Now there will be at 10 more chapters in this story before I finish it. The ending may be bittersweet. Once I'm done with this story, I will resume with my other stories, so check them out. Leave reviews and thoughts and I hope you enjoy this.

Second Year: 2022

The wedding is in the Villa Aurelia, a 17th-century edifice in the heart of Rome. I'm adorned in a white embroidered guipure, silk organza, my golden hair polished and pinned into a bun. At my wedding, the guests only consist of Dugard's extended family and my triplets.

I have not spoken a word to my family as I do not want any reminder of my past. Today is a new day and I will not be reminded. I stare intently into the eyes of my new husband, Christopher Dugard. I feel a wave of nausea surged through my belly as I squeeze his hands.

Today, you are now Mila Dugard. I cringe on the insides at the hideousness of that last name to my first name. It did not match at all.

I glance to my left to see my triplets sitting in the front row. All dressed in the finest silks. Selyse and Hope are smiling ear to ear in their matching frilly white dresses and Watson looks ever so cherubic in his dark suit. Tears well up in my eyes from looking at them.

Alessa would love it here. I imagine Alessa in her own dress, matching with Selyse and Hope. She would be a delightful flower girl, probably not as flashy as Selyse and not as distracted as Hope. I chuckle under my breath when I recollect how distracted Selyse was when she was walking down. Blowing kisses to the guests and waving with one hand as she holds the basket in the other one. One of Dugard's relatives is assisting both of them to no avail. Selyse is too absorbed in the attention surrounding her to do her flower-girl duties and Hope prefers to play with the flowers rather than throw them.

Hope is tossing the flower petals high in the air, enjoying seeing them fall down. She would pause in her tracks to grab a handful of petals to throw it up again. The reaction from Dugard's family ranged from completely charmed to moderately annoyed.

The reception dinner is full of endless chatter and the triplets run between the tables in a good-natured game of tag. There are other small children playing with them, their giggling and squealing mingle with the hearty conservations. After a few moments, the toastmaster rises from his chair, prompting guests to give their little speeches to the bride and groom.

I gaze at my new peers, the family I have married into. Posh and pompous is how I would describe them. White-collared men and women dressed in the fanciest silks and suits. Adorned in stylish attire and embroidered with shimmering jewelry, the Reed family doesn't hold a candle to the Dugard. I feel completely out of touch, but I force myself to be sociable and cordial with Dugard's relatives.

"You alright, my love?" I look up at Dugard, snapping out of my floating thoughts. I didn't notice that I've been mindlessly picking at my food. It is almost at the end of the reception, several guests have already departed the party.

"Yes, sorry. I was dozing off." I apologize.

Dugard smiles at me tenderly, stroking a strand of my blonde hair. "Don't worry about it. We are all tired today." I instinctively pull away from me.

Dugard's hand drops when I show him resistance. "What is it? You've been acting distant lately. Tired, huh?" His eyes flash.

I roll my eyes at him, for some reason, his voice is starting to annoy the hell out of me.

"I'm not tired. I'm….honestly…" my voice trails off. I suddenly feel a strong urge to go home. I feel a heavy sheet of exhaustion drop on me. A sudden yawn escapes my throat and I flush.

Dugard winks at me playfully. "Not tired, huh? You know, Mila, you act like a petulant child sometimes. Saying one thing, but do another?" He teases.

I roll my eyes at him. My anger flares. "Shut up, Christopher. I'm not tired. I'm just ready to go!" I hiss.

Dugard chuckles at me. "So still got some fire in you, huh?" He snickers.

I do. More than usual. I scowl at Dugard fiercely. "You're about to be scorched if you keep talking! When are we leaving?"

Dugard's face suddenly falls when I say this. I suppose something in my tone must have pissed him off. "Shut up already. We will leave when we do!" Dugard gives me a chilling glare. He says nothing more but I could see the cold anger in his eyes.

I decide to be quiet as I did not want our first argument to come out on our wedding night. Thankfully a dark-haired man approaches Dugard and taps on his shoulder. Dugard's attention is seized immediately and looks up at me. "Ramsey?" His eyes widen with utter shock. "I didn't know you were here!" I'm baffled by his sudden voice change, his voice is now slightly uneasy by the appearance of this man.

