SEVENTY-THREE

ARIA

Two days later, the doctor discharged me and confirmed my child is perfectly okay. An ultrasound also revealed that we are expecting a boy and Slade gave me an I-told-you-so look. Things were still strained between us but in all the days I was at the hospital, not once did he leave my bedside except when he wanted a shower, and in each case, he made sure someone was there with me and returned with utmost speed.

Our ride back to the penthouse was mostly quiet. My eyes were trained on the road while Slade was constantly glancing at me with a worried expression that I pretended not to notice. He didn’t try to make any form of conversation though and I was grateful for it.

He helped me out of the vehicle when we finally stopped in front of the penthouse, but I pulled my hands away from his as soon as I could and didn’t say a word. I took a shower first, slipped into my night clothes, and headed straight to bed.

It was a few minutes later that he joined me in bed. He’d gone to do