The week following the New Years Eve party was extremely hectic. We had requests for interviews coming in from every angle but decided on limiting the amount of press we received by doing one magazine interview only. The day of the photo-shoot we were both over the moon. The exclusive went to Vogue magazine and was due to be syndicated to the United Kingdom and the United States. Despite the amount of press at the party, none of the tabloids had been able to snap a photo of my engagement ring so that of course became part of the deal. It was so strange taking the ring off went out but I knew it wouldn’t be long until I would be able to wear it and the press would die down. Sitting in our lounge room the journalist began asking us questions that made me excited for my future. The busty blonde walked into the room as the photographer set up and sat down opposite Kyle and I.
“Thank you so much for letting us do this in your new house Kyle” she addressed him with a wink. Something about her attitude towards him made me wonder if they had been intimate.
“WE were more than happy to open our house up to you” he responded looking directly at me and squeezing my hand lightly. My concerns were sated at that moment. No matter what had happened in their past he was making sure she knew that he was with me, despite the content of the interview being REALLY obvious.
“Right. Well lets get started then” she said. I felt Nick’s presence behind me in that moment. He leant down towards me and whispered in my ear.
“I have a feeling that she is going to begin asking some questions that might catch you off guard. If you need me to step in at any time, just stretch your head backwards to your right and I will stop her” I didn’t know what it was that he was talking about but what I had learned about Nick was that he had our best interests on the forefront of his mind at all times.
“Thank you” I whispered. Hoping that I wouldn’t need to and with that he stepped away.
“So you two have been dating a little under a year. Kyle you have been known to be unobtainable. What was it about Antonia that made you want to settle down” I clutched his hands a little harder as I heard her voice laced in sarcasm. Kyle turned and looked directly at me.
“She made something come alive in my heart. No woman has ever ignited such a passion or excitement within me ever. I knew I would marry her the moment I met her. She is one of a kind” He lifted our intertwined fingers and kissed my knuckles.
“Thats nice” she said before returning to her notes.
“Antonia, You have maintained a pretty quiet existence, despite dating one of the most recognized faces in Australia. What does your family think about your engagement to someone who has been such an influential and sometimes infamous reputation?” I felt my breathing become restricted at the mention of my parents names. I wasn’t worried about anything else in that moment but fighting to hide the impending tears from streaming down my cheeks. I lifted my head and inhaled as I shot my head slightly to the right. Nick was by my side instantly.
“Please refrain from any questions regarding my clients past.” Nick spoke with a warning. Kyle tightened his grip on my hand.
“Can we please stick to questions about the engagement and our relationship. Sophie you know we don’t discuss our personal lives and I didn’t think we’ve jumped on board with a gossip magazine. We chose Vogue because we wanted to keep things classy.” Kyle said. I knew he was getting pissed off. I had grown to know the types of tones he used and he had never used that with me. In the entire time we had been together we never once fought. I felt like I was in a relationship with an equal and not someone who wanted to be a dominant or submissive. I loved how protective he was of me to the outside world but when it was just us, he was the sweetest most attentive man alive.
“I’m sorry Kyle.” She responded.
When the interview and photoshoot finished Kyle was silent. Nick saw everyone out and left us alone.
“I’m just going into the office for a little while baby. I’ll be back soon” he said kissing my forehead lightly. His body language told me he was ok but the tone in his voice told me he was going to rip the reporter a new one. During negotiations we had all agreed on the questions that would be asked but the ones she began asking weren’t the same. She had twisted the words around and changed the content of them. I knew he was going to be angry but his silence was deafening.
“Please just let it go” I said to him as I embraced him, breathing in his scent and finding solace there.
“Antonia, I’m so sorry. I really didn’t think she would pull a stunt like that. I know how much pain it must have caused you.” He knew very little about my experiences as a child with my family but anything he needed to know, he did. The day I told him about the last time I saw my mother he was distraught. He looked me in the eyes, with his hands on either side of my face and spoke.
