At exactly 5:30 AM, Arabe and Thalia set out from thetter’s residence, shrouded by the early dawn to avoid drawing attention.


    Arabe shifted in her seat, a hand gently cradling her stomach as she felt a twinge. Wincing, she stole a nce at it.


    “What’s wrong?” Thalia asked her gaze briefly on Arabe before scanning the room.


    They’d been driving for nearly an hour, yet the lingering fog veiled the sky. But Arabe’s concern wasn’t the weather. It was ze. Upon waking earlier, she’d received a disconcerting message from him.


    The fact that she couldn’t reach him unsettled her. She hoped he was alright, but her worry extended to something more profound.


    It was her baby.


    “I told you not to bother about Cole,” Thalia said. “He wille to us, and I am sure he would have suggested the same thing.”


    “It’s not about ze,” Arabe replied, trying to dismiss Thalia’s concern.


    “Then what is it?” Thalia pressed.


    “My baby,” Arabe confessed. “It’s been unusually active, and my stomach has suddenly grown.”


    Last night, there had been little evidence of her pregnancy. Despite Thalia saying she was showing earlier, she hadn’t noticed any changes.


    Now, it was unmistakable. Arabe couldn’t understand having such a prominent baby bump at just ten weeks.


    “Arabe,” Thalia called again; concern etched in her features, her eyes drawn to Arabe’s difort and the hand cradling her belly. “Are you feeling unwell? Maybe I should pull over.”


    “No, no, don’t,” Arabe shook her head. “I’m just amazed.”


    She lifted her shirt for Thalia to see, and Thalia’s eyes widened.


    “That’s quite sudden,” she murmured. “Did ze do something to youst night besides fucking you know?”


    Thalia was vulgar, and she wondered if she could get used to her choice of words.


    “No,” Arabe’s cheeks flushed, shooting Thalia a re, though she detected a yful glint in her eyes.


    “It’s strange how you’ve started showing so suddenly,” Thalia observed. Then, her tone grew serious. “Is this something we should be worried about?”


    “I don’t know,” Arabe said. “But for the record, I feel it, alive and moving. So I don’t think it’s something to worry about unless I start hemorrhaging.”


    “I’ve never been pregnant before,” Thalia shrugged.


    “You should give it a try,” Arabe quipped, her voice tinged with sarcasm.


    Thalia nced at her, then back at the road before shaking her head. She had pondered having a child, a little version of herself and a little Sandro.


    Thalia winced as her thoughts drifted back to him. She’d envisioned many scenarios with Sandro, but he was the very reason she was on the run again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for noble reasons, as she had done before.


    Still, she doubted if she would want a child with Sandro. Sandro was cruel. She couldn’t bear the thought of raising a child who might turn out like him. While the opposite was possible, she couldn’t trust it.


    “You should keep your eyes on the road if you want us to get there in one piece!” Arabe’s voice snapped her back to attention.


    “Shit!” Thalia swerved just in time, narrowly avoiding a log blocking the road. “What the heck was that?!”


    “That could have been easily avoided if you hadn’t been lost in thought,” Arabe pointed out.


    “No, not that,” Thalia breathed out. Her eyes darted to the rearview mirror, but whatever she had glimpsed after the log had vanished.


    “Did you see something else?” Arabe inquired, checking the road.


    Thalia nodded, “But whoever it was, they’re not there anymore.”


    Could she have imagined it? Thalia wondered. She took a deep breath, gripping the wheel tightly. Anxiety washed over her. She’d felt watched earlier, and now it had intensified threefold. How could someone be observing them while they were driving? It didn’t make any sense, and it certainly didn’t sit well with her.


    Thalia’s knuckles whitened from her tight grip on the wheel. She spoke through gritted teeth. “Brace yourself, Arabe.”


    “What?” Arabe asked, looking at Thalia, whose gaze was fixed on the road. “What’s happening?”


    “I’m exceeding the speed limit,” she stated. “I don’t want you to go flying, hence the warning to brace yourself.”


    “Alright,” Arabe said, though she was puzzled by Thalia’s sudden shift in demeanor. She suspected something had urred, perhaps triggered by her mention of pregnancy.


    Arabe gripped the handle just as Thalia elerated.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?.


    “Hold on, Arabe,” Thalia urged. She caught sight of the figure again. Maybe she shouldn’t keep ncing at the mirror, but she couldn’t help it.


    “Believe me, I’m holding on for dear life,” Arabe ground out through gritted teeth. “I really hope today isn’t myst!”


    “This isn’t the time for pessimism,” Thalia snapped, navigating the winding road.


    “You’re absolutely right,” shot back Arabe. “If you’d exined why I’m hurtling toward a potential demise, maybe I’d feel more at ease.”


    “I told you, I saw something,” Thalia insisted. “It’s not my fault you can’t see it!”


    Arabe winced, her free hand clutching her stomach as the car jolted, and she gasped through the sensation.


    “Did you actually get a driver’s license?” Arabe inquired. “You should be sent to prison for driving like this!”


    Thalia’s eyes widened as they approached another log in the road. Arabe squeezed her eyes shut, breathing heavily through her mouth, waiting for Thalia to navigate around it.


    “No, I just waltzed into the licensing office, charmed everyone there, and vo, got it done, piece of cake,” Thalia retorted, her tone dripping with sarcasm.


    Arabe grimaced, shaking her head.


    “You’re the road queen, but could you at least let me focus on driving instead of acting like a nervous wreck?” Thalia quipped.


    “I’m not a nervous wreck,” Arabe shot back, ring at her.


    It wasn’t that she was entirely afraid; it just felt eerily simr to her situation with ze when they were forced on the run. She half-expected gunfire to erupt, but she hadn’t spotted any other vehicles approaching.


    “We’re almost there,” Thalia announced. While she didn’t let up on her speed, she skillfully avoided any potholes along the way.


    They soon reached the pack house, which wasn’t visible, but Arabe was immensely grateful that they had at least gotten to their destination.


    As soon as Thalia found a safe spot to park, Arabe gasped for breath, clutching the door handle for support.


    Her body ached, her backside felt numb from the prolonged sitting, and she trembled as she got out of the car.


    ncing at her watch, Thalia remarked, “It was only a three-hour journey. Don’t act like it’s a major ordeal.”


    “Why don’t you try having a sudden watermelon-sized bump appear on your stomach and then hit the road to make sure you don’t meet an untimely end from reckless driving? I’m sure you’d have plenty to say if you were in my shoes,” Arabe retorted, straightening up.


    “I never encouraged you to get pregnant,” Thalia replied, aghast at the idea of being in Arabe’s position.


    “Fine,” Arabe huffed. “Let’s just move on from here.”


    Thalia nodded, taking the lead as they made their way towards the pack.