Page 41 of Obsessive Love (The King #1)

Chapter Forty

Sophia

M y body shakes with nerves as I squeeze Kaleb's hand tightly in mine and open the bathroom door, preparing myself to look at the two pregnancy tests I peed on only a few minutes ago.

I stare at the sticks balancing on the edge of the sink, not daring to walk over and pick them up just yet. Kaleb gives our connected hands a little shake, drawing my attention to him.

He stares at me with concern and pulls me towards him, placing his knuckles underneath my jaw and nudging my head up so that my eyes connect with his.

"What's going on inside that pretty little head of yours?" he asks, brushing his thumb along my cheek.

"I'm scared," I tell him, pulling my lower lip between my teeth. "I'm scared about what the test is going to say, and I'm also scared I'm not going to like the results, no matter what they are."

"Whatever the results are, we'll figure it out, dolcezza . Everything will be okay, I promise." He leans forward and places the gentlest kiss against my lips. "No matter what, I've got you."

My cheeks heat and my lips lift into a smile as I see a rare glimpse of the soft centre encompassed by his hard exterior.

I take a deep breath, take one last look at his mesmerising eyes and then step into the bathroom, pulling him inside behind me.

I pick up the tests, ignoring the conflicting emotions causing my stomach to knot, and I flip them over, looking at the tiny square in the centre of them both.

I breathe a sigh of relief when neither test has a plus.

"They're negative," I whisper, peering up at Kaleb to gauge his reaction.

He frowns and his shoulders slump as he looks between the tests and my face.

"So, we're not having a baby?" he asks, his tone deflated and sad.

Surprised by the guilt that starts to filter through my body as I see his reaction, I shake my head.

"How'd you feel?"

Tears burn my eyes as I stare at the man before me, wondering how he can be so dejected and in such turmoil with his own thoughts yet still ask how I'm doing at this moment.

"Surprisingly, I'm actually a little disappointed," I tell him.

"You are?" he asks in surprise, a little sparkle of hope now in his saddened eyes.

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I'm relieved because it's going to save us a whole load of trouble, but I'm disappointed because I've always wanted to become a mother and although I've spent the last hour freaking out about the possibility of being pregnant, I was also a little excited at the possibility of having a life growing inside of me and having that experience."

"You will get to experience that," he tells me, cupping my face in his hands and looking at me with a newfound determination. "This test may be negative, but we can make sure the next one is positive."

I laugh and a tear slips from the corner of my eye, dripping down my cheek and onto his thumb.

"Okay, let's not get too ahead of ourselves," I say, patting my hand on his shoulder. "Maybe we should go and speak to Jericho right now and figure out what we're all going to do, okay?"

He rolls his eyes but nods nonetheless.

I look down at the sticks still in my hand, staring at them for a moment before I throw them in the bin.

Before we leave the room, I tug on his arm, bringing his attention to me.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

He smiles sweetly and nods, dropping a chaste kiss on my cheek.

"I'm good, dolcezza . I trust that this is the universe's way of telling us that now isn't the time. I'm okay with waiting a little longer for you and for our future together."

"Besides the fact that half of what you say is delusional, you're kind of sweet sometimes," I tell him as we exit the bathroom, our hands still firmly linked together.

"You're the only person that will ever give that description of me, baby."

My cheeks bunch up as a smile spreads across my face when I realise that he's hinting no one has ever or will ever see the sweet, soft side of him that I do.

We walk down the hall towards the kitchen, each of us walking slowly as if we're prolonging the time we have together in this little bubble we always seem to be in before we enter reality again.

As we enter the kitchen, Jess scrambles off of her chair, staring at the both of us for a few moments, taking in the saddened eyes, Kaleb's slumped shoulders and my small, shaky smile.

"Do you need me to do anything?" she asks, knowing the result of the tests just by looking at us.

Kaleb lightly squeezes my hand and I glance down to where we're connected before I look back at my cousin and shake my head.

"I think I'll be okay," I tell her.

She frowns in concern but nods and collects her things from the kitchen side.

"Give me a call if you need anything," she says, walking over to pull me into a hug. "I'll stop by your parents and let your mum know the news."

"Thank you, Jess."

"Anytime, Soph."

As she pulls away from me, her eyes dart over to Kaleb and she examines him for a few moments before sighing.

"Look after her for me."

He scrunches his face, looking offended by her words.

"You and your brother say some stupid shit sometimes, you know that?"

Jess chuckles and nods her head and then she turns and exits the kitchen, leaving me in Kaleb's overwhelming presence once again.

"You think you're ready to speak to Jericho now and find out what he has planned?"

I peer up at him, his soft but husky voice washing over me as I take a minute to admire his glossy green eyes whilst they pierce my soul.

"If you need a minute, we can wait," he suggests.

