***LONDON’S POV***
I felt this deep pang of nausea that I couldn’t push down no matter how hard I tried, the reason why I was vomiting and really feeling the back of my throat burn with pain.
I had woken up earlier to an empty bed, Zane wasn’t even in the house, what I didn’t know was where he had gone to.
It doesn’t matter because he is here now, and he has a fresh smell that is mixed with spice and the faintest tinge of sweat.
I look around the kitchen, notice the bags that are on the table, and instinctively move towards it.
“There was no food when I woke up,” I tell him plainly.
“I am sorry I wasn’t here to make you something when you woke up, I rushed out to grab a few things I wanted to get,” he tells me.
I nod silently studying the items. There are many offerings in here, I mean, someone like Zane would only offer this to me after he offended me. Is that how he is feeling now?
“I see. I will make some food then, I am tired of eating a wrapped sandwich,” I mutter, and as I touch the paper bag, Zane’s large palm covers mine.
“Please, don’t. Let me take care of this, at least, I owe you that,” he says.
I don’t argue with him, not because I don’t want to, I just feel extremely tired, and my body even quivers a little.
“What about we choose a movie and watch it later, huh? I picked some DVD movies, and I bet the player in the living room will work just fine. Snacks are there as well,” Zane pulls out, telling me every sweet word he thinks I want to hear.
Are the words actually sweet? Or am I just giving out a lot more than I should hope for?
Taking a breath, I release it, sitting close to the things, I wrap my arms around the table and close my eyes. I am still a little shaken from the beaten he had given me.
Tears pool down my cheeks, but I don’t want Zane to see how weak I am. Fuck! I wasn’t always weak when it comes to expressing my emotions, but Zane had gone rogue when he whacked my ass with his belt.
Oliver had been that toxic with me. The welp on my back is living proof of what the beast did to me.
I should file for a divorce, but I hate it, I just want to be in peace, he had called off the debt, he has used me in several ways, and now, I am pregnant with him.
As much as that thought is a thrilling one, I don’t want that. I have a baby to protect, I need to know that whatever the sex of the baby I am carrying is, my baby will be born to a father.
Sighing, I catch my breath before a hiccup escapes my lips.
“Why are you crying, little girl?” Zane’s soft voice asks, but I don’t know how to react anymore.
His mood changes in approximately seconds, and I don’t want to be over this table with my ass in the air, hurting like never before.
“Nothing. I am sorry,” I say.
When I feel a shadow above me, I lift my head to catch Zane staring at me, something in his eyes.
To hell with his own emotions.
“You should focus on the meal, I will go splash some water on my face,” I say.
I know this man wants to stop me, I don’t care, he hurt me, so, whatever apology he has to give should remain glued to his neck.
Zane doesn’t stop me, he just let me leave.
I don’t return to the kitchen though, I decide to take a nap and when I feel a hand touch me, I open my eyes to Zane’s worried face on mine.
“Hey, little human, food is ready,” he tells me.
I am so hungry that I give the faintest of smile, shifting out of the bed.
My ass cheeks hurt so badly that I end up against the sink eating. It is hard to eat without sitting, but the pain under my thighs is unbearable.
“Get a seat,” he tells me.
I snub him and continue eating.
When he scrapes his chair, I turn around to meet Zane arranging his chair, his eyes on me.
“Please,” he says instead of ordering me around.
Tears blur my vision and I turn around so quickly I fear that I might have snapped my neck in the process.
“Don’t do that,” I tell him coolly.
“I just want you to sit and have your meal,” he tells me.
“No, Zane, that is not what you want. Also, my butt and thighs stink with pain, I just want to eat first. This is your fault, so please, leave me alone,” I screech out.
The soup in front of me was so hot that I had to splutter some of it when I took the next sip.
Zane had cooked chicken brother with wheat bread. So delicious. The bread was from the store and, thus, fresh.
I love it, and the chicken is perfect, but I can’t focus if he keeps pinching my mood at every turn.
“I am sorry…” his words trail when I slap my fist on the sink.
“Fuck you, Zane. Can I just have my meal in peace without you interfering? If you don’t want me to eat, that is fine, I wouldn’t, but stop talking to me,” I shout.
You asshole.
I don’t say those words. I know what Zane would do to me, regardless of how mad I am. I bite my tongue around that word for a while before I start moving to the kitchen, leaving my unfinished meal.
Zane stops me though.
“My bad, Little Angel, I can’t apologize enough, but you have to eat to have strength, and you also need to feed the baby,” he tells me.
