Mend (Care Duet, #2)

34 | mend ludwig

A few days had passed in a blur. Avelina was still experiencing stomach pain even with the pain medication Adrik was giving her. The doctor would come in every now and then to check up on her and the baby, but he still wanted to give her some time for the stomach pain to go away before being concerned. She could tell Adrik hated that, but they had no other choice.

Avelina was finally able to breastfeed. Her nipples were larger and constantly leaking, one boob was becoming larger than the other, and she was getting tired of carrying around the extra weight on her breasts. However, no matter how bad things got, she would look down at her beautiful baby girl in her arms, and suddenly, everything would be so worth it. Words could not describe the warmth that settled in her heart. The love she felt for her newborn daughter, was unlike any love she had ever felt before. It was nothing but hopeless devotion.

"I put together a breakfast dish for you," Adrik said, walking into the room with a tray of food and her pain medicine. He had been doing such a good job of taking care of her when she really needed him to. He would bring her her favorite food at the same time every single day. He would sit down after placing the tray beside her and watch as she ate. Most times, if she wasn't breastfeeding, he would take the baby from her arms and give her a bottle.

"Thank you!" Avelina smiled. Adrik took the baby out of her hands, giving her the space to let her eat her food. He cradled the baby in his arms and rocked her gently back and forth toward the window. The sunlight kissed his skin, illuminating a soft glow. His smile was so breathtaking as he gleamed down at their beautiful baby girl.

"Vincent will be joining us for dinner this evening," Adrik told Avelina. She nodded.

Natasha had been staying with them over the past couple of days. Avelina didn't know if it was going to be a permanent thing or not, but she knew she wasn't one to protest if it was. She had been trying so hard to let go of all the betrayal and disappointment, but she couldn't. Every time Natasha bothered striking up a conversation or telling a joke, all Avelina could think about was her pretending to be someone she could trust just to get her to open up. Natasha used her and manipulated her.

Avelina never had any issue with letting things go, but for some reason, she just couldn't drop what Natasha did. She never really had friends. Her entire life, she was almost sheltered as trauma threw up walls that didn't allow anyone in or Avelina out. She didn't get to talk about her feelings because bottling them up was the only option she ever had. But Natasha crept in without her permission, and took what could've been a friendship right from under Avelina's feet for her own selfish reasons.

Maybe it was stupid. Maybe it was unimportant. Her feelings were hurt, and they were still hurting.

"Okay. What will we be having?" she asked him.

"I will be hiring a cook for the evening. I mentioned to him that we would prefer some kind of pasta. I would like to be... amazed," he said. Her brows rose at his words. It was unlike him to be amazed. He usually preferred to stick to his same meals every single day. And the things he liked to eat were far from pasta.

"I will be making my own dish. However, I am sure you will share your amazement with me," Adrik said. Yeah, nevermind. Avelina shook her head with a soft smile on her lips.

"You really had me going there for a minute." Avelina chuckled.

She picked up her fork and dug into her pancake watching as the syrup completely covered the fork. She loved drowning her pancake in syrup. She didn't like when it was dry and flavorless. Every bite had to be covered in her favorite buttermilk syrup, or she wouldn't even bother finishing it. Adrik quickly learned that about her. And he made sure to not leave a single inch of pancake out when pouring the syrup.