Chapter 176: FOREVER
Keisha’s POV
Nadia had barely allowed me to finish resting before she came back into the room with a completely different expression, one that immediately told me whatever plan she had formed was going to become my problem.
She stood at the foot of my bed with her arms folded and stared at me for several seconds before announcing that we were going shopping.
I raised my head from the pillow and looked at her in disbelief. "Shopping for what?"
"The babies."
"Nadia, we were just talking about the nursery." I groaned.
"Exactly. Talking isn’t buying anything." She walked over to the wardrobe and started looking through my clothes as though she had every right to decide what I would wear. "We need clothes, blankets, towels, little socks, shoes, whatever babies need. I don’t even know what babies need, but that’s exactly why we’re going. We’ll find out."
I laughed. "And when did you become an expert?"
"I’m not an expert. I’m the aunt." She flipped her hair dramatically.
"You’re acting like you’re the mother." I grinned.
She turned around with a dramatic expression of offense. "Excuse me? I am allowed to be excited. I’ve been waiting for this for months, and every time I mention the babies, everyone tells me to calm down. I’m done calming down. They’re coming, and I’m going to buy them things."
I couldn’t help smiling at her. "Fine. Give me ten minutes."
"Five."
"Ten." I pleaded.
She paused. "Seven."
"Eight." I pouted.
"Deal." She laughed.
I eventually got dressed, and when we walked downstairs, Nadia was still talking about the shopping list she had apparently created in her head.
She was debating whether we should buy clothes in different colors since we didn’t know the genders, then changing her mind and insisting that we could simply buy everything in neutral colors like she suggested until the babies arrived.
I was laughing at her when we stepped outside and immediately saw Dane approaching.
His attention went straight to me. "Where are you two going?"
Nadia answered before I could. "We’re going shopping."
Dane’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Shopping?"
"Yes. Baby shopping." Nadia lifted her chin proudly. "We’re going to buy things for the nursery."
Dane looked at me instead of her. "How long will you be gone?"
"I don’t know. A few hours, maybe."
He came closer, his expression becoming more serious as he looked me over. "You’re still recovering from yesterday, Keisha. Don’t turn this into an excuse to walk around the entire city until you’re exhausted."
"I’m not going to." I assured him. "I just need to exercise my body. You know?"
"Okay then, call me if you need anything, okay?" He reached for my face, gently cupping my cheeks in his hands. The sudden tenderness caught me off guard, especially with Nadia standing right there watching us with an obvious smile.
"Just be careful," he said quietly. "I’m sending more guards with you."
"Dane, there are already guards everywhere." I whispered.
"And there will be more."
I sighed. "You’re becoming impossible."
His thumb moved gently across my cheek before he leaned down and kissed me briefly. My entire body went still from surprise. It was over almost as quickly as it happened, but when he pulled away, I was still staring at him.
He smiled faintly. "I’ll see you later." Then he turned and walked away.
I remained where I was until Nadia grabbed my arm. "Oh, my God."
I looked at her, still slightly dazed. "What?"
"Don’t ’what’ me. He just kissed you." She gasped.
I started walking toward the car. "You saw that."
"I saw everything. And the worst part is that you looked completely shocked." She squealed.
A smile pulled at my lips. "I was."
"You were shocked because he kissed you, or because you liked it?" She asked, peering closely at me.
"Nadia."
She hurried after me, laughing. "I’m asking a serious question."
I rolled my eyes at her. "You’re never serious."
Apparently, she had no plans of stopping. "I am right now. Between my father and Dane, who do you love more?"
I stopped beside the car and stared at her. "Are you actually asking me that?"
She shrugged, like we were talking about the weather. "Yes."
"That’s a ridiculous question." I huffed.
"Why?"
"Because they’re not the same." I said plainly.
She opened the car door. "That’s not an answer."
"It is. Callum is Callum, and Dane is Dane. I can’t put them on some imaginary scale and decide which one matters more." I replied.
