Chapter 94- Same birthday
A few weeks later… Tessa was now eight months pregnant and since she was carrying triplets, her belly was huge and heavy. Regardless, she still went to work to prepare for the three months that she would be on maternity leave.
As the CEO of the company, she wanted to leave things in order before taking a break and since Michelle would equally be on maternity leave, Celia would be left in charge.
“Celia, I want you to work together with Lisa when we are away. Make sure the designs our architects are creating are up to standard. Lisa knows what I look for in a design, there’s at reason our company is now known as the best in Ashford city,” Tessa said while they sat in-
her office.
For the period of her pregnancy, they conducted the meetings in her office because, according to her, that was the only place the babies wouldn’t kick her like crazy. She only had meetings with Celia, Michelle and Lisa because the other employees’ cologne was too strong for her
nose.
Even though she had banned putting cologne, she still felt like the body lotions or cosmetics the workers were using had a strong foul scent. This made her sick so she avoided everyone at
all costs.
When her belly became bigger, Aaron had a bigger and more comfortable leather chair made for her. It was an electric chair that could massage her back every now and then.
Celia nodded and replied, “Don’t worry about the company. Lisa and I will take care of it. I’m only sad that I can’t take care of my little nieces twenty-four-seven. But expect me to visit every day.”
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. When Tessa told the person knocking to enter, she frowned when she saw that it was Mia Hendrix, Tony’s sister.
“How can I help you?” Tessa questioned, her voice coming out a little more strongly.
This was because, the last time Tessa saw Mia, she had come to announce about her feelings for Aaron. Although she never saw her after that day, it didn’t mean she wasn’t wary of her.
She didn’t want any ladies going near her man.
Mia smiled. She pointed at the empty chair next to Michelle and asked, “Can I sit?”
When Tessa nodded reluctantly, Mia took a seat. She said hi to the other ladies in the office and then glanced at Tessa. She said, “I came to say bye.”
Tessa arched her eyebrows in confusion. “What? I don’t understand.”
Ma exnated and announced, “I’m leaving the city oriety. I was niging because after knowing Aaron has someone who loves him now, I wanted to move on and forget about him.
Unfortunately, I had failed to move on. He’s just so awesome-
“Girl, that’s a married man you’re talking about!” Michelle snapped, her nostrils flaring.
She had been quiet all this time but no one knew she was very irritable that morning
Mia flinched at Michelle’s tone but she quickly recovered. She replied, “I don’t mean it in a bad way. I just wanted to tell Tessa to take care of him.”
“Don’t worry about my man, Mia. I told you not to pine for a man that doesn’t love you. You will only get hurt,” Tessa remarked.
Mia nodded and said, “I know. That’s why I’m giving a man who has always loved me a chance. He’s going on a four week retreat so I’ve decided to go with him. Who knows? Maybe he is my prince charming. I came to see you because I hope we can be friends when I return. I don’t want to be your enemy.”
Tessa smiled and breathed out in relief. She uttered, “That’s more like it… If that guy you want to date hurts you, tell me. I’ll deal with him.”
When Mia was about to leave, she had only walked up to the door when Tessa stopped her. She said, “Wait… why are your shoes wet? Is it raining outside?”
“No, it’s not…” Mia trailed when she noticed the wet shoeprints she left behind her. She was confused for a split moment but then her eyes widened and then she screamed, “OMG, there’s water under your desk! I think your water broke!”
Since Michelle was the one who was due, she panicked. She looked down and noticed that her dress was wet. Her water had broken and she didn’t feel a thing!
“Mia, help me call Graham!” Celia shouted as she and Lisa rushed to Michelle’s side to help her up.
At the same time, Michelle started being dramatic. “Oh my god! I’m in labour! Is it going to hurt? Tessa, how painful is it? Will it hurt to push out a big baby from my pussy?”
Tessa laughed and replied, “Chill… that’s just a sign that you’re going into labour. The contractions haven’t even started yet.”
Michelle supported her belly with her hand and got to her feet with the help of Celia and Lisa. Mia was busy calling Graham while Tessa was laughing at how everyone was panicking.
She sighed and stood to her feet with difficulty, only for a gush of water to leave her core. She gasped, clamping a hand over her mouth.
Her water broke too!
wnen everyone was busy trying to neip Michelle to the door, Tessa grapoea ner phone and called Aaron, saying, “Babe, my water broke!”
Everyone in the office froze. Mia, Celia and Lisa had frightened looks on their faces. How were they going to look after two heavily pregnant women?
Meanwhile, Aaron was in a meeting when he received a call from his wife. He picked it up, thinking she was having another craving. However, he did not expect her to go into labour at eight months.
“What?” He stood up sharply, his heart racing. “Don’t you have a few weeks left, love?”
“I do. But it’s normal to give birth early when carrying multiple babies. Michelle has also gone into labour. Get here quickly! Ask Enock to get my bag from home and send someone to get the kids when they knock off from school!” Tessa instructed on the phone.
Aaron was momentarily lost but he soon came back to his senses and left the meeting. When he arrived at the shopping mall, Tessa had just been helped outside by some of her employees. She was about to enter Graham’s jeep since he arrived earlier.
