The End Of The Road | HEROPHINE

Chapter 3

Josephine's pov:
'Come on Jo, we'll be late.' Hero calls from outside the bedroom.
'Just a second.' I lie, knowing I'm far from ready. Besides, I have more time than he's letting on. I've already tried 4 dresses on and nothing seems to fit. Or if it does fit, it makes me look huge. Nothing feels comfortable anymore and it's really starting to upset me.
I pull off the dress I'm wearing and sit on the floor, bringing my knees to my chest.
The door handle turns and I hear footsteps but refuse to look up.
'What's wrong, baby?'
'Look at me, I'm fat and hideous.' I whine, still avoiding eye contact with him.
'Jo, how many times? You're holding a baby in there, our baby.' He says, placing a hand on my shoulder.
'I know but I just feel like everyone will be looking at me.' I almost whisper.
He sits down beside me on the floor and snakes his arm around my side.
'It's not like the world doesn't know you're pregnant.'

Last week outside the store..
'Come on, Jo. I was only trying to protect you.'
'I don't always need your protection, Hero.' I point out, careful not to raise my voice. We're trying not to argue so much as to not distress the baby.
'Yes, but we have to talk about—'
Hero is cut off by the flashing of cameras, and I look across the parking lot to see a paparazzi duo, running off into their cars as if they haven't just invaded our privacy. Sometimes I wish we weren't actors, that we could just be invisible. It would make things a lot easier.

A few hours later..
'Yep. Here it is.' Hero says with a heavy sigh.
I lean over his shoulder to view the laptop screen and am disgusted by the headline.
'Stressed Hero as he and pregnant Josephine Langford are on the rocks'
'On the fucking rocks?' I say with gritted teeth, trying not to sound as angry as I feel. We have one argument in a public place and suddenly the media thinks we're splitting up. I also hate the fact they still refer to me as Langford. I quite happily have the name Fiennes Tiffin.
'You're not more concerned about the fact everyone now knows you're pregnant?'
It only then hits me, the severity of this situation. 'They're gonna be all over us now.' I realise, leaning my head against Hero's shoulder. 'It's okay' he says, 'we've got each other.'

'Anyway, maybe it's time for you to stop hiding your bump, and start embracing it. You should be proud to be carrying a baby, not ashamed. Pregnancy is a whole thing.' He says, and I swat his arm for quoting my old catchphrase.
We both laugh.
'I guess you're right.' I give in to him, standing to my feet.
'Wear this one.' He says, pulling a dress out of my half-emptied wardrobe.
'This is the most figure revealing dress I own.' I state, staring at the baby pink material.
'So? Show it off girl!' He chuckles, before planting a kiss on my forehead which causes me to blush.
I reluctantly agree, and pull the dress over my head. Hero zips me up and turns my body to face the mirror.
'See? You're perfect.'
I smile at his reflection in the mirror and then turn to face him.
'Thankyou.'
'Anytime, baby. Now come on, or we really will be late!' He exclaims, grabbing my phone for me and taking my hand in his.
I follow him to the door, feeling a lot more confident in myself, thanks to Hero.

A few hours later..

Hero's Pov:
I watch as Jo takes the last bite of her burger and nods her head at me as if to say 'it's good.'
I chuckle to myself as I arrange my knife and fork neatly on the plate having finished my chicken about 10 minutes ago. We've never been able to decide whether I'm a fast eater, or she's just very slow. Either way, I'm often done before her, but I don't mind waiting. She's literally got the best table manners and is such a polite eater. Sometimes I just want to show her how to eat a burger properly, she's so dainty. But that's what I love about her. She makes these little sounds of enjoyment when eating, it's so cute but funny at the same time. I tease her about it but she swears she doesn't even notice she does it.
'That's the first time in a while I've seen you finish an entire burger.' I laugh, bringing my glass of coke to my lips.
'I'm pregnant, as you keep on reminding me.' She replies, before rearranging the menus neatly in the holder. Such a perfectionist.
It takes a moment or two to realise I'm staring at her, and she giggles. 'Sorry, I hate leaving things messy.'
'Josephine, it was like that when we got here!'
'Well, all the more reason to make it better.' She smiles proudly at her organisational work.
I shake my head and smile- she's adorable.

...

'Thanks for dinner.' She says, kissing me on the cheek as we make our way back to the car.
'My pleasure.' I reply, returning the kiss but this time on her lips.
'No PDA, there could be paps everywhere!' She says with a laugh, jokingly hiding behind my back. I pull her back to stand in front of me and hold her waist. 'Not this late at night, Mrs FT.'
She kisses me again but just for a second or two, driving me mad and leaving me wanting more. We haven't been so physical with each other recently, but I don't mind at all. I'm just as happy to spend our time cuddling, watching movies, whatever Jo wants to do really.
Our marriage is strong with or without sex. The good thing about us is we can flip the switch so easily, from innocence to pure fire.
Besides, I kind of like it like this. It reminds me of when we first got together, she drove me crazy, just teasing me every now and then, until eventually we went the whole way. But don't get me wrong, it was totally worth the wait.

'Let's get you home.' I say, opening the car door for her and helping her inside. Anyone would think she's like 40 weeks pregnant already, judging by the way I am with her. I just want to look after her. She deserves to be comfortable and not have to worry about doing too much herself. That's what I'm here for, to be there for her. I will do anything to protect her.