Chapter 114: A friend
Alex’s POV
One month later…
Who knew having a pregnant mate would be more stressful on the man than it was on the woman? Now do not get me wrong, I know Aira is going through all these hormonal and body changes. She has morning sickness; her body doesn’t feel like hers, and she feels like shit most of the time.
But good lord, everything she felt, she poured it out on me tenfold. When she couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t sleep; I had to massage and caress her until she fell asleep. And just when my eyes would fall shut, she would wake up again craving the most ridiculous.
How the hell am I supposed to have shrimp delivered all the way from Japan in an hour? I had to order it from one of the restaurants down town and change the label. And that was not all; she craved outrageous things during random moments in the day.
And what made it worse was she wouldn’t even finish it. She would only take a bite out of it and say she isn’t interested anymore. Then she would demand something else.
Her cravings got worse by the day.
And today has to be by far the worst. She didn’t crave food across the continent this time. No, what she wanted was something far worse. She wanted food prepared by me.
Pasta and meatball sauce, to be precise. How the hell am I supposed to do that? I barely know how to do anything in the kitchen.
“Can we just order? I promise you that Romeo’s has the best pasta in town. I might end up preparing poison for you; please let me order,” I practically begged her, but then she growled at me.
I mean imagine that. My own mate, Aira, is growling at me. I honestly never thought I would see the day.
“The baby doesn’t want to eat food cooked by a stranger. She is sick of it. She wants food prepared by her father,” and as though the universe were against me, it was at that moment Aira’s stomach grumbled. “See? Hurry up! We are hungry.”
“Aira, please don’t do this to me,” I plead with her once again, and she proceeds to roll her eyes.
“Why do you say it like I am punishing you? Stop being so dramatic. It is not that hard; it’s just pasta. Now get cooking before your child and I die of hunger,” she exclaims, and I let out a sigh before hopping off the bed and doing as I am told.
To think that she just had a whole casserole thirty minutes ago. How the hell was the dramatic one?
As soon as I step into the kitchen, the maids turn to me with wide eyes. “Your majesty, how may we be of service to you?” they ask, and my eyelids narrow to slits.
I am tempted to tell them to prepare the damn pasta instead, but I knew better than to take Aira for a fool. She knew how their food tasted, and besides as stupid as it may sound i believe what she told me.
What if my daughter did want to taste my food…?
I need to do this on my own.
“Leave,” I ordered them all, and they looked at me like confused fools. “Are you all deaf? I said leave!”
Quickly, they scurry out of the kitchen and leave me be. I take in a deep breath and pinch the bridge of my nose.
The things this woman makes me do.
Ten minutes pass, and I finish my tutorial video on how to make pasta and meatball sauce before getting started. I am almost done when a loud, gravitating voice fills the kitchen air. “Are you done yet? We are dying over here!”
“I’m still working on it,” I grumble, doing my best to hide my agitation. The last time I even raised my voice slightly, she started bawling her eyes out. I don’t think I can handle that happening again. I just have to control myself.
Why won’t this damn pasta get done already?
“Wow, what smells so good?” came Carla’s voice as she stepped into the kitchen. She is at least three times bigger than eight months ago. Her belly protruded in a way that had her arching backwards in order to carry the weight.
I am surprised her water has not broken yet. She was meant to be due about two weeks ago.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
“Alex is cooking pasta and meatball sauce,” Aira tells her friend.
Carla claps with much excitement and says, “Oh, thank goodness. I am starving; is it done yet?” She asks me, and that is when something in me snaps. Just who did these women think they were talking to? I am a king! Not a damn chef.
I have no idea what had gotten into me when I said, “Who the fuck do you think you are asking that, maid?”
The second those words leave my lips, I instantly regret them. The look Aira shoots me could kill if it could, but I was more concerned about the tears welling in Carla’s eyes. She tears her gaze away from me and gulps loudly, trying her best to blink away her tears.
Oh no. What have I done?
“Carla, I-”
“Forgive me your majesty. I have forgotten my place; I will find something else to eat. Excuse me,” she says quietly before making her way out of the kitchen.
Aira glares at me before folding her arms above her chest. “I hope you are proud of yourself,” she spits at me, and I pout.
