Page 52 of In Ruins
“He said he’s going to take her away from me. He wants to raise her to no doubt do his bidding eventually. But I’m never going to let that happen. He’s cruel, and I don’t want any of the things he did to me to happen to her,” I say.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that. What about her father? Especially, since there’s no way in hell you want her anywhere near yours.”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t know about her existence yet. I couldn’t contact him before my father sent me away. Plus, he’s kinda the prince of the family that my father is at war with,” I mumble, and she gasps.
“Shut the front door! You screwed the enemy? Not only screwed but got knocked up as well,” she says, before she bursts out laughing. “Naughty girl. I’m guessing your dad doesn’t know who the father is, right?”
“I think it’s just my father keeping the feud alive in his head. And no, he doesn’t know who the baby’s father is, or he would have killed me instead of sending me here. I shouldn’t have slept with him in the first place, but the attraction was instant between us. I guess we just couldn’t help ourselves. Plus, there is the fact that our relationship was based solely on sex. I wanted to give someone other than my intended husband my virginity, and well, who knows why he did it, besides the sex.”
“Damn, that’s a lot more complicated than I would have guessed.”
“You’re telling me,” I murmur, laughing at the absurdity of it all. “Tell me about you now. How long have you had a crush on a certain Father of the church?”
“What? Who said anything about a crush?” she asks. “There’s no crush. No one is crushing on anyone.”
“Oh, really? So, you wouldn’t care if I said I saw one of the girls cozying up to Father Andrews earlier today?”
“What? Who? I’m going to cut a bitch!” She huffs, and I laugh.
“You were saying?” I ask with a quirk of my brows.
“That was mean. Fine. Since I’ve been here,” she says, blushing. “Now tell me, was there really someone cozying up to my man?”
“Nope.”
“Bitch!”
“Right back at you! I just wanted you to admit it. He’s hot, and you two would make a cute couple,” I tell her, giggling.
“Right! I just somehow have to convince him of that,” she grumbles. “So far, all my attempts at flirting have gone unnoticed. He’s like an impenetrable wall.”
“Keep trying until you wear him down. The best things in life come after fighting for them.”
“That’s my plan,” she says with a huge smile. We spend the rest of the day talking until it’s time for dinner, after which we head to bed early.
Time sure does fly.At least that’s how I’m feeling today. But in actuality, living at this convent has felt like an eternity. In the months since I’ve been here, it hasn’t gotten better at all. There are only so many times you can do the same thing over and over before you want to pull all your hair out.
I’ve made it to the six-month mark, and my stomach is big and round. It definitely looks like a soccer ball.
My baby girl is heavy, and my back is always aching. But even with all the aches and pains in my back and feet, I’m super excited to meet her. I can’t wait to give birth, and I already love her so much.
She likes to move around and kick me. Most of the time, I feel like she’s sleeping on my bladder, but I’ve been loving the experience so far. I’ve put all my focus into her, but my mind always strays back to Enzo. I always wonder what and how he’s doing. I also wish he were here with me to experience this. I look up as my door opens, and Isa walks in.
“How are you and baby girl doing today?”
“I’m fine, but she’s extra happy or something today. She keeps moving around in there.”
“Hey there, baby girl! It’s Auntie Isabella. I need you to behave for Mommy today,” she says, talking to my stomach while rubbing it. She gets a kick to her hand, and she smiles a big one. “Naughty little girl.”
“She must take after her father.” I laugh.
“She loves me! She always kicks when I talk to her.”
“Of course she loves her Auntie Isa,” I tell her, and the biggest grin crosses her face.
“You have about three months until you give birth. Do you have any idea what you’re going to do yet?”
“Nope.”
