“I’m pregnant,” she blurted out finally.
For a moment, the words hung in the air, their weight sinking in slowly. Nicholas blinked, as though trying to process what she had just said.
“You’re…” He trailed off, his voice cracking slightly. “You’re with child?”
Violet nodded, her hands clutching his tightly. “Yes.”
Nicholas fell silent, his expression unreadable. Then, without warning, he broke into a smile—a genuine grin that lit up his entire face.
“You’re pregnant,” he repeated, his voice filled with wonder. “We’re going to have a child.”
Violet laughed, her own tears of joy spilling over. “Yes, Nicholas. We are.”
He let out a laugh, “You’ve just made me the happiest man alive,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.
Nicholas kissed her then, not just on her lips but across her face, her forehead, her cheeks, her nose. Violet giggled, swatting at him playfully. “Nicholas, stop! You’re going to make me cry.”
“Let me,” he said, his voice soft but insistent. “This is me showing you how much I love you.”
Violet’s laughter faded as she looked into his eyes, the depth of his love shining through. “I never doubted it. Not for a second. Even when you tried to push me away, I knew. Though my mind denied it, my heart always knew.”
“I don’t deserve you, Violet.”
“Yes, you do,” she replied firmly, cupping his face in her hands. “You always have.”
Nicholas leaned back, his hand resting gently on her still flat stomach. Soon, it was going to grow into a bump. Violet quivered in excitement at the thought.
“Our child,” he murmured. “Do you have any idea how happy you’ve made me?”
“I think I do because you’ve made me just as happy.”
“I’ll never make you unhappy again,” he vowed. “Whatever it takes, I’ll make it right.”
“You already have,” Violet whispered against his lips. “But if you want to keep trying, I won’t stop you.”
He laughed softly, the sound rumbling through his chest. “What have I done to deserve you?” he asked again.
“Plenty,” she teased this time, “but if you really want to make it up to me, I have a few ideas.”
“Oh?” Nicholas raised an eyebrow. “Do tell, Violet.”
Violet leaned in close, “For one, I think we’ll need to redecorate the nursery.”
Nicholas laughed, pulling her close once more. “Anything you want, my love. Anything at all. At this point, you could ask me to walk to the edge of the world, and I would do it.”
The future was wonderfully bright. They were wrapped into their own little cocoon of love—just talking and laughing.
Nicholas pressed a kiss to Violet’s forehead, his voice soft in the quiet of the room. “We’ll face it all together, Violet. Whatever comes, we’ll face it together.”
“Together,” she echoed, her voice steady with conviction.
And for the first time in a long while, neither of them felt alone.
The End?
