Bound To You For A Lifetime

"Babe, I think you already have enough sticks. That's like the 100th one you've used," Frank said helplessly.

Flora totally ignored him and went about what she was doing. On the platform, she had 20 pregnancy sticks lined accordingly. Now all she had to do was wait.

To get her mind of the sticks, Frank dragged her out of the bathroom to help him pick an outfit for tomorrow. Ever since they decided to have a child, Flora had been obsessed with pregnancy sticks. Unfortunately, she always ended up disappointed as the results were always negative.

Prior to this day, she used at least 10 sticks every month before her next periods. Her late periods were most likely due to her anxiousness and stress about pregnancy. Seeing the worry in his eyes, she followed him obediently to the closet to pick out an outfit for him.

"Let's do nude for tomorrow. This shirt always looks good on you."

She picked out the clothes in a hurry and rushed back to the bathroom.

This time around, Frank just let her be without going with her to the bathroom. The truth was he also got his hopes high every time. He also wanted a baby more than anything, but since it was stressing Flora out, he tried to hide his feelings so that she wouldn't feel more pressured.

His palms had turned sweaty when Flora rushed back into the bathroom. For her sake, and his, he prayed for the results to be in their favor.

As he was about to put the outfit away, he heard Flora crying in the bathroom. His heart dropped. Another failure. His eyes turned red and without knowing, his hands were balled into fists.

He didn't go into the bathroom immediately. He didn't want his feelings to break Flora's heart. He prepped himself mentally, "All is well. Maybe not this month, surely next month, our princess will come."

He affirmed himself multiple times before heading to the bathroom.

So many emotions were running through Flora at the moment. When she saw those results, her mind went blank and tears streamed out of her eyes. She had conflicting feelings. She squatted down and bawled louder.

This was the sight Frank saw when he entered the bathroom. He didn't need to check the tests to know that things didn't work out AGAIN. He just squatted down and brought his dear wife into his embrace.

"It's okay babe. You've got me and I've got you which makes me the luckiest man on earth."

Flora was choking back her tears and couldn't calm down. Frank gave her a moment. He knew it wasn't okay, but he didn't know what else to say.

"We'll keep trying. Never stopping. Our princess should also be eager to meet us, but she's waiting for the right time."

He pulled her up and wiped her tears with his thumbs while holding on to her face. The more he wiped, the more tears fell from her eyes.

He kissed the tip of her nose, then her cheeks, then her eyes, before dropping a few pecks on her lips.

"It's going to be okay. Your tears make my heart hurt," he said while making a puppy face.

That face always made her laugh, and it didn't fail to do so again.

Flora giggled and tiptoed to leave a peck on his cheek.

"She's here now!" she whispered in his ear before embracing his waist and leaning into his c.h.e.s.t.

Frank was stunned. Who's here?

He slowly turned around to look at the multiple sticks on the raised platform.

P O S I T I V E . . .

He held his wife tightly and moved closer to the platform to get a better view. Once he confirmed his first thought, he lifted Flora up and placed her gently on the bed before rushing back to the bathroom to clean up the test kits.

Flora was still shocked from the results and placed her hands on her belly while looking lost in thoughts.

"Their very own child. Their baby was here. The baby they had been expecting for a while now was here," she thought to herself. They were almost 4 years into their marriage. Claudia was confirmed pregnant during preparations for Seraphina's wedding and already gave birth to Emerald.

Frank shook her and she was startled.

"Let's go to the hospital."

Without waiting for her to answer, he grabbed her purse and his wallet, then lifted her very carefully from the bed into the car before driving off.

The couple didn't return home until late in the evening. Again, Frank was carrying Flora in his arms as he placed her on the sofa. He sat next to her and brought out the results and pills from the bag.

"You didn't have this huge smile on your face when you were marrying me," she teased her husband.

Frank didn't mind, "Of course, my favorite girl is pregnant with the second favorite girl. Double the blessing, double the smile."

He hugged her carefully and they both leaned into one another as their hearts were filled with joy.

Their little family was finally complete.

The couple just rested the whole day after the pregnancy confirmation without informing family. They were trying to grasp unto their last quiet moments before their crazy family knew about it. Also, Quincy and Seraphina would be returning from their honeymoon, so it made sense to hold on to the news for a bit.

Evening the next day, they both called for a family meeting which included the Cooper, Jenkins, James, and Jacob families. Everyone was right on time, as they should, since they now lived on the same block.

Emerald was about two-months old, so her face was starting to look more and more like Claudia's. She was a gorgeous baby. Flora couldn't help but imagine how her daughter would look like. Like Frank or like her?

As everyone settled down for a meal, Flora and Frank started to hand out pieces of paper to everyone. At first, nobody picked up on the strangeness, but after reading the content of the paper, they were all excited. The most excited was George Cooper.

Another little addition to the family.

Now, all that was left now was for Seraphina to join the motherhood party.