Sugar Love

by Andromeda

  Everyone takes their seats and Georgianna shoots Rosalinda a withering look, but she acts as if she doesn't see it.

  "So," her lawyer begins to say. "We have gathered here to talk about the custody of young Lukas François."

  "That is right," Alphonse says, nodding. "I wish for sole custody as I believe that while Georgianna is a...good mother...she lacks some of the factors that are needed to care for him.”

  "And you believe you have those qualities?" Georgianna cuts in.

  "Yes, I do," Alphonse says nodding.

  "And your...relationship with the young lady at your side hasn't affected your feelings toward your son?" the lawyer asks.

  Rosalinda and Alphonse both look at each other with an arched eyebrow before turning back to look at the man. "What do you mean by that?" Alphonse asks.

  "Well, Ms. Wyatt has told me that ever since your...relationship with the lady here, you've been a bit different,” the lawyer says.

  "Different how?" Alphonse asks.

  "You're not as close with this mother as you were,” the lawyer says

  "I was never close to Georgianna,” Alphonse points out.

  "You got close enough to get me pregnant," she mutters.

  Rosalinda grits her teeth, her hands clenching the armrest of the chair. Carefully, Alphonse puts his hand on her thigh to calm her. All this anger isn't healthy for the baby; he keeps telling her she needs to keep her temper in check.

  "Like I said," Alphonse says, turning back to the lawyers. "I wasn't that close to Georgianna and she knows that. We had an agreement that I will see my son whenever I wish, and I will pay her that $90,000 a month."

  "But if you take him away from me, I'll no longer get that," Georgianna says. "How am I to make a living?"

  "You're a world famous model," Rosalinda says through clenched teeth. "Figure it out."

  "I'm sorry, but was I talking to you, Maria?" Georgianna sneers.

  "Strike two..." Rosalinda growls under her breath.

  Alphonse’s eyes narrow at Georgianna. Everyone knows that Rosalinda is a bit touchy about her ethnicity. When he and she first got together, she had to constantly remind him that she's Puerto Rican, not Mexican. At first, he didn't see the difference until she explained it to him; Georgianna is bluntly swinging an ethnic slur.

  "Her name is Rosalinda, not Maria," he says tightly. "And you will respect the mother of my child."

  "I'm the mother of your child," Georgianna says.

  "The child that you abuse," Rosalinda mutters.

  Everyone looks to her with shock but Alphonse.

  "Excuse me?" Georgianna says, standing to her feet. "I love my son."

  Rosalinda stands up too. "You love beating him, that's what you like. I have seen the marks as has Alphonse. I have pictures on my phone as well as on a flash drive. Video of Lukas telling me about the closet."

  "You're lying," Georgianna hisses. "Trying to tear Phonsie and me apart so that you and your little bastards can have him to yourself!"

  "What did you say about my children?!" Rosalinda shrieks.

  She lunges across the table at her. Quickly, Alphonse has to grab her as her wicked nails claw at Georgianna, looking for anything to grasp. "You bitch! Take that back!" she screams at her.

  "Calme, ma rose," Alphonse whispers in her ear, slowly tracing circles in her back. "Calm down, my love; it’s not good for the baby.”

  Slowly, he can feel her heavy breathing slowing down until it’s back to normal. Alphonse exhales deeply; that could have been a lot worse. Suddenly, Rosalinda hunches over, wrapping her arms around her waist. A red spot drips down from her stockings and drops onto the floor.

  "You're bleeding," he says in shock and worry before looking to the lawyers. "This meeting is over; I'm taking her to the hospital."

  "But we're not..." Georgianna's lawyer begins to say, but Alphonse cuts him off.

  "I'm taking the mother of my child to the hospital right now," he says sharply. "We can continue this talk another time. But right now, I have to tend to her."

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  It isn't a long drive to the hospital and they are admitted almost instantly, taking Rosalinda to L&D. Alphonse gets on the phone with his sister, asking her if she could go and pick up the children from work. She tells him of course, and to focus on Rosalinda while she handles everything else. Rushing into the room where she was put, he begins to question the nurses and doctors.

