“People are talking,” Mairi hissed.
“Let them talk.” Damen didn’t even bother to look around him.
Mairi tried to struggle out of his hold. “Let go of me.” She welcomed the anger rising inside her, knowing it would prevent her from succumbing to self-pity. The memory of Damen answering his phone – of choosing to talk to another woman while Mairi was right next to him – had her stomach hurting, forcing Mairi to lash out in her pain. “I want to go to Drake—”
Pain roared up inside him.
Maneuvering both of them into the balcony, Damen slammed the doors closed after them. A second later, he had Mairi imprisoned in his arms, his lips conquering hers.
Mairi tried her best to stay unresponsive, willing herself to be immune to the way his tongue moved inside her mouth. But it was impossible, and both of them knew it.
“Don’t ever say his fucking name again when you’re with me,” Damen muttered against Mairi’s lips before slowly pulling away.
Then don’t talk to Alina when you’re with me, either! That was what she wanted to say. But she didn’t. She couldn’t. For suddenly, a terribly strong urge to retch had hit her, and with a cry Mairi pushed past Damen, rushing towards the aluminum waste basket in the corner.
The sick look on Mairi’s face had Damen taking after her with a curse, his jealousy forgotten as he held her hair back while Mairi bent down and threw up. What the hell was wrong with her?
Another half-minute of retching followed before Mairi slowly straightened. Damen immediately took out his handkerchief, using it to carefully wipe her mouth. His worry intensified as he noticed Mairi’s pallor and the way her lip trembled.
“Are you ill?” The words burst out from him. Theo, please do not let her be ill.
Mairi weakly shook her head. Oh God, why this? Why? Just when she had decided to leave Damen, why this? Why now?
Damen demanded tautly, “Then what is it—”
Cutting him off, Mairi whispered, “I’m pregnant.” The truth crashed down on her as she spoke the words out loud. Oh God, everything made sense now. Why she always felt overly emotional, needy, and insecure.
Damen’s jaw dropped. He stared at Mairi incomprehensively, his mind still trying to cope with her revelation. Mairi was pregnant?
His head jerked back to hers, Damen needing to see Mairi’s face so he could be sure he hadn’t just imagined her saying the words.
Mairi looked back at him, pale, quiet, and looking so terribly fragile that an aching sense of protectiveness surged up inside him.
“You’re pregnant.” The truth hit him as he said the words.
The tender smile that broke on Damen’s lips made Mairi whisper uncertainly, “You’re…not angry about it?”
His eyes widened. “Why the hell would I be angry about it?”
Because it might make Alina turn away from you.
The haunted look in Mairi’s gaze made him cup her face. “Look at me, sweetheart.” He sensed her reluctance to do so, and it made him even more determined to convince her of how happy he was with her news. When their gazes finally met, Damen said fiercely, “I’m ecstatic about us having a baby. If there’s something I can say or do to convince you how damn happy I am about this, tell me and I’ll do it. I’ll say it.”
Slowly, he placed a hand on her womb, and his entire body shook at the thought that right this moment, his child was resting in it, a miracle he and Mairi created. Lifting his gaze back to Mairi, he asked roughly, “Are you unhappy about this?”
She shook her head. “I’m…just as ecstatic.” Her voice wobbled at the last word.
“But something’s troubling you.” He waited for Mairi to speak, to tell him what was wrong. But she didn’t. And a moment after, the reason why came to him. He said dully, “It’s still him, isn’t it?”
Tears started to fall, leaving a wet trail on Mairi’s cheeks. Each teardrop was a bitter reminder of every instance he had hurt Mairi.
When the bus drove past them, Mairi again tried to step off the sidewalk, but she was stopped by her husband once more. Looking up, she saw that a motorcycle was bearing down on them this time. She burst into laughter, and glancing at Drake over her shoulder, she said, “Tell him he’s overreacting, Drake. You know it’s true!” For once, she did it without any ulterior motive of making Damen jealous. She was just too happy, the way Damen had devoted his every moment to her since he had learned of her pregnancy last night making her feel lighthearted and bubbly.
Everything felt perfect. The sun couldn’t shine brightly enough, the sky couldn’t be blue enough, and oh God, she couldn’t seem to stop smiling. For a moment, she lost herself in cloud nine, and because she was looking at Drake, she completely missed the fleeting look of stark pain in Damen’s gaze when he heard her talk to Drake in an affectionate voice.
Drake didn’t. The chilling kind of look Damen often directed at him was impossible to ignore, but as always, Drake deliberately paid it no heed. He was done interfering between the two, the guilt inside him still fresh. At night, an imaginary Paige would sometimes chide him for causing too much pain for both Damen and Mairi. The Paige in his mind would urge him to make things right between the two, and what Paige wanted, she got. Even if she was not real. Even if it meant he would have to kill a thousand men to have her smile.