After a thoroughly decadent night, Reyona woke up the next day feeling perfectly lethargic.
She had somehow ended up close to the edge of the bed with her face turned away from him.
She smiled drowsily as she remembered that she had slept off wrapped in his arms while they were still trying to catch their breath after the…
Well, she had lost count anyway and her brain was too lazy at the moment to start thinking of what she couldn't probably count on both hands.
She still couldn't understand when she had become so insatiable.
Was it just the hormones or the man?
If she was honest with herself, most of her anger and frustration with him beforehand had also had to do with the tenuous pull of attraction she had felt for him when she had no business feeling such things.
The man was just too hot for his own good.
Or her own good in this case.
She felt slightly sore down there, yet it was the most delicious type of soreness she could think of.
When she stretched her hand backwards and felt a bit of a pull in her arms too, she knew they had definitely overdone it this time.
She smiled at the thoughts of the many antics they had gotten up to until the early hours of that morning.
The fact that her blood was already quickening from the thought alone made her sigh, and she shook her head inwardly.
"I blame it on you, Pat," she thought, with a smile still on her closed face.
Then the smile turned to a little frown when she realised that the hand she had been patting on the bed since had not touched that familiar warmth she was used to.
It was only touching the sheet.
The sheet devoid of any warmth.
She raised herself a bit and turned her head only to see that he was not in bed.
Where had he gone?
She was a bit disappointed that he left the bed without her though.
She turned around on the bed and looked at his side of the bed.
The imprint on the side where he lay holding her was barely showing, which meant he had left for a while.
"Ugh, I would do anything for a coffee right now," she muttered with longing.
Coffee was some of what she had given up on.
Though she had not felt much of a typical pregnant woman's symptoms and the doctor had said coffee intake was fine in as much as she did in moderation, Reyona had chosen to let go of it.
But at that moment, she wished she could just have some of it around her.
Even if it was to sniff and remind herself of some of what she would be getting back to once Pat was there.
As she gingerly stood up from bed, she felt as if her stomach had dropped a bit.
But then she dispelled the thought as she remembered what her gynaecologist told her.
For a first pregnancy, belly dropping mostly occurred when it was about two to four weeks to delivery.
Since she was still far from that, Reyona supposed she must have overthought things.
Maybe it was just because her stomach was getting bigger.
The stomach that had been as flat as possible in her first trimester now seemed to be growing faster now that she was in her second trimester.
Her eyes caught on the clock, and she gaped in shock. "It is past ten already?" she wondered out loud.
Then to her right, she saw the floral dress Maxwell had picked the day before.
It was a rose-patterned, light blue chiffon gown that slid onto her body perfectly and fit like a dream.
The wispy, lightweight material was comfortable against her skin and she loved how it sighed against her skin when she did a pirouette for him in the showroom.
That was before her clothes-checking took another dimension, of course.
Reyona's face bloomed with a blush as she remembered the scandalous act they had engaged in that dressing room while the unwary attendant had stood outside probably wondering what was taking so long.
"One thing is for certain. I will never look at dressing rooms the same way again," she muttered as her brows furrowed when she saw the matching sandals beside the couch where the clothes were currently splayed.
On a mobile board beside the dress was a selection of teardrop earrings, with a matching Lariat necklace and bangles.
Reyona was already smiling as she saw the smoothie on the table by the bedside.
Besides the drink was a note that stated "Something refreshing for my queen".
Her smile bloomed as she saw the doodle infused with two hearts beneath the writing.
"What has got him in such a mood," she wondered.
Even as she automatically answered herself with the thought that the night activity definitely contributed to whatever high he was riding on that morning.
She sipped the smoothie as she went towards the clothing on the couch.
That was when she realised that he had picked out her underwear as well.
"What is going on?" She mused out loud as she reached for the note beside the dress.
Another heart-shaped drawing caught her eyes again. This time with four different hearts, unlike the two hearts she had seen in the first note.
"I can't bear to interrupt your beauty sleep. Your knight is waiting for you, milady."
Reyona's smile bloomed.
Something was definitely up.
She was tempted to peek out of the room to see whatever he might be cooking, but then she held herself back at the last minute.
He definitely wanted her to dress up for whatever he had planned.
So she had to play the part.
She drank her smoothie while imagining him slipping that dreamy dress over her.
She would have to make do for now. She thought.
If she had anything to say about it, he would be slipping it off her soon anyway.
She quickly finished her smoothie and headed to the bathroom.
Anticipation built in her as she entered, and she laughed when she saw that he had laid out her toiletries and fresh towels.
He probably didn't run the bath because he had no idea when she would wake up.
Reyona did not feel like using the tub anyway, she would rather share it with him later.
The shower would have to do for now.
She smiled more as she moved closer to the vanity top.
There she saw another note beneath the mirror.
This one had six hearts on it.
Is he saying something to her with the variation of the hearts? She wondered as she read the note.
"Have you seen the most beautiful angel today? You are seeing one in the mirror right now. I love you, Reyona."
Reyona giggled as she automatically looked into the mirror to see the big grin on her face.
She quickly took her bath in record time and dressed up as fast as she could.
She couldn't wait to see what he had planned, just as she couldn't wait to tell him what she had known for a while now.
She sat on the couch to put on the low-heeled, strappy sandals.
The brush of her dress against her stomach as she was standing up almost masked the movement and it took her a second to realise what she just felt.
Her eyes widened as she placed her hands on her stomach.
This time she felt the vibration as the baby kicked again.
"Oh my God, Pat," she exclaimed with excitement as she quickly hurried out of the room to tell anyone and everyone close enough to hear it.
Her baby kicked for the first time.
As she got to the landing, her smile dimmed a bit as she felt it.
The silence.
The absolute silence.