Page 140 of Bound By Blood and Lies

“I do.”

“Well, okay then,” I smile. “Angela and Rebecca please step forward.”

I see some movement in the women’s area before the girls stand in the aisle staring up at the crucifix, “Felix, please declare who will be your promised from here on out.”

Felix breathes in deeply as he turns toward the congregation. He cracks his knuckles before clearing his throat.

“The promised I choose is…”

CHAPTER 39

ROMAN

Drip, drip, drip.

A groan leaves me as I turn over in the huge bed, burying my face deeper into the ridiculously soft pillows Fae insisted we needed even though there are approximately nine hundred of them and I still don’t understand the difference between “decorative” cushions and normal ones. Early morning light spills through the curtains whilst warm sheets wrap around my body. I lie there half-asleep thinking about the fact we’re officially three days away from our due date.

Three fucking days.

My son could quite literally arrive at any moment now and every time I think about it, I feel equal parts excitement and complete fucking terror.

Drip, drip, drip.

I reach lazily across the bed toward Fae’s side only to find cold empty sheets instead. A frown immediately pulls at my face as my hand searches again before my eyes crack open slightly. Strange. Fae barely sleeps anymore at this point in the pregnancy, but when she does manage it, she clings onto me like I’m a human body pillow.

A tired smile tugs at my mouth as I stare at the ceiling. Mum would’ve absolutely loved this stage. She would’ve been unbearable about it too. There’d already be three more knitted blankets in the nursery and she probably would’ve bullied me into assembling something unnecessarily complicated whilst pretending not to laugh at me struggling.

Drip, drip, drip.

The sound finally cuts through the sleep fog in my brain enough that I sit up slightly. My eyes scan the bedroom slowly before landing on the open bathroom door across the room.

“Fae?” I call out hoarsely.

A weird feeling twists in my stomach as I drag myself out of bed and walk toward the bathroom still half asleep.

Drip, drip, drip.

The second I walk through the doorway, I realise where the sound is coming from. Water spills steadily down Fae’s bare legs onto the tiled floor beneath her whilst she braces herself against the bathroom sink breathing heavily. Her eyes lift toward mine slowly and my entire brain disconnects from reality.

Holy fucking shit.

“Oh my God, you’re having the baby,” I gasp, taking steps towards her.

“I know,” she deadpans.

“No, like right now, Fae. Why didn’t you wake me?”

“Because you were sleeping…”

“Okay. Okay, fuck.” I drag both hands down my face before immediately pacing across the bathroom. “The baby is coming.”

“I kno—” she’s cut off when a pained sound leaves her as a contraction suddenly hits.

Fae doubles slightly over the sink as panic detonates inside my chest. I cross the bathroom in about five steps before immediately starting to rub large circles against her lower back. Her shoulders practically climb to her ears whilst she breathesthrough the contraction, and I genuinely don’t know where to look or what to do first. My brain is screaming at me to fix it, but I can’t fix labour.

A broken groan leaves her as another wave of pain seems to tear through her body and my stomach spins. Her fingers tighten around the edge of the sink hard enough that her knuckles turn white whilst she squeezes her eyes shut and breathes through it.

“Don’t hurt your mummy,” I bark as my heart pounds in my chest