I barely had to do anything. I felt his hot seed shooting inside of my asshole even. His fingers reached around and stroked my clitoris, elevating the pleasure I felt.
I officially belonged to Deuce Fullwood. Every single part of me, this man had come into my life and claimed. He may have been the one to turn my world upside down from the beginning, but he was also the one who remained and restored order and control. For that, I would always love him.
FOUR MONTHS LATER
I never thoughtthat I would get to this day. Sevyn and I had both gone through a lot of pain and so had others. My heart had mostly healed from losing Lena, but I still ached for her mother and siblings, and I definitely ached for the unborn child I would never know. Paul had finally been sentenced, and while that wouldn’t bring Joanna’s daughter back, there was some justice to be had. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
With continual therapy and support from me, Sevyn had finally started driving again all the time, and she was comfortable with driving. She felt whole and independent again.
“God! It hurts!” Sevyn screamed.
I felt useless and helpless. On the one hand, this was a happy occasion that we had been looking forward to for some time. But on the other hand, I didn’t like seeing my wife going through this type of pain.
I had been here with her during some of the toughest challenges of her life, but this one was ripping quarters out of my ass. Sevyn and I opted to have a home birth, with my mother, Fatima, as the midwife since that was her specialty, and Dr. Jillian Carter on standby in the event she was needed.
Although she had been going to the women’s center for the duration of her pregnancy, my mother had been an essential part of her pregnancy journey. I was honored when she asked my thoughts about having my mother deliver our first child. My mother was floored and had actually cried when we asked her.
She had a close relationship with Sevyn and considered her the second daughter she had been blessed with. My mother often took her out to lunch or shopping, or the two of them along with Amani had girls’ days out. I loved that although she had lost her family, she was able to find a family in mine.
It was a very different experience than the one she had with Ethan’s family. They had rented out that condo that they kicked Sevyn out of. The renters had eventually left after a few months, skipping out on paying three months’ worth of rent that they were behind on. Micah Simmons had been called out to the scene, and he had told me all about it. Not only had the tenants skipped out, but they had trashed the place first.
It saddened Sevyn to hear that, but I pointed out to her that you shouldn’t do people dirty. It would only come back around to bite you in the ass. That was what happened to the Shields. That wasn’t the only incident either. We learned that Pandora was suing Mrs. Shields for harassment and Liam for assault. When they learned the baby wasn’t their grandson and nephew,they had both broken down. They had hoped to keep a piece of Ethan on the Earth in some form, but everything was taken away.
Apparently, Mrs. Shields had been calling Pandora, constantly pleading with her to take the test again because something had to be wrong. Liam had confronted her one evening when she was leaving work, and the two had got into an argument. He thought there was a chance that the child might be his too. He had been messing with her behind his brother’s back. When she denied that the child was his and showed him the test results on her phone, he had snatched the phone, threw it to the ground and shattered it, and shoved her around a bit.
The family was cracking up, and I was thankful that Sevyn had no parts of it. The younger brother who was a drug addict had been found in an alley where he had died of an overdose. Their father was being brought up on money laundering charges.
“Deuce!” Sevyn screamed.
“Yes, baby?” I asked as she crushed my hand in hers. Sevyn had unbelievable strength.
“Why do you hate me so badly?” She cried as she stared into my eyes. “This should be you in here, not me.”
“You want me to get in the birthing pool, baby?” I asked.
I had been uncertain what to do. Nothing I had done all day was good enough. It seemed that my presence upset her, but my absence upset her even more.
“No, Deuce. She’s getting ready to have this baby now. Sevyn, baby, I need you to breathe and try to relax through the pain. Your son is about to make his grand entrance into this world. You have created a beautiful, soothing environment for him to come into, and we’re going to make sure that he has that, and you enjoy the experience. Okay?” my mama asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Okay, breathe, because we’re about to start pushing.”
Amani walked back and forth behind us, praying quietly. Although my wife was closest to Autumn, Wynter and Amani had been a great support system throughout her pregnancy as well. My mother pulled on a fresh pair of disposable gloves and became focused like I had never seen her before.
“Here’s what I need you to do, Sevyn. Take deep, slow breaths through the nose, and slowly exhale out of your mouth. This breathing technique will help the oxygen circulate throughout your body, and it will assist your muscles in relaxing. Do you feel that tension in your body and in your belly right now, baby?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Well, when you do those deep breathing exercises, it will reduce the tension in those parts of your body and any other discomfort you are feeling. Now, it’s not going to take everything away, so set your expectations, but it will reduce it. Okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I watched as my wife did exactly as my mother instructed and relaxed her grip on my hand.
The large TV on the wall behind us changed from our backyard to a more relaxing garden scene. Jazz played in the background of the scene. As she blew out her breath, Sevyn’s eyes met mine. “Is that my grandmother’s old garden at the home?” she asked.
“Yes, baby. I thought that might be something that would help ground you and soothe you. I wanted you to feel her presence with you today. Ms. Miriam allowed us to set up a camera back there for you today. She made me promise that we’ll bring our son by when he’s old enough. That camera is showing everything in real time,” I explained as we watched a butterfly descend on one of the zinnias in the garden.
The camera zoomed in to the bench where Sevyn always sat with her grandmother. There was a little silver plaque affixed tothe back of the bench. It read “In memory of Helena Farmer, loving grandmother and friend. For all the beautiful memories you and Sevyn created here. You will be missed, but your presence will always be felt in this place.”
