Ruthless love

A Brief Escape

[Zack's pov]

I had fallen asleep with Stella in my arms that night.

It had become a habit of ours ever since the news of her pregnancy had settled.

At this point she was about five months along and her condition was clearly showing.

It was doing something to me.

Something about seeing her like that, was utterly attractive to me and it made me want to claim her all over again.

Knowing that she was carrying my offspring gave me a sense of both pride and what I could only describe as ownership.

She was mine.

Only mine.

At least for the time being.

I was happier than I had been in a very long time.

Actually, I could not remember ever being that happy.

As I lay there watching her sleeping face, I was struck by a strange feeling.

I felt a strong need to protect her and the life growing inside her, at all costs.

The mere thought of anything happening to either of them, made my heart sink.

I loved this woman more than any words could possibly explain.

Hell- I loved her more than life itself, for what it was worth at this point.

Still, I would trade my life and the years lived for her in a heartbeat.

Stella whimpered quietly and turned in my arms, still half asleep.

I pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head and gently tightened my grip on her to let her know I was not leaving.

She had been having less of her nightmares and visions lately.

Ever since the night in the cathedral, it seemed like something had changed.

She told me that the visions had tried to warn her about something, but she was unable to explain it to me.

We tried not to think too much about it, but it was still lurking somewhere in the back of our minds.

A tinge of fear of the unknown, that neither of us could fully escape or ignore.

I forced myself to go back to sleep as the sun started rising outside the window, pushing all thoughts of visions, nightmares and warnings aside as I let myself slip into a deep sleep.

Stella had been getting up earlier these days because the baby had a habit of kicking her at around 6 in the morning, without fault.

We used the extra time to transform the castle into a home, with the help of the maids around the house.

I had given her full control of everything.

Not that I did not want to help her, but I figured that she could as well have it the way she wanted it.

When I told her, she had introduced me to the peculiar saying "Happy wife, happy life" with a grin.

At first I had pushed it aside, but it was starting to grow on me.

It made perfect sense.

Her happiness meant the world to me and If she was unhappy, I could never truly be happy either.