Hades Titans {BOOK 2}

XXII. Unlikely

I splashed some water on my face as my heart raced inside my chest. There was nothing tempting me to return to the party. I wanted to stay away from everyone, just in case. My lack of interest in my powers had now impacted the people around me, which meant that I had to do something about it. I couldn't just ignore it and let it continue. My belly continued to cramp as I continued to look at my reflection in the mirror. It was the first time in a long that I liked the way I looked, but looking at myself again, I couldn't see what I had seen before. There was nothing likable about me or my face. It was all my powers.

I managed to collect myself and return to the party. Thankfully, Hayden, Penelope, and Sylver were back. My stomach was still cramping, but I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I watched Hayden as he leaned closer to Rory, his eyes darting from one side of the room to the other, looking for me. As his eyes landed for me, he didn't bother telling Rory, straight away heading for me.

"Hey," I smiled as he engulfed me in a hug. I liked wearing heels and being able to reach his face easily. His breathing was heavy, and his face was serious and concerned. "How was it?"

"It was fine. Rory said you weren't feeling well?" His worried expression looked down on me, making me feel guilty for making such a big deal in front of Rory. I wasn't sure how long I was going to get away with blaming everything on my hormones.

"I'm okay, just had a bellyache." I smiled, reassuring him. It has happened before, and it was going to continue happening according to the doctors.

"Are you sure?" His eyes always looked the same. Full of worry and concern. That expression was the new normal.

"Yes, I'm fine." I placed a soft peck on his lips, making him smile. His smile made me smile in return. He looked so sweet when he wasn't worried about me or the baby. Why couldn't we just go back to that? To being happy and living for as long as we could. Just forget the world and live. Let Teo come after me once I'm dead.

"How's the baby? Hayden said you had an appointment with the doctor, was everything okay?" Penelope and Sylver were standing beside us, as we nibbled on food and watched the other guests dance. Even on the day that was all about her, she couldn't stop herself from worrying about me. I felt guilty. Everything had been about me for the last month and it didn't look like it was going to stop.

"Yeah, we did. It's really strong and healthy and it's growing very quickly." I answered quickly, hoping to cut the conversation short, so we could go back to celebrating Penelope and Sylver. I hoped that they would hesitate to talk about the baby, to begin with, because we hadn't told everyone yet that we were pregnant.

"Oh, that's great!" She smiled brightly, looking down to my belly that I hoped most guests had written off to my dress being too tight. Soon I wasn't going to be able to hide it with its rapid growth spurts and everybody will know.

"Yeah..." Hayden's hand wrapped around my waist and landed on my belly, making me smile in return. I tried to pretend that I was happy and that there was nothing else to say, nothing else to add, that it was all good, that there was no bad news from the doctor. I placed my hand on top of Hayden's for a second, before removing his hand from me completely.

"Ahhh!" I flinched at Penelope's loud and dramatic scream before she grabbed a hold of my hand. "Is that what I think it is?" She was staring at the diamond ring on my finger, bringing the attention of the people standing around us. I glanced around as eye after eye tried to eavesdrop on what was happening.

"Oh, yeah." I smiled, having forgotten all about it.

"When? How? Why didn't you tell me?!" She exclaimed continuing to hold my hand, pulling me beside her for a hug. Announcing my engagement at my best friend's wedding. Could this get any worse? I'm the worst friend ever.

"What? What's wrong?" I heard a familiar voice ask from behind us. As I turned, curly hair and a stubble-defined jaw came into view, making me inhale a sharp breath. Oh no. Phoenix.

"Evelyn and Hayden are engaged!" Penelope exclaimed, arching my wrist towards him so he could see the ring on my finger. I felt like my heart had stopped. I dropped my glance and refused to watch his expression change, snagging my hand from Penelope's grasp. I could hear his heartbreaking. There was a silent pause of nothing, not even breathing, while Penelope buried her face into the floor in shame and guilt, and as did I before he inhaled sharply.

"Congratulation's brother!" He said cheerfully, making me tilt my head up to look at him. His smile seemed genuine. He hugged Hayden, before looking at me and coming to hug me as well. His arm wrapped loosely around my shoulders as he exhaled a painful breath.

"Congrats." He pulled away quickly, without another glance. My chest tightened as he walked away without a word. I watched his pace quicken to turn a corner and hide the pain that he was dragging behind him. I was too afraid to look at Hayden and give away Phoenix's feelings for me. Thankfully, Penelope's excitement hadn't dispersed, and she insisted that I told her everything.

"I – I can't really remember how it happened." Supposedly one of the best days of my life and I couldn't remember a thing. Looks like I'm not much of a girlfriend either.

I laughed it off, looking up at Hayden for some help.

"You can't remember?" Penelope's shock made me feel guiltier. I knew it wasn't entirely my fault, and I couldn't blame the baby, because it was not its fault either, so we're back to me and my weak body.

"She fainted when I asked her," Hayden interjected, pulling me closer again and planting a kiss on my temple. I didn't know if it was my hormones or the awkward and painful interaction with Phoenix but being beside him made me feel uneasy. My chest felt heavy and my shoulders even heavier. It was guilt. I felt guilty, hurting Phoenix over and over again, announcing my engagement on Penelope's wedding day and on top of all that forgetting how Hayden proposed. My chest began to ache.

"Before or after replying." Sylver chuckled, anticipating the answer from Hayden, and making the rest of us smile.

"Before." Hayden nodded along, making Sylver and Penelope laugh.

"That must have been horrifying."

"Yeah, a little." Hayden rubbed the nape of his neck as his cheeks blushed. I looked up at him just as he looked at me. Our eyes met only for a second, mirroring the same smile, a happy smile, before turning away.

"I'm so excited. You did such a great job for me; I will definitely repay the favour. When are you due, we should do it before you have the baby? Or do you think we should wait for the baby? Should we have it in the Underworld?" A lump jumped into my throat at the volume of questions that Penelope began shooting at me. Having the wedding after the baby isn't much of an option since I will be dead.

Hayden and Sylver had moved closer towards each other, leaving me to deal with Penelope on my own. She continued with the questions not sparing a minute for my reply. I wasn't even sure if it was worth getting married. For what? A couple of months of married life. A taste of potential sweetness that then would leave Hayden a widow? It's not worth it. It was unfair to make Penelope plan a wedding for after the baby without telling her that I wasn't going to survive its birth. It was also unfair for me to marry Hayden and leave him a widow as well as a single father.

"You're pregnant?" A loud voice had managed to penetrate through Penelope's rambling, making me turn my head in their direction.

My heart dropped at the sight of Dorian standing in front of us. I looked up at Hayden. His face had already turned bright red as he took a step closer to me. His soft hand wrapped around mine protectively, as I felt him pull me closer.