The Billionaire's Bride

Chapter 6

Five months later

Jisoo struggled to her feet, which was becoming harder with each passing day. Her back was hurting particularly bad that day and she was feeling a bit grumpy.

“Excuse me, is anyone here?” she heard a voice ask. She continued up and was a bit bummed to have a new customer. Jisoo owned a fairly successful floral shop, but some days she wished it was a bit less busy.

When she’d found out she was pregnant, after her impromptu vacation, she’d panicked at first. The more time she had to think about it though, the more excited she became. She was now excited to hold her little girl in her arms. She’d received her first pictures of her unborn daughter only a few weeks ago and had been far too excited to wait to find out the gender of the baby. Besides, she was on a tight budget and had to search for clothing as it was on sale.

Jinyoung had tried calling her for the first month after she got home but he’d finally taken the hint she didn’t want to talk to him and left her alone since. She had then found out she was pregnant a couple weeks after his last call but she wasn’t ready to talk to him about it. She knew she was going to have to tell him but she wasn’t looking forward to the conversation. She just wanted to bask in the glow of her pregnancy for as long as she could.

She wasn’t basking in any glow that afternoon, though. Her back was killing her, her feet were at least twice their normal size and she’d been really busy. She was incredibly grateful the day was almost over.

“Sorry about that, it’s taking me a bit longer to get to my feet these days,” Jisoo said, as she finally stood up. The woman smiled at her and then looked towards her hand. She frowned a bit before talking once again.

“Is this you and your husband’s first child?” the woman asked.

“This is my first child. I’m not married, though,” she said, though she didn’t know why she felt the need to explain herself.

“Oh,” the woman almost sneered at her. “I don’t really need anything after all,” she finished and turned to leave.

Jisoo was in shock as the woman walked out the door. What century was she in, that someone would look down on her because she was pregnant and not married? She decided to close a few minutes early because her day wasn’t going to get any better. She walked toward the glass door and turned the sign, then saw a familiar face through the panel.

“Hello beautiful,” her bestfriend, Kim Taehyung said.

“You’re a breath of fresh air Tae, it’s been a rough day,” Jisoo said as Taehyung threw his arms around her for a hug.

“I always like to hear that from a beautiful lady,” he said with his normal good humor. “I’m taking you out for a terrific dinner and the new horror flick,” he said as he helped her lock up.

“That sounds heavenly,” she replied. She needed to watch some zombies eating the human race, to help take her mind off her worries, especially that last customer. She followed him out to his vehicle and they were soon off.

They had been best friends since high school and were always there for one another, anytime one of them went through a bad break up. She didn’t know how she could make it without Taehyung.

“I’ve been trying to work up the courage to speak to you about something but haven’t known how to approach it,” he said to her, as they were eating their desert.

“You know you can talk to me about anything Taehyung,” she answered him, truly meaning it.

“Okay, I’m just going to go for it and I want you to really listen to me and seriously think about what I’m saying,” Taehyung started. She was starting to get a bit concerned. She reached across the table and took his hand in hers, encouragingly.

“I think we should get married, no wait, before you start shaking your head. Remember, you promised to listen,” he stopped her, when she immediately shook her head.

“Okay I’ll listen but you’re crazy,” she had to say.

“It’s really not that crazy if you think about it. We’re best friends and truly love each other. We’ve always been there for each another, plus we never fight. Neither one of us have been able to find the right person and now you have this baby girl coming in four short months and I’d make a terrific father,” Taehyung said in one breath.

“But Taehyung we have never been more than friends. There has to be more than just friendship,” she tried to reason with him. She didn’t feel any attraction towards her best friend but she didn’t want to say that to him. There was no reason to be hurtful.

“I’m simply asking you to think about it. I can take care of you and the baby and I think we could be happy,” he said, while staring into her eyes. Jisoo did love Taehyung and he was being reasonable but she’d never been physically attracted to him. She wished she loved him romantically because he was about the most perfect guy she’d ever known. But he simply didn’t make her stomach quiver the way Jinyoung had. She shook her head, to push that thought out of her mind. Jinyoung wasn’t a factor in any of her decisions.

The baby kicked her as she had that last thought and she smiled. Her little girl was a huge reminder Jinyoung was a factor. She couldn’t think about that right then. He’d lied to her and been no better than her cheating ex. She couldn’t possibly trust him to be a part of her life.

“Let me think about things, Tae,” she said.

“Take your time Jisoo, I know it’s a huge decision but I really do mean it. I’ll take care of you and love every second doing it,” he said. Taehyung had pretty much given up on romantic love himself but he’d go to the ends of the earth for his bestfriend. He wished he felt more than friendship toward her but far more marriages had lasted with less going for them than what he and Jisoo shared. He’d hated watching her suffer over the last several months. He couldn’t leave her all alone and pregnant.

“What happens if you meet the one and you’re stuck with me?” she asked.

“What if you’re the one but we never realized it?” he asked his own question. She laughed and promised to let him know soon. They went to their movie and the rest of the evening was relaxed as it always was. She had a feeling both of them would really regret it if she said yes but it was very tempting.

He pulled up in front of her apartment and walked her to her door, like he always did. They had never had one of those awkward moments but were having one right then. He took a deep breath and bent down to lay his lips on hers.

Jisoo’s first instinct was to pull away and ask him what he was possibly thinking but the man had proposed marriage to her, so it stood to reason he’d want to share a kiss. She made herself relax as he deepened the kiss. His arms wrapped around her awkwardly and she laid her own hands on his arms as he drew out the kiss.

She was incredibly sad to realize she felt absolutely nothing. There was no spark, no quivering in her stomach. She wasn’t repulsed or anything but it was like kissing a cousin. He finally pulled away from her and she saw the regret in his own eyes. It was obvious he’d felt nothing either.

“Well, I’ll leave you for now. Let me know what you decide. Our marriage doesn’t have to be about passion and unrequited love, it can be about friendship and loving your baby girl,” he said to her. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince himself, or her. It didn’t really matter, she thought because it wasn’t about either of them, it was about her baby.

She reached up on her toes and kissed him softly on the cheek, then went through her door. She leaned against it, as a single tear fell down her face. She really wished she’d felt at least a smidgen of passion from her bestfriend.