Page 119 of Fractured Empire

“I’m so sorry you were scared,” Katya tells Bastian, leaning to his side to kiss the top of his head. “I love you so much, buddy, and I promise to always tell you if something is wrong. There may be times in the future where Mommy has a small cold or a tummy ache like Leo had recently, but I’m perfectly healthy otherwise, my boy. You have nothing to worry about, you know? This baby is going to love you just as much as we all do. And you get to show Leo what being a big brother is all about, hmm? I bet you’ll be so good at that.”

“Yes, yes, so good,” Leo chimes in happily. Tipping over to kiss Katya’s stomach again, he adds, “I love the tiny baby.”

“Sweet boy,” Katya coos at him, ruffling his hair. “Why don’t we all nap together today, hmm? We can cuddle and maybe even convince Daddy to join us?” She raises an eyebrow at me as she makes the suggestion, leaving absolutely no room for me to do anything but agree with her.

I’m expecting Leo to burst out with an enthusiastic shout, but it’s Bastian who jumps at the opportunity to accept first. “Yes, please.”

Without even waiting for my answer, he crawls under the blankets and wraps an arm around Katya’s middle. She’s officially sandwiched between our kids and makes no complaint about it as they snuggle up close.

Chuckling to myself, I get up to flick off her bedroom light and flip her curtains to dark mode before rounding the bed and getting in where the most space remains, next to Leo. My son grins at me through the dim room before he closes his eyes and sighs happily.

We may have just had an alarming and stressful moment together as a family, but I’d say it ended up working out in the best possible way. Nap time together isn’t something we’ve done before, but somehow I think Leo will make it his mission to recreate this moment as often as he can.

And I won’t be complaining.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Katya

Despite being pregnant for almost three and a half months now, I have no bump to show for it. A sad fact that according to my research, is quite normal for first-time mothers. Some women cherish the gift of keeping their pre-pregnancy size for as long as possible, and I don’t blame them at all. Working hard to keep your figure the way that makes you feel confident is no small thing.

Still, something inside me is itching to see proof of my baby growing outside of ultrasound screens. I won’t even start to feel quickening or baby flutters for at least another month, but I try my best not to feel bummed out about it. Time is moving slow and it’s not a bad thing. The slower time goes by, the more I get to savor my days with Leon and the kids.

I’ll have plenty of months to see my stomach growing, and feel it eventually begin to move inside me. But we made it to fourteen weeks, and officially felt comfortable announcing the news to our families. That process alone gave me enough joy to keep me positive for the foreseeable future.

My mother was ecstatic when I called her, and screamed so loud that Linus ran into the room with his gun drawn, expecting to find an intruder or a very large spider. Gaia has already begun shopping for her niece—she refuses to admit the possibility that it could be a boy—and Ares has sent me flowers to congratulate me. And he didn’t even make a joke or a sarcastic quip about the Moretti family breeding like rabbits.

Leon’s family was a whole other beast. We told Rayna and Apollo first, not just because they’ve become our closest friends, but because Leon insisted they wouldn’t freak out and go crazy at the news. He was correct of course. Though the couple was excited for us and wished us well, sending a little gift in the mail the day after we called, they didn’t scream or jump around like Jade.

Dante came next, and I swear it sounded like he was choked up on the phone call, promising to come visit us soon. All of Leon’s brothers talked to him on the phone for a while when he called them with the news, and Jade has been texting me more and more often now that we have something obvious in common to talk about. She’s had two successful pregnancies, and she knows all about being a mother surrounded by tons of overprotective Morettis.

It’s been sweet, even if it’s been a bit overwhelming to have the secret be out. It was nice having something just between our little family, but it was a miracle Leo didn’t spill the beans sooner. He did blab to Gino when I threw up in the backyard bushes a month ago, but none of us could be upset with him for letting the man know not to worry about his mommy.

She just growing a baby, he’d said. It was too freaking cute to be upset about.

Thankfully, the days of throwing up at random seem to be behind me. And since my morning sickness has come to an end, Leon and I decided it was time that we finally take a little trip as a family. Bastian brought up the cabin when we floated the idea to the kids, and I immediately latched on to it, remembering that he had mentioned it once before.

A little winter getaway in a cozy cabin? I didn’t need to be convinced.

“Here we are,” Leon announces, pulling me out of my thoughts. White surrounds us at every angle, brightening up the tinted windows of our SUV as little flurries of snow flow past the glass.

“Oh wow,” I gasp, spotting the large wood and brick building in front of us. The word cabin doesn’t do this place justice. “This is incredible. We own this?”

Leon grins, liking the sound of me claiming what was once just his. “Yeah, baby, we do. You like it?”

“It’s stunning,” I reply with a wide grin, reaching for my door handle. “I have to see the inside of it.”

Looking over the center console to our kids in the back, he asks, “What do you say boys, should we give Mommy a tour?”

Leo squirms in his car seat, excited to be set free, but Princess Spaghetti is who answers Leon’s question, barking softly as if to say yes.

It’s a family vacation, so of course we had to take our little sunshine with us. Our sweet golden retriever has grown so much in the past few months, losing her tiny puppy size quickly and becoming exceptionally well-trained. She now sports a pink polka dot collar that Bastian picked out for her, and a paw-shaped dog tag that Leo insisted be branded with her full name, along with our emergency contact number.

Leon and I get out of the car at the same time, each of us opening the door behind our own, helping a kiddo get out of their seat. My husband smartly keeps Leo on his hip and takes Princess Spaghetti’s leash in hand, guiding her out of the SUV and onto the snowy driveway. The ground isn’t overly icy or slippery, but I wouldn’t put it past our little energy-filled cutie to try and run to the cabin so fast and trip over his snow boots in the process.

Bastian, by contrast, takes my hand to guide me inside as if he’s the one responsible for keeping me safe rather than the other way around. He looks absolutely adorable in his wool coat, matching his father’s charcoal-colored longer jacket. He has a fun red-lined puffer coat like Leo is wearing, but he has it packed away for later.

We had to make sure the car heat wasn’t too toasty for them on the ride over, since they both insisted on wearing their layers in preparation for the snow. Leon and I aren’t good at denying our boys anything, and I have a feeling they’re going to grow up quite spoiled because of it. Thankfully, their manners are impeccable, and I doubt they could be bratty if they tried.