I'm so sorry for the delay, guys...

I've had my last exam and now I'm free! And today has been tough on me.

I miss you, Michael. Thank you for inspiring me everyday. 💔😭

~ShoamEmily

~

22nd of February, 2007
Michael is 48, Angela is 42

Angela: Michael groaned as he sat next to me on the living room couch.

"What are you all grumpy about?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the screen of my laptop.

I was going through some emails when he came, and one of them caught my eye.

It was an invitation to my class reunion, to celebrate 25 years since we finished high school.

"It's so difficult finding you a nurse," he sighed, stroking my exposed shoulder with his fingertips. "I just can't seem to find someone I can trust."

"Then don't. Stay home and take care of me and our baby instead of working." I rolled my eyes.

Ever since last night, when Blanket told me his daddy made a mistake, I've acted up. I've been using that "attitude" he doesn't like, letting my hormones take over, until he gives in and tells me himself.

"Baby..." he whispered, putting his lips on my skin.

"What?"

"You know I have to work."

I ignored him and read the invitation. It was from Danny Raymon, a guy who used to be very close to me in school. We always sat at lunch together.

Danny was always loved by everyone, no wonder he's the one in charge of this little get together.

Frowning, I realized I couldn't go. With the very strict bedrest that I am in, I could barely do anything anymore.

"What are you reading?" Michael raised his eyebrows.

"Nothing." I said, closing my laptop. I made a mental note to call Danny and apologize for not making it.

Carefully, I stood up and with the help of my walking frame, I made my way to the kitchen to grab something to eat.

"You could've asked me to do that. You know you can't walk around so much, Angie." Michael said when I took out a peach and started nibbling on it.

"I didn't want your help." I shrugged.

He came over to me and sighed deeply. "Well, you'll have to use it next time, okay? I'm serious. I want you and AJ healthy."

"Whatever, Mike," I rolled my eyes again. "I'm gonna run myself a hot bath."

"No, I'm gonna run you a bath, and you stay in bed until I come get you."

I groaned internally, but knew I had no choice and let him take me upstairs.

~

Michael: "I can come in with you, if you'd like..." I offered Angela as I helped her strip out of her clothes.

"It's okay, I'll just call you when I'm done." she said.

"Alright," I sighed and sat her down inside the tub. "I'll be in the bedroom if you need me."

Angela gave me a soft peck before leaning back.

"Wait, Mike!" she called.

I turned around, hoping she might change her mind about taking a bath together.

"Can you get me my phone?"

"Sure." I told her, disappointed.

This attitude of hers was really starting to annoy me. It's like she's trying to make me irritated on purpose.

~

Once Angela was safe inside the bathroom, I sat down on the bed and took out the envelope I got from Debbie yesterday.

I inhaled deeply before opening it.

On paper, was printed in black and white the small image of my baby.

'6 weeks' was typed at the top corner of the picture, making me smile.

I couldn't shake that happy feeling off; I'll be having two babies again.

And although I was excited for my baby with Debbie, something didn't feel right. That feeling came again... The guilt.

I shook my head, and gave the photo of my baby a slight kiss before putting it back inside the envelope.

~

Angela: I scrolled down the contacts on my phone until I found Danny's name.

I clicked the green button and waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?" Danny's low voice answered.

"Danny? Hi. It's Angela." I said.

"Angela? As in Angela Brown?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Wow... Actually, aren't you supposed to be Angela Jackson now?"

"Oh, yeah..." I sighed while looking at my small baby bump. "But it's actually Brown-Jackson."

"How did that even happen? Weren't you married to Jake? He was your date to our last reunion five years ago."

"Jake, um, he... Passed away."

"Angela I'm so sorry-"

I hurried to cut him off, "Don't worry about it, Danny. Listen, I called to say I can't make it to the reunion. I'm on bedrest."

"Bedrest?" he gasped. "What happened?"

"Nothing, I'm just carrying another heir to the throne." I joked.

"Really? Well, congrats. It's a shame, though. Everyone thought you'd come and bring your husband."

My eyes widened, "The entire class knows?"

"Of course they do, Ange," he chuckled at my question. "You think you'll just marry the King of Pop and no one will notice?"

"No, not really... At least not in our school, or in our class." I said.

"Angela, you married the biggest pop star in the universe. You had kids with him, and you're still having kids with him. I don't know how much TV you've been watching, but literally, and I really mean that, you are  everywhere. How come you never made a big deal out of this yourself? I know girls that would be bragging by now about how spectacular he is."

