Harlow had a doctor's appointment and Antonio was feeling guilty he couldn't get out of court. He wanted to be with and to be with her to hear what they were having. He was arguing his case in front of the judge and all he could think about was her, and it didn't go unnoticed.

After court, the judge asked Antonio to meet him in his chambers. He followed the judge back into his room and sat down. "I noticed you were not yourself today, is everything alright?" the judge asked as he removed his robe.

"Yes. Everything is fine."

The judge sat in his chair and folded his hands as he looked at Antonio. "How is Harlow?"

"She's doing okay. Why do you ask?"

"I heard what's been going on and I'm sorry to hear what you two have been going through. The reason why I ask is, I couldn't help but notice you were in outer space during court."

"First off, thank you. Secondly, this morning was Harlow's doctor's appointment, to see what we're having and I'm a little worried with how the appointment went. She's been feeling quite tired and I'm not sure if it's the pregnancy, or if it's something else."

"I hope all is well," the judge smiled. "I know it's probably wrong of me to ask, but will you two be attending the party this evening?"

"Thank you. As far as I know we'll be there."

"Great. I'll be looking forward to seeing you both there. It's been a while since I've seen Harlow and it would be nice to see her again."

Antonio stood and reached across the desk, shaking his hand. He left his office quickly and while walking to his car, he looked at his phone. Not seeing any messages, or any missed calls, he muttered, no news, is good news, right?

The moment he walked into the house; he was happily greeted by the girls. "Hello, my beautiful girls, where's mommy?" he asked giving them both hugs.

Harlow walked out of the kitchen and over to Antonio. He could hear Harlow walking towards him and stood, nervously smiling. "So?"

"It's a boy."

Antonio's heart melted hearing they were having a boy and grinned, glad to be hearing he'll be passing on the last name. "How is the baby doing?"

She pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, he's still here. But the doctor is a little concerned with his heartbeat."

Antonio suddenly felt his heart drop and looked down at the girls who were tugging on his legs, wanting him to pick them up. He bent down, picked the two up and brought them over to the couch to sit. He wasn't sure what to say and tightly hugged the girls. "So, what does that exactly mean?"

"I have to go in next week for another test." She sat down next to Antonio, lowered her face into her hands and started fighting the tears that were wanting to come out. "I'm scared, Antonio, it didn't sound good."

He reached his arm around her and pulled her to him. Holding her tight, as the girls sat on his lap. "I'm sorry Hun, I don't know what to say, anymore," he sighed. "Maybe we shouldn't go to Judge Stevens party."

"We can go. There's nothing I can do to change what is going on."

"Are you sure? We don't have to go."

"I want to go. And I want to be there when he presents the award to you."

The girls climbed off his lap and ran off. He rested his hand on Harlow's lap, rubbing it. He knew what she was telling him wasn't good and knew this would be, the one to break her if she lost the baby.

He wrapped both his arms around her tightly and rested his chin on the top of her head. "You know I'm here for you, no matter what. All we can do is pray and wish for a good outcome."

"I know. But I'm already preparing myself for the worse." She raised her head, giving him a kiss before standing up. "I'm going to lay the girls down, so I can get ready for the party."

After laying the girls down for their nap, she dug through her closet, finding a dress she could wear and laid it on the bed, then headed to the shower.

Antonio went into his office, shut the door and walked over to his desk. He sat down, turned on his laptop and began searching the internet, looking for answers.

He was feeling angry, but refused to let it show in front of Harlow. He wanted to show her he was strong, even though, he too was hurting inside. He outright hated seeing his wife going through what she was and didn't understand why it has been happening to her and to them.

Everything he found; were the same things the doctor had already talked with them about. Making him feel more frustrated. He opened the bottom drawer of his desk, pulled out a bottle and took a little nip off it, then placed it back in the drawer, underneath all his paperwork.

He looked at the time, saw he needed to get ready himself, and closed his laptop.

As he walked into the room, he saw Harlow trying to zip up the back of her dress and walked over to her. He rested his hands on her shoulders, placed kisses along her neck, then lowered his hands to the zipper, zipping up her dress. "It's one of my favorite dresses of yours," he said quietly.