"I just simply wanted to talk to you," Ramsey says. He then adds. "I got invited by a third party, so I thought I'd drop by and speak to you about our arrangement."

I arch an eyebrow at this. I take a good look at the man. I study him from head to toe, trying to find other abnormalities with him. His voice is prominent of friendlessness, but there is just something I sense about. Something I could not identify.

The man is a slim and clean shaved with sleek caramel-colored hair. With his smart attire, he wears black glasses that bring out his slate grey eyes. He looks to be in his middle thirties, but he looks slightly older with his facial creases. He smiles at me and extends out a polite hand to me.

Cordially I shake it. "You look so gorgeous tonight!" Ramsey compliments. I gaze into his face as I see an unreadable emotion in his eyes. When I pull my hand away, I catch Dugard shooting a glare at Ramsey.

"What's so important that you have to interrupt my dinner?" Dugard demands coldly.

"I just want to talk," Ramsey repeats. "It'll be quick, I promise. It's about that deal we made back in the office."

Dugard sighs, a flash of anger appears in his eyes. "There is nothing to discuss, Ramsey!"

Ramsey is persistent. "Please, me and Andrew and Jacob really need to speak to you. I know this is your wedding and I know you're busy, but please rethink your decision."

Dugard is not having it. "All I know is that you are not supposed to be at my wedding. So take all of your buddies and go!" He barks.

Ramsey's face falls. I could feel the air beginning to thin. "But Mr. Dugard..." Dugard has no patience. "I said leave now! Right now! Before I call security to escort you off the property!" He threatens.

I shrink as I listen cluelessly to the men's argument.

Ramsey grits his teeth. "Please reconsider!" He begs. "You, me, Jacob, and Andrew can all go into a room and talk. Please, this is urgent and I need your say so!"

Dugard looks like he is ready to explode. His face is beet red, his teeth clenched. "Security!" He shouts. With that, I see a small group of guards flocking over to us.

Ramsey's eyes bulge with frustration. "NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! I HAVE WORKED NON-STOP FOR YOU! YOU CAN'T TREAT A HUMAN BEING LIKE THIS!" The surrounding conservations cease instantly. All eyes are on this dramatic display. My skin is burning with utmost embarrassment.

I guess Dugard has burned a lot of bridges. I observe.

Dugard is not having it. "You can talk all you like at the unemployment line! You are fired!" Ramsey's skin becomes ashen as he is escorted away from us. Once he leaves, there is still a lingering sense of awkwardness.

I sit there silently, mindlessly poking my food with my fork.

Dugard doesn't remain upset for long and stands up from his chair and speaks loudly to the other guests. "Well, lady and gentlemen, my wife and I are gonna head to our honeymoon now!" There is small applause of cheer from the table that makes me blush in embarrassment. The triplets are sent on a private jet back home to Los Angeles with the nanny, Julie when me and Dugard go onto our honeymoon. Dugard's penthouse that he owned is luxuriously designed with six bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a breathtaking view.


The triplets are sent on a private jet back home to Los Angeles with Julie when me and Dugard go onto our honeymoon. Dugard's penthouse that he owned is luxuriously designed with six bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a breathtaking view.

When we arrive, we do nothing more than consummate our marriage once we first enter our bedroom.

My body is madly tingling with enjoyment when I walk into the kitchen, I look at the wide kitchen to see that Dugard made a delectable spaghetti with meatballs. "That smells amazing, Christopher. You know how to treat me so well." I compliment. I sniff the aroma of the food; my stomach roar with impatience. I am overwhelmed immediately.

Once we are at the table, I am ravenous and I consume the spaghetti as if it is trying to run away from me.

Dugard stares at me, baffled. "You must be starving." Dugard patronize. "Slow down, all that junk will go straight to your hips." I roll my eyes at him bitterly.

"Is looks all you care about?" I snap.

"Yes," Dugard answers plainly.

