MasukHey everyone đ
I'm so sorry Iâve been a little quiet lately. Life has been a bit hectic on my end, but if you're still here, i really appreciate you all sticking around. Iâm back now, and Iâll be keeping the updates steady from here on out! âš
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Thank you for being patient with me. I canât wait to share the next chapters with you!
The ride back to the safehouse is quiet.It's like we're both doing our best to hold our breaths, but Christianâs hand rests over mine the whole way. His thumb brushes absent circles across my skin, but neither of us says much.Weâre both still sad from the news, and the doctorâs warning just weighs on me like iron chains now.I've been asked to stick to a strict regime of rest and sleep. I've also been given the meal plans to a nutrition routine that should help me.Christian is going to hire a nutritionist and have a personal doctor stay at the safehouse with me, but everything just feels like yet another reminder of what's probably going to happen if I don't make it to the end of my pregnancy term.That's also a possibility, that I might even die before the child comes and the both of us would be lost.Christian almost lost it when Doctor Rami informed us of that, but seeing him in that state only made me feel more resolved to actually go through with this. I'm going to have this c
Christian runs a hand down his face, exhaling hard in a way I haven't seen him ever do. His voice is raw with emotion but still hard as iron as he speaks, âI donât care what the board says and I donât care what my father says, Lyra.I donât even care what anyone outside this room thinks. You are my priority, Lyra.You. Not,â Christian's voice cracks, and he swallows hard before finishing, âYOU are my priority, not some baby I havenât even met yet.âI don't know why but that sends a surge of pain right through me. I breathe deeply, fighting the sting of tears as I try to force words out of my mouth, âChristian, listen to me...âChristian's tone sharpens as he cuts me off, âNo, you listen to me.â His hand reaches for mine and when it finds me, he wraps his hand around my hand. His hold is warm and steady and I feel every word Christian says in a deep part of my soul I can't describe, âI canât lose you, Lyra.I wonât survive it if I lose you.I love you, YOU, and if it comes down to choo
Lyra's pov.I'm laying on the hospital bed and staring up at the tiles, counting the cracks that run like small rivers across the surface.My body still feels heavy, too heavy to move, but my mind has refused to rest.The doctorâs words keep replaying in my head like a broken record, and each time I hear it, something in me breaks afresh."Carrying this baby to term could kill you, Miss Bennett."I wish I had never heard those words, but it's already too late for that now. I've heard them and they're here to change my life forever.Right now the room is still and quiet, but inside me it feels like a storm is raging.My baby is in danger.Not just my baby, but our baby. Our child.Our child is in danger and it's not because of the world outside, not because of Faye or the Clarke family drama, but because of me.I'm the reason my child might not survive well enough to be born safely, because my body isnât strong enough. Because the stress Iâve been under has eaten away at me like rust o
There's something like a glimmer of approval in the eyes of this man who saw my mother in a situation where her life was also at risk, but where the man she loved couldn't care less about her.Ramirez gives me a look that tells me he's proud I'm not turning out to be like him, but his actions contradict that look because he shakes his head softly. âIâm afraid that decision isnât solely yours to make, Christian.Lyra has already told us she intends to carry the pregnancy to term, regardless of the risks.âI stand there frozen and stunned. âWhat?âRamirez nods, âShe was clear about it."His tone is firm as he continues, âShe wants this child. Weâll monitor her closely, but the risk remains. I informed you because I thought you should know before you see her. You can go in now.âMy chest feels like itâs splitting open as I look past him toward the closed door. Behind it, Lyra is lying in a hospital bed, weak but stubborn as ever.Ramirez rests a hand briefly on my shoulder, then lets go
I hate hospitals.The first memory I have of a hospital is when I had to enter one with my mother. She had been chronically depressed for weeks and no one had been around to notice when she stopped eating.She didn't notice either. She just stopped, and then one day she collapsed from dehydration and malnutrition. The doctors had to keep her here for a week, and for that week I saw her sit in the bed and look at the door, waiting for someone that was never going to come.The hospital has smelled like antiseptic and fear to me ever since then. I remember even as a child, I could feel everything in my stomach curling up at the unique combination of that smell.It threatens to do the same thing now but I remind myself that I'm no longer a child. I'm not the boy that couldn't prevent his mom from fading away in front of him.I'm a man who has to ensure the woman he loves doesn't do the same thing. When I saw Lyra faint, I froze for all of a second because right in that moment, the person
My throat tightens. Tears burn behind my eyes, and a chuckle leaves my lips as I smile back at him, âI think thatâs exactly why I had to say it. Because if youâre going to have me⊠then Iâm going to have you too, Christian Storm.I promise from today, no more walls. Weâll be tighter than two peas in a pod.âChristianâs hand reaches across the table, and I slip mine into it without hesitation. His grip is warm and firm. I missed this feeling. Christian feels so⊠grounding.We eat after that, and I taste the food even better than I do when Iâm the one who cooks.Every glance across the table and every brush of Christianâs fingers against mine makes an electric feeling of want zap through me.When we leave the restaurant and head back out I lean back against the seat and stare at the city as it passes by outside.I make the decision before I can even think of it, âTake us somewhere we can be alone, Christian. Letâs not go back to the safehouse tonight.âChristian glances at me, something
Christian Storm is a terrifyingly good cook.I pull back the chair and watch as he plates all heâs cooked onto the table. When I made dinner the other day, it was clear my aim was to impress him.No woman spends hours in the kitchen making food for a man she doesnât like. And I spent hours in there
When the workday ends, instead of heading out to the exit of the company grounds to flag a cab, I follow Bruce and head down to meet Christian. We head to a car waiting in an underground garage, and even the garage looks exotic, like a place where only high-profile cars will be kept.I think I reco
For a moment, there's silence.Then Levi tilts his head to the side, eyebrows scrunched like he can't understand what I just said and a look on his face as if he canât decide whether to laugh or shake his head at me in pity.There's a note of mockery in Levi's voice as he repeats slowly, "You're my
âIt wasnât pride.âI can hear some hardness enter my tone, because how can he call that pride? I just didnât want to get hurt.âYou didnât trust me to separate my personal relationships from professional ones...âI shake my head immediately, âThatâs not it.âChristianâs gaze is still cool and placi







