Chapter 4.24 – Final Decision

Tags

Alien, Argument, Generation 4, Generation 5, Legacy Challenge, Male Pregnancy, Oasis Springs, Pregnancy, Sixam, The Sims, The Sims 4, Truth

The Heiress Poll is now closed. The Generation 5 Heiress of the Sloane Legacy is Ivy Sloane!

********************************************************************

Zachary and I had to tell the girls what was happening with him. He didn’t want to as he still felt embarrassed by the situation but I thought it was necessary since he was only going to grow bigger and bigger and it would be harder for him to hide the truth from them. They surprisingly took the news well. None of them freaked out like he had feared. Ivy actually seemed excited about the prospect of seeing an alien baby, Isabel was amused at Zachary’s bad luck, and Johanna was indifferent so long as the news remained among our family and none of her friends found out. Zachary was relieved that none of them were upset about it and I was impressed by our daughters’ maturity. If my Dad was pregnant with an alien baby I would not have reacted as well as they did.

There was no need for anyone to worry anyway since the baby was going back to where it belonged as soon as Zachary gave birth to it. Zachary would have to contact his scientist friend who would then send out a signal that would alert the Sixamians to come for the baby. It’s what used to happen back in the day when male abductions and pregnancies were more common.

That was the plan.

“Ugh, the kid is moving around a lot this morning!” he complained one morning while we were having breakfast. Since the big reveal he and I have been getting along better than before even to where we would have a meal together with polite conversation.

“I remember those days. And you used to say I should be grateful to know they were alive every time they moved and how you wished you could experience what I was experiencing. How does it feel now?”

“Terrible. I apologise for giving you a hard time when you used to complain. I had no idea it was this uncomfortable carrying around a baby.”

I tried to stifle my laugh. I didn’t want him to know just how much I was enjoying his misery. “It’s only going to be a couple more months before you get rid of your problem. By the way, does Adalynn know?”

“No, I didn’t tell her. Why do you ask?”

“Oh come on Zachary. Let’s not play this game. The divorce was finalised two weeks ago, you’re a free man now. I know about the two of you seeing each other so there’s no need to hide it.” I was sure the only reason why he was still living here was because of his pregnancy and since legally I can’t kick him out as he is the executor of the estate giving him the right to live here until Ivy becomes a young adult.

“Whoa, wait a minute! Adalynn and I are not seeing each other.”

“Don’t insult my intelligence Zachary. It’s bad enough that you betrayed me while I was in prison by sleeping around with my cousin and then acted all high and mighty like I was the only one who made a mistake so don’t lie to me and don’t insult my intelligence. I heard you two talking months ago. I know the truth.”

He laughed. “I’m guessing you overheard our conversation the last time she came over. Gem, Adalynn and I are not a thing. We have not slept together, ever. Not even a kiss. I’m not seeing her. In fact, I’ve been avoiding her because I didn’t want her to find out about the baby so for all I know she’s probably seeing someone else by now.”

“You’re lying to me! I heard you two talking about that night you spent together while I was away!”

“I’m not lying. Look, I should have told you about that but I knew you would overreact so I didn’t and that was my fault but Adalynn was your only friend at that time and I didn’t want to ruin that relationship for you. Let me make it clear. While you were in prison, Adalynn well… she was there for me as a friend, offering support, helping out with the girls, and listening when I needed to talk. We became close. There was a night when I was feeling especially lonely and she came over. We had a couple of drinks and watched some shows on TV. There was flirting, a hug that was more than friendly, but that was it. That was all that happened! I stopped it before it got further because I realised that she wasn’t the one I wanted – I wanted you! And she had been such a good friend to me that I couldn’t use her like that.”

“So nothing happened?”

“Nothing happened!”

“What about that talk about seeing her after the divorce? You were making plans with her.”

“By that point Gemma, it was over between us. I figured, maybe something could happen between Adalynn and me but then this happened and… she’s probably no longer interested in me anymore because of how I’ve been treating her.”

“So… you never cheated on me?”

“Of course not. I’m a man of my word Gemma. I would never break our vows. I would never hurt you like that, or the girls. I can’t believe that you would believe I would do something like that either!”

“I made a mistake…”

“I was wondering what made you sign the divorce papers so easily.” He chuckled. “Well, at least now we’ve cleared the air.”

“I guess so…” I believed he was telling the truth and then I realised just how huge of a mistake I made in jumping to conclusions without confronting him. I was so convinced that he did me wrong that I actually tried to imprison him on another planet which led to him becoming impregnated with an alien child. I gave him a terrible punishment for a crime he didn’t commit.

“Anyway, like I said before, in a matter of months we’ll be able to send that thing back to its own kind and you can live life as a single man again.” I hoped that wouldn’t be the case. In spite of thinking he cheated on me I still loved him, so the idea of him dating anyone irked me. That’s why I did what I did – if I couldn’t have him, no one could.

“I’ve been thinking a lot and… I don’t want to send it back.”

“Excuse me. Did I hear right?”

