MoanaMy eyes landed on the TV in the living room, which was already showing clips of Edrick punching the paparazzi.I felt my blood run cold as I watched it. Not only did the paparazzi spread the clips of what happened so quickly, but I felt as though it was entirely my fault. If I hadn’t made such a stupid decision to go out only a day after Edrick announced our “relationship”, then none of this would have happened. Not only that, but I put Ella in danger by deciding to take her out with me, and now she was terrified.But when I looked over at Edrick, he didn’t look concerned in the slightest. Without a word, he calmly walked over to the television and shut it off.“Keep the news off for today,” he said, turning to Selina and the maids. The three of them often liked to play the news on the TV in the background while they worked, but now it wasn’t the best idea after what happened. Not only would it be upsetting for Ella to see clips of her father punching someone over and over again
MoanaI agreed to sleep with Edrick that night. Even though I was still a bit upset by what he had said the night before, I couldn’t deny the fact that I missed him and wanted his company, especially after the fact that he saved Ella and myself from the paparazzi.The next morning, I awoke to the sound of the shower water turning off. Edrick was already awake, and before my eyes were even fully open, he came out of the bathroom in his robe with his toothbrush in his mouth.“Rise and shine,” he said, his mouth full of toothpaste as he rifled through his dresser drawers. “We’re leaving in an hour. You should go and pack.”I sat up and furrowed my brow. It was still early; I knew that he had planned on leaving for the mountain estate today, but not this early. Nonetheless, I obliged and quickly rushed over to my bedroom to pack some clothes and toiletries for the upcoming few days. I packed my painting supplies and my small travel easel as well, just in case I did decide to do some paint
MoanaSelina helped me put on the dress. It fit like a glove, and even showed off my growing belly a bit. As I stood in the mirror while Selina fixed up my hair, I couldn’t help but smile a bit while I looked at my belly in the dress.Even though I didn’t particularly like the concept of not being in a real relationship and only being in a fake one, I was relieved to finally not have to hide my pregnancy. Now that everything was out in the open, I could finally enjoy the early stages of pregnancy when my belly was beginning to show the little life that was growing inside of me. Before, I had been nervous about what would happen when my belly was too big to hide anymore, but now I couldn’t wait. The thought of walking down the street with Ella’s hand in mine and my other hand on my big pregnant belly — once the paparazzi calmed down and it was safer to go out, of course — made me smile.When Selina was finished with my hair, I headed downstairs to meet Edrick.He was sitting at a small
MoanaThat night, I fell asleep next to Edrick with a full heart. I couldn’t help but wonder if all of this meant that our relationship might go further than simply being a fake relationship, but I didn’t want to spend too much time getting my hopes up in case things didn’t work out as planned. All I knew was that my wolf was happy to be near him, and I was also happy to be near him. Edrick seemed happier than usual as well, and it made me think that maybe things would at least be just a little different after our mini vacation at the mountain estate.The next morning, I awoke to the feeling of Edrick’s warm arms around me. I was turned toward him with my face buried comfortingly in his chest, so close I could feel his heartbeat. We had fallen asleep the night before with a respectable distance between us as we didn’t want to get too close, but it seemed that we simply couldn’t avoid getting close to one another in our sleep. However, I couldn’t deny that feeling him this close to me
MoanaLater that morning, after enjoying breakfast in the garden in the fresh air with Ella and Edrick, Ella reminded Edrick that she wanted to go for a hike. Edrick of course agreed, as it was nice outside.“Go put your shoes on,” he said. “And pants, too. I don’t want you falling down in a dress.”“Okay!” Ella exclaimed as she sprinted off to her room to get changed.Edrick stood and stretched, accidentally revealing the lower portion of his abs as he did so. He was dressed casually in a simple polo shirt and trousers, which was strange to see as I had grown so accustomed to seeing him only dressed in business attire. He must have forgotten that he wasn’t wearing his shirt tucked in when he stretched, and seeing even just a small portion of his abs made me blush a deep shade of red.“We won’t be out for too long,” Edrick said then. “Feel free to explore anywhere you want in the mansion or the gardens while we’re out.”Although the thought of exploring the mansion sounded fun, I furr
EdrickIf I thought that Moana looked beautiful in her new dress the night before, then she looked even more stunning now dressed plainly in hiking clothes. I had never seen her dressed so casually before, and although I couldn’t quite put my finger on why I felt this way, I felt even more attracted to her when she was dressed like this. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that for a moment, as the three of us walked together and enjoyed nature away from the noise and the chaos of the city, it almost felt as though we were a normal little family that was simply out for a hike on a nice summer’s morning.I had never told anyone this before, but I had never particularly enjoyed following in my father’s footsteps. I always knew that it was expected of me from a very young age, but I had secretly always envied other boys who didn’t have such high expectations. In college, as I watched my friends go on to follow their dreams and become artists or teachers or adventurers, I resented
MoanaEven though I was enjoying spending time at the mountain estate, it seemed that maybe it wasn’t very safe here right now. Edrick didn’t say much about it, but he seemed to be worried ever since that wolf came after Ella and myself, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he knew something that I didn’t. I trusted Edrick to make the right decisions, so when he told me that it was best for us to return to the penthouse for now, I agreed. My only regret was that I didn’t have any time to paint while we were there, and I hoped that I would have another chance to paint soon.When we finally arrived back at the penthouse, it was already late that night. Selina and the maids prepared a quick meal, but I was too tired and uneasy after what happened to have much of an appetite, and only wanted to go to sleep. Ella was hardly keeping her eyes open, too, so I put her to bed before heading over to Edrick’s room to get some sleep myself.I couldn’t stop myself from feeling worried, though. Edrick
MoanaI woke up the next morning with the memory of what I overheard still fresh on my mind. To not only hear that Michael had sent that wolf to attack us, but also to hear that “Olivia” called Edrick again, left me feeling both confused and scared. If my baby was going to be in danger of someone like Michael, I didn’t know what I would do. I could only trust that Edrick would handle it and keep us protected.It was Saturday morning, which meant that it was also a training day for Ella. I woke up early to get her ready, and decided that I would go to the orphanage and volunteer while Ella was in training. The last time I was at the orphanage, I discovered that Sophia was in need of help, so I decided that I would spend every Saturday morning that I could helping her out. I just hoped that she wouldn’t be too upset with me for not telling her about the baby sooner, as I was certain that she likely saw the news by now.“I’m going to the orphanage while Ella is in training today,” I told