“Nial,” she called weakly.
“Shhhh.” I closed the distance between us in a few strides. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I took her hand. “Don’t stress. You don’t need that right now.”
“What happened?” she whispered, her other hand resting on her belly. “Nial, our baby.” She tried to sit up, eyes wide with panic.
I gently held her down, curling my lips into a faint grin. “Our baby’s fine.”
Our baby.
I liked the sound of that.
“Oh, thank God.” Relief washed over her face as she rubbed her lower abdomen. “I thought that….” Her voice trailed off into silence, as if she couldn’t bring herself to say the next words.
I reached out, a hand on her cheek. “You’re both fine, and that’s all that matters right now.”
A lone tear trickled down her cheek, and I wiped it with my thumb.
“Thank you,” she whispered, her eyes locked to mine.
“For what?”
She sniffled. “For responding as quickly as you did.”
My lips curled into a faint grin. “This wasn’t how I envisioned we’d spend our wedding night.”
“Me neither.” She hesitated for a moment, a teasing grin tugging at her mouth. “But at least it wasn’t boring. In my book, this passes as an adventure.”
I let out a quiet chuckle. “Right?”
“Right.” She laughed lightly. “We definitely needed the adrenaline, if you ask me.”
The tension in the air dissolved into something lighter, something positive that transformed our dilemma from bad to laughable.
Her contagious smile rekindled my hope, a reminder of how close I had come to never seeing it again.
In my mind, I swore that from that moment on, no harm would ever touch her. Not while I still had breath in my lungs.
Chapter 27 — Kiera
~Six Months Later
My belly was unmistakable now, and my body had changed in ways that I found rather disturbing. I’d gained a lot of weight and no longer looked as attractive as I did months ago.
My cheeks were chubby, my legs were swollen, and I could barely take five steps before stopping to catch my breath. Nobody had told me about the side effects of pregnancy and how unbearable it could be.
Little things upset me these days because it turned out my emotions were heightened. Everyone treated me like an egg—too delicate and fragile. The staff tried all they could to get me whatever I craved in the exact proportion I asked for.
Nial had given strict instructions that I wasn’t to be stressed at any point during this period. Everyone at the mansion worked together to make sure that I was properly taken care of. Not just because they feared their boss. But because they’d grown to respect me as a person.
Sometimes, I could be annoying—a real pain in the ass—especially when having one of my mood swings. Yet, through it all, the entire staff stood by me.
A part of the reason I was easily upset and irritated was because every part of my body hurt. My waist ached badly, my joints always felt like they were about to snap, and my mind was never quiet.
I was tired all the goddamn time, feeling useless rather than pampered. And to make matters worse, I felt like I was alone in this mess.
Nial was always present from the beginning, running my late-night errands, massaging my body, and simply keeping me company. However, for the last two months now, the attention he once showered me with had drastically reduced.
I barely saw him these days anyway.