“I promise you I will never let any harm come to you or our future children. I can’t promise that I will be the perfect husband or father but I will definitely do everything in my power to keep you happy and safe.” I knew in that moment that he was being the most honest he had ever been in his life.
“You couldn’t have known Kyle, She didn’t get anything anyway. I’m not ashamed of my past I just don’t want it out there. I don’t want a pity party.” He knew where I was coming from. The moment he heard the words come out from my mouth I felt his mood relax. I knew it wasn’t going to end there but at least it wouldn’t have been as brutal.
A month after the engagement announcement the press began following us more and more. We were being reported on in both a national and international sense and were even given our own name...KYLAN. We went about our lives normally however we both knew that nothing about them would ever be normal again. There had become an obsession about us and everything we did was captured and splashed around the gossip magazines as entertainment. We became the most talked about couple in Australia and yet we were still just Kyle and Antonia to each-other. I let my guard down and allowed myself to love, and be loved in return.
One morning during breakfast with the girls I began to feel unwell and Tash offered to come home with me. Nick had been assigned as my own personal driver/bodyguard. Something I tried to protest but Kyle wouldn’t budge on. I never really knew the reason for all the security but put it down to being classed as a celebrity. I had never seen any so called illegitimate business dealings going on so not being in the limelight for very long I chose to take his advice.
“A, you couldn’t be pregnant could you?” Tash asked in the back of the car on the way home. I hadn’t thought about that option at all. As much as I wanted children I really wasn’t sure I was ready for them just yet. Our sex life had always been incredible and only intensified as we grew closer. I pulled out my phone and checked the calendar. I was six weeks late and hadn’t even realized!
“I need to get a test. Tash I can’t do it myself though. If I get papped buying it, it will hit the press before I could tell Kyle. No joke, the photo will be online within 5 minutes and they are already reporting that I’m pregnant!” I looked at her stressing out.
“Calm down, I’ll get it for you. Just get Nick to drop me off and I will meet you around the corner.” She hugged me so tightly I thought I was going to throw up. After dropping her off we waited around the corner. My palms were sweating and I knew I was both excited and nervous at the thought of my own child.
“Nick, please don’t say anything to Kyle about this. I want to tell him when I know.” I knew I didn’t have to say anything to him, but I was scared about the thought of Kyle finding out from anyone else but me.
“You know I won’t Miss. Reid” he responded with a smile in his voice.
“Thank you Nick”
I pulled out my phone and sent Kyle a text.
What time will you be home? x
He responded almost instantly.
Will be late, V.I.P clients coming in and have to be there. Do you want to come? Is everything ok? x
I took a deep breath in before responding.
Everything’s fine. Will stay in, not feeling too well. Just going to get some rest and an early night. See you when you get home x
The moment I clicked send I knew he would begin panicking. I really didn’t want him to until I knew.
I’ll be home as soon as I can and will bring you chicken soup. Love you x
A smile spread across my face as I read his message. I really did love this man. It was then that the thought of our child entered my mind and I wondered what it would look like. Moments later Tash jumped into the car with an armful of paper bags and I laughed.
“What?, I didn’t know which one to get, so I got them all.” She was the best friend I could have ever asked for.
When we arrived home I procrastinated in taking the test. Tash didn’t push me but I knew she was excited for me and worried at the same time.
“I don’t know if I should wait until Kyle gets home and we do this together?” I said as we lay on the bed.
“It’s your choice honey, Whatever is going to put your mind at ease” I knew she was right. I took myself off to the bathroom with the bag and took the first test. Ten pregnancy tests later and what felt like a million years of waiting I saw the result staring at me in each of the tests. It was Positive.
I broke down into tears as I wondered what kind of mother I would be and if I was truly ready. Sitting on the bathroom floor with Tash hugging me closely I knew that above anything I would have the support network to help me through it all. By 7pm that night Kyle was home and I was laying in bed. Tash had gone home as I wanted to be alone but promised that she would be only a phone call away.
