***
Cyrus
“Bellamy, I have to ask you something.” I walked up behind her in the kitchen while she made us dinner. She had the entire house smelling like a restaurant. Normally, I would have bugged her about how much longer dinner would be but I had something important in my hands that I needed to talk to her about.
“What’s up, Cyrus?” She quizzed. I slid my hand around her waist and up her stomach. All the love-making we’d been doing was adding a little softness to her midsection. It was soft in a way that made me want to never move from that spot. Soft in a way that made me want to kiss her there and grip it while I fucked her from behind.
“Will you put in some leave and go to Florida with me? I have to go down there to submit my DNA sample.” She dropped the spatula and turned to face me.
“What?” Her eyebrows flew high on her forehead and disappeared behind her growing hair. “They finally got back to you?”
“Yup. I have two weeks to make an appearance at the court-appointed lab to submit my specimen.”
“Of fucking course I’ll go with you,” she grinned. No matter how many times she smiled, I lost track of the world around me every single time. She was all I saw.
“I’ll book a flight now.” I whipped out my phone and made flight arrangements with one hand while the other went instinctively to Bellamy’s stomach. I booked a mid-week flight to Miami and blew out a heavy breath.
Let the games begin.
***
“Am I going to get to meet Kim?” Bellamy asked as we boarded the plane. I shot her an incredulous look and she grinned like she had a damn halo on. We both knew that was a lie.
“I don’t know. If you do, promise me you’ll behave.” Bellamy had grown by leaps and bounds since she first came into my life but whenever she got too angry too fast, she got headaches and she blew up. It didn’t happen nearly as often as it used to but it still happened. I had no idea what would go on if she came face to face with Kim.
“When was the last time I flipped out, Cyrus?” She slid her coffee brown cat eyes over to me, expecting an answer.
“I don’t know but don’t do it when we get to Miami,” I warned.
“Okay. Whatever you say, Master.”
“Keep playing and I’ll make you call me that while I’m fucking you later on.” My dick twitched at the thought of hearing her call me master while I slid in and out of her pussy.
“Is that supposed to be a punishment?” She smirked. We took our seats, mine near the window and hers in the middle. I couldn’t stop staring down her damn shirt every time she moved.
“Did you have to wear a tank top?” I frowned, watching her full tits jiggle every time she tried to get comfortable.
“Cyrus, it’s like eighty degrees in Florida. I’m not trying to burn to death when we land.”
My eyes were still stuck to her chest.
“Shit, you’re about to make me burn to death right now.” I adjusted my erection and Bellamy slapped my chest. “What? Nobody else is sitting beside us. It’s just me and you.”
“For now.” She stood up and inched her way to the aisle. “I’m going to the bathroom before we take off.”
“You went before we boarded. Damn.”
“Stop stalking my bladder,” she snapped before switching her full hips toward the back of the plane. I watched her for a while then got up to follow her. She couldn’t expect to throw all that ass around and not have me floating behind her on a cloud of lust.
When I knocked the first time, she called out that it was occupied. I smiled a little and leaned against the flimsy door. “Hello? Anyone in there?” The second she recognized my voice she opened the door and looked around then yanked me inside.
“Cyrus, what the fuck are you doing?” I ignored her glare and the way she hissed at me. I tugged on her tank top until her perfect tits bounced out. I moved from one nipple to the next sliding my tongue across their stiff surface.
I knew exactly how to smooth her attitude out.
I silenced her whimpers with my fingers over her lips and she couldn’t help but dart her tongue out to lick them. I bent Bellamy over in the tight space and it left just enough room for me to slide behind her. I took a second to appreciate the way her back arched for me before I eased my way inside of her until she accepted me fully.
I wanted her to cum hard and fast so I rolled my thumb around her stiff clit, avoiding her piercing. I felt her moan building and growing inside. I choked it out before it could take flight.
