Her fingers tightening around the flashdrive in her hand, Elena took a deep breath and made up her mind. She had been wrestling for a week with the conundrum of whether to share the contents with Harry. She was still stunned that her grandmother had gone through the trouble of digging for these information, much less giving it to her. A part of her wanted to rush to Harry's side and allow this to help him. But another part was hesitant. After much thinking and deliberating, her hesitation had been worn down by her desire to help and she was heading to his place. Even so, her hesitation was still there even as she opened the gate that would lead to the back of the house- having called Mrs Grant about her visit today.

A feeling of anxiety almost engulfed her as she slowly made her way on the path through the garden. The last words Harry had ever spoken to her came to mind and echoed relentlessly in her head. Her illusions of him ever having any soft feelings for her were destroyed that night and she still hadn't gotten over it. And yet, this information was going to help him get back all his hard work. The part of her that still liked him couldn't stop herself from hiding this from him. There was an increased urgency when a search on the web highlighted the damage of Xavier's leadership. She still couldn't believe all that she had read.

A sudden kick brought her back to the present. Her hand coming to rub the spot the kick had come from, her lips curved up in a reluctant smile. The boys were so active today. They must know they're seeing Daddy today. Patting her stomach fondly, she finally reached the kitchen and after pausing slightly, her hand was raised to knock when the door was pulled open. Taken aback at the suddenness, she took a step back at Mrs Grant's haggard face. She didn't offer any resistance when the woman took a hold of her arm and practically dragged her in.

Blinking at the sudden change in lighting, Elena was surprised to see a stranger, the woman she had met on the day she was bereaved of a job. The beautiful, mocha-skinned woman had looked cool and competent then but was now looking as haggard as Mrs Grant. Her skin was so pale it was almost ashy and it looked like she had chewed off most of the skin off her lips. Alarmed, Elena didn't show any resistance when Mrs Grant pulled her to the staircase leading up.

"Mrs Grant, what is going on? Did something happen to Harry?"Elena asked as she tried to match the other woman's speed but her increased bulk had slowed her down considerably. So much so that the housekeeper had to slow down as well.

"Mrs Grant, who is this woman?"the strange woman demanded as she grabbed Elena's other arm, making her stop. This, in turn, made Mrs Grant stop as well. Welcoming the reprieve, Elena had to stop herself from panting as she tried to catch her breath. How had such a short distance have tired her so easily?she wondered incredulously, her hand coming up to fan her flushed face. From the corner of her eyes, she caught the flash of desperation on Mrs Grant's face before she hid it

"This is her, the person I told you about. She can get through to Mr Reynolds, make him listen,"Mrs Grant said in hushed tones. Surprised by the air of secrecy that had descended upon the three of them all of a sudden, Elena was alarmed by the mention of Harry. What had happened for the usually collected but quiet woman to be so forward and grabby? Her arms coming around her shoulders, the derision and curled lips from the other woman distracted her slightly.

"Her? She's just a former employee of the company. How could she be of help? And why is she even here?" The way she rolled her eyes made Elena want to bare her teeth. She could ask this woman the same question. Gritting her teeth, she decided to ignore her and wait for Mrs Grant to answer.

"Aksa, I'm sure you have a lot of questions but we don't really have much of a choice. He isn't listening to anyone and he's meaner than ever. If we want him to ever snap out of this- this- whatever this is, she's the best person for the job,"Mrs Grant hissed, her patience, obviously, hanging by a thread. This made Elena apprehensive and worried about the older woman. The only person who had ever engendered such a reaction was Harry, even though Elena could never understand why. Maybe she would be seeing the reason now. "I mean, she's pregnant with his kids and his mood has seen quite an improvement since she came back into his life-"

"You have got to be kidding. She can't be pregnant with his baby. I mean, look at her. She's not his type-"

"Just because he didn't tap your ass doesn't mean he's immune to every women,"Mrs Grant cut in harshly. Elena could see that this was not going to end well, with the both them obviously under huge pressure and beginning to snipe endlessly at each other. She wasn't even sure what was going on but she had better defuse the situation.

"Maybe someone should explain to me what's going on. Going back and forth like this won't help. So why don't we all take a seat here and the both of you can talk in a civil manner?." Holding her breath, Elena let it out slowly when the other woman nodded. Assuming the same agreement from Mrs Grant, she was surprised to find the other woman balking when she tried to lead her to the living room. "Mrs Grant?"

"No, you have to see him now,"she said, her voice implacable. "I cannot take this anymore. He's only ever listened to you so you have to talk to him. Now."

