Page 1

Lena had heard that dreaming about flowers meant that the Goddess of fertility, Hera, was sending her favors. But that was based on old stories. Christian folklore, on the other hand, linked it to Eve’s weeping. It’s interesting that ancient Romans would put a flower in the hands of the dead as they were buried. Last night, it was hard to tell what her dream of being surrounded by very white flowers signified.
Or maybe it was just the fact that it was her favorite flower. That should be enough of a cause for her to dream about it.
But only a few hours later, when she went to see the gynecologist for her bimonthly checkup, she got the news that she wasn’t really ready for it. What the doctor told her was unexpected, but it made her heart feel like it would never stop being happy. It hit her with the same energy as a comet.
“Congratulations, Mrs. Hart. You’re one week along.”
It wasn’t like she was dead before, but this—this seemed to make her feel more alive than ever.
She checked the time on her watch. It was still a few hours before Kellen would be home. She chose to go to her favorite place: the cherry blossom tree beside the historic Ivory Grove Sanctuary in the middle of downtown Brooklyn.
“Thanks, Jason,” she said as she stepped out of the bright blue town car. She smiled at Kellen’s head of security, who had been assigned to her after they got married. Kellen took several actions that appeared needless to her as he became more and more protective of her. But to preserve his heart, she didn’t complain enough.
She was astonished for the second time that day when she got closer to the tree. There were several buds on the cherry blossom tree that were poking out from between the leaves and looking up at the sky. It was amazing since many in the area claimed the tree couldn’t have kids. No one has seen any blooms on it in a long time. But soon, the cherry blossoms would bloom. Lena remained there for a moment, staring up at the tree with wide eyes and a mouth open in surprise. She believed that maybe the tree had gotten close to her since she had sat on the tree ring so many times.
A grin spread over her lips. The mole on her forehead showed up when her fringe shook in the gentle wind. This was one of her physical qualities that Kellen never got weary of saying how much he liked.
She sat down on the stone ring around the tree, just like she had done many times before. She took out her notepad, which was more than half full of the narrative she had been writing for a long time. The plot constantly followed the beat of her heart, which was primarily based on how she felt. But she couldn’t write a thing tonight. She leaned back against the tree bark and held the notebook open on her lap, staring at the blank pages. Tears were running down her cheeks, even though she was smiling. Her tears soaked the blank sheet. The painfully exquisite pain in her heart made its way into her notebook.
Lena could hardly wait to go home as the sun started to set. She was in the backseat of the car and felt like she was going to burst with happiness. She realized that the experience of having another soul inside her body was too strong to be conveyed with words. And she wanted nothing more than to tell Kellen about this.
She walked quicker when she saw Kellen’s car already parked in the driveway. Her long, wavy hair bounced over her shoulders.
She stopped at the front doors for only a second and held the test reports securely to her chest. The article verified that she was going to be a mother and that she was expecting their first child. She and Kellen were going to have a baby very soon.
She remembered how Kellen used to exclaim how lucky they were to have gotten all they wanted without much trouble and with the help of fate.
At first, they despised each other—when Lena first started working for Zeyracorp, Kellen’s firm. But after a chance encounter on the balcony, a kiss in the dark, and getting to know one other quickly, any bad sentiments they had for each other went away. They wed shortly after. Their relationship was so good that they never had to deal with more than small disputes, and even those were rare.
They had been married for about six months, and others who knew that they didn’t fight much were either jealous or didn’t believe them.
She had always thought she was lucky that her happy ending came to her so easily.
And now, to that beautiful life, a kid would be added, which would make it even better. Their kid.
Lena smiled to herself and brushed away a warm tear that had just slipped out from behind her eye.
She couldn’t help but run up the stairs since she was so excited. The brief trip upstairs seemed like it took too long.
She knew that when she told Kellen the wonderful news, which would begin a new era in their lives, he would have the same look of enthusiasm in his eyes. She was very excited.
Lena stopped in front of their bedroom door with her pulse racing and pounding. She paused for a while, then opened the door, which produced the same screaming noise she had been used to hearing.
She hurried in.
Kellen’s towering body was standing at the window with his back to her.
“Kellen,” Lena cried out, her voice full of excitement and a grin on her face.
The air in the room was tight for some reason, so much so that it felt like it was about to suffocate me. Even though the open window let in a fresh breeze, the leaves on the familiar oak branch outside shook in time with the draperies.
She moved closer and saw that his wide shoulders were firmer than normal. He stood up straight, which made his already tall figure look even taller in a scary way. His arms were as stiff as the rest of his body, and the corded muscles on his arms were always on display since his shirt sleeves were carelessly pulled up to his elbows.
Kellen turned around slowly, and Lena stopped halfway through.
Something seemed very, very wrong.
His eyes were full of rage.
His face looked crazy.
Lena, on the other hand, opted to disregard all of it. She was going to tell everyone the fantastic news that would put everything that had gone wrong right.
She moved up to him, feeling a bit frightened now.
“Kellen,” she went on to say anyhow. “I have something amazing to tell you, I’m—”
“Why?” But she cut her off. “Why did you do this to me, Lena? Why?”
Her forehead was disfigured by a look of confusion. “I don’t get what you’re saying—”
Kellen shook his head and said, “No, Lena.”  “I’m the one who doesn’t get it.” The skin around his eyes was getting redder and redder as his anger and what seemed like hurt grew. “Tell me, Lena, what was less in my love? Why did you do this to me? I’ve been kept in the dark this whole time.”
Her perplexity grew as she looked into his eyes, which were filled with raw anger, and his face, which was serious and definitive. “I really don’t know what I’ve done, Kellen,” she said. “Tell me.”