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I walk down the path, out of the trees and into the sunshine. The sun warms my skin and I tip my head back and soak it in. Everything else may be shit, but I can still enjoy a beautiful day, right? That’s not illegal yet. That’s not ruined for me yet.
I take deep breaths, relaxing my body down to my toes. My limbs feel heavy and I think I could fall asleep standing up when someone says, “Your plants are growing.”
I shriek and slip on the stone path.
Hope scrambles to grab my arm and steady me. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, I’m fine. I hear a mild heart attack is good for you every now and then.” I press a hand to my pounding chest. “Where did you come from?”
“The house. Sorry, I thought you heard me.”
“I guess I was in my own little world.” How long has she been watching me? Did she see me get sick? “What brings you out here?”
“I was making coffee for Mr. Kulikov and wanted to see if you wanted any. You haven’t had any yet this morning. It’s not like you.”
Just the thought of coffee gives me heartburn. But that’s not what catches my attention. “Yakov is here?”
“He got in late last night.” Hope gives me a sad smile. “He went straight to his office and… He doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
In other words, he doesn’t want to see you, Luna.
There goes any hope I had that the entire mansion wouldn’t need to learn that Yakov is icing me out. Hope is looking at me like I’m a puppy with a broken leg. It doesn’t help that I feel a bit like a puppy with a broken leg.
“Did you see your plants are growing?” Hope asks again, changing the subject before tears can well in my eyes.
In addition to heartburn and nausea, I also cry at the drop of a hat now. Ah, the magic of pregnancy. The fun truly never ends.
I follow her over to the garden bed Yakov gifted me. I’ve been watering it every day with no sign of growth. But today, there are dozens of tiny green sprouts peeking through the dirt.
“Wow,” I breathe. “That happened overnight. There was nothing there yesterday.”
“It can happen fast. Now, the real fun begins—weeding and fertilizing and trimming. You might need to enlist some help. I’m not sure you’ll be able to keep up with it all on your own.”
Hope and my subconscious would be great friends. I’ve been thinking the same thing for days. I can’t do this on my own.
I blink back tears and grin. “Before I freak out about what comes next, I’m going to celebrate this for a second. I actually grew something. I didn’t think it was possible.”
“Growing new life is exciting,” Hope says.
New life. When did Hope turn into a scarily accurate fortune cookie?
“‘Terrifying’ is more like it,” I mutter. Then I quickly laugh. “You know, in case I murder all these plants.”
Hope watches me for a second before she looks back to the garden. “Did you know I have seven younger siblings?
“Really? Wow. I had no idea.” There’s a lot I don’t know about Hope. I’ve been here for weeks, but I haven’t really gotten to know her on that level. My stomach churns with guilt. Turns out, I prefer the nausea. “What was that like?”
“Crazy.” She laughs. “I had to help take care of my younger siblings when my mom was pregnant. She had really horrible morning sickness every time. It lasted her entire pregnancy.”
The horror! I’m silently praying that my morning sickness will end by the second trimester when I realize what Hope is doing. All the little hints she’s been dropping. She isn’t a fortune cookie, just too astute for her own good.
I look down at my feet. “That sounds hard.”
“It was. But at least she had me to help her out. I’m sure it would have been worse if she was on her own.”
Tears sting in my eyes. I turn away so she doesn’t see them. “That was nice of you to help.”
“That’s what family does for one another. And friends,” she adds softly. “That’s what friends do for one another, too.”
