Part Time Romance

Everyone was silent through the explanation. Lucas just held Maya in his arms as he rubbed her back. Once she finished telling them her health issue they were quiet for a moment before Derrick got up, he walked towards the couple and spoke, " Don't worry my child. We will do whatever that's within our power to help treat you. If at all it doesn't work then it's not an issue either. You can look at other options such as surrogate or adoption. We will support you in any choice you make."

Irene teared up at the thought that her daughter had to endure such a traumatising experience all by herself, " Why did you not tell us? Why did you have to go through the trauma all by yourself? We could have been there for you and helped you. There is nothing your dad or your brothers are not capable of doing!" Irene frowned at the thought that her daughter kept such a big secret from them. " I didn't want to worry anyone with this issue. I needed time to read up about it and accept it myself. I was not concerned about getting pregnant all these while until now."

Lucas spoke up from behind her, " I have already set up a meeting with the best specialist in the country. I have also flown down the best doctors from Europe to join the discussion." Maya turned to Lucas with a stunned expression. She had only told him this last night but he had already made plans to help her solve her problem. He really loved her so much, she thought to herself. She smiled at him as she squeezed his hand.

" We are going to be part of this discussion. If they cant come up with a solution, I am bringing down the Dean of the Medical Faculty from Harvard," replied Shane as he walked towards his sister. " You are our only sister. Did you think we would allow you to undergo such an ordeal without our support? What are we here as brothers then for?" Maya smiled up at him and gave him a hug. She loved they way her family pampered her but she refused to run to them at every sight of a problem. She always wanted to solve her issues herself.

She only decided to tell them this because she didn't want to disappoint anyone when there were no signs of a grandchild. She shook away all negative thoughts and decided to be optimistic. " Lets not worry about this issue. I am sure it will get resolved. Let's move on to a more exciting topic. My Wedding!" Her mother smiled at her enthusiasm. She knew how much her daughter had thought about her wedding and also how stubborn she would be in getting what she wanted. Irene knew that Lucas would end up giving in to all of Maya's demands for her perfect wedding.

" What do you want us to do?" asked Samantha eagerly. Maya gleefully smiled and gave everyone orders on executing her perfect wedding. She was so particular to the specifications of each and every component. Her brothers grew tired and stopped listening. They knew she would email them the exact same thing again so they would wait patiently for it and forward it to their assistants.

Lucas lifted an eyebrow to the way she had planned her entire wedding. It was as if his input was not required. He didn't have the heart to argue or disagree. He was willing to give in to all her outrageous demands.

After dividing the workload, Maya and Lucas made their way back to his beach house. She had not been there since the first time they were together. She was happy to be back there and back in his arms. Maya looked towards Lucas as he was going around switching on lights and she asked him hesitantly, " Are you upset that you have no say in your own wedding? Did you want anything to be done differently?" She worried that she might have frightened him with her bridezilla tendencies.

Lucas smiled as her looked at her pouty face, " I am perfectly fine with anything you desire. As long as I get to marry you on that day, nothing else matters to me. I would do whatever you want as long as it makes you happy." She giggled and hugged him close, " You are such a good husband. I love you so much." Lucas hugged her back and said cheekily, " If you love your husband, you can show it in actions." Maya scowled at his cheeky behaviour but nonetheless made him happy multiple times that night.

She spent the next few weeks making all the necessary preparations for her wedding. She spoke to so many different people in different timezones. Lucas hired her a personal assistant to help her with her planning. He knew she needed help otherwise she would be buried under all the stress.

Everyone came through for her, and those who didn't were convinced by either her brothers or Lucas to give in to her demands. She had to thank her brothers for immediately organising everything she had asked the way she wanted it to be. Lucas frowned everyday when he saw her surrounded by either fabric swatches, glassware, colour concepts, themes.

She spent less time with him and more time with her assistant. She was even sleeping at odd hours. She would sleep during the day and work at night as her contact were in Europe and they were at a different time zone. It had been 3 weeks since she shared a meal with Lucas or even a proper conversation.

Lucas was not at all happy at the way she was ignoring him and spending every waking moment away from him. The next day he made her assistant take away all her wedding folders, samples and designs from their home. He also forewarned the assistant not to answer her calls. He gave her the rights to execute the preparations exactly the way Maya had described and told her to contact him if at all she faced any obstacles.

Maya woke the next day and screamed when she realised everything was gone. She tried calling her assistant but the calls didn't go through. She freaked as she ran down to ask Lucas what happened. Lucas was having his breakfast alone for the umpteen time. She ran up to him and asked, " Where are all my designs, samples and lists? Why is my assistant not answering my calls either?!" Lucas looked up at his bride to be and spoke solemnly, " Good morning to you too. No I am just about to have my breakfast. Yes you may join me. As for your wedding preparation, from today onwards it will be handled by the assistant who was hired to do the exact thing."

Maya gritted her teeth at his sarcasm. She was angry he took away all her lists and plans without even asking her. " Lucas do not mess around with me. I need those papers and I need my assistant. We are getting married in a month. Lots of things have not been finalised." Lucas gave her a cold glance as he spoke quietly, " You are so focused on your plans for our wedding that you have even forgotten my birthday."

Maya was aghast. She had forgotten it was his birthday today. Everyone else had wished him by then. His own fiance forgot, all because she was too busy planning their wedding. She felt terrible and extremely guilty. She should have been the first person to wish him yet he had to remind her.

He reluctantly ate the food but still maintained his silence. Maya was at her wits end trying to pacify her fiance. " What do you want to do today? Anything you want we can do," she promised him. He looked at her and said, " I want to spend my days talking to my wife. I don't want to have to wait 3 weeks to see her face again. I want to see her every day and hold her every night." Maya was so guilt - ridden. She realised that in her quest for a perfect wedding she had ignored the most important person to her.

She nodded her head at his request and promised to allow the assistant to handle all the arrangements. Only then did Lucas kiss her cheeks and hug her back.

Thanks to the promise she made him, she attended every check up diligently with him by her side. At times even her brothers would accompany her. She would be the only patient with multiple attendees. The doctor in charge was pleased with her progress and was certain she would have no trouble getting pregnant in the future. Lucas was thrilled. Maya started imagining babies with a mixture of both their features. A baby girl with her jet black curls and Lucas' ebony eyes and luscious lashes. A cute chubby baby. That was a recurring dream for Maya the following weeks.

Her family were pleased that she was healthy and ecstatic about her wedding. Manick and Irene reminisced about her childhood and were melancholic to the fact that in a week they would be walking her down the aisle and giving her away.