I fucked her harder while I teased her clit until she couldn’t stand the torture anymore. When she wiggled her hips to angle her clit toward my fingers, I went in for the kill and massaged her eager nub until she couldn’t use her legs anymore.
I pressed my weight against her so that she remained upright while I shot my load against her tight walls. “Fuck,” I groaned as I emptied my balls.
“Cyrus,” she whimpered, shaking against my body. I held her up for a few seconds until she regained her strength and could fix her clothes.
“See what happens when you wear tank tops and your titties look like that?” I asked clicking my tongue.
I went back to my seat first then five minutes later, Bellamy joined me. We caught nasty looks from people as we took off but my flower bomb didn’t even see them. She was fast asleep against my shoulder.
***
After our three-hour flight and twenty-minute drive, we arrived at Journey Labs. The building was non-descript and I would have never known it was a laboratory if it weren’t for our Uber driver. Bellamy frowned when she got out and looked around. I didn’t blame her. It was the most run down looking lab I’d ever seen.
Ivy raced up the side of the weathered gray building and the concrete pathway leading to the door was riddled with craters. Only in Miami. “Let’s get this shit over with,” Bellamy sighed. When we walked in, I signed in and Bellamy went to the bathroom.
I hadn’t been checked in for more than ten minutes when I saw Kim walk through the door. I tipped my head back and said a silent prayer before nodding my head at her. After all the shit she put me through she barely deserved that much of a greeting.
“Cyrus, why the fuck are you doing this? You said you wouldn’t get the courts involved and now I have to bring my daughter up here so they can test her DNA.”
“Yeah, that’s how paternity tests work,” I said, leaning forward. “Where is Bri, by the way? I came all the way to Florida hoping to at least get a glimpse of her.”
“She’s coming. This isn’t about you seeing her right now. It’s about the fact that you went back on your promise. Who’s been in your ear, huh? That’s all it could be because you don’t break promises.”
I scoffed at Kim and ignored her. I was too tired to interact with her and I was shocked nobody asked her to calm the hell down since she was being so loud. How did I ever stick my dick in her without a condom? It topped the list of the stupidest things I’d ever done.
Bellamy walked out of the bathroom and before Kim even knew who she was, she stared at her. Everyone stared at Bellamy though. I was used to it.
When Bellamy sat beside me, Kim went off.
“Oh, so this is why you’re taking me to court all of a sudden? You got a new bitch and now you want to act brand new. I get it, Cy.”
“Excuse me?” Bellamy frowned. She folded her arms and looked at me before she flew off the handle.
“Bellamy, this is Kim,” I said scrubbing my beard with my palm.
“Oh, makes sense. Jesus, you had low standards, Cyrus.”
“Low standards? Bitch!” Kim exploded.
“Miss, can you please lower your voice?” The receptionist finally asked Kim. I stopped listening to the back and forth when I saw Kim’s mother bring Brianna into the lab. She’d gotten so big.
My heart swelled in my chest but it was short-lived because I remembered why I was there. I didn’t even know if that was my child.
Kim scooped Brianna
up and shielded her from my view like I was some kind of monster. “You don’t get to see her since you can’t keep your fucking promises.”
“You’re a pathetic excuse for a parent. Cyrus actually wants to be a part of this child’s life and you’re lording her over his head like a fucking trophy. You better hope she’s his so at least some of his goodness will rub off on her by default because if she’s stuck with you as a mom she already has the shitty end of the stick.” Bellamy didn’t move from her seat but she said what she had to say and surprisingly enough, it shut Kim all the way up.
She didn’t speak another word to me the entire time we were there. It didn’t matter at all to me though because I got to steal glances at Brianna. I had no idea if I wanted her to be mine or not. I’d gone through too much to think straight.
I gave my swab sample then received notification that it would take four to six weeks to get the results back. It would mean another trip to Miami but after that, I’d finally have some answers. After everything that transpired, I was a pro at waiting.
