Chapter 298: Chapter 298

"I’m sorry you had to see that, Roman."

"About your engagement?"

"It’s a family arrangement, and he never had any plans of fulfilling it until now." Geneva quickly answered, holding onto his arms.

Roman went quiet for a while, looking thoughtfully at the man’s retreating back. He remained so calm and composed that Geneva got scared, but then,

He brushed his hands through Geneva’s hair, his eyes taking on a pained expression,

"I love you, Geneva, but I cannot break the sanctity of an engagement. That is-"

"Shhhhh!!!!" Geneva placed her index finger on his lips,

"Please don’t say anything. I- Please...."

She started panicking. She did not want to lose him. He had become a very central part of her life so quickly that Geneva was scared to think of the alternative end of that life.

Roman was traditional-minded and very conscientious in his thoughts. His heart broke at the thought that he had taken someone’s bride away. Geneva could sense the struggle in him. He loved her, but he did not want to wrong his principles, too. It was a personal struggle but she did not want to wait for its outcome. What if?

Geneva did not want that what-if! She wanted him and nothing else.

She pressed her lips against his and that sealed the deal for him. All hesitance seemingly flew out of the window as Roman responded to the kiss. Geneva was not aware that Roman had other issues too.

If she did, no one knew what decision she would have made. He cherished every single that they had together but at that time, the two knew that their time together was limited and that they hardly knew anything about their personal lives. However, it was as if they did not want to open a can of worms too.

Geneva sensed the change in Roman. It was as if he had come to a decision in mind.

"Geneva?" He panted slightly and kissed her eyes,

"What is it, Roman?" Geneva was scared of what he wanted to say.

"I have to go away for some time, and I was scared that I would not see you before I had to."

"Are you leaving me?"

"Of course not!" He pulled Geneva so that they sat down. It was as if Alex’s presence earlier had never happened.

"I will never leave you... if you don’t."

He smiled and rested his forehead against hers,

"Please wait for me. I will come back!"

Roman leaned back and took off a necklace from his neck and then hung it around Geneva’s fair neck.

"I will be back!" It sounded like an assurance to himself rather than one to her.

"Can you tell me what happened? Why do you need to go?"

Geneva rested her head against his chest, listening to his soothing heartbeat and then told him of the engagement; he wished to break it off as well as her parents’ will. The two discussed their future plans in-depth.

"I will visit your parents and do all the rites necessary to take you home as my bride. This necklace is my token to you."

"Of course, I promise! I never break my promise!"

He added and sealed the promise with a kiss—a sweet, slow kiss that turned into something more. There was a whole lot that Geneva did not know about Roman, and on that day, she had been too preoccupied with her own issues to notice that something was off.

They made sweet love to each other, and this time, Geneva stayed with him until it was well after dark. Roman escorted her back, and they reluctantly parted. Roman waited until he saw her room lights go out.

Geneva was locked up in her room, and her parents were furious. Surprisingly, Alex had not said a word of what he had witnessed to anyone, which earned him Geneva’s respect.

The days passed quickly with no news from Roman. He had a way to let her know when he was around, but Geneva did not receive such a message. Alex never visited the mansion anymore, but he never brought up annulling the engagement with his parents. He was hurt but blamed himself.

Geneva became withdrawn and docile. Her parents thought that she had finally relented and agreed to the marriage, so they lifted her punishment, and Geneva went right back to their meeting place.

However, no matter how long Geneva waited, Roman never showed up. Lost and with her own thoughts, she realized that apart from his first name, Geneva knew nothing about him. Roman was a good listener with a lot of mystery, but he was not much of a talker.

Geneva sunk into a depressed state. She would wake up in the morning and go to the meeting place, but Roman never showed up. Soon, it was the week of the wedding. It had been two whole months since she last saw Roman, and Geneva was witty enough to know what that meant. She still held onto a little hope, though—that hope and something else that she could never tell anyone.