I roll my eyes at him once more. "You do realize people grow old, right? Gray hair, wrinkled skin. Beauty doesn't last forever!" I hiss.

Dugard narrows his eyes at me. "You are quite young. You're still in your 20s. You have more years of youth than I do. I'm close to fifty now and look at me."

I scoff. "All I know is that you are superficial as hell."

My stomach snarls loudly. I felt like I could eat the entire table at this point. I have this endless feeling in my stomach, like a bottomless pit in the center of my belly.

Dugard dismissively scoffs at me. "Well eat up. It sounds like you've been starving yourself lately."

…...

It is on the morning of the fourth day when I feel a strong urge to go to the bathroom. Dugard is in the kitchen, I could smell the prominent aroma of pancakes and bacon. I head into the large bathroom, I do my business and I decide to curl my hair today.

Today Dugard and I are planning to go down to a little party with some of his friends at a nearby resort and I wish to look my best.

So I reach into the suitcase to look for my flatiron. I fumble around until I pause at the sight of a little blue box of tampons. Then there is something that clicks in my mind.

No. No. This word echoes in my head out of disbelief. But my mind swiftly dismissed my fright. From what the doctor informed me during my recovery, Nancy overreacted about my reproductive system, causing me to believe that I'm unable to conceive. But during my recovery, I still had my cycle. I could have children, but the doctor did warn me that I may have a small chance at it.

My period is late this time. Which does worry me a little. But I have had moments of an irregular period before.

I have not thought of having more children. It never crossed my mind, even when I accepted Dugard's proposal.

"MILA!" Dugard shouts out. "Come on, we are going to be late!"

I feel a sudden pang of rage at the mere sound of his voice. "I WILL COME WHEN I DO!" I scream furiously.

I could hear in Dugard's voice that my temper is gnawing at his patience. "Well hurry up! Putting on makeup shouldn't take you more than a few damn minutes!" He says back. His smooth voice is gone, replaced with a clipped and cold tone. The tender happiness that once filled Dugard has vanished as time went on.

I roll my eyes. "I will take all of the time I need!" I will not allow him to speak to me like this. I am his wife, his sugar baby, but I will be treated with the utmost respect.

"Just hurry up! We need to get there by 7!" Dugard rebuffs.

I open my mouth to say something, but I stop when my stomach suddenly lurches. A horrible pain erupts inside my stomach. My hands automatically touch my stomach. "OH!" I cry. I throw myself at the toilet and proceed to violently vomit.

I feel terrible, all of my energy is drained from me. I struggle to pick myself up from the floor. My movement is weak and sluggish. When I was able to get up, I proceeded to rinse my mouth and put a peppermint in my mouth.

I'm pregnant. I conclude. It doesn't take a genius to figure this out. I chuckle softly under my breath the fact that I'm pregnant as it seems funny in hindsight. I rub my stomach gently. I could feel that I'm pregnant now. "Looks like I can get pregnant after all." I sigh wistfully.

I'm not angry, I'm not happy, I'm not shocked. I feel this strange sense of relief.

I do not mind bringing another child into the world. The prospect of a new life has always been a positive thing for me.

I stare at myself in the mirror. "This is your new life." I declare to myself.

"MILA!" Dugard shouts impatiently. "What's taking you so long?"

I decide to tell him outright. No point in being secretive. I stroll out of the bathroom and into the kitchen to see a flustered Dugard standing by the stove. The aroma of bacon makes my stomach rumble."I just found out I'm pregnant," I announce, dropping down the box of tampons.

There is sheer silence for a few moments. No doubt Dugard is taking in the news.

"Really?" Dugard's voice is bright. Dugard blinks wildly at me. "Didn't think it would happen so quickly."

"Yes, I am pregnant." I declare.

Next chapter will come soon. Reviews and thoughts. Mila discovers that she is miraculously pregnant with Dugard's child and she is resolved to live as Mr. Dugard to escape the past of Mila Reed. Even if she knows that she is not in love with Dugard. Her triplets and her future are all that matters. As I said before, I am not good at romance, so bear with me.