"I don't know, Danny," I sighed. "I just never saw him as the 'King of Pop'. He was always just simply Michael to me."

"He must be very lucky to have you."

I cleared my throat, "Since we can't meet, and I have to admit I miss you, Danny, why don't you come over here?"

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll ask the chef to make lunch, and we could catch up."

"That actually sounds tempting," Danny said. "When?"

"Next week? On Wednesday?"

I knew Michael would already be working that day.

"Sounds good."

"Great," I smiled. "I'll ask security to get you from your house. Michael's a little private about where we live."

"Alright. I'll see you next week, Angela."

I hung up and put my phone where the water won't reach it.

A knock on the door was heard before Michael peeked his head in. "You okay?"

I nodded and closed my eyes.

"Can I come in?"

I shrugged, because I didn't care anymore. All I wanted was a few minutes alone so I could call Danny.

After taking off his clothes, Michael sat across from me in the tub.

The water moved as he came closer to me, and his hands were suddenly on my knees.

"I'm sorry if I did something to upset you. You know I'm trying my best to find you a nurse. I can't be home all the time, Angie." he whispered, running his hands up and down my thighs in a very soothing way.

I opened my eyes to see him staring right at me.

"Tell me what did I do." he begged.

How can I refuse to him when he's begging?

"It's not something you did," I sighed. "Or maybe it is, but I don't know. Last night Blanket told me something, and I'm not sure what it meant. He said you made a mistake that'll make me hate you."

He stopped caressing my thighs. "It's nothing, I think he just got the picture wrong."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You know that day we went to Neverland after visiting Jake's grave?"

I nodded.

"Well, after you fell asleep, Debbie asked me to come to her room so she could give me a picture of us from the 80's that she had. And when I left the room, Blanket woke up and saw me."

I scrunched my eyebrows. But what's the mistake Blanket talked about?

"I don't know, Mike, he seemed pretty worried that I'd hate you. I'm sure it's not only because you were getting a picture from Debbie."

"You know how he is. Blanket has a wild imagination."

"Yeah, you're probably right." I smiled at my husband.

He kissed me and pulled away before it got too heated.

I frowned, making him scoff. "Baby, you know we can't do anything for at least a month now. Your lung has to heal."

"I know." I sighed, pulling him into another kiss.

"So don't give me that cute sad face of yours."

"But admit you love it."

"You look adorable," Michael said. "And that's exactly my problem."

I nudged his shoulder, and leaned back again.

~

Michael: I thought about telling Angela the truth, but realized it wasn't the right time.

She was recovering, and more stress, especially about such a heavy thing, couldn't be good for her.

Angela was now lying on the bedroom couch with her head on my lap, her eyes closed as she slept.

I ran my hand through her hair, and watched as she took slow breaths.

"Dad, we're home!" Prince's voice echoed inside the house suddenly.

"Daddy, you have no idea what happened in schools today!" Paris ran over to us excitedly.

I hurried to shush her, but it was too late. Angela already started waking up.

"Oh, hey, guys..." she smiled tiredly at our five older kids.

"Are you okay, mommy?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, I'm alright, Lil. I was just a little tired, that all." Angela answered while rubbing her eyes.

I helped her sit up and she gave a kiss to each of the children.

Eric looked at me with a huge grin on his face.

I winked back, knowing he was excited for what we had planned.

This morning he asked me if we could make his mother a special home-welcoming dinner.

Maria was helping us prepare all of Angela's favorite meals, and all the kids were helping, too. I was in charge of distracting her.

"Angie, why don't we go upstairs and be with the babies for a while? They missed you." I offered.

"Yeah, I guess we could give my mom a break," Angela said."Anyone else wants to come?"

"No, mom, thank you. We're going to play outside for a while." Eric told her.

"Have fun."

Once the kids ran outside, I took Angela back upstairs.

~

"Oh, you guys, this is amazing..." Angela gasped when she saw the table full of food. "And I'm starving."

I laughed and helped her sit down.

"We made it just for you, mommy!" Blanket smiled widely.

"I see that, baby. Thank you so, so much."

Maria gave her a plate and she started digging in right away.

"Mamma, this is amazing." Angela complimented her mother.

"Lily and I helped," Paris grinned. "Prince and Eric just watched us."

I sat in between my daughter and wife, wrapping both my arms around their shoulders.

For the rest of the evening, we spent time just being one big happy family, until Angela became tired again.

"Night, everyone." she yawned.

"Goodnight, Angie!"

