Wooh! Another update!
"Tell me you didn't do it." Chad walked straight over to Evie and took her face in his hands. "Evie," he said, his voice pleading, broken. The dampness on his eyelashes betrayed the fact that he had been crying. "Evie, tell me you didn't abort our baby."
"I..." Evie's throat closed up, and her mouth refused to form words. How was he here? Wait, it didn't matter. He was here! He was concerned about the baby. Their baby. He had been crying. She had upset him. The thoughts fell into place like dominoes: slowly, and then all at once with nearly audible clicks as they dropped into her consciousness.
"Evie," Chad whispered. A muscle flexed in his neck. Tension. Tears were rising in his eyes. "Please, no."
"I didn't," Evie said quietly. "I couldn't do it."
Chad's shoulders instantly relaxed, and he drew her into a tight hug. "You're not in this alone," he whispered into her hair. "This is our baby. I want to make these decisions together."
Evie nodded stiffly and waited until he released her to speak. "How are you here?"
"Ben told me," Chad said. He hadn't stepped back very far, and his hand rested on her waist. He rubbed his thumb in a circle on her hip.
"But, how did Ben know?" Evie asked.
"Long story, but let's just say Mal figured out what you were up to."
Evie nodded.
Evil Queen cleared her throat, and Evie snapped to attention.
"Mom, this is Chad. He's the...he's, uh, the father," she said.
"I gathered that," Evil Queen said, rising to her feet. Her gaze swept over Chad from head to toe, as if analyzing him for imperfections and calculating his worth in relation to her daughter. "You're a prince?"
"Yes, ma'am," Chad said. "Cinderella and Prince Charming are my parents."
"Wonderful!" Evil Queen chirped. She clapped Chad on the shoulder. "My grandchild will be full-blooded royalty!" She grinned. But then it faltered as she turned to Evie. Her hand slid from Chad's shoulder. "He said you were going to abort the child?"
"I panicked," Evie told her in a voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't know what else to do. I can't do this alone."
"You're not going to," Chad said. He took a measured step back from her and lowered himself to one knee.
"Chad." Evie shook her head in warning. He couldn't be serious. He wouldn't do that. Not here. Not now. Not...ever. They had agreed...they weren't in love.
He reached into the inside chest pocket of his blazer. When he withdrew his hand, a gleaming diamond ring was pinched between his thumb and index finger. "Evie, will you marry me?"
Evie's stomach turned over. She hated the jolt of adrenaline and excitement that rushed through her at his words. She didn't love him. Did she? Perhaps, the more important question was could she love him? She didn't want Chad to be disowned. And she didn't want to raise a child on her own or in a fractured family or push the responsibility onto Doug, who didn't deserve it. Marriage did seem like the best option. So, could she grow to love Chad? Honestly, with how little time they had known each other, she hadn't even gotten the chance to try.
"Yes," Evie said after reasoning with herself to say such a simple word.
Chad looked surprised but relieved. He slid the ring onto her left hand and got to his feet.
Behind them, Evil Queen clapped her hands together. "Splendid! Truly splendid! Evie, darling, I'm so proud of you. A baby and a prince all in one day." She hugged her daughter to her side, beaming. "Well then, shall we eat and get to know each other?"
An hour later, Evie and Chad left the mansion. Evil Queen had asked Chad a slew of questions about himself while he and Evie had nibbled politely on the old sandwiches.
"You shouldn't have done that," Evie said as she walked beside him on the forest path that led back toward the edge of the trees.
"What? Propose?" Chad asked, his hands in his pockets. "No, I should have done it when my father first told me to. If I had, you wouldn't have been here today. You wouldn't have thought an abortion was the answer."
Evie grabbed his arm to stop him, and she moved to stand in front of him. "Because it would have solved the problem! You could be with Audrey and forget this ever happened."
