𝟏𝟐 | 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 emotions

WHEN SHE WOKE up, she felt more comfortable than she had in a very long time. Warmth could be felt all around her, and the arms that held her close felt like she had finally returned home after being away for so long. It was the familar scent that pulled her in and relaxed her instantly. She sighed earnestly, letting the comfort of the soft mattress and strong arms remind her that there was no place in the world that she'd rather be.

Suddenly, it was like water had been poured on her. Avelina's eyes shot open where she took in the brightness of the sun, shining directly in her face. As her gaze fell down to her belly, she realized Adrik had his arm resting on it with his other arm curled around her breasts. He was pressed right up against her, and despite how much Avelina missed it, she hated it even more.

"Adrik!" she yelled.

"What?" he groaned, scooting in closer, planting his head into the crook of her neck. She rolled her eyes.

"Get up!" she yelled.

Adrik slowly peeled open his eyes. She could see her own reflection in his gray pools. To keep from getting lost in them, she turned away.

"Please, get off me," she demanded.

Adrik was hesitant to move over to the other side of the bed. Even if he had done so much wrong to her, she couldn't bring herself to stop feeling guilty from the look on his face. A frown settled on her face.

"I thought I told you to sleep on the floor," she said more softly.

"I would rather sleep with you," he told her.

She began to move the pillows from under her so she could get up, but before she did, Adrik grabbed ahold of her wrist.

"We need to have a discussion," Adrik said. She knew it was true—they most certainly needed to talk about everything. They needed to talk about future plans for the baby, their family, and how long they were going to keep it a secret.

"About what happened that day..."

Even though they needed to talk about their child, she didn't expect him to bring up the topic of how he left her in that office all alone that day. Avelina could feel the clench of her jaw. The day when her entire life was flipped upside down was the last thing she wanted to discuss. She didn't want to go through all that heartache again. It was bad enough that she still couldn't get over it. Avelina was now damaged goods, and it was all because of him. The last thing she needed was to discuss how he threw her away like a piece of trash and replaced her with someone better—prettier—famous.

Only after finding out she was pregnant with his baby was when he decided to step in. Avelina didn't want to talk about it, but she knew she should. If she was going to put everything behind her for the sake of the baby, she needed to go through all the hard discussions.

"Fine," she muttered.

"I never wanted to—"

The door barged open.

"Adrik, something is definitely wrong with the toilet!" That same, familiar soft and calming voice interrupted.

Avelina looked up to take in that same beautiful girl who seemed too foreign to be from New York. She was the woman she had met after the doctor visit. It was the one with the pretty smile and helpful advice. The one Avelina knew deep down she shouldn't have trusted but she did anyway—once again, letting her heart pave the way for her bad decisions.

"Lucia?" Avelina asked in bewilderment. Her heartbeat was increasing, and she only hoped she was seeing a mere copy of the person she would've considered a friend.

"Lucia?" Adrik repeated.

"Oh, Avelina! You're here." Lucia visibly swallowed nervously.

Quickly, Avelina's confusion morphed into pure rage. She got up from the bed, and ignored Adrik trying to stop her as she walked over to Lucia and slapped her across the face. Lucia gasped loudly as she held her cheek with the palm of her hand.

"You fucking bitch!" she exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger in front of her face. "Are the two of you sleeping together, now, huh? I know you recognize him from when we saw him on TV, so don't even try to act innocent!"

Adrik quickly grabbed ahold of Avelina, and made sure her hands were in the restraints of his own hands.

"When did you get so feisty?" Adrik asked.

"When people like you..." she tossed her head at Adrik before shifting her focus over to Lucia, "And people like you have continued to use me and play me like a damn fool! I have every right to be pissed!"

"I'm just gonna go," Lucia whispered.

"No! You stay... I'm going!"Avelina exclaimed. She pushed Adrik off of her and began to gather her phone and other belongings she brought with her.

Lucia quickly moved out of the way as Avelina stalked out of the room and down the hall. She could hear Adrik's footsteps echoing behind her as he chased after her.

"Avelina, wait," Adrik said.

She completely ignored him and continued down the hall when two guards cut her off. She tried to get past them but they were stern and stronger than concrete.

"Be gentle with her," Adrik told them. He grabbed ahold of her wrist again and tried to pull her away from the guards as she only continued to try to fight through them.

"You are going to harm the baby! Stop!" Adrik yelled. She paused. It was only the first time he had ever raised his voice at her. There was such an authoritative tone to his words that it caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand at attention.

"Listen to me and behave rationally," Adrik began. "Don't forget why you are here. I am the father of the fetus just as you are the mother. I want to be there in the room when our child is born. I have everything the baby could ever need—doctors, money, space. I am not trying to bribe you or threaten you, but you have to make the best decision for you and the fetus because right now, you are very unwell and unhealthy."

Adrik released Avelina from his hold out of trust that she would stop behaving emotionally and start acting logically. Just like he assumed, she did. She took a deep breath, knowing that stressing over him and even Lucia was only going to do more harm than good.

"I want my own room, then. I want my own room and I want to be left alone," she said.

Adrik looked displeased, but he nodded his head anyway.

"Let me take you to your new room, then. I was having it made last night," he told her. Together, they descended back down the hall.

"Is it my old room?" she asked him.

"No, it is a bigger one," he said.

They walked until they were at a door that was directly beside Adrik's. She glared at him, but decided to keep her comment of not wanting to be anywhere near him to herself. He pushed open the door, and a room that was similar to Adrik's made its appearance. The only thing missing was color and the homeliness of Adrik's bedroom. The entire room was white and didn't have that gigantic painting that sat behind Adrik's bed.

Just before she stepped into the room, she glanced down the hall to see Lucia entering what used to be Avelina's room. Her eyes narrowed as she stepped into the room

"Is it Lucia or the model that you're with now?" Avelina couldn't help but ask.

"Neither," he answered. Before she could ask another question, Adrik lightly closed the door and walked away.

—

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Y'all! This chapter is a little late only because I still had to edit it but I was busy and hadn't had time. I'm sorry about that. I'm going to be posting the next chapter sometime this week on my patreon so make sure to join it! The link is in my description or go to https://patreon.com/eroticmarie for early updates!

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