Chapter 6

Nerezza's Point of View

The silence in the car was stifling. Priamos looked everywhere but at me. Admired the new building coming along on the main road. Stared at the luxury cars passing by us. Everywhere but at my eyes. Or my stomach, which I now cradled with my hands.

I had mixed feelings about what was growing inside of me. The life that was sure to start if I wished it. I had never imagined an abortion until now. Thought women were mad for letting go of the life inside of them. Now, I understood their decisions. I couldn't care for myself, much less a baby as well. 

Priamos seemed to think the same, from the lack of words from him. How could he not? We barely knew each other. Had just gotten to a comfortable point by calling each other pet names. It was a work in progress and a baby would complicate things too much.

We stopped in front of our apartment complex. Staring up to the third floor, I couldn't imagine bringing up a child in such a small place. There was no grass for the child to play on. No nearby parks or schools. Those you could only find in the suburban district. The type of place only families stayed. Or couples who were ready to start a family. Either way, it was no place for the likes of us.

Without a word, Priamos climbed from the car. He rounded to my side and opened my door. I nodded in thanks and walked up towards the foyer. My hand never wavered from my stomach. As if I needed to protect the life there. But I had no clue if I even wanted to keep it.

Priamos and I had never spoken of our families. I had no friends. Never known children. Besides, I was young. Incredibly so. Who would help us? Support us? Show us how things had to go. What to do? My mother would have loved the thought of getting a grandchild. My father would have murdered Priamos without a second thought.

Finally, the elevator dinged open and Priamos stepped out before me. I trailed behind him. Watched the rigid lines of his shoulder. The rise and fall of his chest. His gaze flicked everywhere. From the hallway tiles to the massive windows on the opposite end. Nothing escaped him. Anything but thinking about me and the child I was carrying.

Unlocking the door, he stepped inside. Inspected the rooms in front of him. It was time to break the silence. To talk about what we had just heard. I swallowed down my growing nerves.

"If you want, we can get rid of it?" I offered up, my voice was meek. Priamos walked inside and ignored me. One by one, the strings inside my heart snapped. This wasn't something he had signed up for. Mate or no mate, we haven't been together long enough to have a child together. No man wanted to be tied down to a woman just because of a child. We weren't mated yet. Married yet. He could have left whenever he wanted. Now, we would always be bound together.

"Was this space always so dangerous?" Priamos asked. I frowned at his back, not being able to understand what he was getting at. Thrusting his hands on his hips, he turned around, watching everything around him.

"Priamos, we need to talk about this," I urged. His eyes kept scanning the apartment. Flitting from the kitchen to the living room. The glass windows on the outer corner. Balcony. "Are you listening to me?" I asked in a worried voice and lunged forward. My hand grabbed at his wrist and I forced him to look at me. There were tears in his eyes. Glorious. Shining. I shook my head and let go of his arm. "If having this baby is such a problem, we can let it go, Priamos," I whispered assuredly.

"No. Not at all. This... This is the greatest gift anyone has ever given me." He whispered back and leaned forward. His hand reached for my belly. Caressed his softly. There was a look of wonder on his face.

"You don't want to leave me because of it?" I asked back, dumbfounded. Priamos laughed. It was loud and unhindered.

"No, my darling Nerezza. This just makes everything so much better. You are my mate and now you will be the mother of my child! The best thing that could ever happen to me just happened today." Priamos exclaimed, the biggest smile on his face.

I smiled back. Let my lips tug over my teeth. His excitement was contagious. Infectious to the highest degree.

I squealed and leaped forward. Jumped into his arms. Priamos wrapped himself around me. Held me close to him. Yes, we barely knew each other but we were mates. He was going to be with me for the rest of our lives. This was the start of our family. A true family. Using all his strength, Priamos spun me around and I giggled with joy.

"You are going to be the best father," I told him honestly and we kissed. A soft and slow kiss that left my toes tingling. 

"And you will be the best mother," He added once we broke the kiss. "But I have no idea what to feed you now, seeing as you will most likely vomit at the sight of everything." He joked and set me down. I glared at him. Slapped his arm and sauntered away.

The apartment was large in the sense of a city home. For two people who just went about their days. But it was too small to raise a child here. Yet, Priamos wouldn't be making enough to buy a home just yet. We would have to make due. Work with what we had, which wasn't a lot. I glanced at the balcony at the edge. A beautiful look into the street just beyond. A nice view over the smaller buildings in front of us. A hazard for a child learning to walk.

"You are right. This place is extremely dangerous, we have no choice but to renovate." I admitted and folded my arms around myself. Priamos came up behind me and wrapped his arms over my stomach. Caressed the baby inside. I snuggled into him, gazing out the windows. The sparks were intense and hypnotizing. Set my entire body ablaze with lust.

That was what had gotten us here.

"I will go into the store and see what they recommend for childproofing. Hopefully, by the time he has his first shift, we will have our own property, so we won't have to prepare for that yet." Priamos said. I leaned away from him and glared over my shoulder.

"A him? You think it will be a boy?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. He chuckled and kissed the side of my face, shooting down sparks again. I couldn't help but giggle.

"I know it is. Call it father's intuition."

"More like wishful thinking. I hope it is a girl so that we can raise her to be independent. Give her the world. Besides, boys tend to break everything." I added and shoved away from him. Priamos frowned at me for a moment but shrugged.

"Fair enough. Whatever it may be, as long as we are raising them together, I don't mind," He said and walked towards the kitchen. "I'm gonna make something for lunch real quick, hopefully, that little one will allow you to consume something."

My parents would have loved this for me. Even if my father would have been angry with Priamos in the beginning. He would have happily accepted his new role within my child's life given time. My mother on the other hand would have loved this baby off of the bat. Given it whatever it could want or need. Although considering their financial situation at the time of their death, I doubt they could have afforded much.

"I wish my parents were here," I murmured, still staring out the window. Priamos stopped whatever he was doing in the kitchen. I felt his eyes staring at my back. Feel the atmosphere increase in tension. But I couldn't help it. I hadn't spoken of them in so long. "They would have adored this baby. Been ecstatic at the prospect of becoming grandparents. But some drunk idiot had decided to end their lives instead." I said the last few words with as much bitterness as I could muster.

"Do you think they would have accepted me?" Priamos asked from the kitchen. I turned around and gave him the biggest smile.

"They would have loved you. Told you to be grateful that I was yours. My father loved me more than anyone. I was his princess that could do no wrong. If this baby inside of me is a girl, I do not doubt that he would have loved her even more." I added with a giggle. Priamos smiled back at me.

"If you want, I can introduce you to my sister. Sadly, my mother is too far away for me to introduce the two of you but Farren is in a boarding school for girls close by." I stared at him with wide eyes. Searched the folds of my heart to figure out whether I wanted to meet her.

In essence, Priamos wanted my ache to end. Wanted me to have a family again. But no one would ever replace my parents. Fill the hole they had left. Meeting her would still do me some good. That way, I would have a friend here in this forsaken city besides Priamos.

"I would love that."

"Good. I can give her a call one of these days. Sadly, she isn't allowed off campus very often, only during school holidays. At that time, we should know the gender of the baby. Maybe the three of us could go shopping." He offered and I cocked my head to the side.

"I would love that."