“I want to keep the baby.” He said. “It’s strange but you know how women get attached to their child before it’s born? Well, I kinda feel attached to him. Sometimes I think he understands me like he knows my voice. You know I’ve always wanted more kids and now’s my chance to be a father again.”

“Zachary, you’re old. You’re going to be an elder not too long after this baby is born which means you’re not going to be around for this thing’s entire childhood and I certainly am not going to take care of it or have it being raised in my house!”

“I can’t believe you!”

“Don’t get an attitude with me for not wanting to accept that creature into my life!”

 “Stop calling my child a creature!”

“Your child? Please! Look, if you want to keep that thing that’s your prerogative but I won’t have it in my house!”

“Your house? You forget that nothing here belongs to you anymore. It’s all Ivy’s. The money, this house and everything in it, all belongs to her. You simply get an allowance but only because I sign the paperwork allowing it and if you call my child a ‘creature’ or a ‘spawn’ or anything negative again I might change my mind next time I have to put my signature on the transfer documents.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Oh I would and Ivy is on board with my plans to raise the child. In fact, it was her suggestion. So if she doesn’t have a problem with the baby living here then you shouldn’t either. Besides, I don’t expect you to act as a mother figure to this child. You aren’t even doing a good enough job with the children you already have.”

“Are you trying to punish me? Is that why you’re doing this?”

“Not everything is about you, Gemma. I only want what’s best for the baby. I keep thinking about why they chose me but I realise they probably chose me because they knew not a lot of people would be able to love a child that’s not theirs. I’m keeping the baby and that’s that.” He got up and walked away, ignoring me for the rest of the day but I was fine with it because I didn’t want to talk to someone so stupid!

His pregnancy continued as normal, well, normal as it could be considering what he was carrying. One time I caught a glimpse of the light thing he had told me about. It happened whenever the baby grew and the baby was growing right on track as he would have this thing any day now.

Every time I saw him walking around the house with that huge belly I was angered as it served as a reminder of the fact an alien freak child was soon becoming a member of this family! Actually, no. This thing would not be a member of our  family! This thing would not even be related to me at all! But I was forced to accept this child in my house because of Ivy!

She thinks this whole thing is cool because she likes science fiction but this is not Star Trek or something! A baby is a lot of work and Zachary of all people should know that especially since he took care of Johanna as an infant all by himself only with two young kids! But an alien child is like uncharted territory. No one is writing books called ‘Totally Preggers: An Expectant Father’s Tale’ or ‘Alien Baby Incoming: Prepare for Vengeance’. Keeping this child is risky but Zachary won’t hear it. He’s being irrational, probably because of hormones but Ivy has no excuse!

“Just because you’re the heiress now doesn’t mean you should do whatever you want. You have a responsibility to the legacy and stupid decisions like this are dangerous!”

“Mum calm down!”

“No, I won’t calm down! You know how your father is especially now in his condition. He’s not thinking straight but you should have been more reasonable and convince him not to do this. We can’t have an alien living in this house. Think of the attention it will draw to our family! Think of the risks it poses to our safety if other aliens decide to come and visit and do things to the rest of us against our will! Think about your sisters and how this could affect their lives negatively! You’re being selfish, you and your dad!”

“Stop! Just stop! I’m not going to listen to you. All you ever do is complain about me doing the wrong thing and I’m sick of it!” She yelled.

She actually yelled at me! My quiet, docile Ivy yelled at me! I’m sure Isabel put her up to this because she was smiling in the background encouraging Ivy to disrespect me.

“Mum,” she continued in a calmer tone, “It’s an innocent child. We cannot abandon him or her.”

“We won’t be abandoning it. We’ll be sending it back where it belongs.”

“Dad doesn’t want that and the choice is up to him to make and I support it. There’s nothing you can say that will convince me to side with you.”

“You’re as stubborn as your father. If I had known all those years ago that you would grow up to be so foolish I would have never chosen you as the heiress!”

By the look on her face when I said those words I knew I had hurt her. But I didn’t care because she was hurting me by not heeding my good advice. I should have chosen Johanna to be the heiress but she was a baby at the time and I didn’t know anything about her personality the way I did with Isabel and Ivy who were older. Between the two, Ivy struck me as the one twin with the most potential to be a success which is why I chose her.

I suppose this might be the universe’s way of punishing me for my misdeeds. If I wasn’t so careless I wouldn’t have gone to prison and I would have been around to raise the girls and that way Ivy would be so different. She wouldn’t look so frumpy, she’d be less socially awkward, have real hobbies instead of wasting her time in front of a screen watching blocks fly, and she’d be more concerned about our family’s reputation than her father’s paternal instincts to realise that keeping the alien spawn is a huge mistake.

For now, I lost the battle but I would surely win the war! That baby will grow up in this house over my dead body!

********************************************************************

Congratulations to Ivy on being voted as the Generation 5 Heiress of The Sloane Legacy! She won by a landslide which was surprising for me because I thought Isabel or Johanna would have gotten more votes than her. There goes the mean streak in the family tree! I hope you guys are ready for someone who’s a little more nice than the last three generations. LOL.