212. REWRITING RULES

212. REWRITING RULES
SELINE
Five months.
I had officially entered the stage where hiding the pregnancy had become impossible. Not that I am trying to.
The twins had decided they deserved space, and my body had graciously surrendered it to them.
I stood before the full-length mirror in our bedroom, slowly turning sideways.
Then the other way.
Then sideways again.
The wine-coloured gown draped beautifully over me, hugging my shoulders before cascading down in soft folds that gathered beneath my breasts and flowed around the unmistakable curve of my stomach. It wasn't tight. Kade would've burned the boutique down if it had been. It simply acknowledged the bump instead of trying to hide it.
My bump. Our babies. I rested both palms over it.
"They're making me fat." I don’t look like myself. In the twenty-six years of my life, my face never looked round like this. I have always been skinny.
"They're making you pregnant."
Kade answered without looking up from his cufflinks.
"There is a difference."
"There isn't."
"There absolutely is."
I looked at my reflection again.
"My face became round."
Silence.
"My waist disappeared."
Silence again.
"I can no longer wear half of my clothes."
Still silence.
"...I miss seeing my feet."
That finally earned me his attention. He spend the last two hours proving to me how beautiful I look or how beautiful he thinks I am.
It was my first time meeting his extended family, his uncles, his aunts, his relatives; every member of the outfit will be there.
I wanted to make a good impression. A part of me is still insecure about being me—the girl from Delmere.
I thought I had moved past it. But it resurfaces during the most unexpected time.
This pregnancy is making me emotional, weak, and—
I watched his reflection lift his head.
—horny.
Then he stopped moving altogether.
For a second, he simply stared. Not at my face. Not even at me. At my stomach.
His expression softened in that quiet way it always did whenever the babies somehow reminded him they existed.
He crossed the room slowly.
One step. Then another. Until he stood directly behind me. He didn't say anything.
Instead, both of his hands settled around my waist before carefully sliding forward to cradle the bump as though he were greeting them.
His chin rested lightly on my shoulder.
"I've been observing something."
I narrowed my eyes.
"What?"
"You've become very dramatic."
I elbowed him.
Or at least I tried to.
His chest barely moved.
"I am serious."
"So am I."
His lips brushed against my temple.
"You know what I noticed?"
"What?"
"You stopped looking at yourself."
I frowned.
"What?"
"You keep looking at the babies."
My eyes instinctively dropped toward my stomach.
He was right.
Every time I looked in the mirror, my eyes went there first.
Not my face.
Not my dress.
Not my hair.
Them.
Kade smiled softly.
"I don't see what you see."
His fingers slowly intertwined with mine over the curve of my belly.
"I see my wife."
Another kiss.
"I see the mother of my children."
Another.
"I see the strongest woman I've ever met."
Another.
"And..."
He finally looked up into the mirror again.
"...I don't think I've ever wanted you more."
Heat immediately rushed into my cheeks.
"Kade."
"What?"
"We're talking about babies."
"We are."
"And somehow you made it inappropriate."
"I made it honest."
I rolled my eyes.
"You are unbelievable. We just—" my voice trailed off because reminding him how we spent the last hour will give him more encouragement to do just that.
"I know."
He reached for the jewellery box resting on the dresser.
The same necklace that had nearly caused Dante to resign from life.
Carefully, he lifted it from the velvet cushion.
The single diamond caught the afternoon sunlight before he stepped behind me once more.
His fingers swept my hair over one shoulder.
The cool touch of the necklace rested against my collarbone.
Then came the clasp.
When I looked into the mirror again, the diamond sat perfectly against the deep wine fabric.
Simple. Elegant.
It didn't compete with the dress. It completed it.
Kade's hands returned to my waist.
Neither of us spoke. He simply looked. Long enough to make me self-conscious all over again.

The moment we entered Cyrus' wedding, conversations didn't stop.
They simply... shifted.
Eyes followed us quietly.
The Don had recently married. His wife had once belonged to Delmere.
She was pregnant with twins.
The heirs.
Naturally, people were curious.
I straightened my shoulders instinctively.
If they expected the frightened girl from Delmere, they were years too late.
Kade's fingers intertwined with mine as naturally as breathing.
The wedding was beautiful.
Families sat together.
Children ran between tables.
Older members of the outfit spoke loudly about things I wasn't supposed to understand.
Or so they assumed.
Layla appeared beside me almost immediately, looking breathtaking in deep emerald green.
She hugged me carefully.
"You're glowing."
"I threw up twice before coming."
"That's the glow."
I rolled my eyes.
Zaley joined us a moment later.
Unlike every other powerful man present, he hadn't left Layla's side either.
Every captain who approached Kade did the same thing.
They greeted him.
Then their eyes flickered toward me.
Some nodded respectfully. Some looked curious. Some still couldn't hide their surprise.
No one was disrespectful.
Not after Romano.
Nobody wanted to become the second example.
Eventually, an older man approached.
Years of authority were visible in the way everyone moved aside for him.
"Don."
Kade nodded.
The man acknowledged me politely before lowering his voice.
"If I may have a word."
Kade didn't move.
The man glanced at me.
Then back at Kade.
"...alone."
For a second, I thought Kade would simply ask me to wait.
That would've been normal.
"My wife stays."
The older man smiled awkwardly.
"It concerns the northern territories."
"It concerns my outfit."
"Exactly."
"And?"
The man hesitated.
"I assumed..."
Kade tilted his head slightly.
"You assumed what?"
"That sensitive matters should remain between men."
Silence settled around us.
Nearby conversations had quietly stopped.
People weren't looking directly at us.
But they were listening.
Every single one of them.
Kade's expression never changed.
"There is nothing..."
His thumb lazily brushed across the back of my hand.
"...my wife cannot know."
The older man blinked.
"I meant no disrespect."
"I know."
"Then perhaps—"
"No."
One word.
"If I know it..."
His eyes finally met the man's.
"...she knows it."
Another pause.
"If you don't want her hearing it..."
Kade shrugged lightly.
"...don't tell me either."
The courtyard had become strangely quiet.
The older man finally understood.
He nodded once.
"My apologies."
Then, without lowering his voice again, he continued discussing shipments, territories and political alliances exactly as he would've if I weren't standing there.
Nobody questioned it.
Because Kade wasn't making an exception.
He was establishing a rule.
By the time the conversation ended, I noticed something else.
The next captain walked over and started speaking immediately.
Word had travelled that quickly.
I leaned closer.
"You just rewrote one of your outfit's traditions."
Without looking at me, Kade answered quietly,
"No."
His fingers squeezed mine once.
"I corrected it."