Nadia climbed inside and looked at me expectantly.. "You love them both?"
I shook my head, laughing. "You’re too nosy."
She hummed. "That means yes."
I laughed. "It means get in the car."
She laughed all the way into her seat.
The drive to the mall was fast, and once we arrived, Nadia practically dragged me through the entrance. She was more excited than I had seen her in days, stopping at every display and holding things up for my opinion.
We bought several tiny outfits, blankets, towels and other things she insisted the babies would need. She kept picking things up and asking whether I liked them, and every time I tried to tell her we didn’t need something, she found another reason why we did.
"This is too much." I groaned. "Aren’t you tired of holding all that?"
"It’s two babies." She sighed.
"Yeah. They’re newborns. They don’t need all this."
She clicked her fingers. "Exactly. They need twice as much."
We were laughing when a familiar voice called my name.. "Keisha?"
I turned and saw one of our former colleagues standing a few steps away with several shopping bags in her hands. Her face immediately brightened when she recognized us. "I can’t believe it’s you!"
I smiled and hugged her. "Look at you, Bella. It’s been forever."
"It has! I heard you stopped working, but I didn’t know you were this far along." Her eyes dropped to my stomach and she smiled warmly. "I could hardly believe when I heard you were pregnant."
Nadia immediately stepped in.. "Twins."
Her mouth fell open. "Twins?"
"Yes."
She looked between us, suddenly delighted. "That’s wonderful. Congratulations."
"Thank you." I smiled.
She glanced at the bags in Nadia’s hands. "Are you shopping for them?"
"We’re trying," Nadia said. "But apparently I have terrible taste."
"You do, I remember that evidently."
Nadia gasped and our colleague laughed. "I’m joking. Come on, show me what you’ve picked."
For the next hour, the three of us moved around the store together. She helped us choose smaller clothes and explained which things would actually be useful while Nadia kept trying to convince both of us that certain outfits were absolutely necessary. At one point, Nadia held up a tiny pair of shoes and insisted they were the cutest things she had ever seen.
By the time we finished, we had accumulated far more bags than I had expected. We said goodbye to our colleague after exchanging numbers and promised to meet again sometime.
Outside the store, Nadia stretched her arms.. "We should do this more often."
I looked at the bags. "Without buying half the store?"
She smirked. "With buying half the store."
I laughed. "Maybe."
Her expression softened. "I mean it. We’ve been dealing with so much nonsense lately that we need days like this."
I nodded. "I agree."
When we returned to the mansion, Nadia immediately took as many packages as she could carry. One of the guards took the rest and followed her inside while I walked behind them.
I was halfway to the entrance when I heard something — a faint movement behind me.
What was that? My senses perked up and I stopped.
The guards ahead hadn’t noticed anything as I slowly turned.
Someone was walking toward me.
A mask covered most of the person’s face, leaving only the eyes visible. The figure was dressed in dark clothing and moving directly toward me.
My heart lurched and the two guards stationed at the entrance finally noticed.
One stepped forward. "Stop right there."
The masked figure didn’t stop and the guard reached for his weapon.
The attacker moved first, striking him with something small and metallic. The guard staggered, his weapon slipping from his hand before he collapsed onto the ground.
Oh fuck.
My feet remained rooted to the spot in fear as the second guard rushed forward. "Get away from her!"
The attacker turned and drove the same object into him and he fell beside the first guard.
I stared at them, then panicked. "Help!"
The attacker turned toward me and I backed away. "Who are you?"
No answer. It was a woman. And she continued walking toward me.
I took another step backward, but my foot caught against one of the packages I’d dropped earlier.
She reached into her clothing and when her hand came out, there was a blade in it.
My breathing stopped. "Stay away from me."
She kept coming and I looked toward the mansion. "Nadia!"
It seemed like Nadia didn’t hear me and the masked woman raised the blade.
I screamed and shut my eyes.