Page 91 of Claimed By the Villain

The house he bought for us is beautiful, by a lake, and I’ve spent the past months decorating it to pass the time. I believed the man who wanted Lucifer dead would be caught soon, but there’s still no sign of him.

The situation wakes me up several times during the night. I think I’m getting paranoid, because I wake up every hour just to check that Lucifer is alive, sleeping beside me.

I glance again at mother and daughter. Taylor seems to glow with her baby in her arms. She’s always been beautiful, but she’s become radiant with motherhood.

The sight of the two of them together, like an extension of each other, overwhelms my heart with love.

And then, just a second later, that same heart tightens with apprehension when I remember that today, I got confirmation that I’m pregnant.

I don’t know how it happened.

Maybe it was during those few days when I had a stomach issue and threw up a lot. I take the pill religiously, and I can only imagine that either the illness, or the sheer amount of sex we have, ended up putting us in that small percentage of contraceptive failure.

To me, the child I’m carrying is a little miracle, but I don’t think Lucifer will see it that way. I had planned to talk about having kids again, but I wanted to do it after his enemy was caught and the tension at home eased.

Our life together is far better than I ever imagined it could be, but like a stain on a blank canvas, that enemy is always there, haunting us.

For Lucifer, I think it’s because he fears something might happen to me. For me, it’s because I don’t know how I’ll go on if I lose him forever.

“You look really serious, Jackie. I know you can’t tell me everything about your life, but it hurts me to think you might not be okay.”

“I’m pregnant.”

“What?”

It’s like opening a floodgate. Tears begin streaming uncontrollably down my cheeks. “I’m sorry, Taylor. This isn’t why I came here.”

“Come here.” She pats the mattress, still nursing the baby.

“Betina was just born and you’re already multitasking,” I say between sobs. I sit on the edge of the bed and let her hold my hand.

“Why would your pregnancy be a reason for sadness?”

“He doesn’t want children.”

“He told you that?”

I nod, confirming.

“Bastard!”

“An honest bastard, though.”

“And what are you planning to do?”

“I’m working up the courage to tell him. I only found out for sure this morning with a pregnancy test.”

“And what if he says he really doesn’t want it?”

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep more tears from falling. “Then I’ll leave. I won’t stay in a house where my child isn’t welcome.”

“You can stay with us. You know that, right?”

“I know, and I’m grateful, Taylor. But you just became a mother—you have your own life to live. I’ll manage.”

“But I’ll always be around.”

“I never doubted that.”