Enraptured

Chapter 35

To say that my mother freaked out when she saw the ring on Belle's finger was an understatement.

Since we had slept through breakfast and would most likely be too busy to eat much during the gala, I took Belle out for a big lunch before bringing her back to my apartment and ended up arriving 30 mins past the agreed-upon time with my mother. She was fuming when we finally arrived and was more than ready to give me an earful, but all of her anger instantly disappeared the moment Araballe stepped in front of me and anxiously waved her hands in front of my mother, trying to calm her down.

In less than a second, my mother's eyes zeroed in on the giant diamond ordaining Belle's finger and released such a high-pitched squeal that dogs down the block probably could've heard it.

She bombarded Belle with a series of non-stop questions ranging from where the proposal occurred to the exact words of my proposal. She spoke so quickly that Belle's mind was visibly spinning, but my mother paid no mind to it and simply exclaimed that Belle could give her the details while they were at the salon.

She dragged my fiancée out before I could remind her not to overwhelm Belle and all I could do was hope that my mother wouldn't trigger another panic attack from my little angel. Even though Belle had my number and knew that she could call me at any time if she even felt the slightest bit of discomfort, I still couldn't help feeling worried about the whole situation.

Instead, I tried to keep myself distracted by going over to Belle's house on the upper side and picking up Theo from my guards.

After getting Belle's permission on the drive back from the countryside mansion, I planned to take Theo with us to my gala as long as he didn't have any qualms about it. I wanted to show off not only my adorable fiancée but also our little boy, who was on the way to fully accepting me as his father.

I nodded at the guards hidden around Belle's house as I walked up the front steps of her house. Knocking on the door, I waited for the usual series of tiny footsteps leading up to the pop of bright eyes at the lower left window of the doorway. I chuckled at Theo's little routine and waved at him as his little black head of hair popped out as expected.

The door swung open in less than a minute, revealing said boy. He was trying to keep a straight face, but I could tell he was restless to hear my answer with the way his eyes lit up hopefully as  he asked, "What did she say?"

I smiled and replied, "She said yes."

His little hands scrunched up fistfuls of his shirt as a small smile broke out on his lips. "That's great."

I ruffled his hair and squatted down to his height. "Your mother and I are attending an event tonight in celebration of the opening of my new building. Would you like to come with us?"

He perked up at my question but then stared at me in confusion. "But I'm not your biological son. Wouldn't that cause trouble?"

"Well... to some degree, yes... But I'm not too bothered by it. I already see you as my child, and I would much rather show everyone how wonderful my family is than hide you in fear of some worthless media." I glanced down at him. "I hope you aren't bothered by that..."

He paused for a moment before looking down at the ground. "Can... Can I really be your and Ms. Belle's son?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't we want such an intelligent and mature little boy?" I teasingly squeezed his cheeks, earning a soft whine from him, but he didn't pull away. "Plus, I'm sure my parents would be more than excited to get a grandchild finally."

His eyes widened. "G-grandchild? Are you sure they would accept me? I'm just a kid picked off the streets."

Ah... there goes his low self-esteem again... The insecurities that he had buried deep beneath his hard exterior...