The Billionaire and the Runaway Bride by Nadia Lee
Chapter Sixty-Four
Declan
–two years later
I stand in the living room and stare out at the rising sun. I asked Yuna to come join me, but she told me she wanted to snooze for five more minutes.
The Pacific at dawn is gorgeous. And the sun ascending in the sky is stunning, all that pale light piercing the dark blue vault of heaven.
Something moves rapidly through the gold, orange and purple clouds. I squint. It’s faster than any bird and moves with an odd serpentine motion…
Then I see something even weirder. It’s coming straight for me!
Shit.
I freeze, unable to run. I put my arms up in front of my face in a defensive gesture. But the window doesn’t shatter. Instead, something soft and cuddly bumps into me.
I open my eyes and see a small pearlescent white dragon looking up at me, its wide, dark eyes intelligent and bright. I hug it out of reflex.
“Hi,” I say.
The dragon blinks. Damn, it’s cute!
It puffs a breath and flaps its wings a couple of times. Then its gaze catches something beyond my shoulder. Yuna’s coming down the steps to join me, still in her nightgown.
The dragon wriggles out of my hands and lunges toward Yuna with a loud cry. I don’t try to stop it because I can sense that it isn’t going to hurt her.
Before I can see Yuna’s reaction, another dragon bumps into my chest and squeals. It’s pink, and it flutters its eyes sweetly.
“You are simply too cute,” I say.
The dragon grins, showing me little fangs. Then it leaps out of my arms and flies to Yuna, who laughs.
“What are we going to name them?” she asks.
“I don’t know.” I don’t want to pick just any two names.
“Oh, oh, I have the best ones!” She snaps her fingers. “We should—”
My phone alarm goes off, making it impossible for me to hear what she’s saying.
“What?” I ask.
She starts to say it again, but then my damn alarm goes off again. Argh!
“Declan, wake up.” Yuna’s voice penetrates my senses.
“No, wait, you have to tell me…” I mumble, my eyes still closed.
“Tell you what?”
I open my eyes and see the view of the late-morning ocean. I’m on a couch. Must’ve fallen asleep after breakfast. “Oh, wow.” I sit up and shake my head a little. “Damn it, it was a dream.”
“What kind of dream?” Yuna asks, looking at me from an armchair.
“A silly one. Dragons flying inside our home without breaking the glass.”
“Dragons?” She raises both eyebrows. “Inside our home?”
“Well, they were small. I know, it doesn’t really follow.”
“I don’t think dreams have to obey the laws of physics.” She picks up a slice of lemon from a plate balanced on her knee and sucks on the fruit.
“Isn’t that super tart?” My face scrunches as I imagine what it must taste like.
“Actually, it’s quite refreshing. I love it.” She smiles.
Women love the weirdest things.
“You ready for our video chat with Mom and Dad?” she says.
Yuna’s parents can’t visit this summer, so we’re doing a Zoom call instead.
We join the conference call. Her parents are already there, seated in their living room together. “Yuna! Declan!” Her mom waves.
“You look a little sleepy,” her dad says.
“Yes. I fell asleep before the call, but I’m awake now,” I say with a smile.
Yuna sucks another slice of lemon.
“So when is your next movie? I’m going to give free tickets to all of our employees and their families so they can go see it,” he says.
I smile at his enthusiasm. He did that when my first movie came out. It did well, and I’m grateful for his support. “I don’t know yet, but I’ll let you know when I do.”
“Tell us all about how you’ve been,” Yuna’s mom says. “You’ve been eating well? Sleeping well?”
“I’ve been a little tired. I think I need to eat more fruit and vegetables,” Yuna says. “I’m craving citrus.”
“Vitamin C deficiency.” Yuna’s dad frowns. “I’ll have Mr. Park send you some good hanyak, Yuna.”
I shudder in pity. Hanyak is a traditional Korean herbal medicine, and is so bitter I almost literally can’t swallow the stuff. But her mom brought it last winter for both of us, then made us drink it every day for two months, saying it would help with creating the next generation. I didn’t have the heart to tell her science disagrees. A sperm has to meet an egg. Putting a father-to-be through inhuman torture for two months won’t do it.
“Okay. Thank you,” Yuna says calmly.
“So. Are you seeing anything unusual in your dreams?” Yuna’s mom asks.
“No. I don’t think I’m dreaming these days. And if I do, I don’t remember,” Yuna says.
Her mom looks thoroughly disappointed for some reason.
And I hate seeing her let down. “I had a dream. A couple of dragons.”
“Dragons!” Yuna’s mom lets out an actual squeal, something I never imagined she’d do.
Yuna’s dad leans forward until his face takes up at least three-quarters of the screen. “Dragons! How many?”
“Uh… Two? One white and one pink. They flew into my arms, then went to Yuna.”
Yuna’s mom says something in Korean. I don’t understand it, but it seems like she’s very excited.
“What’s the deal?” I say.
“It’s a taemong!” she half shrieks.
“A what mong?”
“A birth dream, which you have when you’re pregnant or about to be.” Yuna explains it because her parents are too busy laughing and crying and hugging each other to tell me. “Traditionally it features something auspicious. Dragons definitely count. And two probably means twins, although I’m not a hundred percent sure because I don’t interpret dreams like this.”
“When was your last…lady’s week?” Yuna’s mom asks.
Lady’s week?
“Um…” Yuna thinks for a moment. “Oh… It’s been two months!”
Now Yuna’s mom and dad are hugging and jumping up and down like they just won Olympic gold medals.
And my own heart is doing a massive cartwheel. “Oh my God. We’re pregnant.” I stare at the lemon she’s sucking on. “Of course!”
Yuna’s mouth parts, as though it’s finally dawning on her. “We’re going to be parents,” she whispers, excitement sparkling in her eyes.
“We are!” Letting out a loud whoop, I hug her tightly, with love. I have everything I could ever want in my arms.