  "What's wrong with her? Why is she bleeding? She's nearly eight months, so what's going on with her? Does she have cramps? Tell me right now!"

  His brother swears that Alphonse could have been a judge in a past life or something. The doctor and nurses try to explain to him what is going on: Rosalinda had gotten too upset, her blood pressure spiked, and it is putting a lot of stress on the baby.

  "She needs to calm down," the doctor says firmly. "Or else she is going to lose it."

  "Well, I live a very stressful life," Rosalinda snaps back. "And Alphonse, there is no way that bitch is getting our son."

  "I don't care what is going on," the doctor continues. "You are confined to bedrest for the rest of this pregnancy."

  "What?!" she shrieks. "No way am I just lying in the bed all day. Alphonse, wipe that grin off your face before I smack it off!"

  Alphonse didn't even know he was smirking. The only thing he heard was confined to bed, and all he could think about was her naked...he blinks in surprise.

  "Huh? Oh, sorry, I didn't know I was doing that."

  "Confined to bedrest just means you need to decrease your activity level," the doctor explains. "So, that means kick all the stressful things out of your mind."

  "Let me handle the problem with Georgianna," Alphonse says, taking her hand and kissing it. "I can do it. But please, do not stress yourself or this baby out."

  "Fine..." she grumbles. "I'll do the stupid bedrest..."

  Alphonse smiles with relief and turns to the doctor, who gives him a prescription for medicine that should ease any cramps she might have. After finishing at the hospital and getting it filled, he returns to Rosalinda to take her home. The children swarm them when they walk through the door, though they are careful when it comes to Rosalinda.

  "She has to have low stress levels," Alphonse explains to them. "So, that means you have to be her little helpers until your little brother or sister comes here."

  "Papa?" Lukas whispers to him once the others are gone. "Will I have to go back to live with...Georgianna? I don't want to go with her, I love Rose."

  "I know, son," Alphonse say, patting his head. "And I swear to you that you won't."

  Chapter Twenty

  "Rose? I'm heading out!" Alphonse calls at the bottom of the stairs.

  "Hold on, I'm coming," Rosalinda calls back.

  Carefully gripping the railing, she waddles down the stairs. She feels so fat and silly; this pregnancy has been her hardest out of all of them. Between the bleeding, cramps, cravings, and temper tantrums...she doesn’t know how Alphonse keeps up with her.

  When she reaches the bottom of the stairs, he smiles at her and takes her into his arms. "Ok, I'm going for my trip. I'll be back no later than Monday, ok?"

  "Alphonse, will you just go?" she says, rolling her eyes with mock annoyance. "I'll be fine for the next 3 days. The children are at your sister’s and I have Georgia coming over with Aiden to be with me."

  He cups her chin. "And you are sure you'll be ok?"

  "I have food, reality TV shows, and my friends," she answers. "I'll be in heaven."

  Smiling, he presses his lips briefly to hers, only to stop when his driver honks the horn and he groans with annoyance.

  "Keep the bed warm until I get back," he teases.

  "Will you just go?" she laughs, shoving him away. "You're going to be late!"

  "Alright, alright," he chuckles. "I'm leaving. I love you."

  "I love you, too," she says, smiling as she watches him leave.

  Once he leaves
, she turns into the house and throws her head back, screaming at the top of her lungs, "I FINALLY GOT THE HOUSE ALL ALONE TO MYSELF!"

  However, her alone time is quickly cut short because a couple minutes later, Georgia and Aiden knock on the door. She blinks a moment when she sees Georgia and is shocked. She is glowing, her hair perfect like always, and her eyes no longer red from crying. She is dressed in what she would consider normal clothes; a t-shirt and jeans with a bag at her side.

  She takes a step back to think, her jaw dropping. She hasn’t seen her best friend a lot since her big breakup with Gabriel, but she did see her a couple times at events that Alphonse threw on the arm of his brother Pascal.

  "Well, don't you look all nice and happy?" Rosalinda remarks, letting them in.

  Georgia blushes and tucks some hair behind her ear. "D...do I? I didn't notice..."

  "U-huh..." Rosalinda says with a nod. "Who is it?"

