Chapter 19

Maeve's POV

After changing into more presentable clothes, I came back to the sight of Michael and my mother standing outside at the patio. It looked like Michael showed her some of the changes he made after buying the property in 1987.

When I opened the door they both turned around, Michael immediately smiled at me.

"Maeve, hi! It's great to see you again, how are you?"

"Hi, mom" I quickly hugged her. It was still surreal having her back in my life. At the moment everything seemed to fall back into place and I don't trust this new feeling of peace.

"You're glowing" she complimented me.

"Thank you" I place one hand on my baby bump. I did feel good at this stage in my pregnancy and I was enjoying all the compliments I get.

"So..." my mother said while looking around. "Where's Nicolas? I was excited to meet him, I even got him a little something." In her hands she held a little stuffed teddy bear, similar to the one I remember from my childhood.

"He'll join us later, he's out with his nanny" Michael informed her.

"No kids while discussing business" I reminded her. That was one rule we had while growing up, probably the reason why we always stayed behind.

"Right..."

"Shall we?" Michael lead us back inside and I served lunch.

*****

From what I remember from my childhood is that you're supposed to do light conversation during meals, no talking about money, politics or business. You keep that for dessert.

So after we enjoyed the delicious meal we head back outside on this beautiful day to some dessert and coffee.

"I see, you still remember the etiquette" my mother complimented, knowing exactly I waited with talking about her offer.

"I've waited long enough, I'm curious, what did you decide?" My mother leaned closer, her elbows resting on the table.

Michael's head turned to me as well. We talked about this once and that's it, so he doesn't know my decision either but I know he'll support me no matter what.

"I want to be honest with you... I did a lot of thinking this past week and with all the new information I got, I couldn't help but question all my achievements. It does sound a little narcissistic but you did hurt my ego." I looked directly at my mother.

"I know and I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention. Your safety was my concern." she replied in a respectful manner.

"That's what I thought as well. But in the end I got promoted while working with Klaus which was the result of my hard work and my effort only. And while on tour, I did keep the job, meaning I was doing good in what I was doing. I may have gotten these opportunities because of you, but I've proved to everyone that I earned being there!"

"You're absolutely right. You earned your place." My mother spoke again.

"And that's also why I decided to give it a go. I'll come back to the family and I'll come back to the family business."Both my mother and Michael smiled widely at me. My mother got up and rushed over to me to hug me.

"I'm glad that you decided that way!" She told me. "I'll have to call my lawyer, he already set up the contract, I just knew you'd accept my offer... oh and we need to do a family get together, the family needs to meet you and your own little family! It has become so big by now, many of your cousins had children themselves-"

"We could do that here at Neverland, it offers enough space and the kids can spend the day at the amusement park" Michael interrupted my mother.

"What a lovely idea, Michael" she agreed and they started planing eagerly while I zoomed out a little.

The sun hit my skin and I closed my eyes for a little bit until I felt the baby moving. I smiled at myself, I loved the feeling of these tiny kicks.

A large hand was suddenly placed on my stomach, I recon it to be Michael's. I placed mine on top of his and moved it to where our baby was kicking, so he could feel it too.

"Do you know what you're having?" I heard my mother's voice.

"No, Michael wants it to be a surprise-"

"Yes, blame me. We've discussed this, Maeve" Michael said and I laughed at him becoming all defensive.

He suddenly nudged my side causing me to jump up from my spot while letting out a scream.

"Michael!" I yelled but he just giggled. I was still thinking about revenge but got interrupted by a cute little scream.

"Mommy" I heard Nicolas' sweet little voice yell again.

Michael's POV

Maeve made her way to Nicolas while her mother and I stayed behind. She turned around quickly to take a glance at her grandson.

"Wow, he's beautiful" she admired him a little longer. I followed her gaze and saw Maeve standing with Nicolas in her arms, talking to Anna.

"Michael, is it ok if I ask you something personal?"

With a soft smile, I brought my attention back to my mother-in-law, already knowing where this is going. By now, my skin has become very light, just as light as Maeve's whereas Nicolas has this beautiful caramel tint.

"Of course" I kindly told her.

"I hope I am not overstepping a line here, so please just let me know if I do... how come your skin has become so light?"

"I... I have a skin disorder..." I told her and waited for her reaction. She slowly nodded her head. "It's called vitiligo and it destroys the pigmentation of my skin. It started in small pattern and in the beginning it was easy to cover but since it has evolved so quickly, it's now easier to cover the brown patches that are left on my body."

"I'm really sorry Michael! That must be so hard for you! I heard a lot of rumors going on, people have crazy ideas but what you are telling makes perfect sense!" her look showed empathy and it reminded me of her daughter who is just as understanding. She always talks to me first before believing any stupid rumors.

"Your daughter actually helped me a lot, I don't think I can put in words how much that meant for me..."

Carmen smiled warmly at me before her eyes shifted and our little conversation got interrupted by Maeve and our son coming closer.

"Nicolas this is your grandma, my mother" Maeve explained as she came closer with Nicolas on her hips.

"Mommy mama" he said and Maeve laughed. "Yes, mommy's mama."

"Hello there young man" Carmen smiled at him but he became all shy and tried to hide behind Maeve's shoulder.

"It's okay, Nicolas. Do you want to go play?" Maeve asked and Nicolas nodded. She let him down and watched as he walked over to his basket full of toys, starting to throw out everything.

Maeve walked over to me and sat down next to me, she placed one of her hands on my knee while my arm automatically went around her.

Carmen smiled at us. "You two seem so in love, I'm happy that you two found each other!"

I smiled at my wife before placing a loving quick peck on her lips.