Saving Her Billionaire

“No,” said Nate’s mother. “You think you love her, there is a huge difference. You think you love her, and this is going to be the end of you Nate. You are going to end up giving away everything you have. This is Samantha all over again, can’t you see that? I wouldn’t be surprised if this girl got pregnant on purpose in order to trap you, I wouldn’t be surprised at all. Don’t you think it’s a little bit suspicious? You’re not exactly under the radar, Nate, quite a few people know who you are. You are going to run one of the most profitable companies in the world. Is it really such a stretch of imagination to think that she knew who you were when she slept with you, and that she just slept with you because she wanted to get pregnant in order to secure her future?”

“Mother,” said Nate, his voice rising in anger, “please stop talking about things you don’t know about. You’re going to have to deal with the fact that I’m making a decision for me, please stop trying to disparage this girl, she really is nothing like how you think she is. She’s a really beautiful person. She’s my counselor, mother. I’ve been seeing her for so long now, and she has never pressured me into being there for her or giving her any money. In fact, the few times that I have offered financial support she has refused, and angrily so. I told her that I choose the company over her and the baby, you see, so she always told me that either I am in this completely or I don’t have to do anything.”

“That’s exactly what she would say to try and trap you!” said Nate’s mother, her voice rising with panic. “Oh, Nate, it’s so obvious that she is trying to ensnare you, you’re getting trapped again. Please, remember Samantha.”

“She’s nothing like her,” said Nate. “Samantha always coaxed me into buying her things. Phoebe is the exact opposite.”

“Phoebe,” said Nate’s mother, making a face as if the word was bitter in her mouth. She had a look of absolute hatred on her face. “You are going to make us lose everything, Nate. You are going to make us lose everything.”

“I can’t have both,” said Nate. “If I run the company I won’t be a good father to the child. I will never be present. The only reason Father was ever present in my life was because he was training me to take his place, that’s why I was able to see him. How often did Julia see him, Mom? She barely even had a father. I don’t want to force my child to choose a life that he doesn’t want, which means that if I run the company I am not going to be involved in my child’s life. That’s the long and short of it. I have to choose, and I choose my child. I choose the woman I love. You are just going to have to deal with this, mother.”

“Fine!” screamed Nate’s mother, getting up and barging out. “Fine, go to your wh*re! I don’t care. I don’t care about anything anymore.”

Nate watched his mother leave. He was sad that she had left the way she had, sad that his relationship with his mother had been kind of spoiled by the fact that he was choosing to be there for the people that truly needed him instead of doing what she wanted him to do, but at the end of the day Nate had to be his own person, he had to start taking charge of his happiness because otherwise the whole world would end up sucking him dry.

He called Phoebe to tell her how he felt but she didn’t answer. He got a little worried. He hadn’t talked to her in two days. Could it be that she had gotten hurt somehow? He had been so irresponsible, he should have been there for her.

He called her again and a woman picked up. It was Stephanie, and she told him to get to the hospital immediately because something horrible had happened.

*****

Phoebe was awake now, but she was still a little groggy. The doctors told her that her baby was fine, and that she had fainted because she had been under a great deal of emotional stress. Ruth was there with her and Phoebe was glad, even though having Ruth there just continued to confuse Phoebe. It was preferable to being alone, though, so Phoebe was glad to have her there in the end.

Stephanie was there too, and Phoebe was glad about that. The only person she missed was Nate. She realized that she loved him more than she loved Ruth. The only problem was that he didn’t love her and Ruth did. She would choose the person that loved her over the person that didn’t. She would be miserable if she was not with someone that she wanted to be with, and that would end up making it difficult for her to be a good mother to her child. Hence, being with Ruth would allow her to be a good mother because it would make her happy.

It made her sad, because she loved Nate more. A lot more. She just had to put herself first, because being unhappy would only end up making her a bad mother and nothing else.

She looked around her hospital room. It reeked of antiseptic, that hospital smell that Phoebe hated so much. She was surrounded by it. She felt like it was an accurate representation of her life and this made her laugh out loud.

“What’s so funny?” asked Ruth. Phoebe ignored her. She didn’t know how she could possibly respond to that. Could Ruth not see what was funny? It was Phoebe’s life. Everything about it was funny. Everything about it was a joke.

All of a sudden, Nate came bursting in. “Phoebe!” he said, rushing to her and holding her tight. “Oh my God, I am so sorry that I wasn’t here. I wish I had taken care of you better.”