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Isabella woke up some time during the early hours of the morning when she felt Justin leave the bed. She blinked in confusion, not sure how she'd gotten to bed. She was stark naked and she didn't remember getting undressed, or even coming upstairs for that matter.
She could hear Lily fretting through the baby monitor and was about to get out of bed when she heard Justin's gentle voice crooning to the baby. Lily calmed down a little and Isabella smiled as she listened to him sing to the baby, his sleep-roughened voice slightly off-key.
His voice faded and she sat up, switching on the bedside lamp and adjusting the pillows behind her back when she realised that Justin was probably bringing Lily into the bedroom for her feed. He appeared moments later, looking completely rumpled and wearing nothing but white boxer shorts. He smiled when he saw her sitting up in bed.
"Your daughter's hungry," he nodded down at the fussing baby and Isabella reached up for her and he transferred the wriggling bundle gently, before rounding the bed to climb in next to Isabella. He watched raptly as Isabella fed the baby.
"I don't remember getting home," Isabella whispered after a few minutes.
"Yeah, you were wiped out. I brought Lily upstairs and then went back down for you."
"You carried me? Justin, I weigh a ton..."
"Hardly," he scoffed.
"Well, that explains why I'm totally naked."
"I felt I deserved a reward after all that hard work," he grinned wickedly and she rolled her eyes.
"Justin, I'm moving back into our bedroom tomorrow," she told him quietly. He said nothing at first and instead reached over to toy with one of Lily's closed fists. It was something she'd been thinking about since Lily's birth. He spent every night in the spare bedroom with her anyway, so insisting on separate bedrooms was a bit of a moot point. The master bedroom was a lot more comfortable and close to the nursery.
"That's good," he finally said, keeping his eyes on the suckling baby. "I'm happy to hear that, Bella."
An awkward silence descended and Isabella wasn't sure what had caused it. His response to her news had been lukewarm at best.
"You do want me to move back, right?" She asked after another long silence and was surprised by the flash of fury she saw in his eyes when he looked up at her.
"Of course I want you to move back, Isabella. I also want you to trust me, to forgive me...... to love me," he seethed, sitting up abruptly and leaving the bed to pace the room like a menacing leopard , all feral grace and power. Isabella watched him in helpless fascination.
