I'm getting terrible with updating. I'm sorry :(
Today is the day that Mrs. Lovett will find out of the condition of her baby. After lunch, the doctor- Mr. Thomas, will be arriving to check on her. To say that she is nervous is an understatement; after the incident with Lucy, she always wakes up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat as she have nightmare after nightmare of losing her child. It's been a torture, and now she can only hope that her nightmares remain as what they are- fiction.
She has her bags packed already. Whatever result the doctor will tell her, she will still follow through with her plan on leaving. It is a good thing that David, upon asking him, has not hesitated to join her; somehow, she always know the he will always have her back. Right now, she feels scared not only for her baby, but also on what the future holds for her. She doesn't have a direction; she has no clue on where they will be going, she can only hope that everything will work out for her, for them.
Ben paces in front of the big window in his shop; he is aware that in a few minutes, the doctor will be coming to check on Nellie. He is genuinely scared knowing that there's a chance that his first child can now be dead inside her. He doesn't like to dwell much on the idea, but he knows that he has to prepare himself for it. If this is hard for him, then he's certain that if ever that happens, it will be harder for the baker.
However, this is not the only thing in his mind. Tomorrow, Nellie will be leaving with David, going to someplace he does not know where. Truth be told, he still cannot see the reason why she is taking their child away from him, yet allowing David to be recognized as its father; it still makes his blood boil whenever he thinks about it. He doesn't even know why he has allowed her to go, but he promises himself that he will look for her no matter what happens. He will not allow her to just cut him out of her and their child's life.
Deciding it's time for him to go downstairs, he grabs his jacket heading straight to the bake shop. Once he's inside, he immediately finds the baker sitting at one of the benches, looking anxious while she plays with the hem of her dress. He approaches her; she doesn't acknowledge him, it's as if she is in a different world. Grabbing hold of her hand that's on top of the table, he gives it a light squeeze earning him her attention.
She shifts her gaze from the floor to him, but she is quick to avert it away. Sighing in defeat, he stands up from his seat and scoots himself next to her, wrapping his arms around her while she voluntarily rests her head on his shoulder. He starts caressing her hair, smelling its lavender scent. A tear escapes his eye, which he hastily wipes away. This woman beside him that he's holding will be gone tomorrow, and he doesn't know how long it will take before he sees her again.
"Please, don't go." He says in a whisper, a feeble attempt at making her stay for he knows that she has made up her mind. She buries her face on the crook of his neck and embraces him tightly, crying softly; this is the only response he has gotten.
They stay like that for what seems like eternity, only breaking contact when they both hear the bell in the shop rings, signaling them that someone has entered. They look up to see that it is the doctor. Ben entangles himself from Nellie and stands up to greet their visitor.
"Sir, it's very nice of you to come back." He says, holding his hand out for the man to shake.
He smiles warmly at him, taking his hand. "Just doing my job, sir."
The doctor looks around, spotting Nellie who's looking very much worried. He approaches her, and takes the seat across her, bringing out the stethoscope inside his bag. "How are you feeling today, ma'am?"
The baker looks at Ben who is now standing beside her, it's as if she's begging him to answer for her. Squeezing her shoulder, he takes a seat and replies to the doctor. "She's scared, sir. It'll be better if we just let this get over with."
The doctor nods, knowing how stressful the situation is. "Sir, if you will." he says, motioning at seat that Ben is occupying.
When the doctor is beside Mrs. Lovett, he puts on the stethoscope, crouching down until it is touching her swollen belly. He stays silent as he moves the tip of his instrument around her stomach, as if looking for something; he is actually looking for something- the heartbeat of a child.
Few minutes later, which seems like an eternity for both Ben and Nellie, the doctor removes his stethoscope, setting it down at the table with a smile painted on his face. "I'm glad to inform the both of you that your baby is alive."
Ben wants to jump and scream in elation after hearing the good news. He immediately approaches the doctor, shaking his hand as he thanks him profusely. "It's alive! Thank you, doctor! Thank you so much!"
The doctor laughs, tapping ben at the shoulder. With that, he bids his goodbye not taking any payment from them as he always does for couples who are having their first child.
"Did you hear that, Nell? It's fine! Our baby is fine!" beams Ben as he finally turns to Nellie, who is crying softly, after the doctor has left.
Once he has noticed this, he is instantly at her side, wrapping his arm around her as he murmur sweet nothings in her ear to calm her. "Shh… it's alright, it's alright. You should be happy, my love."
"I- I am!" answers the baker, while she continues to bawl her eyes out.
He chuckles softly at this, slightly pushing her away from him as he lifts her chin to look at her properly, "why are crying, then?"
Nellie pouts, then shakes her head 'no' as if to say that it's nothing. He wipes her tears away, staring at her face, suddenly mesmerized. He wants to memorize her features, everything, from how the right corner of her mouth turns upwards when she has mischief in her mind, the way her eyes shines and gets wide when she is talking about something that she is really fond of. When she's sad or crying her head droops just a little low; her mouth forms a hard line while her brows furrow when she is angry. Whenever she's happy, her eyes will squint while her mouth forms the biggest and brightest smile, almost touching her ears.
After she leaves, only the memory of her will remain with him so he tries to retain all of these in his mind, vowing to himself to never forget her.
"Ben, why are you looking at me like that?" she asks him, only now realizing that he has been gazing at her without saying anything.
Smiling he shakes his head, softly tugging the stray of red curls that's blocking her face, tucking it behind her. This is for sure one of the things that he will not forget about her: her wild red curls. "Nothing, nothing."
