[Disclaimer] Everything Twilight belongs to Mrs. Stephenie Meyer but lovely Lilly is all mine.

**Chapter 38**

Jane

Decisions…Decisions, I muttered through my teeth when Ali shoved the next sheet of paper over to me.

"Who cares about whether we import our silk from China or India? I mean it's still the same material. You know what. You're going to choose which one we are going to use for the production. Ask Kayla if you need a second opinion, she's got some fantastic taste. Ali, where do you think you are going?"

"I need some fresh air and then I need to pee—again. Look, I told you I want to work less. Let Kayla choose the fabrics if you trust her taste this much."

"Ali, look I agreed on reducing your hours after the fashion show. That's just two more months and during that time I'm going to need you like 24/7. Are we clear about that?"

She snarled and rushed out of the room. Great, now she was pissed. This was going to be a very lovely evening. Fuck my life.

My cell started vibrating and when I flipped it open to read the new text my phone started ringing. I don't understand why my secretary doesn't grasp it that I hate it when she calls me during one of the meetings. Stupid woman but she makes some mean muffins and sandwiches. Have to give her credit for that.

"Gianna, I hope it's important."

"Yes, Janetta...ahm I mean Miss Mazzini…ahm…I mean Jane…oh God, I'm so nervous."

"Jane is fine. I told you that before. Now, just tell me what you wanted to tell me."

"Theresa and Chelsea refuse to work again."

"What the fuck? Who do they think they are? Has the lack of food damaged some of the few brain cells they had? They have a fucking contract. They'll do the goddamn photo shooting or…or…,"

Crap, I had no clue what we could do in case they didn't show up there.

"Jane, that's kind of the problem. Both of them say that Hunter, the photographer tried to grope them and suggested a threeso…, Oh I can't even say that word. So embarrassing…"

"Fire him and get a new photographer."

"But Jane…what am I going to tell the man?"

That he's an asshole and a pervert and…

"Jane!"

"Tell him…," I swallowed hard, trying to choose my words carefully. "Tell him, Volturi Inc. doesn't offer second chances for gropers."

With that I disconnected the call and finally managed to read the text on my cell.

Please don't make Ali work too hard. She needs to rest. Can you do that for me?

Kiss

L

Great, you even talked your daughter into that, I thought, playing with the silver bracelet around my wrist. There wasn't anything I wouldn't do for Lilly. I had even considered selling the company but the truth was that somehow, in a weird kind of way I loved what I was doing. I liked to have power. I liked to be rich enough to spoil my beautiful girlfriend. I liked how my new security guard had twisted the arm of one of the paparazzi fuckers who had followed me all the way from my car. That was hopefully the last time someone tried to take pictures of me on the school yard.

What I didn't like was arguing with Ali, listening to her constant complaints about working too much and her strange behavior in the last time. Maybe she was sick and didn't want anyone to know?

"What is wrong with you? Listen if you are sick you can tell me. My aunt has set up some medical support system for our entire employee's. Do you want to see a doctor?"

"Thank you. There are enough doctors in my life right now. I don't need any more."

"So, you are sick. God, I'm sorry for bitching at you all the time…it's just…I'm so fucking nervous about the upcoming fashion show. Everyone expects it to be perfect."

"I know it's difficult for you, Jane."

"Thanks. Now, if you are sick, I'd like to have you see a doctor. Maybe you really need some time off. You can work at home if that's easier for you."

"I'm not sick."

She swallowed a bit from the glass of water in front of her and sighed deeply before she spoke up.

"I'm going to have a baby."

"A baby? Like diapers and shit baby? That kind of baby?"

XXXX

"Your mothers timing for a third child is beyond shitty. I really need Ali for…. Lilly, are you listening to me at all?"

"Leave me the fuck alone!"

"Oh sweetie, don't be mad at me now."

"I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at my mothers. Momma could die! She could actually die! What am I going to do if that happens? I'm not strong enough for this shit. I…I…I…,"

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. When she was agitated like this it was the best to just hold her and let her cry until she would calm down again. I didn't understand her fear though. A pregnancy wasn't a very dangerous thing. So, why was she so scared that Ali would die?

"Lilly, you have to tell me what's wrong with her."

"Her heart is sick and because of the baby, she had to stop taking her medication. And now they've given her some other but that isn't working properly or something. I don't know what to do."

My fingers caressed her hair and when I spoke up again I tried to make my voice sound as soft as possible.

"There isn't anything you can do, sweetie. This is not your responsibility."

"But I don't want her to die."

"I know. No one wants that. I don't understand why they didn't let your mother breed out the little rugrat? It would have been easier."

"Momma says she wants to experience the whole pregnancy, she wanted to know how it feels like when the baby moves inside of her and that kind of stuff."

"My mother says it feels like very bad flatulence."

"I bet that was Alec."

"Could be,"

I kissed her nose and her cheeks before I brushed my lips gently against her full mouth.