***
Cyrus
Six weeks later…
I didn’t think we’d actually have to stand in front of a judge as the results were read. I thought that kind of thing only happened on TV shows. I stood in a Miami-Dade courtroom staring at a judge awaiting my paternity results though. Bellamy was seated behind me but I could feel her support. I gave her one last glance before the judge began talking and she smiled at me. That smile made me feel like I could withstand anything.
“I have the paternity results here regarding Cyrus West and Brianna West.” I watched with my heart thumping in my throat as the judge’s eyes scanned the words on the paper in front of her. I wished I could read through the paper or over her shoulder…something.
Time seemed to tick on at a ridiculously slow pace. I looked over at Kim and she was shaking her head profusely while tears stormed down her face. Her mother was no better, rocking back and forth muttering something beneath her breath.
“In the paternity case of Cyrus West and Brianna West, the test results state that Mr. West is 99.9% not a genetic match for Brianna West. He is not the child’s father. Next case!” She sounded her gavel and I became submerged under water.
She wasn’t mine.
She was never mine and Kim fucking knew it.
For three years she dragged money out of me and tore my heart down to nothing but pulp and she knew I wasn’t Brianna’s father. Hearing the words spoken out loud was staggering. I couldn’t move for a while.
Bellamy had to tug my hand until my heavy feet moved one after the other into the hall.
“Cyrus, please listen to me,” Kim sobbed and rushed over to me but Bellamy stood in front of me when I couldn’t even function enough to get myself together.
“Don’t fucking talk to him. You’re lucky I don’t rip your goddamn tongue out for even trying,” she spat.
“Wait Bellamy, let me talk to her for a minute,” I managed to say through a haze of heavy feelings. Kim’s face came into view and I felt an onslaught of disgust and pity. “What, Kim?” My tone was like steel and just as dense.
“Cyrus, I’m sorry. I know you think I’m a horrible person but I had my reasons. You were such a good guy. I couldn’t tell you I was pregnant when you took me back to the hotel that night. I thought it was just going to be a one-night stand and that was it but I realized you were good. You were a real man and Brianna’s real dad was in jail. He got locked up the week before we even met.
I didn’t know what to do.” She sniffled and wiped away watery black streaks of mascara that ran down her face.
“You knew who her real father was?” I laughed and it was an icy sound. “Was it the guy from your Instagram pictures, Kim?” I seethed. Terror swam in her eyes.
“How did you—I blocked you so you wouldn’t have to see.”
“Was it him?” I exploded.
“Yes! He got out and wanted to be a part of our lives and…”
“Shut the fuck up, Kim,” I said holding my hand up. I couldn’t hear anymore. “I gotta get away from you before I do something I’ve never done in my life and I’m not trying to go to jail today.” I grabbed Bellamy’s hand and stalked out of the courthouse with betrayal in my veins.
I was too livid to speak, so I didn’t. Bellamy didn’t push the issue on the flight back because she slept the entire time. It left me with three hours to think and stew.
How the fuck could I have been so blind?
As attached as I’d grown to Brianna, I knew I couldn’t look at her for a long time, if ever again. Shit, I didn’t have a reason to anymore. She wasn’t mine. It would take a while for that to sink in.
Even though I hadn’t seen her often, I’d dedicated years to fighting to see her and it was all for nothing. The huge pill I had to swallow grew more jagged edges with each thought. It was so easy for me to get attached to the thought of being a father that I played right into Kim’s hand.
I never realized I wanted to be a dad so fucking bad. The blow felt like I was grieving over a child that was never mine, and the fatherhood I was cheated out of.
When we landed, Bellamy stared at me for a while without saying a word. I didn’t want her to wonder how I felt or be afraid of me withdrawing and locking her out. I skimmed my knuckles along her cheek and said, “Thank you for being there for me, Bellamy. Not just today but through all of this. If it weren’t for you, I would have believed I was a father because I wanted to be one so bad.
Finding out Brianna isn’t mine hurts more than almost anything but having you will help me heal a hell of a lot faster.” I kissed the back of her hand and she offered me the sweetest smile. It made me realize that my heart still worked because it thumped harder for her.