"You think I could just forget that I was supposed to be a father? You think I wouldn't go the rest of my life blaming my father for his threats and myself for getting you pregnant in the first place? No, I have to do this. I have to help raise this child."
"Because you feel guilty? Because your father is forcing you to?" Evie snapped. "That's not a good reason. That's hell on earth. And if that's why you proposed today, then I don't want it." She spun on her heel to march off, but Chad grabbed her elbow and turned her back to him.
"Yes, I feel guilty. For causing this problem for everyone, including you. But that's not the reason I proposed."
"Then what is the reason?" Evie asked, her words like ice.
"Because I don't want this baby growing up without a father. I want to be involved. And I want more than weekends when I have custody or something. I want a life with a family and a marriage. And I am making this choice on my own. My father has amended his threats at my mother's...coercion."
Evie raised an eyebrow.
"She threatened to leave him if he sent me away," Chad explained. "So, he told me he wouldn't disown me. But to think long and hard about what a child out of wedlock would mean for my future."
"So, you're marrying me to save your reputation."
Again, Chad had to pull Evie back when she tried to walk away. "It's not only about my reputation. It's about yours. And the baby's. What do you think will happen to a villain kid who is a teenage mother? You're already at a disadvantage socially and academically from being on the Isle your whole life. Your mother's reputation precedes you. What job will you get without connections? I have them. I have money. You'll never want for anything, Evie. And the baby...have you ever heard of someone in Auradon having divorced parents? No? It's not that they're illegal or anything. But, they're rare. And children born out of wedlock? They're looked down upon just like you were when you got here. What kind of future can our child look forward to if they have a disgraced prince and villain-raised vixen for parents? Please, Evie, think about this. I have. And it's the best option for all three of us."
Evie chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, mulling over his words. Yes, the baby would already make life infinitely harder for herself. How could she go to college for both fashion design and chemistry if she was caring for a child all of the time? And, she hadn't even considered the baby's future. From what Chad said, it sounded as if the child would be treated like a permanent villain kid if she and Chad weren't married.
She twisted the engagement ring around on her finger. "What about Audrey?"
Chad swallowed. "When I found out you might be about to abort the baby, I quickly figured out what is most important to me. I do love her, but I have to let her go."
"That isn't fair to you," Evie whispered to the trees.
"I'm not talking about what's fair. I blew any chance of 'fair' when I chose not to use protection with you. This is what I deserve, and I will make the most of it." Chad stepped closer to her. "I know we aren't in love now, Evie, but there was a connection between us when you first got here. Is that truly gone?"
Evie looked up at him and slowly shook her head honestly. "No."
"Then, can we try...for our own sake and for this baby?" He pressed his hand over her abdomen. "I don't want us to be miserable. Perhaps, we could grow to love each other. We have to try."
Evie nodded, again very slowly. "We can try."
A small smile curved his lips, and he dropped his hand to his side. As they resumed walking, he took her hand and entwined their fingers.
As they drew close to the edge of the forest, Chad's grip on her hand tightened. Evie glanced up at him, but he was staring forcefully ahead. She followed his gaze and saw that the car Ben had loaned her to get to the Isle was gone. In its place was a baby blue limo. Prince Charming stood against the rear door, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Chad?" Evie questioned.
"Who do you think drove me here?" Chad told her through gritted teeth.
"Wait." Evie halted. They were still slightly out of sight in the trees. Charming hadn't spotted them yet. "Was all of that back there a lie? Is he still forcing you into this?"
"No, none of it was a lie. He's not forcing me. But I'm still angry with him. If he hadn't threatened us both with the marriage, you wouldn't have run here to get an abortion. I thought I was going to throw up in the car on the way over. And he was just sitting there so calmly as if he didn't give a damn if you aborted his first grandchild or not. So yeah, I'm angry with him. Try to place nice though. He is your future father-in-law."
I feel like so much happened in this chapter. XD Tell me your thoughts on what happened in a review! Fave and follow!
Foarrin
