Chapter 112: Honeymoon Announcement

A shaky exhale warmed my forehead before I could feel his body heat fade. The bounce of the bed and shifting covers told me that he was getting off and I finally opened my eyes as soon as I knew there was a distance between us. I looked behind him toward my bathroom, the door still wide open. “Thanks. Do you mind leaving now?”

For once, my sour tone made his affectionate demeanor shift into… annoyance? Did I see that right? That was the first time he looked phased by my attitude. It made my body stiffen up at the thought he’ll come back on top of me and fuck knows what he’ll do next to me.

“...Right. I’ll leave you to rest then.” Despite the dark fire in his eyes, his gentle, caring voice remained the same. The same tone that used to always put me at ease, but now, more than ever, it made me feel the exact opposite.

As soon as Julian left my room, I hopped out of bed and hurried to the door. I locked it so fast that it didn’t even dawn on me that Julian could probably hear the shift of metal and a quiet rattle from the door.

I tapped my forehead against the door as I tried to calm my nerves. I had gotten so worked up that my nausea was using my empty stomach like a punching bag. I’m gonna fucking puke out of my life at this rate. My hand rested on my stomach, on the baby growing inside of me. The topic of twins being hereditary crossed my mind. *What if I have two of them? What am I going to do then?* I shook my head as if to shake those thoughts out of my ears, reminding myself of what Mom told me. Right now, I just need to focus on myself. That’s all that matters.

Even despite after thinking about taking care of my body, the thought of sleep was still a hesitant subject for me. If there was one thing that terrified me, it was my nightmares. And for a brief second… I wanted Julian to come back.



An exhausted yawn erupts from me as I toss back and forth in bed. *Wait… what? What the fuck??* I sprang up in a sitting position and looked around with a racing heart. *When did I get back in bed? Am I dreaming? I don’t remember anything. I didn’t dream. So surely I’m dreaming right now, right? Right??*

My constant self-doubt became reality when the sunlight peeking through my useless curtains made my eyes sting and recoil. Yup. I’m awake… This was the first time in years that I slept without a single dream. No nightmare. Not even a tiny glimpse of the terror that lies deep inside of me. What’s going on? I looked down and pressed my hand to my stomach again. “Did you do this?” I scoffed at my own question, finding it ridiculous the moment it left my lips. “Pfft. I really am going soft.”

My body still felt unusually drained as I slid out of bed. I guess this is just one of the symptoms… fuck; I feel like I weigh a ton. Come on, get your lazy ass up already! I grunted with resistance as I hauled myself up. The first thing my eyes travel to is the bathroom and my heart immediately leaped into my throat when I see something missing from the counter.

*Oh, hell no!*

I rushed into the bathroom and looked around frantically, fretting over one thing as if my life depended on it; Julian finding out. *Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!! Did he see the box?! Does he know??* Right as I was about to scream in frustration and pull out my hair, I spotted it flopped in the trashcan.

*The fuck? Did I throw it away last night? Damn… not only did I forget laying down, but I apparently took a half-conscious piss while I was at it.* I noticed some of the toilet paper was ironically missing. It was the only explanation since I locked my door last night.

*Oh fuck.*

Just to make sure I was current, I hurried to the door to see whether somebody had broken in or, worse, had a spare key. And I really wouldn’t be surprised if there was a spare key somewhere. I just hoped that Gabriel was in possession of all of them.

I gave a loud sigh of relief as I clutched my chest’s shirt. *I’m in the clear. Right…?*

Once I made sure I looked presentable with my hair up in another messy bun while wearing one of my usual tank tops and short shorts, I left my room to go find my mom and tell her the good news. I knew she’d be ecstatic to know that for the first time since Dad’s death, I’ve had no nightmares.

Along my way to find her, of all people, I just had to run across Grace. As usual, she gives me a nasty look while looking me up and down. “You look trashier than you normally do. Still puking like a sick animal? Mom hasn’t taken you to the vet yet?”

I could feel my ‘pissed-off vein’ start to pulse in my neck. This cocky, extravagant woman really knew how to push my bottoms. Especially when she called my mother Mom. This was the perfect way to get me going. Still, I flashed her one of my mean smirks. “Don’t worry, Sis, I’ll come be your boyfriend again tonight. Girlfriend. Whatever. So don’t bother locking your door.”

Grace flushed as she ground her teeth and her hands clutched into fists at her side. “UGH! I should’ve known to never ask you! You–”

“Ladies?” Both me and Grace immediately acted like we were nonchalantly minding our own business the moment Gabriel showed up. He worriedly looked between us, clearly having seen a glimpse of our conversation. “Is everything alright?”

“Daddy–”

“We’re cool, Gabe.” I cut Grace off before she could whine to her father about me being a bully again. There was another look in his eyes that I noticed. One of hesitation, the same look I saw in my mother’s eyes last night. Bad sign. Now I’m really cautious. “Somethin’ on your mind?”

“Um… yes. If you both could join us in the living room, that would be great.” Gabriel was polite and kind, as always, before walking past us.

Me and Grace just smiled in return before shooting each other a fierce stink eye the moment he was feet ahead of us.

“You’re lucky that Dad’s here!” Grace hissed under her breath where only I could hear.

“You’re lucky I lost my buttplug,” I grumbled grouchily, getting another flustered reaction out of her.

“You disgusting w–” Our quiet argument went silent the moment we arrived in the living room. Mom had that same look on her face again, but this time more intense. Julian was already here, sitting on the couch with his elbows propped on his knees. He looked to be in deep thought, his mouth hidden between intertwined fingers. Something was going on and I didn’t like it.

*Does it have to do with me? Did Julian find out that I’m pregnant after all? Did Julian finally blab about our relationship? Fuuuuuuuck.* Each thought made my heart pound harder and harder. At this rate, I’ll have a miscarriage.

It was obvious that they wanted the three of us kids to sit on the couch and, of course, Grace sat on the opposite side of the couch. The venomous look in her eyes and faintest snark told me that she did that on purpose.

Fucking piece of shit! I hesitantly stood there, but Julian didn’t look up at me the entire time. It at least gave me the nerve to sit between the twins, crossing my arms and leaning back with a huff.

“So!” Gabriel clapped his hands as if he were about to begin a party and did his best to lighten the atmosphere with a more cheery mood. “Bella and I have been planning this for a while and now that the day is drawing nearer, he decided to announce it to everyone inside and outside the household. So, all the family will–”

I felt that familiar tick inside of me and it made me speak out rudely. “Will you just cut to the chase?”

“Sukia!” My mom gave me a disapproving glare, making my heated flame dwindle to ashes.

Gabriel cleared his throat. “Right, sorry. So… tomorrow we’re throwing a party before leaving on our honeymoon.”

The three of us sat there in shocked silence. I wanted to cut to the chase but *this?!* That heated flame within me flared up with vengeful force.