HIS CLAIM

34

Elsa

“I have been resting and I slept all day yesterday. I’m fine and I’m good to go to work, Nicholas .” I sighed while I got dressed in a pair of black leggings and one of his t-shirts. I had woken up early to go back home and grab some clothes. Nicholas  did pack a bag for me, but it was mostly comfortable clothes and not entirely appropriate for work. We didn’t have a dress code per se, but we definitely needed to be properly dressed as it was still a high-end boutique.
“Keep it closed.” Nicholas  had a frown on his face as he sat at the end of the bed, watching me get dressed.
“You’re a businessman. You out of all people should know that it’s bad for business if I just keep it closed.” I raised a brow and walked towards him. I stepped in between his legs and his hands rested right on my ass.
“I will write a check for your losses. Keep it closed.”
“Look at you, throwing money at the problem.” I said amused and rested my arms on his shoulders.
“Usually works.” He smirked and I scoffed at him.
“Yeah? Well, it doesn’t work for me. People have their orders ready and I kind of need to be there to hand them their orders.” I pointed
out.
“You’re pregnant. You shouldn’t be working at all.” He continued.
“Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean I can’t work. You know what? I’m not even going to discuss this with you anymore.” I shook my head but still smiled. We had been going over this ever since I said I was going to work.
“The minute you get tired, you’re closing.” Nicholas  ordered firmly and I rolled my eyes at him but agreed to it just so he would drop it already. He pulled me back into him when I tried to step away. He didn’t say anything and raised my t-shirt and placed a kiss on my stomach.

I couldn’t help but smile big at his actions. It was all the little things. he did that made me feel so warm, loved, and happy. I never thought that he would be taking the pregnancy news this well, and I was over the moon that he was. He was already obsessed with my stomach and always wanted to touch me more than he usually did. I didn’t mind it one bit. It was all these things he already did that made me sure he was going to be an amazing father, and I couldn’t wait to start that chapter of my life with him.
A knock sounded on the door, and I already knew it was Logan and Giovanni coming with breakfast. I was slowly getting my appetite back and I had pretty much demanded a long list of food that I wanted. And for some reason, I was even craving doughnuts at this hour. I had to add a ‘please’ and some cute emojis at the end of my long message to Logan  because it did sound very bossy.
“I may have gotten carried away with the food…” My eyes went wide eyes when I saw the coffee table that was now made into a whole breakfast buffet, and all three of them just stared at the amount of food. I did not realize it would be this much.
“No judgment from here but… can you eat all that?” Logan looked kind of both shocked and impressed at the same time.
“No! What do you think I am? I just didn’t know what I wanted, and it turned out I wanted everything. Oh well, get comfortable and eat!” I laughed and got comfortable on the couch with Nicholas  sitting next to me and Logan  and Giovanni in the armchairs in front of us.
“What are you doing?” Giovanni frowned as I took a sip of my iced caramel macchiato. It was my favorite drink, and I would have it at least once a day.
“Drinking?” I asked, confused.
“You can’t have that.” He got up and snatched it out of my hand before I could react.
“Hey! Give it back!” I got up from the couch to take it back, and him. being the mature man he was, held it up high above his head so I couldn’t reach it.
“You can’t have any caffeine.”
“Yes, I can!”
“No, you can’t!” He stared down at me and I scowled.
“Give it back!”
“Giovanni.” Nicholas  called after him.
“She can’t have caffeine. That’s what the paramedics said.” He stated and still held it up high. I considered kneeing him in the balls but then he would spill my coffee. I could see Logan  leaning back with his food as he watched us like some kind of entertainment.
“I can have that one. It’s mostly milk and ice anyway.”
“I don’t care. I’m trying to prevent you from having another psychotic episode.” I dropped my jaw.
“Excuse me? Psychotic?”
“Yes. It almost cost me my head, and I don’t want to die for you, woman.” He ignored me and sat down when I cursed after him.
“Go, drink water, it’s healthier.”
“Drink water, it’s healthier.” I mimicked as I continued to scowl at him. He just looked at me with a stupid smirk on his face as he drank my iced coffee.
“I’m only helping you. Shouldn’t you be on a healthy diet anyway?”
“Shouldn’t you be minding your own business?!” I snapped. I was very serious about my morning coffee. And the fact that he took it from me… Oh, I was about to give him hell!
“Elsa, eat.” Nicholas  called out for me, but I ignored him as I sat down, watching the idiot who was still drinking my iced coffee. He was even making ‘ah’ noises now and then to agitate me.
“I hope you choke on it and die.” I said angrily and continued my glaring.
“That pregnancy has made you meaner. First, you punch me, and now, you wish for me to choke and die.” Giovanni looked amused while he finished my coffee.
“That woman of yours is abusive.” He said to Damiano, and I flipped him off, which didn’t exactly help my case as Giovanni gave a ‘see what I mean?’ look.
“What’s wrong?” Nicholas  frowned when he saw I was rubbing my stomach and took deep breaths.
“I don’t know…There’s this weird smell in the room.” I didn’t know what it was, but it made me feel nauseous. I got up from the couch and walked around to see if I could spot what it was.
“Oh my G*d, it’s you.” I said disgusted and I looked at Giovanni.
“How am I smelling bad when I took a shower before coming here?” Giovanni looked at me blankly that I had just said he smelled. I leaned in closer to him and sniffed a little. The smell came from his clothes.
“It’s your clothes… “I tried to wave the smell away from my nose. but it was as if it was stuck in my nostrils. I stepped away from him and at this point, I had to take deep breaths through my mouth to keep my nausea down.
“Wait, you smoked before coming up. That’s probably what’s triggering you right now.” Logan  commented. I didn’t reply as I ran towards the bathroom and made it just in time for me to throw up. Nicholas pulled my hair back and rubbed my back as I continued to empty my stomach. When I was sure I was done, I got up to wash my face and mouth, almost chuging the mouthwash to remove the nasty taste.
“Are you okay?” Nicholas  looked concerned while looking around at my red face. I was dry heaving at the end, and it hurt like hell. It felt like I was stuck during a crunch for hours.
“I think I need to lie down for a bit…” I said tiredly and walked to the bed and lay down. I closed my eyes and tried to calm down
because somehow, I still felt nauseous even though I almost threw up my organs. At least it felt like that.
“Gio, go change. You stunk up the whole room.” I yelled out to him right as Nicholas  came back with a bottle of water for me.