I called out for her as I took the steps toward her bedroom.
The urgency that strummed through me fueled me to hurry faster, almost as if I worried this was all a dream or a prank and I’d be back to the stressful, unfulfilling life I had before she’d brightened it.
“Elena?”
I opened the door, alarmed when her soft cries reached me.
She was lying on the bed, seeming to just wake from a nap or just trying to fall asleep.
Hearing her upset wounded me.
Seeing her eyes so wet and mournful broke my heart.
“Elena.” I dropped to my knees, cupping her face and turning her to face me.
No.
No…
She can’t be crying because… because she lost the baby.
“Elena. Please. Talk to me.”
“I won’t…” She sniffled, trying to sit up but too busy wiping her eyes.
I guided her to rest against the back of the bed so she could face me.
“I won’t…” She shook her head, trying to get a hold of herself. Her composure was so strong, even when she struggled. “I won’t give this baby up.”
Still cupping her face, I lunged forward. “You’re pregnant?”
She nodded, furrowing her brow as she watched me. “I am. And you’re not?—”
I dove in and kissed her. Tasting the salty tears on her lips, I felt a surge of fierce protectiveness charge me.
I was having a child. She was going to give me a strong son or daughter.
Me, afather.
This completed me more than knowing I’d be the Pakhan any day.
Smiling against her lips, I knew I’d commit this moment into my memory forever.
She pulled back, though, seeming slightly calmer but still wary of me. “Adrik?”
“We’re having a baby,” I confirmed, unafraid to let her hear the awe in my voice.
Opening her eyes wider, she sat up more. “You’re… not mad?”
I smirked. “Why the fuck would I be mad?”
“Because you said you wanted to know how to proceed.”
I laughed once. “Yeah. To know if we needed to start on a nursery now. And vitamins. Moving you into the house.”
Her mouth dropped open, and I laughed lightly as I leaned in to kiss her again.
She clung to me, threading her fingers through my hair so she could hold the back of my head toward hers. Light moans left her mouth, but I wasn’t ready to celebrate completely. Not yet.
