Chapter 6

Erin's POV

Pregnancy emotions were a bitch. Tears burned my eyes, and I hated showing weakness in front of Azure of all people.

The bastard insisted joining me for a blood draw, and now….

“Just get the hell out,” I hissed.

The nurse had instructed me to undress from the waist down for an internal ultrasound to ensure that everything was as it should be and the baby is implanted in the correct place. Az won’t leave the damn room.

“We’re about to be parents,” he rolled his eyes as if that was obvious.

“Well, we didn’t conceive this baby naturally, so you don’t get any special privileges.”

“It’s a fucking vagina, Erin,” Azure crossed his arms over his chest, and with the sleeves on his button down now rolled up, he actually looked…. “I’ve seen dozens of em’. Yours is no different.” Nope. He ruined it once again, by opening his stupid mouth.

“Do you always say stupid shit?”

Azure stepped closer.

“Have you always had such a filthy mouth?” he emphasized the word filthy, leaning down far enough that I felt the heat of his breath.

“Get. Out.”

We remained locked in somewhat of a staring contest. Dark gray eyes narrowed on my soft blue ones before he stood back to his full height, and spun around, walking right out the door without so much a breath leaving his lips.

I breathed a sigh of relief, closing my eyes for a moment.

Azure Blackwood was a wrench in my life plans.

In the last twenty-four hours, it feels as if someone tossed my life into a blender and threw in random ingredients that completely turned everything I thought I knew upside down.

He was throwing me off my game, and I needed to focus.

This wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. It was certainly better than finding out that my husband has been cheating on me for the last eight months with my best friend.

But I won’t let this steer me away from my goal of getting revenge on Rowan and Ophelia.

I stripped quickly, neatly folding my clothes in a pile, and sat them on one of the chairs, tossing on the dingy, linen medical gown over my head, and sitting atop a chair with stirrups.

I knew the drill. I’d been in this room dozens of times to verify implantation, only to walk out those doors with nothing more than an empty womb.

The words from Rowan’s mouth continue to haunt my mind. I was broken in his eyes.

Ophelia wasn’t…. She wasn’t diagnosed with endometriosis at a young age. She didn’t have her tubes removed to alleviate the burden or have her uterus lasered for relief.

She wasn’t broken.

There was a soft knock at the door, and the ultrasound tech walked in with a tight-lipped smile. Behind her, Azure’s large frame blocked the doorway.

I’ll probably ask myself this question for the next eighteen years, but why the hell did it have to be him?

“Are you finished pretending to be modest?” Azure didn’t bother looking up from his phone as he typed furiously, walking to the spare seat beside mine.

I ignored the dig this time, taking a deep breath to calm my racing heart.

I could give a rat’s ass about Azure Blackwood when I’m about to see my baby for the first time.

“If you’d please lie back and place your feet in the stirrups,” the nurse asked, and memories of my past times in this same position flooded my mind.

My eyes instinctively panned to the seat beside me, my heart aching when I was met with stormy gray eyes rather than the warm ones of my husband.

So many times, I laid back, reaching for his hand, and begging whatever higher power was out there to just prove me wrong. Begging to see a little, healthy bean floating around inside of me.

Now, my hands rest atop my stomach, fingertips cold, and without the soothing touch from the man that I loved.

Love. I still love my cheating, lying husband.

God, I hated myself for that. Even seeing the betrayal with my own eyes didn’t immediately destroy the love I had for Rowan. I still loved him, and that hurt as much as knowing that I meant nothing to him.

“I’d explain the process, but I know you’re aware of what comes next,” the ultrasound tech pushed the wand inside of me, and my eyes zeroed in on the tiny black and white screen. “A little pressure.”

This was nothing compared to what I went through as a teenager.

“That wand is probably larger than your husband’s cock,” Azure muttered under his breath, not glancing towards me.

“Interesting that you’d know that,” I hissed, trying not to look in his direction.

He chuckled, “How do you orgasm?” Azure shook his head. “I always knew you looked miserable for a reason.”

“Gee, thanks,” I grit out, “Would you mind shutting the hell up so I can see my baby?”

“Our baby,” he corrected me with a wink.

Just then, the tech twisted the wand, pushing on a particularly sensitive spot, but before I could adjust, my eyes widened as a tiny, bean shape popped up on the screen.

A shaky exhale spilled from my parted lips as I watched in amazement. Tears burned my eyes the longer I stared at the tiny baby, moving softly within my stomach.

“Wow,” the tech tilted her head, moving the wand to a new position.

“Is… everything okay?” my words were shaky, and my heart raced faster than ever before.

“I’ll be right back,” she smiled, though tense, standing, and rushing out the door.

Azure was back to typing away on his phone, and for some reason, that irked me.

“What is so damn important that you’re not paying attention to the ultrasound for your child?”

He was annoying even when he wasn’t speaking.

“I am the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company, run a tight ship back at home, and am conveying important information to Finnick as we speak,” Azure still didn’t look away from his phone while speaking, and I grew more irritated with every passing second.

“Can you at least pretend to be excited?” I snapped. “This isn’t some business transaction… This is a life.”

The doctor stepped into the room, eyeing both Azure and I as we glared at one another, before assuming the seat that the tech had just been in. He inserted the wand once more, tilting his head in the same way.

“Pecular,” he muttered. “Your baby is well developed, measuring at nearly five weeks, despite having only been implanted two weeks ago.”

Dr. Swart clicked a few buttons, and I nearly shot out of my seat when a tiny heartbeat spiked on the screen.

My hands covered my mouth, and once again, I instinctively searched the seat beside me for my husband but met the eyes of Azure Blackwood.

Surprisingly, he looked just as stunned as I was.