Lahat ng Kabanata ng APHRODISIA : Kabanata 91 - Kabanata 100

Zara’s POV He came back the next day looking worse for wear. This time, he came back alone , no car, just him walking back and forth the street with hands in his pockets. He walked with his shoulders hunched with something heavy. Regret? Love?Looking at him made my heart ache. I cradled my stomach as I stared at him staring off into the distance, like a man who had lost purpose. I didn’t want him to look like a shadow of himself. I wanted him to always be his confident self. Seeing him like this pushed something inside of me to run outside and pull him into a hug.That day, I opened my window wider and our eyes met through the tiny space. So close, yet so out of reach. The thing about heartbreak is that it teaches you to build walls that others cannot penetrate. But, it seems Marcello had found the cracks in my own walls, and was slowing sneaking in like a little ray of sunshine that penetrates a dark room.I still loved him but I wasn’t sure I was ready to forgive him. I wasn’t ev

Zara’s POV “So, what do you have planned today?” I ask when he successfully veers the car out of our driveway and onto the main street. “ Nothing…but, I was hoping you’d show me around time. What’s fun to do around here? There’s a lot to do in our town actually, but I didn’t know where to begin. If we were to explore, we’d spend the whole day at it. “ Hmmm, there’s a lot to do actually” “ Alright, let’s narrow it down to your best place then. Where’s your favourite place?” “ That would be the museum and botanical garden.” He side eyes me, while trying to keep an eye on the road. “ Didn’t take you to be the nature-loving type”. I raise one brow. “ What do you see me as , if I don’t strike you as nature-loving?” He raises his free hand, not the one steering us smoothly down the road. How have I never noticed how relaxed he is when driving? Maybe because most times, there was someone driving is and when he did drive, we were engrossed in one issue or the other. He’s leaned

Zara’s POV We left the garden after that; Marcello feeling proud of himself and me, still reeling from the aftershock . When we both get into the car, the tension in the air is stifling. I can’t stare at his face. I’m afraid that I will smother him in the heat of the fire that he lit in me. He doesn’t start the car, just sits quietly with his eyes tightly shut. I turn my head slightly to observe him from his position. His hands are on his strong thighs, folded tightly into fists. I contemplate pushing back his car seat and straddling him but my stomach will get in the way. Then, my eyes move of their own accord upwards, past the fists and thighs to his crotch.What I see has me gasping for air. I can’t take my eyes off it, no matter how much I tell myself to. It’s like a siren, calling out to me, luring me to the depths, promising pleasure and destruction.When I finally gain enough willpower to move past the captivating sight, I look up to see his eyes already on me. I hold back a

Zara’s POV The wind outside the clinic is cooler than when it was when we first walked in. A light breeze cuts across the street , lifting a strand of hair that had come loose a while back. I reach for it instinctively, tucking it behind my ear, while replaying the gentle smile on Dr. Meyer’s face after she had scanned my belly and reassured me that everything was fine as expected. It calmed me to know that I had come this far into the pregnancy after the number of scares I had , that almost robbed me of my babies. Marcello walks beside me in silence, quieter than usual. I don’t call him out for betraying me earlier in the office. He has his hand placed firmly on the small of my back, while seemingly lost in thought. When we reach his car, he opens the door for me, before I can do it myself. I watch him round the car to the driver’s seat. “ you’re quiet”, I say when he slides in and turns on the ignition. He turns his face to me, and his eyes soften , almost undoing me. “ just

Marcello’s POV Zara and I discussed at length in my office, sprawled out on the couch in my office. We traded childhood stories, embarrassing moments, things we loved to do for fun. We also discussed what it was like growing up with our parents, and how some of the decisions they made for us has shaped us as adults. I got to know that her current father was actually her step father. She never knew who her real father was and she never bothered asking, because according to her, she never had cause to. She talked so animatedly about her father, but when she talked about her mother, it was clear that there was some kind of animosity between them that has been left unresolved. She had a certain sadness in her eyes when she talked about her , and I thought it wise not to push. I left her briefly to attend to some complaint from the security outside, and when I returned, she was already sleeping soundly. It felt so nice to have her back home, where she belonged. The house that felt so