Stay With Me Forever

Chapter 19

[Mal's POV]

I woke up at 3:30 A.M., because of another nightmare. I jolted upwards and couldn't find Ben anywhere. "Ben!" I called out. A few seconds later, he rushed to my side. "Babe, are you alright?" He said squeezing my hand. I hugged him tightly.

"Ben, I couldn't find you anywhere." He cradled me in his lap. "It's alright, Mal. You're ok." After I calmed down, he handed me a glass of water. "Ben, what time is it?" He hugged me. "Still too early, baby. Go back to sleep." He said kissing my cheek.

"But, I can't." He held me in his arms again tightly. "I'm right here. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. Now, go to sleep." He said kissing me again.

[Jay's POV]

I was forced to get up at 4 A.M., because Lonnie was wanting some ice cream. It was her favorite craving. Even though meatballs and licorice were her top two, ice cream is now seen making that list. I handed her a carton of chocolate cake ice cream and she gulped it down.

"Thanks, babe. These cravings can get a little crazy," Lonnie said while giggling. "It's fine. Making you happy is my main priority." I said kissing her cheek. We went to bed again.

[Carlos' POV]

"Evie, open up!" I yelled while pounding down Evie's door. She yawned in my face and greeted me with a weird face. "What?" She groaned. "You're a girl..." "Potentially." She answered. "Right...anyway, Jane is looking through dresses for a dance that's coming up and she keeps asking me for an opinion. What do I do?"

"You're going to approach me with this at 4 in the morning!" She screamed. "Yeah..." I said stepping back scared. She slammed her door, leaving me to handle with Jane myself.

[Ben's POV]

At 5, Mal woke up. I don't understand why she was up because she had only gotten a few hours which isn't good. I walked up to her. She's currently combing her silky purple hair. "Babe, why are you up so early?" I asked while placing my chin on her head. "Couldn't sleep, I guess." She yawned.

Clearly, she was exhausted. "Mal, you didn't sleep too well last night. You should get some more sleep." I said while hugging her tightly. She shook her head. "I'm fine, Ben." I looked her sternly in the eyes. "Mal, listen to me...you need more rest. You've barely gotten any sleep...cmon," I said while dragging her to the bed.

"Ben..." She whined. "I told you I'm fine." Without thinking twice, I picked her up and laid her on the bed. "Ben, stop." She cried. "Mal, listen to me. You haven't slept well and you can barely keep your eyes open." "Yes I can," she said while blinking multiple times to stay awake. I sighed and laid down with her. If there's one thing you should know about Mal, it's that she never goes down without a fight.

[Mal's POV]

I was sleeping for an hour until I heard crying from Christie in the nursery. I sat up for a second and Ben lightly pushed me back down. "No, you go back to bed. I'll get Christie." He said while getting up. "Ben, she's my daughter too, you know." "I know," he smirked. "But, you need rest." I groaned and laid my head back down on the pillow.

Why was everything so hard all of a sudden? It's like I have no free will anymore and Ben is being overly protective of me. He won't let me out of his sight. Even if I can't spend time with him, he'll send out one of the VKs, or royal guards to watch me.

As Ben brought in Christie, I pretended to be asleep. He laid Christie between us and kissed my head. "I love you, Mal." That thought ran through my head. If he loves me, why is he so protective? I dragged the thought out of my head and actually fell asleep.