  "Who is who?" she asks innocently.

  Rosalinda opens her mouth to respond when Aiden cuts in. "Where are we going to sleep?" he asks.

  "Oh," she says, getting distracted. "Where ever you want. Come on, I'll show you to the guest rooms."

  After showing them where to put their things, they all run to the kitchen—well, Rosalinda waddles—in order to find something to eat. You do not hold back food from a pregnant woman and all her friends know this. Alphonse was good enough to pack the fridge full of food for them. However, about 95% of it is healthy stuff: apples, carrots, nuts. Rosalinda has to remind Alphonse over and over again that she’s having a human baby, not a squirrel.

  However, after a closer examination of the items, they found the items in order to make homemade pizza. They made three, once for each of them and as they cooked, the friends all plopped down onto the couch to watch Total Divas. About 20 minutes into it, the doorbell rings and with great reluctance, Rosalinda get up to answer it. Opening the door, her mouth begins to open, thinking it is Georgianna but it's not; it's Gabriel.

  ❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

  His watery eyes look her up and down, his lips curling into a lecherous smirk.

  "Well, aren't you the bees knees?"

  "What the hell do you want?" she snaps. "And why are you here?"

  "What's wrong?" he asks. "Not happy to see me?"

  "I'd be happier to see a rattlesnake," Rosalinda hisses. "Now tell me, what do you want?"

  "Just checking up on the things that I want,” Gabriel says smirking.

  Rosalinda grits her teeth. This jackass...always thinking of women as 'things' and 'items' rather than human beings.

  "Well, the thing you want is not available right now. Not ever," she begins to close the door, but his next words stop her.

  "Oh really?” he says. “You'd think the uncle of your son would have more of your respect."

  Rosalinda freezes and looks at him, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "What are you talking about?"

  Gabriel smirks. "Don't you remember Drew Mumford?"

  How could I forget that name? It's the name of Antonio's father. "How do you know that name?" she growls.

  "He is my brother," Gabriel says smugly. "And he is dead."

  "Then why are you here?" Rosalinda asks then.

  "For the boy," Gabriel says.

  Rosalinda’s eyes widen. "You have no claim on my son."

  "Actually, I do," he says. "When Drew died, he left it in his will that I would be the protector of his son. It was his wish to have part custody, but you ruined that. I plan to reopen the case."

  "You. Will. Do. No. Such. Thing!" she shrieks. "My son is mine and you are not taking my son from me!"

  "I'd be glad to leave him with his mother," he says, and then smirks. "For the right price..."

  Rosalinda looks at him. "What do you want?"

  "Leave Alphonse and be my girl. I'm sure we will have much...fun together,” Gabriel says, smirking.

  "Are you out of your damn mind?" she snaps. "There is no way I'm letting your greasy fingers get even close to me!”

  "Then I'll see you in court," Alphonse says with a smirk. "But I'll return tomorrow morning to talk to you."

  Turning on his heel, he leaves, digging into his pocket to take out his phone, but something drops out. A flash drive. Being a good kind person, Rosalinda should have returned it to him but right now, she’s feeling anything but. Instead, she tucks it into her own pocket to look at later. Returning to the living room, she sees Aiden and Georgia on the couch and sighs heavily.

  "Guys...we have a big problem."

  ❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

  "You have to be kidding me!" Aiden exclaims for the 50th time as they sit on Rosalinda’s bed eating ice cream. "There is no way that you are giving that leech joint-custody of Toni."

  "Like hell I will!" Rosalinda snaps. "There is no way I'm letting that happen."

  "But how are you going to stop him?" Georgia asks. "Gabriel is used to getting what he wants. He never hasn't."

  "There must be something we can do," Aiden says. "Surely that man isn't squeaky clean in history."

  Rosalinda frowns a moment as she tries to think. "Georgia, you never told me what he does for work."

  "He’s into law," she answers. "As well as many different kinds of secret companies."

  Rosalinda’s eyes widen. "Wait a second." Getting up from the bed, she walks to the dirty clothes hamper and digs through it until she finds what she’s looking for: the flash drive. "You know this looks very important...would be a shame if someone looked at it."

