Chapter 86

Clara's POV

"Surprise!" Derek shouted beside me.

I couldn't believe what I saw in front of me.

It was a baby's room. The room had been painted grey with a matching wooden cot bed at the far end. A few drawers were on the side, with a baby changing station and a rocking chair at the opposite end. One side of the wall had been perfectly painted in a darker shade of grey, with pictures of animals and stairs.

My jaw shot wide open.

I couldn't believe he did this.

At what point did he decide to do this? The last time I was here, I'm sure it was just a guest room or something else.

Even if I were pregnant, why would he do this right now? I've only been fake pregnant for a month. He couldn't be this eager.

I had no words for him.

"I hope you like it." He said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

My brain became blank as I continued staring at him and then back at the room again.

This almost convinced me entirely that he didn't know I wasn't pregnant. Why else would he do this?

"Since we still don't know whether it's a boy or girl, I decided to have it in neutral colors." He added. "I know this isn't the best place for a baby to be, but I think it will do for now until I find a bigger place. Maybe the three of us can stay together." He smiled.

I nearly choked on air as I remained speechless.

Why did life have to be this cruel? Couldn't he have just read my letter that explained everything? I was again placed in this position, still feeling like a liar.

Was I capable of shuttering all his dreams with just one sentence?

"Come on, I have so much to show you." He said, grabbing my hand.

He walked me into the room and then began opening the drawers. Surprisingly, it was packed with tiny baby clothes and even nappies. I remained speechless throughout the presentation and then nearly fainted.

"I hope you like it. We can always change anything you don't like." He said, squeezing my hands.

He reached in, kissing me on the cheek. "Why don't we go out to have breakfast? I know a place just around the corner. It's perfect." He added.

I nodded my head vigorously.

I was willing to do anything to get out of this room. I could barely breathe.

My heart broke. I quickly disguised my emotions. My father never showed up, even for just a day, and he was ready to take on everything quickly.

By the time we reached the elevator, I was hyperventilating and fanning myself.

"Are you okay? Do you need anything?" Derek asked, stepping beside me.

"I'm fine. I'm just getting hot," I answered, leaning to the side.

I was relieved when the doors opened. I hurried out of the elevator. Derek ran to catch up with me.

I used the ten-minute walk to the restaurant to steady my breathing.

We settled at an outside table close to the exit. We were under an umbrella just a few steps from the people walking down the freeway.

I ordered pancakes and pineapple juice, while Derek chose waffles.

I continued paging through the menu while we waited for our food.

Derek's phone rang on the table. He quickly moved to answer it.

"Morning, Mother, you will never believe who I am with this morning. Clara is here." Derek smiled as he answered it. He paused, staring past me.

"Since we are already having this conversation, I think I've made a decision." He paused. "I already have one child on the way. I've decided I don't want more children, and I'm getting a vasectomy." He said.

I had to keep myself from choking. At this point, I was convinced that this was either an act or he was just trying to kill me from all of these surprises.

"But you only had me. It would give me more time to focus on one child," he added.

He sighed as he continued listening to his mother. His phone wasn't on speaker, but her disapproval was loud enough.

Their conversation finally ended when the waiter arrived with our food.

Derek seemed so carefree. I hoped he would explain that it was all a joke and that it was to get his mother's reaction, but he didn't. I hope he wasn't serious about it.

We began digging into our food. If my day started like this, I would need the energy. It seemed like my Karma had arrived because someone else was walking down the street, steps away from us.

It was Waylen.

After last time, I'm sure things would be a disaster if he saw us.

I ducked my head, hoping he would walk past and not see us. But he did.

Waylen's face blanked momentarily as he stared at the two of us. I thought through my options. I could run to the bathroom, but there was no guarantee he wouldn't wait for me. It would just make things worse. Let's hope my threat to him last time worked. Luckily, Derek didn't notice.

A smirk soon replaced Waylen's blank look. He then walked to our table.

“Clara?" Waylen yelled.

This got Derek's attention. Turning around, he stared at Waylen, puzzled.

"I'm so happy to see you. It's been a while." Waylen continued.

One of the security guards moved in to block Waylen, but Derek dismissed him.

"And you are?" Derek asked.

My hands were shaking. Waylen and I made eye contact briefly before he looked at Derek. "I'm Waylen. Clara is an old friend of mine. We go way back." Waylen smiled. "I hope I'm not disturbing your breakfast," he added.

"Not at all." Derek smiled. "Please sit with us. I would love to know everything about your friends." He offered.

Could my day get any worse?