"Goodnight, mom!"

Angela smiled at the kids and I helped her get to bed.

"Goodnight, baby. I love you." I whispered when I tucked her in.

"I love you, too, Mike." she placed a very small peck on my lips before falling right back down into her pillow.

~

28th of February, 2007
Michael is 48, Angela is 43

Angela: "I love you." Michael said as he kissed me.

"I love you, too, Mike." I smiled into the kiss.

"Sir, the plane is waiting for us." Javon cleared his throat.

Michael sighed before pulling away. "Please, don't do too much."

"I won't. Grace and my mom will take care of the kids and I have nurse Izzy to handle me."

He took my hand and kissed me again before crouching down.

"Daddy loves you, AJ." Michael whispered.

He hurried to hug the kids, giving each one a sloppy kiss on the cheek. For me he left another kiss on my lips before going with Javon.

~

The kids left with mom and Grace to my parents' house so I could have the house to myself and Danny.

Michael hired nurse Izzy as my nurse; she took care of me when I was at the hospital, and when Michael offered her to take care of me, she didn't hesitate before agreeing.

She's sweet, nice, and I get along with her really well.

"Thanks, Izzy. I'll call if I need anything." I told her as we walked to the door.

"You're welcome, Angela. I'm happy to help."

It hurt less to walk now, but it was still a struggle.

Just as nurse Izzy left, a knock on the door was heard.

I opened it to reveal a smiling Danny.

"Angela!" he gasped. "Gosh, you look great..."

"Not too bad yourself, Danny." I hugged him slightly.

"I was stunned when the car pulled up in front of the house," he said as I showed him in. "Where's everyone? I thought you'd have the kids here, and Michael..."

I walked him to the living room, "Michael's boarding a plane to New York as we speak, and the children are at my parents'. I just thought it would be nicer if we're alone, to make me this more special."

"That's very thoughtful of you, so thank you... How rude of me, I totally forgot to ask how you're doing. I didn't expect to see you like this."

Danny motioned to the walking frame I was holding tightly.

"Oh, that. I had a hard fall a couple of weeks ago. A few broken ribs and a punctured lung, but other than that, I'm fine." I explained.

Danny grinned and helped me sit. I had to admit, he looked good. Better than I remembered him five years ago.

"So how's the wife?" I asked when one of the housemaids gave us some drinks.

"We got divorced a year ago," he answered. "It wasn't working out, and we were only hurting each other. It's for the better, we're both happier people now. And Sam doesn't mind having two of everything."

Sam was his 16-year-old son. The last time I saw him was 15 years ago at our first Class reunion.

"So what are you having?" Danny looked down at my visible bump.

"A girl," I said. "Her name is Aubrey Jane. Or AJ."

He pointed at a picture of the babies. "And are these your kids?"

"Yeah, Rose and Jared. You remember Lily and Eric, right?"

"Of course, how could I forget them? They're all just beautiful. Exactly like their mother."

My cheeks turned hot. Oh, my God, why am I blushing?

"Actually, Jared looks exactly like Michael," I hurried to change the subject so we wouldn't talk about me. "They're exactly the same."

Danny then looked at a picture of Michael and I from our wedding day.

I frowned at the picture, knowing both of our smiles in it are fake. There was no love at all in that picture.

"You know what's funny, Ange?" Danny laughed. "I used to have a crush on you until the end of senior year."

"What?" I widened my eyes.

And you know what's funnier? That I had a crush on you, too.

"Yeah, it's stupid, I know. But you dated that guy... What was his name? Lawrence, right?"

"Hey, you had a girlfriend before I had Lawrence."

"Well, yeah, but I got rid of her once I figured out you're the one I want... But it was too late. And now it's even worse. There's no way I'll ever be having you." he joked, winking.

I rolled my eyes, "Sorry, I'm hooked."

He showed his beautiful smile again. "I really missed you."

"Me too, Danny. Thank you for coming, I appreciate it."

"Gosh, you're so beautiful... I can't believe how lucky Michael is." he put a strand of hair behind my ear.

I pulled back. What is he doing?

"Wait, Angela, I have to try this... Please let me try this just once..." Danny begged as he leaned down.

"Danny, I can't-"

"Please, Angela..."

A part of me didn't want to pull away, because I was curious. He is my high school crush after all.

Just as our lips were about to meet, I heard his familiar voice, only it was way deeper than usual.

"What the hell?!"

Michael stood at the living room entrance with his piercing eyes staring at the both of us.