"What's your plan then?" He inquires, facing away from her. His chest tightens, a series of fleeting emotions passes over him; he still cannot accept that fact that she will be leaving him. Although he promises himself that he will look for her, the world is simply too big, it will not be easy.
She cups his cheeks while she caresses his jaws, turning his face so their eyes meet. She traces his lips, her fingers ghosting over them, as if she's afraid to touch them. Next is his nose, she skims the bridge of his nose, from the tip then moving upwards and running her digits over his eyebrows. He thinks he knows what she is doing; it seems like they both want a piece of one another ingrained in their minds, for safekeeping.
Once she's finished, she leans in closer to him closing her eyes as she does so. Without hesitation, she closes the distance between them and let her lips touch his, softly yet firmly. The kiss is slow and passionate, as passionate. He knows what she wants for it is also what he desires. They take their time exploring each other's mouth, their breath ragged but none of them really cares; they both need this.
Once the kiss comes into its natural end, they stay close together with their foreheads touching; their chests are heaving in synchronization due to the loss of oxygen.
"I love you," Nellies says in a whisper, "please, don't you ever think that I don't. This is for the best." She adds, burying her face at the crook of his neck while she hugs him to her. He does not know if she's convincing him or herself.
"I love you too, Nell." He replies, meaning every word of what he has said.
Pulling away from her, he grabs something from the inside of his pocket. He hands her the small red pouch, making her open it. Inside lays a golden necklace with a small ruby pendant that's shaped like a drop of water. He smiles at her shocked reaction, "I want you to wear that always and never remove it. It is to remind you of me, lest you forget."
He grabs it from her and she turns around so he can put it on her. It perfectly suits her. The pendant lands just above her collarbones, not too long and not too short. The color is more prominent against her milky white skin, making it even more beautiful. The necklace is made for her.
She gives him a peck on the lips as she toys with the gift she has just been given. "Thank you, Ben. It's beautiful."
After reminiscing about what they've been through, good and bad memories, they are now talking about Mrs. Lovett's plan, which they have both been narrowly avoiding discussing about.
"We'll be gone before the sun is out, off to somewhere I don't know. I just want to be out of here." Says Mrs. Lovett while she draw circles at Ben's palm.
She is torn whether to feel happy or lonely. Of course, she's glad that the child inside her is alive, days of not knowing if it's well or not has been traumatizing for her; she's hoping that the nightmares will now cease. But then there's this nagging voice inside of her, telling her that she's foolish for deciding to leave, that this is not good for the baby- having its father gone. Her heart is screaming for her to stay, for she knows that being apart from the man she loves will be the greatest torture. Many a times she has questioned her decision, but she always manages to convince herself that this is all for the best; is it, really?
"I really can't stop you, can't I?" He grasps her hand, stopping her movements.
She does not know why he insists on doing this, it will only hurt the both of them. He knows what her answer will be, and she honestly don't want to say it out loud over and over again, for it pains her to do so. She also does not like the fact that her decision is being tested, no, not at this time that she's having second thoughts.
She looks at him, meeting his eyes that conveys sorrow which she causes. She stares at him, mirroring his expression; she doesn't speak for she doesn't know what to say, the words are stuck in her throat forming a lump, making it hard for her to breathe.
"Co-come with me," she says, almost in a pleading tone, her voice croaking.
Ben shifts on his seat, looking uncomfortable. He averts his gaze away from her, "Nell, you… you know I can't."
She cannot help but feel angry with this, he is asking her to sacrifice for him but he cannot do it for her. Selfish. "You'd rather I stay here and suffer whatever your wife thought to do with me or my child?! Why do I always have to endure the pain, Ben? Can you, for once, bear it for me? Sacrifice for me? You're only thinking for yourself!"
"Nellie, please-" Ben tries to reason with her, but she stops him.
Shaking her head, she holds up her hand, smiling sadly. "That's enough, Ben. You've just proven me where I stand in your life. It's easy to say that you love someone, but you know what's hard? To prove it."
With that she excuses herself and locks herself in her bedroom, leaving him alone.
She has now replaced her old wedding ring and is now wearing her engagement ring from Richard. Ben has not noticed it yet, for he seems preoccupied these last few days, which she is fine with. Her husband seems to have diverted his attention off her, allowing her to stay in her fiancé's house all day every day.
She is currently talking with their wedding planner while she waits for Richard to be home. He has told her that he wants to marry her as soon as possible, that he cannot wait to call her his wife. Of course, she has agreed with this immediately, wanting the same thing. They have yet to announce this to the people, but they will soon do it once they have sorted what they are to do with Ben.
"Darling," someone calls her, and she looks up to see Richard on the doorway. She immediately runs up to him, giving him a kiss on the lips; it's like they have been apart for a very long time and have only seen each other now.
"I've missed you," she murmurs in his ear, nipping his earlobe which earns her a growl from the judge.
"Wendy, let's continue this later, I want some alone time with my fiancé." Lucy says, nodding at the woman while she takes Richard by the hand, making him sit on the sofa, sitting herself beside him. Richard instantly wraps his arm around her, she melts into the hug, inhaling his scent and feeling a rush of happiness surge in her body. She very much love how he affects her like so.
After a while of just staying at each other's arms, Lucy speaks up, breaking the quiet moment. "Darling, I have an idea of what to do with Ben." Richard pulls away from her to properly see her, his brows are furrowed, a questioning look is plastered on his face.
Lucy just smirks, holding up a string of pearls, "This is what we're going to do…"
As I've said before, this story is ending. Maybe one or two more chapter and it's done. :)
Reviews are L.O.V.E. :)))