Dominic forbade me from continuing to work on my comic over here. Not only that, the man wanted me to hand over all the work I had in hand and rest, at least until I had delivered the children. Actually, all I had to focus on was my comic for Flash Media, and I was so close to finishing it. That comic was my blood, sweat, and tears. Asking me to drop it was no different than asking me to abandon my children. Like how movie directors treasured the films they had produced, I adored every one of my comics as if they came out of my very own womb. After countless hours spent nurturing my baby, I was not about to give my work up just like that. Still and all, I knew better than anyone else that my work could take a while before it was finished, even though the end was close. Besides, when my baby bump became bigger, it would be hard for me to travel around, and I would be an inconvenience to others. I was also afraid for my unborn children if I were to continue working. With a heavy heart and gritted teeth, I eventually agreed with Dominic. As for my contract with Flash Media, Dominic told me that he would speak to them and hoped that they could replace me with another artist for the moment. I asked him to convince Flash Media to get a comic artist not working with Shannon as my replacement. That way, Shannon would not be one artist short. Since I was breaching the contract, I would count myself lucky if Flash Media would even consider my proposal. After Dominic and I were done with our discussion, I first had to call Shannon to inform her of our decision. After all, I did not want to keep her in the dark. Before making the call, I had to take a while to ready myself because I knew she would explode the moment I told her that not only was I pregnant, but I also got back together with Dominic. As expected, after telling Shannon that I was pregnant, she went silent for a second before hanging up on me. Then, I stared at my phone and counted to three, knowing that Shannon would eventually call back. I just hoped she could control herself enough to show my ears some mercy. Only after Shannon's seemingly endless complaints and mumbling could I inform her of my replacement for the comic. It was supposed to be an urgent and grave matter to Shannon, but apparently, the woman could not stop focusing on my personal life choices. Had I not told her that I would return the next day, Shannon could very well have bought a flight ticket and flew over that night. With that, she made me promise to meet with her as soon as I returned. I could tell from Shannon's tone that she had already figured out how to squeeze some answers out of me. After ending the call with a throbbing headache, I thought for a while and decided to call Nicholas. As a friend, I felt that it was necessary to inform him as well. It was also partly because Dominic went away to get me cake. The phone rang for a while before someone finally picked up. I nearly ended the call a second before I heard Nicholas' voice. “Liliana? And here I thought you never wanted to speak to me again.” I froze for a second when I heard what the man had said. That was a weird thing to say. What the heck is that supposed to mean anyway? I knew it had been some time since I last contacted Nicholas, but it was not like I intended for that to happen. “What's up with you? Is there something I should know? You know I'm pregnant. Of course, I needed my rest.” After a moment of silence, Nicholas pretended to have never said anything. “No, everything's fine. It's just that I've had a lot on my plate recently, so you'll have to excuse my manners. How are you doing? Is everything good? How's the baby?” I could not help feeling that something was off about Nicholas, but I decided not to overthink it. Thinking I was just too tired, I brushed it off. “Oh, I'm much better now, Nicholas. The doctor told me that I'm carrying twins. That's some luck, right? I was over the moon when I got the news!” A chuckle came from the other end of the call, and I could that Nicholas was genuinely happy for me. “You're right. That is some luck! I'm going to have to prepare two large gifts for the twins then. Hey, you take care, all right? Be careful.” Delighted, I decided to joke around with the man. “Just the babies? What about me? You know I'm going to be the one screaming my lungs out trying to deliver them, right?” Nicholas chuckled again before trying to answer me as seriously as he could. “Don't you worry. I've got a little something for you too. Just you wait.”“It's a promise then. I'll hold you to your word, so you better not go back on it. Hey, jokes aside, there's something I have to tell you.” I then told him the true purpose of my call. Even though I had already done the same thing with Shannon, talking about letting go of my work again did not seem to get any easier for me. Nicholas went silent once again before finally breaking the ice. “I think you made the right choice. When I'm done here, I'll go visit you.” “And I'll be waiting here. Don't forget to bring my present with you.” “Don't worry. I won't. Hey, Liliana...” Hearing how his voice trailed off, I asked puzzledly, “What? Why are you being so careful? Come on, just say what you want. Oh, okay. I get it. You want me to visit Mrs. Scott, isn't it? Don't worry about it. I was planning to see her soon anyway. Shannon and I are going to spend some time with her when I get back.”There were only so many things that Nicholas would ask of me, so naturally, I thought it was regarding his grandmother. “I have no doubt that Grandma would love that. But, Liliana... Actually, I wanted to ask about Dominic and you. So... Did you two get back together? Does he know about the children?” “Yeah. Now that we have two babies together, I figured I should give him a chance. After all, he is their father,” I answered the man cheerily. Suddenly, Nicholas changed his tone, seemingly upset with my response. “You are still going back to him after what he's done to you? Are you doing this just for your children? Why would you put yourself through this sort of suffering for their sake?” For a moment there, I was dumbfounded by his anxious and stern tone, and it took me a few seconds to realize that he had misunderstood me. “It's not what you think. The children are just part of the reason. What you thought he did to me was basically just a misunderstanding. It's... It's a little complicated, so I'm not sure how to explain it to you for now. Just know that I'm doing fine, Nicholas. And thank you for your concern. I appreciate it.” “Liliana, I—” “Hey, I have to go now. He's back. We'll talk again soon, okay? Bye.” To prevent further complications, I hurriedly ended the call with Nicholas. Since Dominic was not too far away, and I wanted to move around after sitting for so long, I decided to stand up and start walking toward him. I only managed to take a few steps before Dominic ran up to me and grabbed me by the arm. “What are you doing? Didn't I ask you to wait for me and not move around?”