Sold as the Alpha King’s Breeder by Alice Knightsky
Chapter 86: Would He Ever Come Back?
I walked through the garden for a few moments, looking around the bigger hedges and bushes, trying to find Ethan, but I didn’t see him anywhere.
It was like he had vanished from my life again.
With a hand over my baby, I walked back home and went inside, closing the door behind me.
It seemed so lonely inside now. Not long ago, Soren and I had been sitting at the table eating dinner, laughing, and having a good conversation about our day. Now, the entire house seemed still and quiet.
“What was Ethan even doing here?” I asked myself aloud. I had no idea.
He said he’d come there to see me, but why?
How did he even figure out where I was?
I wanted to talk to Ethan again. I wanted to find him and make him sit down and answer a thousand questions. But… that wasn’t going to happen.
I lay backward on my bed and stared up at the ceiling, wondering if I’d ever even see him again. There was a chance he would just go back home. Perhaps all he wanted was to see me, and now that he had, now that he knew that I was alive, he would just turn around and head right back to Madalynn’s open arms.
Madalynn… and her ring.
I decided there was nothing more I could do, so I got ready for bed.
However, in my restless dreams, I kept seeing Ethan again but not being able to speak to him.
When I woke up, I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Seraphine was there to check my vitals, and Lola was tidying up the cottage. We were all friends, but I knew I couldn’t talk to them about this. I couldn’t risk them finding out the truth about my past.
I had left that all behind. Or at least, I thought I had.
“Ro?” Seraphine asked as she put her stethoscope back in her midwife bag. “Are you okay? I’m done checking the baby, and you usually ask me a thousand questions. Today you’re just staring off into space.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” I shook my head, smiling at her. “I guess I’m just distracted this morning.”
“Everything all right?” she asked me, and I knew from the twinkle in her eye that she was prying. “I know you had dinner with Soren last night.”
I made a face at her. “We’re just friends,” I reminded her. I ran a hand over my belly. “Everything is okay with the baby?”
“Yes, of course,” she said. “It really won’t be that long now.”
I didn’t know how that made me feel. Was I ready to give birth?
An image of me lying in bed, pushing out my child with Seraphine’s help, came to mind. The fuzzy form of a man next to me came into view, but I wasn’t quite sure who he was- was it Ethan, or Soren?
I imagined that the experience would be very different based on who it was next to me. Soren would be so supportive. He’d probably manage to make it fun. Ethan, on the other hand… would he even be paying attention to me?
“Don’t worry, dear,” Seraphine said, sitting down next to me. “I know giving birth is never easy, but you’ll be just fine. I’ll be there with you every step of the way. Do you have questions about how it will go?”
I blinked a few times, trying to get the images out of my mind. “Oh, no. I think I’ll be alright.”
“Well, if you have questions, let me know. Your baby is healthy, and you’re young and strong. I’m sure this will be a perfectly normal birth where everything will go as planned, and before long, you will have your child with you to cherish and enjoy.”
I smiled at her, and she got up to go finish packing her bag. I knew she had some other patients to see that day. I had other things to do as well.
Soren had business, and I needed to check the house.
I was also working on a baby blanket that I needed to hurry and finish, or it wouldn’t be done in time for the arrival.
When evening fell, I went outside to pick some flowers. At least, that was what I told myself I was doing… but honestly, I was looking for him.
I was looking for Ethan.
I chastised myself for even leaving the comfort of my own home. How had he managed to reduce me to this state again? I had come so far, only to be thrust back into this foolishness!
I was like a teenage girl, pining after a boy.
“Ethan?” I called a few times, but he didn’t answer. So, I cut some flowers and went back inside.
Lola was still there. She smiled at me as I came in. “Do you need a vase, Miss Ro?”
“That would be wonderful. Thank you,” I told her, still distracted.
Why had he even bothered to come here if he wasn’t going to talk to me?
