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His stunned eyes reflect onto Yvette's as she takes her lower lip between her teeth. "I love you Hvitserk." Yvette mustered up the courage to speak those three words again as they have been swirling in her brain for days. She didn't understand when or why but somewhere along this journey she had fallen in love and she was praying he had too.
Hvitserk's heart raced as he lay under the furs with Yvette, listening to her confess her love for him. He let her words consume him, wondering what he had done to deserve her love. He knew he had given her nothing in return, while she had been the perfect wife. She had hated him from the start, and he had given her every reason to. He had abused his title as a prince, had other women in their shared home despite her wishes, and his words had been full of venom.
Hvitserk had never paused to ponder how such events might stir her emotions until this very moment. As he reflected on their every quarrel, he found himself bewildered by the notion that she could have ever fallen in love with him.
With a hint of despair, Hvitserk gazed at Yvette, his throat parched. "I... I love you too," he confessed, the words escaping his lips. A wave washed over him as a smile graced her face, causing his stomach to flutter. He had known his love for her for quite some time but had been reluctant to admit it. Acknowledging his feelings meant betraying his own gods; he was turning his back on them, and he felt it in the depths of his being. The weight of guilt descended upon him like a shower of stones. Surely, the gods would despise him, cast him out, and send perils his way.
Yet, as they lay there, cocooned in furs, he knew he would confront any danger his gods could conjure
"I am with child," Yvette declared, shattering the silence between them.
Hvitserk heard her words, the meaning clear, but he needed to hear her voice them once more.
"What?" he asked, his heart pounding in anticipation.
"We're having a baby," she confirmed, her gaze locked with his.
At that instant, Hvitserk felt a sudden wave of realization wash over him. Could it be that she had only professed her love for him due to the child growing within her?