“I didn’t mean it; I just snapped. You know I am not nice when I am under tension,” I try to explain, but Aira holds her hand up to silence. Just look at me, getting silenced by a woman.
If someone had told me this would happen a year ago, I probably would have had them executed.
“I do not want to hear your excuses. Fix this and fix it fast.” Aira demands, turning her back on me and saying something that made me nearly lose my mind. “By the way, I have lost my appetite.”
And then she walks away.
I stand completely dumbfounded in the kitchen with the damn ladle in my hands. Once again, I take a deep breath and count to ten. As soon as I turn off the stove, I search the palace for Carla.
It takes a while, but I eventually find her seated on the balcony with her back to me. Her shoulder shook as her sobs cut through the air.
Guilt plagues my heart, and my mouth opens and shudders like a fish out of water. I always thought that Aira would be the only person to make me feel this way, but I was wrong. Over the past year, I have grown rather attached to Carla. She is the closest thing I could call to a female friend.
Apart from Aira and my mother, I hated all women. But somehow, I have grown to see Carla as my friend.
And it made me feel strange to see her in tears.
As I step closer to her, I am able to make out an object in her hands. Squinting my eyes, I recognize the object as a picture. A picture of her beloved. Aira’s uncle. A word sensation courses through my chest, and I suddenly feel incredibly uncomfortable here. I was not good at comforting people; I was usually the reason they needed comforting.
I suppose both scenarios could be applied to this situation.
“I miss you. I miss you so much. Why did you have to leave me all alone? Why did you have to leave me?” Carla sobs, clenching the picture even tighter to her chest.
‘With him’, was the part she failed to add. Why did he leave her with me?
Shutting my eyes, a thought comes to mind before I finally walk up to her and take a seat beside her. The second she notices me, she wipes her tears away so fast. She did so like I would punish her for crying.
I am not going to lie; the man I was last year would have punished her if even a drop of her tears touched my floors. But not anymore. Come to think of it, I do not think I have punished anyone within the past nine months. Good god, what is Aira doing to me? I am slowly losing my touch.
But that doesn’t matter right now.
“I am sorry, your majesty. I didn’t know that you would be here. I will leave,” she says, hurriedly getting to her feet, but I grab her by the wrist and pull her back down, much to her surprise.
“I came here to speak to you,” I inform her, and her mouth forms an O shape.
“Oh.”
An awkward silence passes between us after I massage the crease that formed between my eyebrows. I can’t believe I am about to say this, but, “I am sorry.”
Carla appears equally as shocked by my words. She blinks away her shock then says, “You do not have to apologize, your majesty. You were right; I am nobody but a maid, and I had absolutely no right to ask that of you.”
My eyes lock with Carla’s, and I mean every word that leaves my lips. “First of all, stop referring to me as ‘your majesty’. Like I said, I was wrong. You are more than just a maid; you have become family, and not because you are carrying Aira’s cousin; you have become quite close to me, and I am a fool for saying what I did earlier.”
Once again, tears well up in her eyes, and panic washes over me. What did I say now? I dont want her to cry if she starts crying and Aira finds out she is going to kill me. Good God, why are these pregnant women so damn emotional?
“Thank you, your ma-I mean, Alex,” she corrects herself, and I smile appreciatively at her.
I rise to my feet and state,”And you were wrong. You are not alone. Richard might not be here, but I am. I may not be able to fill the hole he left in your heart, but I promise to be there for both you and your kid. They will never search for a father for as long as I am alive.”
Carla places her hand above her chest and looks up at me in a way that makes me feel squeamish. Okay, things are getting a bit too emotional.
“We are lucky to have you, Alex. I know that we are both safe with you around. We all are, and that is why you are our alpha,” she says, and her words touch a particular spot in my heart.
That is why I am alpha, huh?
A smirk lifts the corner of my lips as I stretch my hand for her to take. “Come on, lets get you some pasta to eat,” I say and let out a laugh.
She takes my hand, and I help her up to her feet. The next thing I know, she is letting out a scream and grasping her stomach. She doubles over and lets out another scream.
“Carla! What’s the matter? Talk to me!” I say frantically, inspecting her to know the cause of her pain. That is when I notice the water pooling around her feet.
Oh no.
It’s time.