She turned around and smiled, trying to remain positive. "Thanks for helping me zip up my dress," she said, cupping his face. She pressed her lips to his then pulled back with a smile. "You better hurry and get ready, we still have to drop the girls off with my parents."

He smiled and nodded. "I'll be quick. I promise."

While Antonio showered, Harlow got the girls packed and ready. After hearing the news about the baby, Antonio wasn't in the mood to go to the Judge's award ceremony, but to get Harlow out of the house, he held his head up high and looked forward to spending some time with her.

Their limo pulled up to the banquet hall, parking outside of the entry. Antonio stepped out, reached his arm out and helped her out. He placed his hand on the small of her back, walked her inside, and noticed Harlow resting her hand over her bump, worrying him. "Are you in pain?"

"No. I'm just feeling a little tightness."

Antonio sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. "I knew this was a bad idea to come here."

Harlow cupped the side of his face and smiled. "It's alright, I wanted to be here. It's an important night for you."

Antonio groaned, feeling uneasy, then turned when he heard the judge's voice.

"Harlow, Antonio. Glad to see you both could make it," he said with a smile. He looked down at her growing belly and smiled. "Awe, there's nothing more beautiful, than seeing a growing belly."

"It's been quite the experience," she said quietly, somewhat smiling.

"So, I've heard. I wish you two the best and you'll be in my prayers," he said, giving her a hug before heading over to another couple.

Being Harlow was feeling tightness in her stomach on and off throughout the night, Antonio's concern for her grew and refrained from having any drinks.

Harlow sat quietly at their table, listening in on their conversations. She was proud to hear how Antonio had become one of the most requested attorneys' in their area. Even more than he already was. After their meal, the judge started naming the awards, and the winners. Antonio won two, first one was Attorney of The Year, and the second award was the, Highest-ranking Super Lawyer award. Which was based on peer nominations.

It was getting late and Harlow was ready to go home and to hit the pillow. Antonio walked Harlow around, stopping to say their goodbyes to who he all dealt with daily. On their way home, Harlow was craving ice cream and had their driver stop at the local ice cream shop. "What would you like?" he asked, as they sat outside the drive-through's intercom.

"A peanut butter cup mixer," she smiled, then giggled. "I'm craving both peanut butter and the ice cream." She had to laugh when he looked at her with a goofy expression.

"You're going to be up all night. I just figured you wanted an ice cream cone."

"I'll share it with you. I'm really craving peanut butter for some reason," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "At least I didn't ask for pickles in it, like some women do. Now that, I refuse to mix together."

Antonio placed the order, then headed to the drive-through window to pay. He handed her the mixer and shook his head, having a feeling he was going to be up all night with her. They got home, changed, and headed to bed. She turned on the TV, sat up to eat her ice cream and shared it with Antonio, feeding him a spoonful after each bite she took.

While Antonio slept, she stayed up to watch a movie. She was feeling discomfort and tightness again, feeling afraid to say anything. The next morning, she got out of bed and checked to see if there were any signs of blood on the bed, then went to the bathroom to look further. Whew.

Antonio awoke before Harlow and made breakfast. Making sausage and pancakes. He walked into the room to give her the food, heard her in the shower and set the tray down to join her. He walked into the shower and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to him. "Hope you don't mind if I join you."

She grinned. "No, I don't mind."

"Good, because I was going to join you even if you said no," he said, pressing his lips to hers. "I made you breakfast. It's sitting on the bed."

"Thanks," she said quietly.

As much as he wanted to make love to her, he knew he shouldn't. Figuring if something happened to the baby, he would be blamed for it and it was the last thing he wanted. He helped her out of the shower and handed her a towel. "Your parents called before I came in here, letting us know they're having a cookout and would like for us to join."

"What are we supposed to bring?"

"Just Ethan," he chuckled.

"Ethan?"

"Apparently they can't get a hold him."

Antonio finished getting dressed and scratched his head. "I talked to him a couple days ago. He said he had a date planned for last night, maybe he's still with her?"

