Let's Get Married

Ivy stepped into the room. Her head was lowered and her chestnut coloured hair dangling at the sides, covering her side profiles as she went to sit next to Kendra.

Keiran's eyes unconsciously followed Ivy for a moment as she sat. Her perfect figure and chestnut coloured hair looked exceptionally familiar even though he could not see her face. After she sat, she still did not lift her head, causing him to frown in disapproval. Yet, he managed to maintain a calm expression.

However, Jacob dud not share the same thoughts as his boss. He was not comfortable at all and wanted to quickly return to town, where there was life. He leaned closer to Kieran's ears and whispered, "Do you know her?"

Before Kieran could muster a reply, Ivy finally lifted her head. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. It was the reason she had kept her eyes glued to the floor.

Kieran froze when he saw her face. His heart suddenly began to pound.

'It is her!' his mind screamed.

The two locked eyes and for a moment, got lost in their own world. As Ivy did not dare look at him for long, she quickly looked away, while Kieran was still in shock.

"Well, do you know her now?" Jacob asked again when he saw how his boss was staring at the young woman. "Have you met her?"

Kieran did not expect that he would ever see her again even though he had been searching for her. After almost a month of failed attempts at finding her, he was at the edge of giving up. Thus, he was unable to hide his shock.

Ignoring Jacob's endless questions, he asked her, in a tone full of doubt, "Are you really the lady from that night?"

Although he clearly remembered her, Kieran wanted to be sure that he had the right person.

Ivy exhaled. "Do you remember the fire mark on my belly?" She inquired.

The man before her looked exactly the same way he had look that night. His black hair and sharp features gave her a sense of relief, knowing that her child would be born with good looks.

Kieran looked at Ivy quietly. He could vaguely remember a dark mark on her belly, somewhere close to her navel: the one shw had refused to tell him about how she has gotten it. Even though he had been under the influence of alcohol, he still had his memory.

He nodded.

Ivy nodded too and lifted her blouse to show the mark next to her navel. Then, she met his eyes, "Do you believe that I am the one now?"

Kieran sighed and nodded. "Why are you only reaching out to me now? It's been a month."

"Six weeks…" Kendra corrected.

Ivy agreed. "It's actually been six weeks and I'm reaching out to you now because I have a reason," she responded innocently.

Jacob turned to Ivy. "Reason? What reason?"

Kendra pulled out a brown envelope from under her seat and stretched it towards Keiran. "Here."

Kieran took the envelope suspiciously. He opened it as Jacob moved closer to him, wanting to see what was inside. Kieran pulled out a few 'blurry' pictures and a hospital report.

He glanced at the two women who were silently watching them before taking a look at the pictures. After that, he read the report. The medical terms used in the report did not sit well with him but at the end of the report, it became clear.

'Six Weeks Pregnant' the report said.

All the colour seemed to drain from Kieran's face immediately he read that last line. Not only him, but Jacob had frozen in his seat.

"You're pregnant?" Kieran asked in a whisper.

Kendra rolled her eyes. "I believe that report was clear enough," she said sarcastically and clicked her tongue at the end. "Or, would you like for me to break it down for you to understand?"

Ivy turned to Kendra and shook her head gently. "One step at a time, Kendra," she advised and Kendra sighed.

Ivy then turned back to Kieran who was still waiting for her response and nodded. "Yes."

"And the baby is mine?"

"Yes, it is." Ivy nodded.

Kieran took a deep breath and asked, "How can you be so sure of that?"

Ivy massaged her forehead, saying, "You're the only person I've known."

Kieran's eyes narrowed. He could not deny the fact that he had taken her first time but he could not agree with the fact that she had not met any other men asides him.

As if Kendra has read his mind, she hissed and said, "My friend isn't one to go about sleeping with different men, Declan."

Kieran shook his head. "When was this test taken?"

"Today," Ivy answered.

"After she almost lost the baby and died," Kendra clarified angrily. The mere thought of what had happened earlier caused her to rage.

"What do you mean?" Kieran turned to Kendra. Unknown to him, his eyes had darkened furiously.

"I mean—" Kendra was about to explain to Kieran when Ivy placed her hand on Kendra's hand. Kendra glanced at Ivy and exhaled. She hissed and reluctantly kept quiet.

Kieran faced Ivy and asked, "What is saying? Did you try to get rid of the child?"

Kieran's heart raced faster, thinking she had tried to get rid of the pregnancy. Why would she even think of doing something like that?

It wasn't until Ivy spoke up, saying that she did not such thing that his heartbeat finally began to slow down.

His expression slowly went back to normal and he found no more reason to doubt her. After all, she was already pregnant with his child and he would never advise her to have an abortion.

Somehow, he felt a kind of excitement bubble in the pit of his stomach but he clenched his fists and asked, "What do you want from me now?"

Kendra scoffed. "Take responsibility, of course!"

"No." Ivy exhaled. She met Kieran's gaze with an apologetic look. "You don't have to take responsibility if you don't want to. After all, I cajoled you into having sex with me. To be honest, I didn't expect for things to spiral out of my control so much that I would come looking for you."

She continued, "I need your help that was why I came looking for you. I need a place to hide… somewhere that is safe for my child and I."

"Also, I want to keep custody of my child after it is born. Don't worry, you will visitation rights and the child won't have to grow up with a father in it's life," Ivy added. "That is all."

Kieran gritted, suppressing his anger. "Why do you get to keep full custody?" He inquired. "Why not fifty-fifty?"

Ivy answered truthfully, "I can't stay without my child, Mr. Declan. I hope that you can understand this as a mother's love and bond."

Kieran's grip on the report tightened. He hissed. "Fine! Then, let's get married!" He spat.

Jacob, Ivy, and Kendra: "…"