Chapter 4

Nyx's pov

I stood outside the diner finding it hard to go in.

I could see how busy everyone was, from the customers and waitresses and my heart skipped a beat when I saw her-- Rhea.

She still looked the same as she did the last time I had seen her. It had been three years, three years of no contact and here I was shamelessly looking for her. I silently prayed that she hadn't forgotten about me or worse-- still hated me.

I tried to move when I heard the door open. Without hesitation I turned, I wasn't ready to meet her or what I was going to tell her.

"Nyx?" A voice called out.

I held myself from turning as I tried to move but I could hear footsteps from behind matching my pace.

"Nyx Jackson!" The voice called out again followed by a chuckle. "Turn around, Luna."

I took in a deep breath, with my eyes shut I slowly turned. When I opened them, Rhea was standing in front of me, a cigarette dangling from her fingers, smoke curling around her face.

"He... Hello, Rhea," I said, my voice wasn't steady.

She took a drag from the cigarette, taking a step toward me as she puffed the smoke out. "Holy shit! Luna of River moon." She said, bowing mockingly.

"Come on, Rhea," I murmured, my stomach twisting.

Her eyes raked over my body and they rested on my stomach for a while before moving to my face. 

"You look like shit, you know that right?" She teased. 

I sucked my teeth, my heart beating. "I know I look horrible---" 

"Come in, I can't have you standing outside," Rhea urged.

"No, I don't---"

"You need to eat for the pup's sake," she cut me off with a firm voice.

Rhea had the gift of a healer but she didn't like being a healer as she had always wanted to own a diner. So, I wasn't surprised when she knew I was pregnant.

I stepped inside, the warm smell of coffee and fried food hitting me. The chatter of customers and clinking of dishes made me nauseous. Rhea could tell as she led me to a booth by a window.

"Sit," she ordered, leaving no room for disobedience as she slid in across from me. Her eyes never left me. "It's been---"

"Three years," I cut her off as I bowed my head in shame.

"Where is the bastard?" She asked.

Rhea and Adrien never saw eye to eye and she had always been against our union. She had always told me that Adrien was sneaky and would be the death of me... I guess, she was right.

Rhea leaned back slightly, her arms crossed, waiting. Her sharp gaze sent shivers down my spine as I could feel my stomach tightening— not just from nerves, but from the baby growing inside me.

“I… I didn’t know who else to go to,” I started, my voice small. “I know you cut me off…"

"I cut you off?" She scoffed,  dragging the cigarette. "That's rich coming from you, Nyx." She exhaled.

Rhea was against my selling my house to help tend to Adrien as she felt I was giving up the one thing that was linked to my parents. And she had been hard on me. Back then I thought she just hated Adrien and wanted him to die but now I could see that she was protecting me.

A waitress came in with a tray of food. She carefully placed it on the table and left almost as fast as she came.

"You need to eat for your pup," she said.

"Rhea..." I coughed. "I am sorry for how everything played out. But I had nowhere else to go."

Rhea raised an eyebrow, the smoke from her cigarette curling upward. “And here you are, showing up at my door, pregnant, looking like you’ve been through hell. What happened, Nyx?”

I finally let the tears that I had been holding fall. The thought of everything that had happened hit me hard and I couldn't handle the tears.

"Nyx... What did that bastard do?"

I swallowed hard, taking a deep breath. “It’s Adrien… He…” My voice caught as I felt tears soaking my dress. “He… he left me. Took everything… and he—he… was with her.”

I could see the anger flash in Rhea’s eyes. “Took everything?” she asked. “Nyx… he what?”

I shook my head. “I can’t even…” I pressed a hand to my stomach, feeling the warmth of my baby. "He chose Sera."

"Sera?" Her eyes widened. "Your maid---"

"She is having his pup and apparently all I could give were dead pups," I stated.

She looked at me, her brows arched. "You are pregnant, aren't you?"

"It is not for him," I announced.

"Wait..." Rhea dumps the cigarette into the ashtray. "Did you fuck another man?"

"No, Rhea. You know I could never do that," I spat out.

She shrugged her shoulders. "You fucking another man won't even be as bad as what he has done to you," she batted her eyelids. 

I felt the air suddenly hard to breathe as my throat became tight. "The hospital had a medical mix-up and I got the wrong sperm."

"Was that why the idiot---"

"He doesn't even know I am pregnant," I muttered. "I wanted this pregnancy to be far along before telling him but I got hit with  divorce papers." I sniffed. "Now… I don’t have a home. I don’t even know where to go. I only… I only thought you could help.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a slow breath. “God… Nyx. You poor girl…”

I looked down at the table, ashamed. “I know I was foolish… I trusted him. I thought he loved me. I gave him everything, Rhea. Everything… and he… he just…” My voice broke.

Rhea reached across the table and took my hands in hers. Her grip was firm and grounding. “Nyx, listen to me,” she said, her voice low but strong. “You’re not alone in this. You have me and I’ll help you get through it. You have a pup inside you… and you’re going to be okay. I promise.”

I looked up at her, tears spilling freely now as relief and gratitude washed over me. For the first time in hours, maybe days, I felt a little safe.

“I… I don’t even know where to start,” I whispered.

“Then we start here,” Rhea said, gesturing around the diner. “A meal, a plan, and someone to back you up. That’s where we start.”

I nodded slowly, letting her words sink in. The world outside was still cruel and chaotic, but at least… at least I wasn’t facing it alone.