"No, it's okay. We need to know what to do from here on out," I tell him, breaking eye contact and relieving myself of the spell he seems to put on me.

I pull my hand from his, wanting to put some space between us so I can gather my thoughts, but I instantly miss the feel of his skin against mine.

He narrows his eyes at me and then places his hand on the small of my back, nudging me forward slightly to get me walking.

I'm glad I'm facing away from him because the moment his hand slipped back onto me, a ghost of a smile appeared on my face and blood seemed to rush straight to my cheeks.

We walk down the hallway towards the steel door that's usually locked, but this time, it sits ajar. As we enter the darkened hall that leads to Jericho's office, his booming voice echoes around us.

"Listen here, I don't care if he's fucking busy. I am Jericho Rossi and I need to speak to him immediately. If I don't hear back from him within twenty-four hours, I will reign hell on your city and I will make sure to destroy everyone and everything that he cares about!"

I slow my steps and glance at Kaleb as we hear a loud bang sound through the hallway.

"Maybe we should give him a minute," I whisper.

Kaleb shakes his head, positioning his body in front of mine before continuing down the hall towards Jericho's office.

He doesn't bother to knock on the door, he simply pushes the door open and waltzes in without a care in the world. Meanwhile, I hesitantly follow behind him, cautiously glancing around and taking in every detail of the room now that I can see everything better than the last time I was here.

"Who was that?" Kaleb asks, taking a seat across from a red-faced Jericho.

"Miles managed to get me a number for Brody's cousin and that fucker tried telling me that he wouldn't get me into contact with Brody and told me he wouldn't be interested in a meeting with me," Jericho growls, snatching a bottle of whiskey from his desk and pouring a generous amount into his glass before knocking it back.

"So that resulted in you threatening him?"

"You say that like it was an unreasonable thing to do."

"There was probably a better way to handle it," Kaleb says, shrugging.

"Says the man that shot someone simply because they insinuated that they were trying to kill Sophia," Jericho retorts, glaring at his brother.

I choke on my own spit in shock at Jericho's comment and turn to face Kaleb.

He smiles at me and then rolls his eyes when I frown.

"If someone indirectly told you that they were going to kill me, what would you do?"

I scoff in disbelief and shake my head.

He raises his brows when I don't give him an answer and then smirks and winks at me.

"See, you'd do the same thing. It's a rational thing to do," he says, glancing between me and Jericho.

"This is all besides the point!" Jericho shouts, causing me to jump slightly.

Kaleb catches the motion and scowls at his brother as he reaches for my arm and tugs me closer to him, pulling me onto his lap.

"Watch it, Jer," he growls at his brother, holding my squirming body in his lap as I attempt to get up.

"Kaleb," I hiss, quietly protesting.

"It's fine," Jericho says. "Sit with him. It might help to keep him calm and make him think logically for once in his life."

Kaleb snorts and rubs his hand along my arm as I allow myself to relax against him.

"As I was about to say, I'll be awaiting a meeting with Brody Garcia to discuss the plan I've come up with regarding this organisation's future. I've also already filed for a divorce. I've managed to find a solicitor from outside of London with no connections to Alessandro or any other member of our family. He's helped me file the application, and I will be making phone calls to ensure that we can skip past the mandatory 'reflection period' that most other normal couples have to go through as that will take too much time."

"Hold on," I say, interrupting him. "There's no rush for us to get divorced anymore. I'm not pregnant, Jericho."

"It doesn't matter. This marriage never should've happened. I can't bear to stand in the way of my brother's happiness any longer. I hate the fact that you were forced into this and had no say in the matter. It's not right and I never should've agreed to it. We're getting divorced, Sophia, and I'm going to make sure it can happen as soon as possible," he states, determination laced in his tone.

"I need you to contact your father and your brother and tell them I need to have a meeting with them tonight. Whilst you do that, I'm going to make sure I can discreetly get the paperwork sorted out for us to get a divorce and Kaleb, I'm trusting you to figure out a way for us to kill our father after this weekend and make it look like an accident."

"Why wait until after the weekend? Can't I go kill him now and make it seem like a home invasion?" Kaleb asks. "I know my way around his security system and I can get Miles to help me."

Jericho presses his thumb and forefinger against the bridge of his nose and sighs.

"Sophia and I have to make an appearance at an event this weekend. Well, we all do, actually. It's the annual Rossi Auction. I do not want him dying before the auction because then we're bound to be bombarded with questions by not only members of the auction but the media as well. Plus, I want to be the one who puts a bullet through his head. We've discussed this plenty of times already. You're not taking that away from me."

"Fair point," Kaleb grumbles, resting his head against my side and huffing in disappointment.

"Can I ask why?"

Both of them look at me with alarmed gazes and their foreheads scrunched.

"You don't know?" Kaleb asks.

"Know what?"