Chapter 9 Rome

• ROME
• Rome handed Phoenix her fifth ice cream, silently vowing it would be her last for the night. Yet, he had made the same promise after her third, only to relent each time she flashed him a smile of persuasion.
• "Last one, and I mean it," he insisted, to which she simply grinned and accepted the treat.
• "Your child appreciates your effort," Phoenix remarked with a smile, prompting Rome's curiosity.
• "How do you know that?" he inquired.
• "Well, I am carrying the baby," Phoenix replied nonchalantly before returning her attention to her ice cream, enjoying each lick.
• As they made their way to the car parked in the lot, Phoenix voiced her confusion.
• "How did you manage to get here so quickly and already dressed?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.
• "Maybe because you nearly gave me a heart attack, and where I was before is none of your business," Rome retorted, opening the car door for her.
• "If I didn't know you, I might mistake you for a gentleman," Phoenix teased as she settled into the car.
• "Maybe I just choose to be this way around you," Rome countered as he joined her inside.
• "Haha, that's a lie. You're proud, rude, and..." Phoenix paused, her gaze lingering on him.
• "Quite handsome," she concluded, still smiling.
• "Well, you don't have to tell me that; I already know," Rome replied with a smirk, causing Phoenix to burst into laughter, leaving him puzzled by her sudden amusement.
• "See," she managed to say between laughs.
• " What??" He asked curiously as he tried to look at her while driving
• " see, you're very proud."She completed laughing so hard.
• Rome scoffed incredulously, focusing on the road ahead as Phoenix continued to find humor in his expense for the remainder of the ride.
• "Don't ever give me that kind of scare again," Rome warned, his tone firm.
• "I won't," Phoenix promised, though she couldn't help but crack up at the memory.
• "Especially not at 11 PM," he added, glancing at his watch to find it was already past 1 AM.
• "Well, it depends on when the baby wants attention," she countered, placing a hand on her stomach.
• "Whatever. Just don't do it again," Rome reiterated, to which she nodded in agreement.
• "Oh, and don't forget about our appointment the day after tomorrow," he reminded her.
• "Yeah, I know," she replied.
• "Be punctual," he emphasized.
• "Am I ever late?" she retorted, well aware of her tendency to be tardy.
• "Let me remind you of the time I came to pick you up, and you were just waking up," he countered.
• "Yeah, that day... the baby needed some extra rest," she explained, now gently rubbing her stomach, even though the bump had yet to make an appearance.
• "Sure, blame it on the baby," Rome scoffed, opening her door.
• "Me? Okay, the baby is angry with you now," she teased, earning another scoff from Rome.
• "Goodnight," he bid her.
• "Well, it's a bad night for you then," she shot back playfully, before closing the door with a grin.
• Smooth indeed.
• ~~~
• Rome freshened up the moment he arrived home; today had been exceptionally stressful. Retrieving his phone from the nightstand, he settled onto his bed and noticed a missed call from Neo, as he suspected. Dialing Neo's number, he was greeted by his friend's unmistakably tipsy voice.
• "Heyyyy man," Neo slurred, confirming Rome's assumption.
• "Are you still at the club?" Rome inquired, the faint sounds of music still audible in the background.
• "Yeah, it's a blast," Neo giggled in response.
• "Do you need a ride home?" Rome offered.
• "Nah, I'm good. Why'd you leave? What happened?" Neo questioned.
• "Oh, yeah. Phoenix needed something urgent, so I had to go take care of it," Rome explained.
• "You went to her place?" Neo asked with interest.
• "Yeah, I did," Rome confirmed.
• "I would've come with you if you'd asked," Neo remarked.
• "You didn't have to," Rome assured him.
• "Whatever, catch you later when I'm done with these... bitches," Neo shouted, followed by a chuckle. Rome simply sighed and ended the call.
• What a night, indeed!
• ~~
• PHOENIX
• I yawned heavily, rolling over to the other side of the bed. Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit me, prompting me to leap out of bed and rush to the toilet, emptying my stomach.
• Morning sickness was one of the aspects of this job that I despised the most.
• After flushing the toilet, I approached the mirror and examined my reflection. My nose seemed larger, and my face appeared rounder. My gaze dropped to my belly, where a small bump was beginning to form. It still felt surreal to think that there was a baby growing inside me.
• I gently caressed my stomach, a bittersweet smile tugging at my lips. Unfortunately, this baby wasn't mine at all.
• I freshened up, knowing Rome would be arriving any moment. I ate the food my sister had prepared, exchanged a few words with my dad before he headed out to work. In case I haven't mentioned it, my dad now works as an Uber driver. Quitting gambling had been a challenge for him, but he was making progress, despite still occasionally bringing home food, insisting he contribute.
• A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts, and I rose to answer it, expecting to see Rome. However, I was taken aback when I found Mrs. Dante standing there instead.
• "Hi-hi," I stuttered, my nerves betraying me.
• "Hey, good morning," she greeted warmly, though I struggled to compose myself.
• "Rome was tied up, so he asked me to pick you up for the doctor's appointment instead. He'll meet us there," she explained, to which I simply nodded.
• "Oh, okay," I managed to reply.
• "Let's get going," she urged, leading the way.
• I climbed into the car, puzzled by Rome's decision to send his mother. Couldn't I have just taken a taxi?
• "So... what do you do for a living?" Mrs. Dante inquired, confirming my suspicion that she'd want to know more about me.
• "Uhmm, I am a..." I began, but Mrs. Dante cut me off with a chilling question.
• "Thief? Smuggler?" she asked, catching me off guard. My heart raced as I struggled to respond.
• "No, I-I am not," I stammered, feeling the weight of her gaze but unable to meet her eyes.
• "I don't easily forget, Phoenix. You can deceive other old women, but you can't deceive me," she stated firmly, her words sending a shiver down my spine as she made a turn onto another street.
• "I know you stole that necklace," she continued, and I felt like the ground could swallow me whole. Karma truly was unforgiving.
• "That necklace is one of my family's treasures that has been with us for years," she explained, and suddenly her motive became clear.
• "I-I didn't know," I muttered, my head hanging in shame.
• "Well, you can get it back," she declared. How? Darcy had likely already sold it.
• "If not... it's easy. I'll tell Rome about it, and when my grandchild is born, you'll be arrested and won't receive your pay at all," she threatened, causing me to gasp in horror.
• "But... but," I tried to protest, but Mrs. Dante interrupted, announcing my stop as she pulled up in front of the hospital.
• I exited the car, still in shock, and watched as she drove off.
• "Just two months, and if you don't..." she trailed off, leaving a sense of dread in her wake.
• Just when my life was starting to improve, it seemed destined to be ruined.
• To be continued...