"Mrs Grant, what's the rush? He's drunk out of his mind. A few minutes won't hurt him-"the other woman tried to reason but Mrs Grant shook her head.

"No. Now." The younger women shared a puzzled look but the other woman, Aksa, just shrugged helplessly. Not knowing what else to do, Elena began making her way up, apprehension and curiosity fighting for dominance.

What was she going to find on the second level?

----@@@-----

A sudden flash of light brought Harry back to consciousness and he immediately regretted it when his head began pounding like a drummer in a rock concert. Wincing, he turned to the other, darker side while letting out a harsh growl. That should do it; that had always scared them away.

Feeling himself falling back into the black abyss of drunken sleep, his eyes shot open when the curtains on that side of the bed was opened too. Absently wondering why he had decided to place his bed between the ceiling-to-floor windows, a barrage of words expressing his displeasure were at the tip of his lips when his eyes adjusted to the bright afternoon sun and they connected with apprehensive green eyes. Eyes he hadn't expected to see.

"Elena?"he said softly, not believing his eyes. In the act of picking up bottles of liquor that were spread across his bedroom floor. Maybe it was an illusion that his pounding brain had conjured up. But he began to doubt that when Elena slowly straightened and sent him a small smile.

"H-Harry. Did I wake you up?"

Harry wasn't paying attention to her words. All of attention was fixed on her abdomen. He could barely believe his eyes. He was sure that it was really Elena before him. In his room. In his mind, he had always pictured her as she was when she'd left. But the Elena in his room right now had expanded. Her stomach was huge. Or was a trick of the eyes? How was she able to stand and walk with how big her stomach was?

His eyes following her as she went to put down the bottle of Scotch on his desk, he wasn't even aware that he had gotten out of bed and approaching her until his hand touched part of her that was entrancing him.

"What- Harry, you can't just go about touching my belly,"she sputtered indignantly but his mind was elsewhere. Not even listening to her, a smile kicked up one side of his lips when he felt a hard kick or punch under his touch. And then another one beside his hand. His boys were as boisterous as ever. His other hand came up and it felt like the most natural thing to stand there and feel his boys communicating with him. Until Elena groaned. "Can the three of you reunite at a more comfortable setting? Like on your chair. Or your bed could work, too. Anything that would get me off my feet."

Looking into her grimacing face as her hand came up, as if holding herself up, a surge of anger obliterated the peace and all of it was focused on the woman before him. His hands coming up to close over her arms, his face came down close to hers. It surprised him slightly that she wasn't intimidated but he brushed away the distraction. Instead she looked quite calm in the face of his rage.

"What the hell are you doing here? Didn't you leave? So why don't you stay gone?"

"Hey, it's not like I even want to be here. I'm just wanted to give you this. That's it. So here. Do whatever you want with it." He felt a hard, rectangular piece of plastic being shoved against his chest. She pushed against him even harder when he didn't move. "Take it so that I can leave."

"Leave? When I just got them back? I don't think so,"he responded silkily, suddenly aware of the panic under his skin. He couldn't let her go. Not again. He had barely gotten over her abandonment. The carnage around him was instantaneously visible to him, he wasn't even sure he had gotten over it.

Stunned at the amount of bottles around his room, it felt like the bottom has dropped out of his stomach. Having always drank in moderation, how could he have done this? The very thing that fuelled his mother, even though she was a high functioning alcoholic. He'd tried hard to never drink in excess all his adult life. To find that he would find solace in liquor when his life was spiralling out of control made him sick.

"Them? Harry, you know you can see them anytime. I mean, I've begun to draft out an agreement that would benefit both of us. I even got a lawyer. But, I'm sure, he's not as good as yours but he's within my budget. Hasn't he gotten in touch with you?"

"No,"he rejected, shaking her slightly. Stopping only when her hands came up to his biceps, he took a deep breath. "No. No lawyers. No visitation agreement. None of that crap. I want to see them anytime I want. I want to be in all aspects of their lives."

"Wait. All aspects? What are you saying exactly?" He couldn't help but relish the dawning apprehension in her eyes. He, who had been reacting to her all this time, was ready to act like the ruthless bastard that made his competitors think twice about messing with him.

"We're getting married."

AN: Hey guys. Hope you're well. 

So how do you think Elena is going to react? I'm trying to think of a way where they don't fight. Not too much cos I think they are working to move pass that. Still trying to figure things out there *fingers crossed*

Anyways, please VOTE and COMMENT if you liked this chapter. Also follow me on Wattpad & Twitter for updates.

THANKS!!

Next update: 27 April 2018