Moana
Edrick and I agreed with Selina that Ella had to be carefully introduced to the topic of having a new sibling. Not only could it be harmful to her self esteem to think that she might be ‘replaced’ or get less attention, but it could also be harmful to both her relationship with her father and her relationship with me. Considering the fact that we both decided that it would be best for me to continue to live with them as we raised the new child, it was important for us all to get along.
We didn’t say anything for a few days, as we both wanted to give ourselves time to come up with a strategy before we told Ella. But, as Selina warned, I would begin to show soon. Since the baby was a little werewolf and not a human, the pregnancy would be a bit different, and I would show sooner. My belly was already starting to look a little more bloated than usual, as I had learned at the charity gala.<
EdrickNow that the issue of Moana’s pregnancy was settled, in our household at least, I felt much more at peace than before. Ella seemed to get happier by the day, and would chatter away about her future sibling almost every night at dinner. The issue of figuring out how to best bring it up to my parents was still something I would have to deal with, but at least I had a little time; it’ wasn’t as though my father was walking around my penthouse and would see Moana’s growing belly, unlike Ella, who would’ve seen it happening before her very eyes. Part of me wanted to keep up the lie and tell my parents that I wasn’t the father, but I knew that it would be useless with Ella running around. Eight year olds don’t exactly make the best keepers of secrets.Things seemed to settle down into a new normal over the next several days. The servants were kind to Moana and helped
MoanaOne night, I was reading a bedtime story to Ella when I found myself nodding off in the chair by her bed. I didn’t wake up until a couple of hours later. She was fast asleep and I didn’t want to wake her, so I quietly got up and slipped back into my room to go back to sleep.When I walked back into my room, I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, seeing as how tired I was. I moved my sketchbook aside and climbed into the covers, and quickly fell asleep.The next morning, I woke up with a headache. I groaned and sat up, rubbing my eyes, and as I did so I noticed something sitting on my bedside table that I hadn’t noticed the night before: a glass of brown liquid.Furrowing my brow, I picked up the glass and inspected it. It was certainly one of Edrick’s whiskey glasses from his minibar, and when I sniffed its contents, I quickly
MoanaBy the time Ella’s training was about to end, Edrick and I had purchased a whole host of baby supplies. He insisted on buying the bassinet anyway, as well as anything else the baby might need. Although I thought it was a bit irresponsible for him to spend so much on certain items, I figured that he knew what he was doing, and I didn’t argue any further. Besides: I couldn’t help but feel happy to spoil our future child as well.We picked Ella up at training, then Edrick pulled out of the parking lot and began driving in the opposite direction of the penthouse.“Um, daddy?” Ella called from the back seat, twisting in her car seat to look intensely out the window. “I think you’re going the wrong way.”Edrick smirked, then shook his head. “No, Princess. We’re going out for dinner.”
MoanaThe gap that existed between Edrick and I could never be bridged; I knew that now.Our ride home was silent. The steak that I could still taste on my tongue now tasted foul. To think that I had spent the entire day feeling as though we could have some semblance of normalcy; even if we never became romantically involved, why couldn’t we still be proud of what we had created between us? Why did he always have to hide me and Ella? Would the new baby also face the same struggle of having a father who didn’t want anyone to know about his or her existence?We went home that night, still without a word spoken between us. I took Ella to bed with only a brief word of thanks for everything he did that day, but after that, I didn’t look at him again.…On Monday morning, I awoke to the sound of someone knocking on my door.
MoanaMy eyes widened when I saw Edrick, but at the same time, my body relaxed knowing that he was here to -- hopefully -- help us. He glanced over at me, but clearly didn’t want anyone to know we were together, and walked up to the desk.“Is there a problem here?” he asked the receptionist.“Yes, Mr. Morgan,” she said, gesturing to me, “this woman is a human and she’s trying to be served before werewolves. It’s our policy to serve werewolves first.” Her eyes were wide as she spoke, and her voice shook a bit. I could tell that she knew that she would be in deep trouble if Edrick Morgan himself was here.“Well, break policy just this once,” he said. He turned to the werewolf couple next, who still stood nearby looking utterly confused. “So sorry about that,” he said, then turned to Selina and
Edrick“Edrick…” My mother dropped her tone of voice and leaned closer to me. She took my hand in hers and gave me a serious, knowing look that only a mother could have. “Is she pregnant?”I frowned, hiding the fact that my heart had just started beating rapidly. “What?” I said, shaking my head. “What makes you think that?”My mother folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes. “Edrick, I’m your mother. You can’t lie to me.” There was a long silence after she spoke, but her eyes never wavered from mine. Even in her old age, she was still just as astute and level-headed as ever. I had never been able to lie to my mother, and she knew that. Finally, I caved.“Yes,” I replied quietly. “She is pregnant.”“I knew it,” my mother s
Moana Hearing how Edrick refused to admit that the baby was his to his own mother hurt me deeply. I found myself hardly able to speak or eat all day after overhearing him, and although I wanted to tell myself that he was only put on the spot when Verona asked about the pregnancy, I knew deep down that it was really because he was embarrassed to have a baby with someone from a lower social status. If he had simply denied my pregnancy, it would have been one thing, but to claim it was another man’s baby altogether hurt me to my core. After Verona left, I found that tears were coming to my eyes. I decided to leave my soup unfinished and ran off to my room to cry without anyone seeing me. Once I was inside my room, I felt my emotions take over. I took a deep breath, steadying myself, and walked over to my mirror to will myself not to cry. As I looked at myself, however, and took in the appearance of my growing belly and my red eyes, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. A few tears began to r
Moana The next morning, I decided to take Edrick’s offer for a day off and went to the orphanage to get out of the penthouse for a while. I was still incredibly hurt and angry by Edrick’s refusal to admit that the baby was his to his own mother, but at the very least, I knew that a day out might lift my spirits just a little. As I arrived at the orphanage, I already began to feel just a little bit better. “Hello?” I called as I walked in. I didn’t get a response, but I heard the children’s voices coming from the recreation room as they laughed and played, and it made me smile a bit. I walked over to the recreation room and stopped in my tracks when I saw Ethan playing with the children. They didn’t see me at first. Ethan was giving them an art lesson and was walking around the room, looking at all of the children’s artwork and giving them compliments. Seeing how sweet he was being with the children made me smile, but at the same time, it made me feel sad knowing that his brother w