Chapter 54

"We're clean, baby." I repeated with a smile on my face. Victoria looked at Dr. Moore for what seemed like approval.

"Michael, but, who would do something like that? I can't..." Victoria looked so confused. So confused that she was about to cry.

"It was all a misunderstanding. I'm telling you. They had someone new in the lab who had no idea what they were doing and released the results they thought were right. Then he had the nerve to call me in to tell me that we were clean. I made sure he was fired on spot and the office was shut down."

"How could you have someone fired?"

"I just did."

"You didn't sue or anything?"

"You bet I did. I had to make sure they wouldn't pull a stunt like that on anyone else." At that, Victoria began to cry tears of joy. I hugged her close. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, V for everything I put you through. You didn't deserve it and there was no reason for me to hurt you the way I did." All she could do was cry. I heard Dr. Moore sniffle.

"Michael..." Victoria managed to say.

"I'll never do it again. I promise." Victoria nodded in agreement. As soon as we got ourselves together, I sat closer to Victoria and she held my hand tightly.

"So, Victoria, is Michael allowed to move back in?" I looked at Victoria hoping she would say yes.

Victoria shook her head, "not yet."

"Why not?" Dr. Moore asked.

Victoria turned to face me, "Michael, I need you to prove to me and the boys that you will never cheat on me... on us again."

"How? I'll do anything."

"You can't move in just yet, but what we can do is try to build our relationship again. Remember, you've been gone for about two months. The boys and I haven't seen you in so long." I nodded in agreement. "We can...go on dates, family outings...anything we can think of, but until we get that trust back. I can't let you back in."

"I understand." I told her.

"Are you sure you can handle that, Michael?" Dr. Moore asked me.

"Yes, I'm sure."'

"Where will you stay in the mean time?"

"I guess in hotels or with one of my siblings."

"Michael, you don't have to be so far away... The secret house is perfectly fine." Victoria offered.

"But that's technically moving back in..."

"No, it's not. The secret house is pretty far from the main house. I can't have you staying in hotels. We just won't tell the boys you're on the property. We have to create the illusion that you're actually somewhere else."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive." She nodded.

"So, can I see the boys tonight?"

"Of course."

"Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, I hate to intervene, but we have some other unresolved issues that need to be taken care of." Dr. Moore looked at Victoria.

"Like what?" I asked. Victoria looked at Dr. Moore with a puzzled look as if to ask what she could have forgotten. Dr. Moore showed her the notepad she takes notes on.

"Oh yeah..." Victoria sighed

"What?" I asked. The worst case scenario popped in my head as they shared their message between one another. Did Joshua move in? Did they have sex? Are the divorce papers turned in? Must we carry out any divorce court proceedings?

"Michael, there's something I have to tell you. If you promise you'll understand..." Victoria bit her lip. I fear she's going to tell me she's been with Joshua. Please, God. Don't let her tell me that... "Do you promise?"

"I can't promise anything at this point." I looked at Victoria.

"Um..." she paused.

"What?" I didn't mean to rush her. I'm so anxious.

"I'm pregnant." I looked at her for a moment.

"What?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'm fourteen weeks."

"Wait, what are you talking about? We-"

"We had sex on my birthday, Michael. All those faints and stuff. It was because I'm pregnant."

"But..." I'm so confused right now. "Are you sure? Did you go to the doctor?"

"Yeah. You should believe me. I'm your wife and we already have a family.

"But, V...no, wait. I'm confused now. Why didn't you tell me? I was with this other woman for two months, because she claimed to be pregnant."

"I couldn't tell you. How could I tell you? After everything we were going through. Why would I have told you?"

"V, you lost weight. Why would you lose weight while you're pregnant? Who was taking care of you while I was gone?"

"Joshua was taking care of me and when he was gone, Janet would take care of me. I lost weight because of the stress you caused."

"Victoria..."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I thought it was best I didn't tell you since we were in the process of a divorce."

"And not be there for my child?"