"I want you to stop worrying so much about things that you can't influence at all."

She sighed deeply and stood up from her bed. Then she kneeled down and grabbed her backpack, pulling out her Biology book.

"Oh, no, please, you don't honestly want to study now."

"I'm just searching for something." she muttered and eventually a small box fell down on the blankets next to us.

"For you,"

"Lilly, you don't have to buy me stuff. It's really not necessary."

She kissed my palm before she placed the little box on it.

"But you buy me presents all the time."

"That's different."

"Because you're rich?"

"I'm not rich I'm shitty rich but that doesn't mean anything. You on the other hand mean everything to me."

"You mean everything to me. Now open the box."

I did like she told me and when I turned the crystal cube between my fingers a smile flashed over my face. On the one side some old childhood picture of us wearing some Halloween costumes was engraved and my smile widened into a grin when circled my fingertip over the tiny little crown on Lilly's head. Always the princess thing, always…

"Take a look at the other side." she murmured, hugging me tightly from behind with her mouth pressed gently against my earlobe.

On the other side of the cube was a picture from the lingerie photo-shooting and although our faces were covered behind masks I would still recognize the curves of her body anytime.

"It's for the desk in your office. Do you like it?"

"I love it. I love you."

With that I flipped us around so that she was straddling me and kissed my way down her collarbone. Fumbling the top buttons of her shirt open, I pressed my lips against the soft mounds of her breasts. Warm spread through me while I felt her hand moving up between my thighs.

"Lilly, we are back!" Zoe called from downstairs and I tried not to hiss through my teeth. What a crappy timing.

"We need to get a place of our own."

"My mothers will never allow me to move out and I don't have money to afford it anyway."

I rolled my eyes at that.

"I just want a place where the two of us can be alone without getting interrupted all the time."

"Lilly, are you up there?"

"Coming!"

She sighed and planted a soft kiss on my mouth before she quickly closed the buttons of her shirt again and brushed through her hair with her fingers.

"Lilly!"

I followed her downstairs where Zoe instantly wrapped her arms around my leg.

"How's it going, Zoe?"

"Jasmine and I went to the park with the dogs. You should have come with us instead of staying inside the house. That's so boring."

Depends on what you want to do indoors…

"Next time, Zoe," Lilly stated, while we walked inside the kitchen where Jasmine tried to calm down the screaming infant on her arm.

"Please, stop crying now Ryan. Please, honey. Your Mommy needs a break. Or Mommy's ears need one. Please, Ryan…,"

"Maybe he's hungry?" Zoe suggested, sitting down on the chair next to Jasmine.

"Or tired?" Lilly mumbled, taking my hand in hers. Her eyes started sparkling when she caressed the little dark curls on the baby's head.

"Are your mothers in the hospital again?" Jasmine asked Lilly who had somehow managed to silence the little monster by letting him suck on the tip of her finger.

"Yes, they are. They should have come back earlier but then Seth decided that they need to do some more tests to make sure her kidneys are still working properly."

"You are worried about Ali, aren't you?"

She sighed and nodded her head before she turned to her little sister.

"Zoe, go to your room, honey."

"Why?"

"Because I said so!"

"You are mean! I hate when you yell at me!"

When the little one was out of sight, Jasmine cleared her throat nervously.

"I know you are scared and I'm worried about her too but this is Ali's choice, we have to accept it."

"She said if something happens to her, I have to take care of Mom and Zoe. I can't deal with this and I can't deal with the thought of her dying."

"Maybe she isn't dying. We'll have to have a little faith that everything will turn out good."

"Jasmine is right. You need to stop worrying so much all the time. It's not good for you."

The baby started screaming again and his blonde mother cradled him against her chest with a tortured expression on her face.

"I don't understand why he's crying all the time. It's driving me crazy. Oh please, Ryan, just stop it for five minutes. Look, we're going to leave, I think that's better. My wife is lucky that you keep her busy, Jane because taking care of a teething infant in not a fun thing to do. By the way, it was kind of cool that you fired Hunter. He's a sick asshole who badly needed a kick in his guts."

When she was gone Lilly poured herself a glass of diet coke and murmured thoughtlessly.

"He's kind of cute."

"Hunter? Oh my God, that's so gross."

"No, not James, he's just creepy and I'm glad he didn't do the lingerie photo-shooting."

I'm glad about that too. More so, than I can say…

"I think Ryan is cute. Did you see his hands? Like a cute little doll."

I hugged her and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"I bet you were cute as a baby. I bet you were far prettier than your siblings could ever be."

"I don't think so."

"But I do." I whispered, kissing her lips very gently.

"Jane, there is something I wanted to ask you. And you can say no if you don't want to."

"I would never say no to something you want, Lilly and you know that."

"I need to find someone but it's probably going to be difficult but it's important because if I can make her confess that she drugged my father with pills, it could change everything."