Chapter 21. Timothy's Ugly Past

They were led to a two-person table that was reserved for Timothy and Megan. Before sitting next to Megan, Timothy pulled a chair for her. They looked through the menu that the waiter brought with them before placing their respective orders.

Their orders eventually arrived, and they started to dig. For the first few minutes, Timothy watched Megan eat and admired her. She being herself around him pleased him.

He tried to strike up a conversation, "So how's work?"

"Doing well. Once I discovered that I was pregnant, I've been on my best version of myself, trying not to work so much." Timothy smiled, pleased that she was thinking about his child and her health as well.

"I didn't know your Sister was interning at the firm I worked with. I only learned recently from Tammy."

"I just also learned about it. Lucia idolized you, my mom said she talks about you constantly."

When she hears praises like those, Megan feels honored. She was aware that because of all her accomplishments, many aspiring attorneys and intelligent coworkers looked up to her.

"When she finds out about the baby, I hope She doesn't see me differently," Megan remarked.

"She will undoubtedly be proud and happy that you are now a member of the family, and Emma is the only one who could feel a little jealous."

Megan asked incredulously, "Emma?"

He explained, "Emma is Lucia's twin sister." She gave a nod.

Timothy paid once they had finished their breakfast, and they left the restaurant.

They made their way silently back to the hospital's parking lot.

"Can I come in for a second? Timothy said, "Please, There's something I would like to talk about with you," as they got close to Megan's car.

She nodded in response and they sat down in the front passenger and driver seats.

After a sigh, Sebastian broke the tense moment. "Normally, I don't like the way I treated you. I become a cold beast as a result of my experience with women."

"A lot of women always wanted to be associated with me because of my status. Some even made it apparent to me that they wanted to be the mother of my heir, but I was very careful who I slept with for only one night. However, two others who arrived later claimed to be expecting my child and it found out one was lying, and the other was carrying another man's child."

Megan, who was paying close attention to everything Timothy said, nodded when he paused to glance at her. She gave him the go-ahead to continue.

"I met Alice a few years ago and I fell in love with her. I'm not even sure if that could be described as love because I never felt the same way about her as I do about you."

"We first meet in a club, and things immediately click. Prior to making it official, I asked her to be my girlfriend, and she gladly accepted. We went on a few dates together."

"When she told me she was pregnant about five months into our relationship, I was over the moon. That day, I was the happiest man alive. She admitted going to the hospital for a test after saying she hadn't been feeling well. She revealed to me the test results that proved she was three weeks pregnant."

"I was prepared to provide Alice with anything. She requested, and I did so. She shops every other day, and the least amount I ever gave her was $20,000. She also enjoys showy, expensive items, so I surprised her with jewelry on various occasions. She would occasionally cry and express sadness about losing that jewelry, and I would buy twice as many of the missing jewelry to cheer her up."

"I was about to propose to Alice, give her her ideal wedding, I had already purchased a house for us which I thought we would live into after the engagement." At this point, Timothy's eyes were welling with tears. Megan caught it. She could also see the pain in his voice and face as he spoke. She felt terrible for him.

"To make a long story short, on the day I was going to propose to Alice, I overheard her talking to someone on the phone, and as a result, my entire world came crashing down."

"I found out that Alice had a boyfriend, and the two of them were exploiting me to obtain money. She never loved me, I was only their means of obtaining wealth. She wasn't pregnant, the pregnancy test results were faked, and she lied about all the jewelry she misplaced, according to what I discovered from that chat. She gave them to her boyfriend, who sold them along with other pricey items I had purchased for her."

"I also learned that night that she was planning to stage a miscarriage and break up with me."

"If my mother hadn't taught me not to lay my hands on a woman, I would have strangled her with my bare hands. I felt manipulated, deceived, and I'm very furious."

"When I confronted Alice, she did not attempt to hide her actions or show any remorse. Instead, she ridiculed me for being so foolish and blamed me for not being able to satisfy her in bed. She did all of that to make me feel inferior to men, and it worked because I was down for several weeks."