"You would have been there. Just not on a daily basis." My heart felt heavy. All my screwing around took all of my attention away from my family and my wife who is pregnant. If I could take it all back, I would. I would have never gone to the bar to pick up Gabriella. Never would have called that chat line to pick up 2. And definitely never would have flirted with Jennifer to get in her pants and try to be a player. Something I'm not...

"So, what's going to happen now? Can I still move in to take care of you?"

"Exactly." I sighed and looked around the room, catching eyes with Dr. Moore. I forgot all about her to be honest.

"Michael, how do you feel right now?" Dr. Moore asked me.

I shook my head, "I'm confused. I'm upset with myself and..." I looked at Victoria. "I'm just confused as to why she didn't tell me. Why didn't I stop screwing around? Why did I not notice the signs that she was pregnant? There were way more signs than Jennifer had obviously. I just feel like..." I paused.

"Like what?" Dr. Moore asked.

"Like...I've failed so many people. My wife, my children, my mother, my siblings and more so myself."

"Why do you think you failed so many people?"

"I mean look at the situation I'm in. I didn't even know Victoria was pregnant. Me being so much into my selfish desires made me completely ignore her."

"Do you think you could make everything better?"

"How?" I looked at her.

"Come back to your family. Tell your mother and your siblings everything. Apologize to your children, your wife and most importantly, yourself. When you get back to your home or the secret house, I think you should spend most of your time with Victoria and all three of your children, because they need you most."

I looked over at Victoria who in return was already gazing at me. I reached over to rub her stomach. My eyes watered as I actually felt her stomach holding my child. "I'm so sorry, Victoria." I breathed.

"I accept your apology."

"Do we know the sex yet?"

"Not yet. I wanted you to be there when I found out." When she said that, I leaned in to kiss her. She happily obliged, holding my face in her soft hands.

Dr. Moore cleared her throat. We stopped and gave her our undivided attention, "since you've given him the good news, what is the game plan?"

"He's still staying in the secret house. We're still having family outings and nights where it is just me and Michael. But," she paused to look at me. "When the boys are asleep convinced that Michael has gone back to his place, I will go to the secret house or he can be with me in the main house until the morning."

"Why do you have that arrangement?" Dr. Moore inquired.

"Because I've spent so many nights without him lately... I need him with me. I want him to hold and kiss me again. I just miss him. It may sound crazy, given all that we've been through, but Michael is all I've ever known. He was my first and will be my last. I love him. I swear there's something between us that no one else has. Because honestly, any 'normal' woman would have left her husband by now, but I'm not normal. I don't know what it is that makes me love him so much. I just can't stop. So... that's why I have that arrangement. I want to build our relationship again." Victoria smiled at me and held my hand tight.

"Michael, do you agree with these arrangements or-"

"Yes, yes, yes. A million times yes. I just can't wait until I can move back in with her."

"When will that be, Victoria?"

"Before the baby is born."

"That sounds great." Dr. Moore smiled and wrote on her notepad. "Well," she looked a her watch. "It seems as though our time is up. Do you all want another separate appointment or do you want to be together next time?"

"Together." Victoria and I said in unison.

"Alright. Our next appointment will be in three days. I'm sure a lot can be accomplished in three days. Normally, I would schedule for next week, but I have a vaction with my own husband and I want to leave you all on a good note before we see each other again in the next three weeks."

"Thank you so much, Dr. Moore." Victoria smiled.

"You guys are more than welcome." Dr. Moore smiled at the both of us. I took Victoria's hand as we walked out of the office. I led her to her car and opened her door. Victoria hugged me tight. I hugged her back. I haven't felt her body against mine in such a long time. I feel so whole again.

"I love you, Victoria."

"I love you, Michael." She responded and didn't let me go.

"Baby, I'll be all yours tonight. Let's go home. I'll be right behind you."

"You promise?" She looked up at me.

"I promise." I kissed her forehead. She finally let go and got in the car. I closed the door behind her and went to my car. We got on the highway to go home. All the while, all I could think about was getting my family back. I have my wife back. She forgives me and it's all because of her unconditional love for me.