I watch the nurses eye him like he’s a bomb about to detonate.
Lyam holdsmy hand when we look at the little wriggling bean on the screen in front of us.
Our baby.
“Some women bleed during pregnancy,” Doctor Martin says reassuringly. “But everything is fine. You see?” she says, pointing to the screen with her index finger. “That’s the heartbeat. You’re perfectly healthy. Your body is shedding excess blood which can be alarming, but in this case doesn’t indicate that anything is wrong.”
“But I thought she stopped bleeding when she was pregnant,” Lyam says, his voice sounding not unlike a growl.
“Most women do, yes,” Doctor Martin says calmly. “That’s how it normally goes. But some women bleed periodically. This is how some women end up in labor without knowing they were even pregnant. They assume the bleeding is their cycle, when in fact it isn’t at all.”
“So the baby’s okay?” I ask. “That’s what’s most important.”
Dr. Martin smiles. “The baby’s perfect.”
“And Cosette will be okay?” Lyam asks in a tone that dares her to tell him otherwise.
“Of course,” she says. “Though I do recommend bed rest for the next day or two just to ensure she recovers from the trauma. I’ve given her something that will help her sleep for now. Make sure she rests.”
Lyam’s jaw clenches. “Oh, I am fully prepared to do that.”
I sigh. Of course he is. He’d chain me to the bed and stand guard over me until I have this baby if that’s what he had to do.
She clears her throat. “Mr. Gerard. We need to talk. Typically, we frown upon people coming into the hospital with weapons. You cannot come in here and threaten the staff again.”
“I may not?” he challenges, getting to his feet.
“Lyam.” I reach for him, but he shrugs me off.
“My future wife is carrying our child. I needed to make sure she was safe.”
“I understand,” she says. “But I’ll repeat. You cannot come in here and threaten people. They are far less likely to do what you ask if you’re using threats to get what you want, and how much of a help will you be to your wife and child if you’re arrested?”
My thoughts exactly.
They go on arguing while I mull things over.
Wait.
He said wife.
Did he say wife? Of course he did. I’m pregnant with his child, so it stands to reason the next thing he wants to do is put a ring on my finger and make this official.
He could’vetoldme that.
Before this happened, I was on the verge of telling him that Montague is my father. I wanted him to know. But right now, I think we need to clear a few things up.
I yawn, exhausted. All I care about is this baby, and sleep.
And maybe getting a proposal?Gah.
I’d never seen Lyam panicked until he saw me bleed.
It unnerves me.
But I rest secure in the knowledge that our baby is safe, tucked away in my womb.
I close my eyes.
