Moving In Together

“Reiner was supposed to kill you…” I said with sudden realization. Lucien was his target and killing my mother was a mistake.

“I can’t imagine the shock he must have felt when he found out he killed the wrong person. Reiner was probably told to kill whoever was driving that car and that was precisely what he did. After all, I usually never lend my car to anyone back in the days,” Lucien said in a strained voice like he was tired and running out of breath.

“Who is behind all this? Who targeted you? Why…Why did my mother have to die?” I wailed in a voice wrecked by my own sobs.

I felt dizzy as I began crying hard, wailing out loud like a lost child. Tears streamed down my face, and I found it difficult to breath. My eyes were burning with tears and soon I wasn’t able to see clearly anymore. Lucien didn’t say anything more, neither did he answer any of my questions. He just hugged me tightly to his chest as I cried my eyes out.

I cried for my mother and the times we could have shared if she had lived longer. I cried for the three men whose lives got pulled into this unfortunate tangle of fate. Lastly, I cried for myself.

Just like when I had a nightmare when I was a child, Lucien comforted me until I fell into a deep sleep.

…

A few weeks had passed and the only good thing that came about was the complete disappearance of my morning sickness. I honestly don’t understand why they call it morning sickness when the sickness of literally hit you at any random time of the day. Regardless, I read up on a bunch of articles and recommended books regarding pregnancies and what to expect. I spent most of the time at Edward’s penthouse because it was closer to the office than the mansion.

Another surprising change was that Edward seemed to be freer from his work obligations and had so much time for me. Since I was discharged from the hospital, Edward visited me three times for the first week. The second week, he was spending time in the penthouse with me almost every day. On top of that, he drove me to and from work as well.

He cooked me healthy breakfast and made sure that I had healthy dinners. We ate out at many restaurants together for dinner and on some occasions, Edward would put in the effort to cook dinner for us. I learnt that Edward was a very talented cook and all the food he made seemed to suit my tastebuds very well.

“I’m moving in here starting next week,” Edward stated casually as he stood behind the stove while making us breakfast.

“…what?” I asked blankly.

“I’m moving in to live here with you,” Edward repeated as he placed plates and utensils on the dining table in front of me.

“…o…k” I said, still feeling a little confused.

Edward’s announcement to move in to live with me seemed quite sudden and seemed to come out of nowhere. He had been coming over and spending time with me daily but that was different from moving in to live together. For one, Edward rarely slept over no matter how late our dinner dates ended. He would always excuse himself citing reasons related to work for that night or tomorrow morning. I actually never knew where he spent his nights.

I wasn’t sure what living with Edward would be like or if it would be any different than now since I’ve been spending a lot of time with him already. However, my biggest fear was him finding out about my pregnancy.

Unfortunately, I had not mustered up the courage to tell Edward that I was pregnant yet. Now that he was going to move in, I was scared that he would find out when my tummy got bigger. I had been checking my body in the mirror every day and so far, my tummy could pass for excessive belly fat.

“I’ll drive you to work,” Edward said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

I knew I had to tell Edward about my pregnancy soon, but I just didn’t know how to tell him. I mean, I was pregnant with another man’s child. I don’t regret my pregnancy at all but that doesn’t mean that Edward would feel the same. I’m not going to lie, I was scared…of losing Edward too.

To keep my mind off troublesome things, I concentrated on work and progressing my career. I spent a lot of time at the office and took on new roles whenever I can to help out my colleagues. I never turned down any tasks given to me or opportunities to try something new. I stayed as late as I could at the office without getting into a fight with Edward, who had started to stick to me like glue.

“You know, you don’t need to wait around here for the whole day,” I told Edward one day when he was driving me to work.

Lately, Edward would drive me to work and then spend his time working remotely at nearby cafes so that he would be ready to pick me up whenever I wanted to go home. We also had lunch together on days where I had time to enjoy my lunch break which meant that I practically ate three meals a day with him. I appreciated his effort in wanting to take care of me, but I was afraid that it was going to have a negative impact on his work.

“You don’t have to worry, I can work anywhere,” Edward replied smoothly and that was that.

Well, that was that. I sighed inwardly, knowing full well that I wouldn’t be able to convince Edward otherwise when his mind was firmly made up. If he says he’s fine, then I just have to take his word for it.

“By the way, are you free tonight?” Edward asked brightly.

“Yes, I am. Why?” I asked curiously.

“Great. Let’s go on a date. It’s been a while since we’ve gone out,” Edward said excitedly.

“Sure! Let’s go!” I replied, sounding excited too. His excitement and joy was surely rubbing off on me.

--To be continued…