"What is going on with you, Geneva? You know that you can talk to me right?" Her mother would ask but how could Geneva tell her this. She had lost the will to even push back the wedding.

"Your wedding is coming up, but why are you so gloomy?"

"I just want to be alone, mum."

Geneva pushed her mother away and then walked out of the house. She walked unseeingly, stumbling a few times before arriving at the place that gave her solace and tormented her simultaneously. She curled up in a ball and wept. Those with keen eyes would see that Geneva’s hands protectively rested on her lower belly.

She did not know how much time had passed before the sound of footsteps jolted her up.

"Roman!" She turned excitedly and dropped an item that she did not notice. Her excitement plunged, and her mood dropped as Alex came into view. She had no interest in seeing him.

He stood looking at her for a while and then walked slowly up to her.

Geneva turned back to looking at the silent flowing stream as if that was what could soothe her. She did not notice it when Alex picked up what she had dropped.

He sat beside her without saying anything. Alex was numb. He was shocked into silence. He was unsure of how to voice his thoughts but seeing her there in that state, Alex understood and decided to take a leap of faith,

"Would you consider still marrying me tomorrow?"

Geneva did not look at him. She did not want to, but she couldn’t find any excuses for that.

"It won’t be long before you show."

She frowned, not understanding what he was referring to until she saw him with the one item that she did not want anyone to see: a home pregnancy test!

Geneva panicked and whipped it out of his hands.

"You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Geneva." He closed his eyes tightly, masking the pain.

"I have come to love you for who you are. I know you are waiting for him – a-nd I understand. This baby cannot wait, though. It will be a scandal that you cannot shoulder. You must find a way to survive until he comes back. I will raise it as mine, if you agree to this marriage. It will be our little secret."

Geneva looked at him like he was mad. That was the first time, she really looked at Alex. She had not thought beyond the fact that Roman was not there. Alex was right, ’What if he never came back? What if something had happened to him?’ She refused to even think of the possibility that Roman may have abandoned her.

"I don’t want Roman to come back and see that I went back on my promise." She whispered as tears ran down her face.

Alex patted her hand and then said,

"Think about it. If you show up at the wedding, I will know that you have agreed. I know that it is my fault that this may have happened. I promise to treat you right for the rest of our lives and I will not hold this against you. This will be our first child, and he or she would never want for anything in life. If he does come back...." Alex did not know what to say to that.

With that, Alex left. Geneva threw away the pregnancy test that she had wanted to show Roman. She stayed there until deep into the night and then made her way back home. Geneva did not sleep that night and thought long and deeply about it.

When they all thought that she would boycott the wedding, Geneva dressed herself and made it for the wedding at the last moment.

Geneva looked at her first son, seeing the traces of the man she loved. Ian looked more like her and a bit like Roman, but as no one around them had ever seen Roman, they all thought he had taken his mother’s features and none of his father’s. Alex was the only person who could testify otherwise, as he had seen Roman.

Brad, on the other hand, had his mother’s height and his father’s features. It all made sense then.

"Roman never returned, and no matter how much I searched, I never found any trace of him. If not for this necklace and for you, Ian, I would have thought that I dreamt of this."

Geneva added with a pained expression. This memory was what counted as a bitter-sweet one.

"I’m sorry, Ian...." Geneva turned to her son, as if seeking forgiveness from him.

"You mean that it’s for real? I still don’t want to be the first son! Nope!" Brad said, not listening or applying reason.

Alex sighed and wondered whom his son had taken after. How could Brad be thinking of this in the sombre moment? Alex did not have the will even to chastise him.

While Brad was over-reacting, Ian remained quiet, rolling around the ring on his finger. Geneva and Alex started panicking as Ian’s indifference.

Just then, he looked thoughtfully at the door for a while as if lost in thought. The couple desperately needed him to say something, but Ian’s expression gave nothing away. Suddenly, he stood up and headed for the door,

Ian swung the door open, and then,

"Come in, Katie. Don’t just keep standing here."

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