He rushed towards her to help her out and said, “I’m here, love.”
Reaching her side, he quickly placed his arms around her and said to the male employee who was helping her out, “Thanks but I’ll take it from here.”
Tessa could detect a hint of jealousy in Aaron’s voice. She chuckled and remarked, “There’s no need to be jealous, babe. He was just helping me out.”
Aaron leaned over and kissed her cheek before replying, “I’m sorry for being late… I wasn’t expecting an early birth since you showed no signs of labour. But I’m here now and I’ll be by your side the whole time.”
Graham and Aaron took their wives to the hospital. Victor was on a one-month leave so he couldn’t be of help but everyone knew who the most powerful man in the City was. It was easy for them to make last-minute admissions.
2
Tessa was in a big VIP room since she had opted for a water birth to reduce her pain. Aaron had researched a lot and found out that this method was ideal to lessen the mother’s pain and it also reduces the use of a lot of pain medication.
“Oh,” Tessa groaned the moment they stepped into the ward. “My contractions have began.”
Aaron’s heart jumped to his throat. He quickly rubbed her lower back and told the nurse, “Can she enter the pool now?”
“Yes, she can. The water is already warm,” the nurse answered and helped Tessa into the birth pool that was filled with warm water.
Tessa immediately felt relaxed when she entered the pool. It felt like she was having a
3/6
painful.
She sighed and sat back on the birth pool seat, saying, “This is nice, babe. Thank you for having this set up.”
“Anything for you, my love. Just tell me if you need anything…” Aaron responded and kissed the top of her head. “I love you. Thank you for carrying our triplets. You’re amazing.”
At the same time, Michelle was receiving the same treatment. Aaron had shared what he had researched with Graham so he had also requested for a water birth for his wife.
Michelle was more nervous because this was her first pregnancy. Her contractions had started but not knowing whether the pain would be intense or not was making her anxious. Before this, she had researched about what happens when giving birth and the videos she watched left her traumatised.
“Baby, I’m here. Don’t be nervous. You can do this,” Graham said soothingly as he stroked her hair.
“Yeah… don’t you dare go anywhere!” Michelle snapped as her contractions became more frequent. “I’m in this situation because of you so just stay put even if I punch your balls!”
“Yes… baby. I won’t move an inch until our baby is out,” Graham replied.
Soon, it was 2:00 pm. Two VIP wards had two women giving birth at the same time.
It was as if the babies had planned to come out to the world on the same day.
In one ward, Aaron held Tessa’s hand and rubbed her back as she pushed their babies out one at a time. She had squeezed his hand so tightly but he dared not complain because the pain he was feeling was nothing compared to what she was going through.
Likewise, Michelle was pushing her son out in the other ward. She kept hailing insults at Graham, pulling his shirt and hitting his chest just for her to get through the difficult phase. Graham took it all in like a man. His heart ached when he saw his wife in pain and he wished he could take the pain for her….
However, the only thing he could do was stay by her side.
It didn’t take long for both wards to be filled with cries of babies. Both women gave birth successfully!
A few minutes later, Aaron was admiring his kids as they slept on their mother’s chest. He wound up shedding tears of joy.
They looked just like him!
He smiled and said, “Welcome into the world, little ones. Your Mommy and I love you so much. “Looking at his wife, he leaned down and kissed her lips, saying, “Thank you, love. This
Tessa asked, “Did you decide on the names? I want you to name them based on what you’re feeling right now.”
Aaron took in a sharp breath. He recalled how he felt a few minutes ago when he held the babies for the first time. He felt like he was no longer in the dark. He wasn’t there when his first children were born and now, he was introduced to the joy of holding a newborn baby.
The triplet girls were the light that pulled him from the dark side of being unaware of what it’s like to be a father to a newborn.
He smiled and said, “I’ll name them Alina, Ellen and Lucy.”
Tessa nodded. She kissed the babies’ little heads, starting from the oldest and remarked, ” Alina, Ellen, Lucy… I love the names.”
“We will be a big happy family,” Aaron added as warmth spread through his heart.
Meanwhile, Graham was a teary mess as he held his son. He couldn’t believe it was possible to love someone so unconditionally after seeing them for the first time.
This was what happened to him when he welcomed his son into the world. He felt so much joy that he couldn’t explain.
He looked at Michelle and claimed, “He’s so beautiful and he looks like you.”
Michelle smiled as she watched Graham with his son. Deep down, she was grateful that he was there for her throughout her pregnancy. He catered to her needs, endured her tantrums, satisfied her cravings and went for prenatal classes with her. She couldn’t have asked for
more.
This right here was all she ever wanted in life. To have a loving husband who made her feel like she was the only one in the world.
“I’m going to name him Gavin. All the men in our family have names that start with G. Gerald, Graham and now… Gavin,” Graham suggested. “What do you think, baby?”
Michelle smiled and agreed, “I think it’s perfect. At least Dad will be happy that you kept one of the family traditions.”
Later on, visitors were allowed into the wards. The triplets were happy to meet their siblings and couldn’t stop talking about how cute they were.
Since Gavin and the triplets had the same birthday, the families promised to hold joint birthday parties for them every year.
