"Pain..."

[Music Recommendation for this chapter: Over And Over - Uncontrollably Fond Ost instrumental.]

 ~•~

The next morning, Ave was the first to wake.

Instead of letting Lucian bathe her like he usually did since the day he found out about her pregnancy, she bathed him instead. He refused at first, as she expected, but the moment she kissed him—slow and deep—his argument crumbled. He forgot all about insisting that he should be the one serving her. In the end, they bathed each other.

She helped him dress as well, taking her time with every detail. Buttoning his shirt carefully, smoothing the fabric down, running a comb through his thick hair in front of the mirror. But instead of just combing, she let her fingers slip through the strands, savoring the feeling, letting them fall through her fingers like silk.