All Chapters of THE PREGNANT GIRL AND THE RUTHLESS HEIR : Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

Kumba.I am still trying to steady everything inside me when there is a soft knock on the door.Before I can respond, it opens and my mother steps in, her eyes go straight to Gesare and I watch the exact moment as relief washes over her face.“Oh, thank God,” she breathes, her shoulders dropping slightly as she moves closer. “You are awake.”Gesare gives her a small, tired smile. “Hi, Diane.”My mother doesn’t hesitate. She reaches out, gently touching Gesare’s arm like she needs to feel for herself that she is really here, really alive.“You scared me,” she says, her voice softer now, but there is still that underlying tremor of everything she has been holding in.“I am sorry,” Gesare murmurs.“You don’t apologize for something like that,” my mother says quickly, shaking her head. “You just, you get better okay?”I stay quiet for a second, watching them.There is something grounding about seeing my mother like this, so gentle and protective, she has never been like that with any of t

The motel room smells like stale cigarettes and bad decisions.I sit on the edge of the bed staring at the ugly floral wallpaper while my phone rests face down beside me, silent and too silent.The television plays some daytime talk show I haven't actually watched for the last hour.My mind is somewhere else.Back at the hospital.Back at Kumba's house.Back at the stairs.Always the stairs.I squeeze my eyes shut.But it doesn't help.It never helps.Because the image is burned into my brain now.Gesare falling.The sound of her body hitting the steps.The blood.God.The blood.My stomach twists violently.I stand abruptly and rush toward the tiny bathroom.A second later I'm kneeling in front of the toilet getting sick.Again.For what feels like the hundredth time.When it's over, I sit back against the cold wall breathing hard.Tears sting my eyes.Not because I'm sad.Not exactly.Because I'm exhausted.Because I'm scared.Because everything is falling apart.A loud knock sudden

GesareI don't realize I've fallen asleep until a sharp knock at the hospital door jolts me awake.For one blissful second, I forget everything.Then I feel Kumba's arm around my shoulders.The hospital bed beneath me.The ache in my body.The baby.Moraa.My eyes open slowly.The room is brighter now.Morning sunlight spills through the windows.And Kumba is still beside me.I must have fallen asleep against him sometime during the night because my cheek is resting against his chest.His arm is still wrapped around me protectively, it was warm solid and safe. The realization makes my heart do a stupid little flip.The knock comes again.Louder this time.Kumba stirs immediately.His arm tightens instinctively around me before he fully wakes.The movement sends an unexpected wave of emotion through me.Like some part of him was protecting me even in his sleep."Kumba," I whisper.His eyes open slowly.For a second he looks confused.Then his gaze drops to me.And immediately softens.

The ache in my body.The baby.Moraa.My eyes open slowly.The room is brighter now.Morning sunlight spills through the windows.And Kumba is still beside me.I must have fallen asleep against him sometime during the night because my cheek is resting against his chest.His arm is still wrapped around me protectively, it was warm solid and safe. The realization makes my heart do a stupid little flip.The knock comes again.Louder this time.Kumba stirs immediately.His arm tightens instinctively around me before he fully wakes.The movement sends an unexpected wave of emotion through me.Like some part of him was protecting me even in his sleep."Kumba," I whisper.His eyes open slowly.For a second he looks confused.Then his gaze drops to me.And immediately softens."Morning."His voice is rough from sleep.Ridiculously attractive.Not that I would ever tell him that.My cheeks warm."Morning."The knock comes again.This time accompanied by a voice."Hospital security."Every oun

GesareThe house was quiet Lola was finally down for a nap and I could finally have a few hours to myself. For the first time in days, there was no ocean outside our window, no laughter, no excuses to forget reality. Just the familiar walls of our home and the strange emptiness that always seemed to settle between them.Kumba had barely said a word since we arrived.He had smiled when I had smiled. Carried our bags upstairs. Kissed my forehead before disappearing into the backyard with a towel slung over his shoulder.His nightly swim, he said it helped him think.I watched him through the bedroom window for a moment. The underwater lights turned the pool a soft blue, outlining his broad shoulders as he cut through the water with long, effortless strokes.Something about him felt different and distant, it had started a few days into our vacation, i had noticed the change, the little moments when I would catch him staring at nothing. Times when his smile would disappear the second he t