“Hello Princess. I bought you soup as promised, Are you ok?” he said as he slid across the bed and placed the container in front of me. I wanted to vomit at the sight of it.
“Thank you. I...don’t know.” I responded, breaking out in a fit of tears that wracked my body. He moved the container away and wrapped me up in his arms.
“What’s wrong?, Do you want me to call the doctor?” He said as pain laced his voice.
“I’m okay Kyle. I...I’m just...” He squeezed me tighter, I could feel the panic running through him as he released me and looked at me.
“What!?”
“I’m pregnant” The moment the words left my mouth I saw two single flickers cross his face. I saw a mixture of sheer excitement and worry that he tried to hide.
“I’m going to be a father?” he asked in disbelief.
“Yes” I said pulling out the bag full of pregnancy tests and emptying it in front of him.
“Holy Shit! I’m going to be a dad!” he screamed excitedly. My worries dulled in that moment but remained just under the surface.
“Why are you crying Antonia?, This is fucking amazing” he asked now concerned.
“Because I don’t ever want to be like my mother” I responded as another stream of tears now running down my face.
“You will NEVER be like her. You are going to be the best mother there is Antonia. I promise I will be there for you every step of the way.” He held for hours until I fell asleep. I knew I would be worried until the child came but from that moment on I vowed to be happy to have a child of my own.
We kept the news to our closest family and friends until the twelve week mark and on the day of our second anniversary we announced we were expecting. Kyle had already begun making arrangements and was so excited. He was looking into schools and the types of bottles that could be used. It made me so proud to see him this way after the childhood he had. Kyle’s father had been a notorious figure that grew to hate his individual success in business. The two had never spoken again when Kyle made his first million and always tried to make it harder for him to succeed. Soon after that Kyle changed his surname and put as much distance between him and his father. He was determined to be close to his child, it was because of this I didn’t feel so alone. As the weeks began to roll on I began to feel the excitement build within me. We were the happiest we had ever been and although Kyle had been working harder and longer hours I wasn’t worried as I knew when the baby came that he would be there.
One evening I was in the nursery next to our bedroom that was just off the main driveway when I heard Nick’s footsteps. We had just painted the room a baby pink when we found out we were having a girl. A few seconds after I had put the diapers away Nick burst into the room and screamed at me to get down.
“Antonia, Get the FUCK on the ground” I looked at him wide eyed and shocked. Not because he had sworn, or the reasons behind it but because he had used my first name and that had never happened.
“Get DOWN!” he yelled again as he picked me up and placed me on the ground. Within seconds of us landing on the ground the glass in the nursery shattered and the sound of a whip cracking could be heard. Nick covered my body with his and the panic set in. I looked around me and saw bullets that had entered the wall were still being shot.
“I need to get you out of here, please stay calm” he said in my ear. I had no idea how we were going to get out of it as the bullets sprayed the change table I had been standing at moments earlier.
“What is going on” I said frozen, but he wouldn’t respond.
“When I say go, you need to hold on. I am going to run you out of here.” I couldn’t breathe. I knew I was going to pass out. It felt like a dream. I couldn’t understand what was happening.
“What’s going on, where is Kyle?” I screamed at Nick. Punching his shoulder and wishing that it would all just go away.
“GO!” I wrapped my arms around him instinctively as he whisked me up the moment the shots had stopped. Almost as if on cue another round of shots began that struck Nick in the back. I flew out of his arms and went through the already half destroyed wall. I felt the bullet slice my skin as I slid down the wall and the white blinding pain blocked any thought from my mind. I heard tyres screeching seconds later before my world started darkening. The only thing I could remember after that was wishing that my baby would be ok and wondering if I would ever see Kyle again.
* * * *
As Kyle looked at me I saw the sadness envelop him. I admitted to myself that I definitely needed to talk about what had happened but I had no idea how I was going to get through it without in turn hurting him with my words. Deep down I knew that he had been the reason Nick had been shot and the reason our lives had been put in danger.
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