips stuttered. She was shocked, and rightly so. Yes, we predicted a lighter sentence for Dylan today, but we never mentioned paying bail if there ever was one. Hell, I never thought of it either. It was a spontaneous decision, but I was proud of it. "I also talked to him like I promised," I began after a while, "and we made peace with each other. I guess all is in the process of being well with us now." "Oh my God!" Renee exclaimed, finally finding the words to say. She threw her arms around my neck and, not minding her bump still, hugged me tightly. "Thank you," she said softly into my shoulder, "for this. Thank you for keeping your promise and for paying Dylan's bail. It's a lot. And I'm proud. I am so proud of you." My heart swelled at her words. "Thank you too, baby girl," I replied quietly. Pulling away, I brushed a stray hair away from her face. "Now, enough of my day. I don't want to talk about your gardening at this hour, but love, we have a date. Aren’t you supposed to be inside getting ready?" "I have prepared for the date," she said sheepishly. "I've arranged the dress, which you chose," she winked again and continued, "and I won't be wearing any makeup, so all I need to do is shower, and I'll be ready." "Okay. You should be resting then." "But I don't want to," she whined, pouting at me. "I'm tired of resting, resting, resting." "It's good for you and the babies," I laughed. "Don't I know that? But for the past two months, I've been cooped up in this house, sleeping, eating, sleeping. I do not work; you have delegated responsibility for my restaurant to Mrs. Andrews.I rarely leave the house, well, except to the garden. And I would have followed you to court today, but you refused." "I didn't refuse, Renee," I replied, running a hand round her bump. "I just didn't want you anywhere near that woman. Besides, we've got a date this evening. So you're going out." "Pfft. Okay, how about sex? Please indulge me with that, at least. It's a rigorous activity." "We have been having sex, baby girl." "No. You haven't been fucking me! The activity, the fucking activity that put these babies inside me..." she pointed at her swollen belly, "you haven't been doing it. You just make me cum with your fingers, or your tongue, or—" "Renee!" I laughed loudly at her outburst, "Why are you being so crude all of a sudden, baby?" "Because I miss you," she rolled her eyes before stepping back and shrugging. "I miss my Daddy." My eyes darkened immediately at that statement. "Baby girl," I said softly, gently bringing her back to me. "I want to fuck you. If anything, that is what I want the most. But I promised our doctor that I'd take things easy with you. You promised him, too." "That was two months ago, Robert. Two months." She whined again, "And I've been fine. Since leaving the hospital, I've had no complications, our babies are growing fine, and everything is going well. I've also been doing my research and having sex is perfectly fine in my state. Or..." She bit her lip, "...am I no longer sexy to you? Does my chubbiness repulse you? Does it—" "What?" I scoffed and dragged her hand down to my crotch, where a bulge was beginning to form. "Does this feel like you repulse me?" A moan escaped her throat, and her cheeks turned bright red. She shook her head, visibly flustered. "Now, baby girl, you're perfect. Your milky tits, the meaty ass I grab every morning before getting out of bed, and your plump cheeks are all perfect. You are the most beautiful, the most gorgeous, the most sexy woman in the world. My world. Their world. Everybody's fucking world. No woman comes close. And know this," I said seriously, "when I finally fuck you, you will see that nothing about you repels me. Nothing." Her cheeks flushed even more as she gave me a shy smile and nodded twice, "Okay, Daddy." "Good. That's my good girl," I whispered in her ear, nibbling at its shell as I began tugging her toward the house, "keep this up and I might just finally fuck you tonight after our date."