Lucas.

SHIMMA’s POV**

It’s been hours since I arrived home—Mattias's house.

I decided to make dinner since he was normally the one to cook. He would constantly tell me not to stress myself or the baby. He also instructed the help not to cook because he wanted to do it himself.

As a great chef, I understood it wasn’t a big deal for him, and cooking was also part of his love language.

But today, for the first time in a month, I decided to make him something.

“Buzz buzz!”

My phone buzzed with a message, and when I picked it up to see who it was, I saw it was Mattias, probably informing me he was on his way home.

I tapped on the text, and it read: “I’M ON MY WAY, SWEETIE. LUCAS IS COMING ALONG WITH ME. I JUST WANTED TO INFORM YOU. LOVE YOU SO MUCH, XOXO. (With a heart emoji)”

I frowned, remembering my last conversation with Lucas. Seeing him was going to be so uncomfortable, but telling Mattias that I didn’t want his cousin over seemed wrong. After all, I was sure he understood what I meant when we last spoke to each other and was just coming over for whatever reason.

Thankfully, I prepared enough for him too, so all I had to do was wait.

---

A few minutes later, I could hear Mattias's car pulling into the compound, and I ran out to welcome him.

I ran to him just before he and Lucas came out of the car.

“Welcome home, baby,” I said with a smile.

“I missed you so much, baby,” Mattias said, pulling me in and kissing my lips.

“Erm, ahem!” Lucas cleared his throat, and I slowly pulled away from our kiss.

“Hi, Lucas,” I greeted.

“Hi, Shimma. I—I heard what happened. I am deeply sorry,” he said, placing his hand on his chest.

“Th—Thank you so much,” I responded, followed by an awkward silence.

“Why don’t we all go eat inside? I made dinner,” I said, glancing at Mattias, but he was smiling. He looked surprised.

“Babe, that was why I came home early. I told you I didn’t want you lifting a finger,” he said, and I chuckled.

“I’m still in my early stages, babe; it’s fine,” I replied as we all stepped inside.

I couldn’t help but notice Lucas’s gaze locked on me. I couldn’t tell why he was staring at me so intensely, but all I knew was that it made me feel uncomfortable.

“I almost forgot, babe. I got you this,” Mattias said, handing over a small shopping bag. How was I just noticing it now?

“Aww, babe, thank you,” I said, taking the bag from him and peeking to see what was inside. It was a box, a jewelry box. Mattias loved gifting me diamond jewelry. All my jewelry collections were literally diamonds—not gold, not silver—just diamonds.

“Uhm, and I also got you this,” the voice that spoke next wasn’t Mattias’s; it was Lucas. He got me a gift too? But for what?

I looked down at his hand as he handed me a small box.

“Wow, thank you,” I said, stealing a glance at Mattias. He had his gaze on Lucas but didn’t look angry, just confused.

“Dude, you told me it was for a girl you had recently met and wanted to gift it to her because you thought you liked her,” Mattias asked, brow raised.

“I lied,” Lucas said, his smile awkward. But I didn’t need to think much about it.

---

**LUCAS’S POV**

Once we pulled into Mattias’s compound, I couldn’t stop my heart from pounding in my chest, like it was about to jump out.

Why does she make me feel this way? This intense?

I watched as the entrance door opened, and there she was, in a blue dress that could barely cover her chest and thighs.

“Luca, control yourself,” I cursed under my breath, not wanting Mattias to notice how vulnerable—how crazy—Shimma was making me feel.

Damn! This has got to mean something; this has to be a connection. A connection she is yet to find out about. From the first day I laid eyes on her, I knew she was mine. She just needed time to see it. And nothing was going to stop me. No Mattias, not her pregnancy.

I watched her hug Mattias, kissing him deeply, and I looked away, unable to watch them together. I cleared my throat, masking my pain with a smile, and finally, they stopped, and she turned to me.

Once our eyes met, I could feel the tension rise again, this uncontrollable intensity. Fuck, I wanted her to be mine so badly.

Once inside, I handed her the gift I had gotten her just after Mattias did the same.

I could feel Mattias’s piercing gaze on me as I handed her the earrings worth thousands of dollars.

“Dude, you told me it was for a girl you had recently met and wanted to gift it to her because you thought you had fallen in love with her,” Mattias asked, brow raised.

“I lied,” I responded, forcing out a smile. But I didn’t lie.

I was in love with Shimma, and this was a way of expressing my love for her.

“Well, how about we sit down for dinner? I don’t want the food getting cold. I spent hours making it,” Shimma said, causing Mattias to look away from me and back at her.

“Alright, babe,” he responded. He shot me one more dead-eyed look, but that wasn’t going to stop me from getting what I wanted. Nothing was.