“Here you go,” Lola said, and I thanked her as I took the vase full of water from her. My eyes were focused out the window as I went to set the vase on a table. It slipped from my hands and shattered all over the floor, spilling water all over my shoes.
“Oh, no!” I said as Lola also cried out. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay, Miss Ro. Let me get a broom and mop. Pregnancy can make your grip weaker than normal.” She hurried off to get the tools she needed to clean up my mess, and I backed away from the glass and water. When Lola returned, I reached for the broom. “Let me help.”
“No, no,” she said, waving me off. “You could hurt yourself. I’ll get it, Miss Ro.”
I didn’t want to injure myself, though I felt awful that I’d created such a mess for her to have to clean up.
I just wasn’t thinking straight. I was a danger to myself and others….
Another night passed, and I still didn’t see Ethan.
I spent the next day in the garden, looking for any sign of him while I pretended to prune the trees, but I didn’t see any trace. No footprints, no lingering scent, no evidence that he’d come back.
I was beginning to think that perhaps he hadn’t actually come to see me at all.
By the third day after he’d shown up in my garden, I had decided I just needed to get on with my life. Whatever it was that had brought Ethan back into my life forthose few fleeting moments, he’d gotten it. Now that he had what he wanted, he was gone again.
I sat in the baby’s nursery, sewing the blanket, staring at nothing as Seraphine organized the drawers of clothing we’d purchased.
“I just love baby clothes,” she said from her spot on the floor. She was humming a lullaby, one I loved to play on the piano.
I didn’t say anything in response. Her words barely registered.
“You know, I’ve helped a lot of first-time mothers over the years, and it always turns out just fine.”
I looked at her and smiled, but I couldn’t bring myself to make even the smallest pleasant remark in response. “Onetime, I was tending to a young mother a few years ago, and she was so nervous! She was a couple years younger than you, but not nearly as mature, and… experienced when it comes to the ups and downs of life.”
I imagined that was Seraphine’s nice way of saying this mother hadn’t been through as much as I had. My head rocked back and forth as I acknowledged I understood.
“That mama was so scared to give birth, she was practically ready to push before she even acknowledged that she was in labor! Her husband thought she was going to give birth on the living room floor because she wouldn’t go to the bedroom!” She laughed at the memory and patted her leg. “But even with all her apprehension, everything went just fine, and she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.”
“That’s nice,” I said, just trying to be polite.
I wished I could be more in tune with what Seraphine was saying, but I just couldn’t focus. I kept thinking about Ethan, wondering why he had come if he didn’t even want to speak to me.
With my mind on other things, the needle slipped, and the point went into my finger.
“Ouch!” A few bright spots of blood rolled off. I moved my finger just in time to keep them from falling onto the blanket.
“Let me get you a bandage,” Seraphine said, getting up. “Dear, you really are distracted.”
“Thank you, Seraphine,” I said, setting my sewing aside and wrapping my finger.
With the bandage on, I decided I was done sewing for the time being.
I was also done wondering about Ethan. Even if I spent a thousand years trying to figure out what the man was thinking, I would never succeed, and I was only torturing myself trying to guess what he was up to.
It was like he’d just come back for a little more torture- one more knife to my heart.
“Miss Ro,” Lola came back and asked me, “Mr. Soren is coming back tomorrow night. Do you need me to get any ingredients for meal preparation?”
I sighed and decided to look forward to that. I spent the day thinking about what I would make him for dinner. However, after everyone had gone home at night, I went about my normal nighttime routine, and just before I got ready to put on my pajamas, I decided to step outside for a breath of fresh air- at least, that was what I told myself.
The air was chilly for the island, and the night sky was overcast. I stood by the porch for a moment, just staring off into nothing, like I had been for most of the last three days.
I was just about to go inside when I heard rustling in the bushes.
I didn’t even dare to say his name. Rather, I walked over and took a closer look, peering between the branches. But there was nothing there.
Frustrated, I turned around to walk inside.
And ran headfirst into a wall- which smelled musky.