I try ignoring him but it is too difficult to let those words out. I shut up, fighting back the emotions pooling in me.
“Since it is your baby you are most interested in…” I start, but before I conclude that sentence, Zane is in front of me, his hands on my cheek as he massages softly.
“I care about our baby, London, but don’t get me wrong, before that baby, it was you. You are everything good I desire, you matter a lot to me,” he explains.
“With the way you flogged me? No, Zane. You are a beast who isn’t different from my ex. He hit me, I knew I was going to leave him one day, but you? I fell in love with you. The is a piece of us growing in me and I can’t come to terms that I will have to part ways with its father because he beats me for everything I do,” I bark out.
“I am a dominant, London. You knew what you were going into when you gave yourself to me,” he grits out.
Okay, we wouldn’t be eating if we proceeded with this conversation. As much as I want to feel my stomach, I have to sort shit out with this brute of a man.
I lick my lips slowly, making my pink tongue run across the dry layer of my lips.
“I did it all wrong by going to Micah for help. I guess I deserve this,” I joke out the words, fighting back the tears that wanted to rip me apart.
Oh, Jesus, it isn’t funny to the least, and still, I have to get my way with all of this, and more.
“What do you want, London?” Zane asks softly, his eyes watching me pace around the wooden kitchen.
“I need time to think about all this, Zane. You are intense. I know you said you were an intense man, but… I need my space. Damn it, the last thing I want to feel like is being a captive under you. I have been there once, I don’t want that ever again,” I finish, letting the tears pool down my cheeks.
It is pathetic how Zane actually makes my skin crawl with a million emotions, all I want is for him to cradle me in his arms, to make me his at all cost, but for now, I bet the distance would be more appreciated.
“I will give you the space you ask for, but it has to be within these walls. I wouldn’t want you anywhere you wouldn’t be supervised, especially with Michael in town,” Zane explains.
I nod my head, appreciating the little things he is doing for me already, it isn’t much, but at least, it is something, a time I want to cherish, and I sure as hell would do that.
“You don’t get to check my phone, Zane, I need my own space, my privacy matters,” I explain.
Zane wasn’t getting this one straight.
“What if you have more threats asking you to leave me, London? You are mine to protect,” Zane says.
This isn’t easy for him but I don’t give a damn about what he thinks is good for me, I will make sure he knows when and how to back down.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do, Zane. You don’t have a choice here. My dear husband, you don’t make demands,” I say standing on my tippy toes.
Even with my toes on the edge, I still can’t reach Zane’s eye level, thus, the reason why I climb on his shoes, holding his shoulders with my hands, pinning him with my glare.
I see a small smile play on Zane’s lips but he cuts it off immediately.
It makes me feel tiny, but I don’t care, I have to focus on what I am saying.
“Eyes up here, Mafia Vincenzo,” I look at him angrily.
He flares his nostrils and his eyes leave my boobs, staring at my face.
“Don’t call me that,” he wrinkles his nostrils and a small smile paints my lips.
“Don’t mess with me. I need my space. Now, I have a meal to finish,” I let out.
I am about to go down when Zane holds me across the hips, pulling me back to him.
His lips plaster against mine in the softest manner. Before I can react, Zane ends the kiss and leaves me demanding for me.
“Finish your meal before it cools,” he says.
Zane returns to his seat and I carry my plate of soup back to the table, sitting across from him.
I don’t know if I can stand on my decisions, it is just crazy how Zane makes me feel, for real, my heart seems to have its own beat, the damn thing follows its own rhythm, I just can’t keep up with it anymore.
“Good appetite,” I murmur, focusing on eating.
When I hear a woof sound just about when I am about to finish my meal, I open my eyes in shock, standing from the table.
“What is that, Zane?” I ask as if I don’t already know the sound.
“London,” Zane calls out to me but he is too late, I don’t listen to him.
I open the door to a dog and the moment the dog spots me, he barks, running towards me in a predator manner.
I scream in fear, as I start running towards the house. Good enough for me, Zane is behind me and I stumble on his chest.
“Fox, Seat!” Zane orders.
The order is respected because when I turn around, I see the dog__ Fox__ sitting and rolling his tongue outside.
“Sweet fuck! The dog just listened to you. I didn’t know we had a dog,” I cry out in fear.
Zane’s thick chuckle glides past my head, he is so fresh when he is relaxed.
When I jerk my head upwards to look at him, he has this boyish grin on his face.
“Come let me introduce you to our security dog, he has the right to tear anyone into pieces that aren’t me. And well, now you,” he mutters tugging my hand in his as he moves forward.