Chapter 61


    Chapter 61: The Love of a Child


    Moana


    “It’s your baby!” I blurted out. Edrick fell silent, his eyes wide with disbelief. Beside me, Selina gasped


    and pped a hand over her mouth. Even I was shocked by my own candidness.


    “I– I’ll leave you two alone,” Selina muttered. I didn’t break my gaze from Edrick, but I heard the sound


    of her feet scurrying toward the door followed by the sound of the door closing.


    Edrick was silent for the longest time before he finally spoke. “Is this true?” His voice was so low it was


    almost a whisper, a stark contrast from how angrily he was speaking to me before.


    “Yes,” I replied, nodding solemnly. “It’s yours. Five weeks along — six, now, actually.”


    Edrick went silent again. He seemed to be calcting. I just hoped that he trusted me enough to


    believe me. Finally, he nodded and I felt my heart rate go back down in relief. I watched as he sat down


    on the armchair across from my bed and sank down into it, holding his hand on his forehead as he


    stared at the floor.


    Finally, he said something. “Are you going to keep it?” he asked.


    “I don’t know,” I replied. “I guess I want to, but I think that you should have a say in it, too.”


    He nodded, then finally removed his hand from in front of his face and leaned forward with his elbows


    on his knees, looking at me with a somber expression. “It’s your choice,” he said. “If you want to keep


    it, then it’s up to you.”


    I wanted to be relieved, but there was still the looming question of whether or not the baby would have


    a father in its life, as well as whether I would keep my job.


    “Do you still want me out within the month?” I asked, my voice quivering slightly as I tried to calm my


    anxiety.


    “Of course not,” Edrick said, much to my surprise. “E is too attached to you for me to send you away,


    and above all else, I want what’s best for her.”


    I let out a small sigh of relief. “So you ept the baby as your own, then?”


    Once again, Edrick was silent. The longer he didn’t speak, the more I felt as though my heart was


    going to pound out of my chest. My anxieties only increased when his face, which had softened


    temporarily when I told him about my pregnancy, suddenly hardened again. He stood and crossed over


    to the window, looking out over the city below.


    “I ept the baby as my own,” he said finally. I let out another sigh of relief, but he wasn’t finished. “But


    not publicly. And I hope you understand that I will never marry you, so if all of this was some sort of


    twisted scheme to marry a rich man, then maybe you should abort the pregnancy after all and save the


    child the same heartache that–”


    He stopped suddenly in the middle of his sentence. I furrowed my brow and c****d my head for a


    moment, wondering what he was going to say, but I was more concerned by how he mentioned that he


    would never marry me. Not only that, but he also seriously thought that I woulde up with a twisted


    n like that.


    “I would never use a child for some sort of sick ulterior motive.” I said.


    “Good.”


    He turned around, his expression cold and emotionless, and started to head toward the door before


    pausing and turning back to face me with that steely gray gaze I had be so familiar with.


    “Like I said, the choice is yours. If you want to keep the baby, I’ll provide the necessary financial


    support to ensure that the child leads a good life, just like E. But keep in mind as you make your


    decision that you will never get a marriage out of this. We will be co-parents and nothing more.”


    His voice was steady and matter-of-fact, as though he were simply giving a financial report to his


    business colleagues and not speaking to the mother of his second child.


    I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes at the Alpha billionaire’s cold demeanor. To him, it seemed that


    discovering that he was potentially going to have another child was just another business transaction.


    Regardless, I swallowed my emotions and nodded, averting my gaze to the floor.


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    “I’ll think about it,” I said.


    Edrick nodded as well. Then, without another word, he left the room.


    Almost as soon as I was alone once more, the tears began to flow. Because of my low social status as


    a human nanny, not only was I undeserving of respect, but my child was also undeserving of parents


    that were in amitted, loving marriage. It sickened me to my core, and as I began to sob, I couldn’t


    stop myself from thinking that this really would not be a healthy situation to bring a child into. Any child


    deserved to be epted and loved unconditionally by both parents.


    “I don’t know what to do, Mina,” I said out loud, not thinking what the implications could be if someone


    overheard me. I just needed guidance and support.


    She didn’t respond. In fact, I hardly felt her presence at all. Even though her presence had always been


    sporadic since the first dream I had about her, I could tell that this pregnancy and the heartache


    surrounding it was weakening her. If I went through with the pregnancy before she emerged, would she


    ever be able to emerge at all?


    As I realized that even my own wolf wasn’t there tofort me, a choked sob escaped my throat. I


    curled up on my bed in the fetal position and cried uncontrobly into my pillow, clutching at the sheets


    like the earth would simply tip over and I would fall into a void. I was crying so intensely, in fact, that I


    never noticed the sound of my door opening and never heard the sound of small, bare feet padding up


    to the side of my bed.


    My crying only ceased when I felt a tiny hand stroking my hair. I suddenly halted my sobs and opened


    my eyes to see E standing beside my bed with a worried expression on her sleepy face.


    “Are you okay, Moana?” she asked.


    I stifled another sob and managed a smile as I wiped the tears away from my hot face with my hand.


    “I’m okay now,” I said, reaching out and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Thank you for


    checking on me.”


    “I heard you crying from my room. Did you have a bad dream?”


    I nodded, relieved that she only thought I had a bad dream instead of hearing the conversation


    between her father and I.


    E paused, then yawned. “I can sleep with you if you’re scared,” she said.


    My heart skipped a beat. Even when the world felt cruel and cold, the warmth and generosity of small


    children was always afort. I smiled, ignoring the feeling of more tears streaming down my cheeks,


    and held the nket up for her to climb in. When she did, I wrapped my arms around her and felt her


    nuzzle down into my chest like a small kitten. I kissed the top of her head, and she was asleep within


    minutes.


    That night, I slept peacefully for the first time in weeks