"Either that, or in jail," she giggled. She sat on the bed and picked up a piece of sausage, taking a bite.

"Cold?"

"Yes, but I like cold sausage, anyway. Go call Ethan and see what that troublemaker is up to."

Antonio laughed. "I'll go call him."

******

Ethan was still in bed when his phone rang. He looked at the time and groaned when he saw it was Antonio. No, I'm not going to work today he moaned before answering the phone. "What do you want?" he answered in a groggy voice, looking over to the girl lying in his bed and slid out quietly. "This better be important, I'm a little busy at the moment."

Hello to you too Antonio replied. Your mom has been trying to get a hold of you. Your parents are having a cook out and would like for you to be there.

Ethan sighed, "Yeah, I'll be there. I might be bringing someone along."

After hanging up with Antonio, he climbed back into bed. "What time is it?" she asked while rolling onto her side.

"Eleven in the morning."

"Shit, I have to get going. I'm supposed to watch my nephew today." Amanda, his date said.

"I'm supposed to go to my parents for a cookout. You're more than welcome to come with and you can bring your nephew along. My two-year-old nieces will be there. How old is your nephew?" he asked, kissing her on the lips.

"He's four, and very wild," she giggled.

"My kind of man. You should bring him along."

On their way to his parents, she looked over to him. "Just so you know, I usually don't like going over and meeting someone's parents until I've been with a guy for a while."

"My parents are cool and laid back, you'll like them. Shit, my brother in law met my parents before he and my sister were even an item."

"Still not my thing, but my nephew could use someone to play with."

Ethan pulled into the driveway and helped Amanda get her nephew out of the car seat, then walked them out back to where his nieces were playing. "Gabriella, Isabella!" he called out, waving them to come over to him. They smiled when they saw him and ran over to him yelling his name. Ethan kneeled and introduced his nieces to Alex. "You three have fun playing."

After they ran off, he walked over and introduced Amanda to his parents, sister, and Antonio. Harlow wasn't impressed and walked over to see what the kids were doing. Antonio saw the scowled look on her face and walked over to her, asking what her problem was.

"I know her and she's trouble. She's the sister of one of my exes. I wonder how he hooked up with her?"

"My guess, he has no idea who she is."

"He'll realize it. Obviously, she was younger then, but she has a mouth on her and looks for families with money. That must be his kid there..." she said, pointing.

"Come on, let the kids play and lets just enjoy our time here."

Harlow walked back over to her parents and helped her mom set everything up, while Antonio helped James with the grill.

Amanda was feeling out of place, found a chair to sit in and kept to herself while watching Harlow, trying to figure out how she knew her.

Ethan walked over to Antonio with his hands on his hips, eyeing Harlow. "What's Harlow's deal?"

"We can talk about that later, now's not a good time." Antonio said quietly, not wanting Harlow to hear.

Ethan shrugged it off, walked over to Amanda and sat down in a chair next to her. "Kids look like they're having fun."

She looked at the kids playing on the swing, sliding the hair away from her face. "He needs this. My brother never lets him play with other kids."

"Why?"

"Because of how wild he gets."

"Seems normal to me." Ethan said as he watched him with the girls.

Later that afternoon, Amanda kept looking at Harlow and finally remembered how she knew her and wanted to leave. Insisting Ethan bring her and Alex home. "I guess I'll see you all later," Ethan said while standing. "Thanks for lunch," he said, hugging his mother.

"Where's my hug?" James asked, with a big grin. Ethan laughed, walked over to him and hugged him. "You're never too old to give your parents hugs," James said, patting Ethan's back. "Just in case you try stopping by tomorrow, after church, I'll be taking your mother out riding on the motorcycle, it's supposed to be a nice day."

"You two be careful and don't tell Harlow... you know how she is with you two on a motorcycle."

"We'll be fine. I've only been riding since you were a baby."

Ethan laughed. "Tell Harlow that, but I better get Amanda and her nephew home. I'll call and check in with you tomorrow."

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!🤞🤞🤞🤞❤❤❤❤