"I paid someone to find her lover. After several hours of torture, they were able to retrieve half of the cash that Alice and her boyfriend both directly and indirectly acquired from me."

"I didn't need that money, but I'd be happier if it went to help others in need, so that's what I did in the end. I gave the money to a good cause."

"My experience with Alice changed the way you first encountered me, which is why I was afraid of any kind of commitment."

"When I first met you, I recall being kind to you, and everything I said to you was sincere. The following morning, everything changed because I remembered Alice and realized that I needed to stop myself from getting harmed again, which is why I said awful things to you. I assure to you that I didn't mean whatever I said that caused you to cry."

"Days passed, and all I could think of was you. I made an effort to develop other relationships, but I was only able to kiss them. Megan, you've ruined me for other women."

"David told me to pursue you, apologized for everything, and asked me to tell you how I felt about you, but I held back out of my pride. Then, out of the blue, you entered my office carrying the test results that revealed your pregnancy. I lost it because all I could see was history repeating itself."

"Megan, you are a decent person, and I apologize for everything I've made you go through. When you could have kept it to yourself, you choose to tell me the truth about our child."

He held Megan's hands and put into his lap.

"No matter how ugly my past has been, I'm not using it to excuse all I did to you, you didn't deserve to be treated the way I treated you. I hope you could feel my regret. Although I am aware that I cannot alter the past, I promise to make amends to you and our child for the rest of my life."

"Since this is our first child, I want us to cherish every stage of its development up until and after birth." He stared into her eyes with begging eyes, "Whiles, we are on that, I'll want us to explore what we feel for one another."

Megan finally spoke after a brief period of silence.

"I apologize for everything you went through, for not forgiving you sooner, and I sincerely hope you will also forgive me."

"I am prepared to give us a chance. I've never been good at relationships or committing to anything, but I swear I'll do all in my capability to make this work. Just please don't break my heart."

Timothy grinned. He took her to his lips and gave her a gentle kiss. He promised her, "I swear, I won't break your heart. We're good now, right?" He inquired sincerely.

She nodded.

Timothy leaned in for a kiss on her forehead and said, "Thank you."

When Megan reached for her handbag, she pulled out the envelope containing the ultrasound photos. There were many copies available. Timothy received the remaining copies in the envelope after she had taken her copies.

"I'll send my parents a copy. They are incredibly happy to be grandparents."

A thought suddenly entered his mind.

"How have your parents reacted to the news?" He questioned Megan.

"As a retired nurse, my mother saw the symptom in me. She was aware that I was expecting, but she and my father are alright with it."

Timothy nodded.

"I have something I want to show you." Timothy said hesitantly, "Promise me you won't freak out."

"I'll try not to," Megan said with a smile.

Timothy slightly rolled up his sleeves. He was wearing a bracelet, which Megan noticed. It was a bracelet that matched her necklace at the time and the one he had sent her. However, his bracelet had some inscriptions written on it in another language.

But Timothy wasn't trying to convey that to her. On his wrist, he had a tattoo of her name.

Megan grinned incredulously. She snatched his wrist and traced her name with her fingertips. The writing was done in tiny, cursive letters. "My love, Megan."

She was unable to control the smile that spread across her face.

He added proudly, "I originally went for a haircut with my best friend David. We made a detour at a tattoo shop because he wanted to get one, so he forced me to get one too. I opted to tattoo your name on me. That way, everyone will know I'm taken."

"I appreciate it, thanks. No one, not even Tammy who says she loves me so much, has ever gotten a tattoo of my name."

His bracelet had phrases imprinted on it, but Megan's phone cut them off before she could ask him what they meant. She received a call from her secretary, who let her know that one of her clients, with whom she had an appointment, was coming.

Megan truly lost track of time. It's past noon already.

"I apologize, but I have a client waiting for me."

"It's all right. I should head back to my workplace as well."

"Drive carefully, take care of yourself, and don't forget to phone me if you need anything." He spoke as he fixed his gaze on her. She nodded.

Before getting out into her car with the envelope containing his copy of the ultrasound images, Timothy leaned closer to her and kissed her cheek. He walked over to his car and watched as she drove off.