  Aiden got out his laptop and they plugged it in, only to find it locked.

  "Try his birthday," Rosalinda suggests.

  With the help of Georgia, Aiden types his birthday but nothing comes up. The friends try what seems to be hundreds of passwords, but still nothing.

  "Try...bigdaddyallthegirlsloveme," Georgia mumbles. Rosalinda and Aiden look at her in shock and the poor girl she flushes. "He erm...made me scream it out..." she says, blushing.

  Nodding, Aiden types it into the computer and it unlocks everything. Clicking on a folder, all their eyes all widen in shock. The next morning, Rosalinda waits for Gabriel to return and right on cue, he knocks on the door. Walking to it, she glares down at the small man who she is much taller than, even without heels.

  "Did you think about what I said?" he asks.

  "Yes, I did," she says coolly. "And my answer is this: hell no."

  "Then I'll see you in court," Gabriel says with a shrug before turning to go.

  "You do that," she calls after him casually. "And I'll send the information I have about your illegal selling of US military arms to terrorists."

  Gabriel falters and turns back look at her. "What are you talking about?"

  Rosalinda grins and holds up the flash drive. "You know you really should keep your things under wraps."

  He snatches it from her hands. "Where did you get that?" he snarls.

  "You dropped it," Rosalinda says, letting him have it. "And you can have it. I'm surprised you’re so deep the terrorist operations."

  "No one will believe you," he says, tucking the flash drive into his pocket.

  "Not without proof," she says shrugging. "I copied everything on that drive as well as contacts, locations, maps and other stuff." Her eyes narrow as she steps close.

  "You have caused my friend's life to be hell," she snarls. "So, here is the deal: you leave me, my son, and my family alone as well Georgia. You get your fat, moldy ass out of here and never look back, or else I will ruin you. Got it?"

  Gabriel falters under her gaze. "G...got it."

  When Alphonse returns the next night, he asks what happened while he was gone and Rosalinda responds with a shrug and a simple, “Oh, you know, the usual.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  "Guys, are you almost ready?" Alphonse calls up the stairs. "We have to get to the courthouse in less than 20 minutes."

  "Coming!" the chorus of his family sings at the same time.

  Chuc
kling to himself, he walks to a mirror to fix his tie and look at himself. Dressed from head to toe in his signature black, he looks at his slicked back hair. Today is the day, the day that they all head to the courthouse for the hearing that will decide the fate of Lukas.

  He is beyond nervous; he is completely terrified of what might happen today. He has submitted all of his evidence and he knows that Georgianna is going to fight dirty. Knowing her, she will dig up things about his past, his business...even things about Rosalinda. Knowing her, she will have her lawyer call them up to testify and will try to twist their words. He can only pray that they get through this.

  "Penny for your thoughts?" Rosalinda asks, appearing behind him in the mirror.

  Alphonse turns around and looks at her. She's dressed in a knee-length dark grey dress that is sleeveless, along black tights and low-heeled black boots. She has on minimal makeup and her wild curls are loose with only a headband holding them back.

  "Just thinking of the case today," he sighs. "This can go any way..."

  "No it's going to go our way," she says, gently cupping his cheek. "Alphonse, you have been too good a man for this to go any other way."

  "Still..." he says, frowning. "Georgianna is going to play dirty. It's just her way."

  "The evil are always caught by their own web,” she says smiling. “All we have to do it wait for them to fall into it.”

  Sighing, he nods and gently spreads his palm over her belly. She is literally nine months, and still this baby is in there. As if sensing his discomfort and anxiety, he can feel a light tap against his hand.

  Rosalinda winces. "This one has one hell of a kick."

  "Is she causing you trouble?" he asks.

  "Not really," she says shrugging. "Just a little bit mobile. And she?"

  "I think it's going to be a girl," he says.

  "And what makes you think that?" she asks.

  Alphonse shrugs. "Just a feeling." Another kick, earning a smile from him.

  ❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

  BANG! BANG! BANG!

  "Attention! Attention, we shall call this hearing to order. Alphonse François versus Georgianna Waltz for the sole custody of Lukas François. All rise, the honorable Rachael Williams presiding!"