Pregnant With Alpha’s Genius Twins

#Chapter 58 – Media Frenzy

“Ian,” I call, wrapped in my favorite knitted white blanket on Victor’s couch, “come on baby, back away from the TV. You’re going to burn your eyeballs out, standing that close.”

Ian is standing with his nose inches away from the tv, his hands pressed against the screen. He barely blinks and I think, fleetingly, of Poltergeist.

“I can’t, mama,” he says. “It’s me, I’m on the TV!”

Alvin claps his hands and jumps up and down behind Ian. “Look! It’s me! There we are again!”

The media really have their hooks in this story – they’ve been cycling pictures of Victor and the claiming ceremony over and over again. Unfortunately, the event had precisely the kind of backlash that Victor hoped to avoid. Rampant speculation about the boys, Victor and Amelia’s relationship and, unfortunately, the mother.

That’s why I’m here, curled up on Victor’s couch, begrudgingly in the same room as Amelia. Victor called us all here, wanting to keep everyone in the house and on lockdown until the story fades. It’s true – there are paparazzi all over the street outside our houses; one of the Betas even found someone sneaking in the yard.

It’s all so ridiculous. But the boys, at least, at thrilled.

Victor enters the living room, handing Amelia a cup of tea. “Any change in the spin, the angle?” he asks, crossing his arms. He’s dressed down today, for once – no suit, just a finely knit sweater and slacks. But even in those, he looks stiff and formal. I smirk, looking at him. Does Victor ever relax?

“No,” Amelia responds. “Same old, same old. Just a lot of rampant speculation.”

“Good,” Victor says, watching the screen as raptly as the boys. “If it stays like this – just summarizing the event – it will blow over.”

Just after Victor says this, though, my phone dings. I pick it up.

Delia: Check out CelebGoss. You’re headline news, babe.

“Shoot,” I say, looking up at Victor and Amelia. “Can you change the channel? Delia texted me, she told me to put on CelebGoss.” So far, we’ve been sticking to Victor’s preferred news stations which lean towards national news and hard-hitting journalism.

He picks up the remote and flicks the channel. Immediately, we’re greeted with a blurry picture of my face from yesterday’s event.

woman was identified by guests as

“It’s only a matter

you! Now you’re on tv!”

squint my eyes and study it. “Are you sure it’s me,

Says Ian, tracing my form on the

the screen with

Ian, I think, smirking and saying nothing.

to figure out my identity, but frankly, at this point, I’m emotionally exhausted by it all. The fact is that my father already knows where I am and the boys exist, so there’s no one else I’m really trying to keep it a secret from. While I would of course prefer not to be on television with my

back and try

television turns to a commercial for home insurance and the boys fall away from the tv, returning

looking up at him from

a hand through his uncharacteristically disheveled hair, staring passively at the tv. “Well, ideally, we would have already been married, to bring some stability to this situation. It doesn’t look good to be what

abruptly returns, the words News Flash splashed across the

now

close to the family are now confirming that this is indeed Evelyn Ortega, a psychologist and single mother

of glee now in her voice, “there is evidence that Evelyn

pulling

old, horrible images onto the screen from that night six years ago. Of course, they’ve picked

out anything that they couldn’t cut. But still, from my hands pressed against the window and the…emotive…expression on my face, it’s pretty

god,” Amelia says, shading her eyes with her hand and looking down at her cup of tea. I know she’s not squeamish, and surely she’s seen these images before. I peek at her face and can see

says, running forward to the tv to get

this?” Ian asks, joining his brother. “Are

I say, sitting up and waving them over to me. “Victor, can we turn this

glaring at me. “I’m