***
“You want me to make you something to eat?” Bellamy asked once we were home. The sun had dropped out of the sky and the temperatures were frigid. I wanted something hot and I wanted to sit on the couch in front of the fireplace with Bellamy.
“Yeah. Make me anything,” I called out as I went to the bedroom. I snatched my tie off and tossed it to the bed before unbuttoning my shirt and shrugging out of it. I sat down and sent Pax a text telling him the outcome and that I didn’t want to talk about it. He, of course, offered to bring me edibles whenever I felt better.
I held off on telling my parents right away because I knew my mother would be hurt and I hated having to tell her something that would crush her. So it was just Bellamy and me in our own little world that we’d managed to carve out.
I took a shower hoping it would wash away the sting of shame and the weight of heartache. It did little for either.
I headed to the living room and found a plate of spaghetti with a fork sitting on the side table. I put my nose in the air and sniffed a little. The smell of ground beef and pasta sauce filled the air once the smell of my soap quieted down.
Bellamy walked around the corner carrying her own plate of spaghetti and I was floored. I momentarily forgot that my heart was broken. “Bellamy, you hate spaghetti,” I frowned.
“I know. I don’t hate it right now though. Plus, I know it’s your favorite meal. I figured it would make you happy and I need you to be happy because fathers can’t be sad.”
“You’re confusing Catholics with Baptists. I’m a pastor, not a father. Remember?” I chuckled a little. Bellamy gave a shrug and twirled her fork round and round in the mountain of spaghetti she served herself. It was still odd seeing her with a dish I knew she loathed.
“You used to be a pastor but you’re definitely a father…or at least you’re going to be one.” She took my hand and placed it on her stomach. It was softer than it had been weeks ago and the realization hit me out of nowhere.
“Bellamy, are you pregnant?” She slurped up a forkful of spaghetti and nodded.
“Very pregnant. Like…twelve weeks pregnant. I had no idea until a couple of days ago. I was sick of feeling tired and hungry and cranky.” She smiled
a little and placed her hand on top of mine. “Crimson suggested I take a pregnancy test and it was positive but it said I was more than five weeks pregnant so I had to go back and do the math. Turns out, I was pregnant when we went to Florida the first time.”
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me as soon as you found out?” An involuntary grin broke out on my face.
“Because I figured you’d need the news today. I had a sinking suspicion that things would turn out like this and I just wanted you to know that you don’t have to worry about me. This kid inside of my belly is yours all day every day. You’re going to be a daddy. A real one.” Shimmering tears swam in Bellamy’s eyes and they matched the feeling in my heart. How could one moment turn my entire mood around? Shit, it turned my entire life around. I was going to actually be a father.
In a matter of hours, I went from the lowest point to the highest and it was all because of Bellamy. Everything was because of Bellamy.
Being in her presence required me to strip away everything that was a façade. She demanded truth no matter how ugly and when she got it, she accepted it. She brought out the real me and I extinguished her short fuse.
We were made for each other and as long as we were together, we would challenge each other to grow and be the best versions of ourselves.
As long as we were together, we’d be unstoppable and there was no doubt in my mind that we’d be together forever.
Epilogue
Bellamy
I was far too round to sit in a car for two hours but Cyrus insisted. Lucky for him, the damn air conditioning in his car worked and it felt like a polar vortex inside. “Cyrus, I don’t think I’m ready for this,” I said for the hundredth time.
“You’ll be fine. It’s only five or ten minutes then you’re done, remember?” The lines of trees grew thicker the longer we traveled and I grew more and more restless.
“Cyrus,” I whined, kicking my feet.
“Okay, okay. We’re getting ready to turn into the place now. Calm down. Don’t upset my daughter.” We found out about a month ago that we were having a little girl. I was still undecided on a name but I knew it had to be something that represented the fire in me and Cyrus.
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