Chapter 129
Chapter 129: Wildflowers
Moana
Later that morning, after enjoying breakfast in the garden in the fresh air with E and Edrick, E
reminded Edrick that she wanted to go for a hike. Edrick of course agreed, as it was nice outside.
“Go put your shoes on,” he said. “And pants, too. I don’t want you falling down in a dress.”
“Okay!” E eximed as she sprinted off to her room to get changed.
Edrick stood and stretched, identally revealing the lower portion of his abs as he did so. He was
dressed casually in a simple polo shirt and trousers, which was strange to see as I had grown so
ustomed to seeing him only dressed in business attire. He must have forgotten that he wasn’t
wearing his shirt tucked in when he stretched, and seeing even just a small portion of his abs made me
blush a deep shade of red.
“We won’t be out for too long,” Edrick said then. “Feel free to explore anywhere you want in the
mansion or the gardens while we’re out.”
Although the thought of exploring the mansion sounded fun, I furrowed my brow. It was too beautiful
outside, and I had been looking forward to going on a nice walk.
“I was thinking I would go with you, actually,” I said, standing from the table.
Edrick pursed his lips and looked at me. His eyes traveled down to my belly; he seemed hesitant.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” he asked. “I don’t want you to get sick or get hurt if it’s too much
exertion.”
I put my hands on my hips and frowned. “I’m only a few months pregnant. I’m not aplete invalid
just yet. Besides, it’s only a walk.”
Edrick paused and chewed the inside of his lower lip for a few moments before finally nodding.
“Alright,” he replied. “I guess some exercise could be good for you and the baby.”
Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.
I couldn’t help but grin. I thought it was sweet that Edrick was so concerned about our baby, but I knew
that he worried too much when it came to certain things. I had always been somewhat athletic, and
never had any problems with exercising. Being a few months pregnant may have stopped me from
doing crazy things like rock climbing or downhill skiing, but a nice hike through the forest was
something that I knew I could handle. Besides, the doctor told me that exercise was extremely healthy
for the baby, and I had done enough research of my own to learn that many women could do all sorts
of athletic things, even while they were eight or nine months pregnant. Once, I even read about a
woman who was a marathon runner and kept winning marathons up until her water broke!
Now that Edrick agreed to let me go with them, I quickly ran upstairs and changed out of my dress and
into something more suitable for a hike. Once I was ready, I headed back downstairs with E’s hand in
mine and met Edrick outside.
As we began to follow the path that led into the woods, I couldn’t help but notice that Edrick kept
ncing at me on asion while we walked. He seemed to be looking at my outfit, and I didn’t realize
it until a whileter that he had never seen me in anything that wasn’t purely professional. Now, I was
wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans with boots and a zip-up hoodie on top, with my hair up in a bun, and
he almost seemed fascinated by it. Seeing the way he looked at me made me blush and feel a bit
embarrassed until I realized that I had looked at him the same way earlier. In a strange way, seeing
each other in casual clothing almost felt like anotheryer of the barrier between us being peeled away.
While we walked, I couldn’t help but feel rxed. The cool mountain air smelled sweetly of pine trees
as we walked further into the forest, and the quiet sound of the forest around us was extremely
rxing. Every so often, E would run ahead with a flower or a cool rock or anything else that she
would demand for Edrick to keep in his pocket, and soon enough his pockets were bursting with rocks
and acorns.
Eventually, however, Edrick’s phone rang. I tried not to look as he pulled it out of his back pocket, but I
couldn’t keep myself and took a quick peek, only to see that it was none other than his father.
As soon as Edrick saw his father’s name on the screen, his face went dark. Before, he had been
smiling and chatting happily, but now he was sullen and gloomy like the flick of a switch.
“I’ll be right back,” he growled. Before I could answer, he stormed off a ways into the woods to answer
the phone.
Meanwhile, E ran in circles around me, picking little wildflowers. I stayed where I was and sat down
on arge boulder to rest my feet, keeping an eye on E while Edrick was busy. I hoped that his father
wasn’t berating him for announcing our “rtionship”, but I knew that that was probably exactly what
was happening.
“Here, Moana!” E said, running up to me. Her fist was full of wildflowers and she shoved it in my face
to show me all of the delicate petals and muted colors. “It’s for the baby!”
I couldn’t help but tear up as I took the flowers from E. “Aww, love,” I said, touching the flowers
gently, “is it really?”
E nodded vigorously. “Mhm,” she said. “I picked lots of daisies, see? And Selina once told me that
those flowers are called… Hmm…” She pointed thoughtfully at one of the flowers. It was a cluster of
white flowers that were spread out on their stem in an umbre-like shape, causing the petals to look
almost likece.
“Those are called Queen Anne’s Lace,” I said.
E’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Queen Anne’s Lace!” she eximed. “If the baby’s a girl, I think you should
name her after the flowers… Daisy Anne!”
I smiled. It was a name that I hadn’t thought of yet, but it was sweet, and I knew that I wouldn’t forget it.
Daisy Anne… I liked that name.
But then, suddenly, this sweet moment with E was suddenly broken when she gasped and pointed
out at something in the distance, her eyes wide. “M-Moana,” she said, taking a few steps backwards.
“W-Wolf!”
I quickly jumped up and stood in front of her, looking out toward where she was pointing.
Just as E said, there was a wolf out there… And it was stalking toward us. It wasrge and gray, with
bright yellow eyes that were fixed directly on the both of us. I identally dropped the flowers as I
quickly grabbed E’s hand and backed away, keeping her behind me.
“Stay behind me, E,” I said, feeling a knot form in my throat. The wolf wasing straight for us as
though it had a mission toe for us.
And the closer the wolf got, the more I could hear its low, threatening growls rumbling in its throat.
If this wolf decided to attack us, E and I would be defenseless. As I opened my mouth, I only hoped
that Edrick was still close enough to hear me when I called his name.
“Edrick! Help!”