Her Wish, His Promise (Rewrite)

SIX

A/N: The plot in this story would not be possible without Wednesday #2, so thank you so much. If you don’t already read her lovely filth then head over to her profile @WednesdaysCoffin and check it out. Also much thanks to @SaintsandGhosts and @Mommys_lil_psycho for being my ultimate cheerleaders and giving me lots of feedback on this story.
“Ricky?” I utter.
He raises an eyebrow at me, “Yes, Mina. It’s Ricky. May I come in?”
I suddenly realize that my jeans are still unbuttoned and that I probably look like I just got fingerbanged. I run my fingers through my hair in an attempt to detangle it and look behind me, remembering that Jasper is still in my apartment. He appears behind me questioning who is at the door.
Fuck, can this day get any more god damn complicated. Jasper stops behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist and placing the other the door, stopping Ricky from so much as entering. I groan internally at his stupic machismo act.
“Uh, Jasper, this is Ricky. Ricky this is Jasper, my uh-” What do I call Jasper? The guy that I just let finger me on my couch? The guy that just professed his love for me?
He’s quick to interject with, “I’m her boyfriend. Who are you?”
I could slap him. Instead I glare up at him, he smiles back at me as though he didn’t just disregard my wishes.
“I’m a friend of hers. I just came to discuss something with her.” Ricky calmly explains.
“What about?” Jasper questions nosily.
I see Ricky’s upper lip twitch in irritation and the tension between the two of them is so thick you could cut it with a knife. “That’s my business, Jazz.” I assert.
For once he seems to get the message and retrieves his jacket from inside my apartment, throws it back on and pulls me close to him for a possessive kiss. I have to pull away to catch my breath and he gives me one more kiss before leaving.
As he slides past Ricky I can see them sizing each other up. Despite the height difference it makes me worry about the damage they could do to each other, especially if Jasper knew what Ricky wanted from me. Thankfully he disappears down the stairs and towards his car in the matter of a minute.
“Can we talk?” Ricky says, his sea blue eyes meeting mine.
I nod, waving him into my apartment.
“He’s a prick.” He says as he sits on the couch.
“He’s just very possessive.” I explain as I stand there awkwardly, not sure what to do with myself.
“Sit, Mina. I don’t bite. I’m not into that.”  He waves his hand across the spot next to him and leans back into the sofa. I take a seat beside him, being sure to keep a distance between the two of us.
“How did you find my apartment?” I question.
“Wealth opens many doors for me.” He explains nonchalantly.
I roll my eyes, what is it with Ricky and Chris and finding me wherever I go. It’s beyond unnerving.
“I’ll get to the point, Mina. I wanted to apologize for my behaviour earlier today. I shouldn’t have treated you like that, but most of my interactions with women are nothing more than that. I realize that I came off as a pompous asshole and you were right about the kind of man I am, but that doesn’t mean that you deserve to be treated that way. I apologize. I still desire you in the ways I expressed but if you don’t reciprocate then I will stay away. However I can’t help but be concerned for you and your baby.” His words flow with eloquence and it takes me a moment to process.
“Thank you, Ricky.” I reply.
My eyes water with tears at his kindness and I can only curse my hormones as I burst into tears. I’m only four months pregnant but already my emotions are on a constant roller coaster ride of instability. Still I haven't had a man genuinely apologize to me without wanting something from afterwards.
I mean, I know he wants me to submit to him, but I think he realizes that I’m not ready for that. Hell if I know.
I’ve come to realize that I don't owe everyone something, despite the fact that they may make me feel like I do. It’s weird to find comfort in his words, that someone other than Chris or Jasper can care about in a way that isn’t possessive. Why does he care so much?
I cry into my palms, letting my tears roll away, “why do you care so much?”
He rubs my back in slow circles, “I’m a dominant, it’s in my nature to care for those that are in weak spots and bring them up. Yes, I have the ability to exploit weakness and get off on it but that gets old faster than you can imagine. What Chris did goes against all I believe in and all that I stand for as a dom.”
I wipe away my tears and take a deep breath, “I’m so sorry, this pregnancy has me crying at the drop of a hat.”
“Don’t apologize, your body is doing an amazing thing.” He says.
I laugh, “that’s not what it feels like when I wake up every morning and puke all over the place.”
He smiles, it's small but brightens up his whole face. “You have a beautiful smile.” I note.
“Thank you.” the smile lingers on his face. “Do you have any plans for the evening?”
“Uh, no. My roommates left to go on a date I think, so it’s just me and romcoms for the rest of the night.” I joke.
“Would you like to come to dinner with me? I have reservations at this new place downtown.” He propositions, taking me aback.
“Really?” I exclaim. “Fuck, I’m sorry that sounded so rude.”
“I take no offense if you say no, but I’d love it if you would join me.”
…
Thirty minutes later I’m stressing inside my closet, desperately trying to find a dress that still fits me. A pile of dresses covers my bed and I sigh in frustration. I check my reflection in the mirror.
My tits have gotten a few cup sizes bigger and they look amazing in this dress, I catch a glance of my ass and see that it too is bigger. That explains why I had so much trouble pulling it up. Chris was right, I do have more curves, however if they’re sexy has yet to be determined.
The dress refuses to zip up and the sad part is that it’s my favorite dress. And poor Ricky is still waiting in the living room for me. I plop down on the bed and am ready to give up.
A knock on my bedroom door sounds and I groan, “just go without me.”
Ricky opens the door and his eyes widen at the mess, “I take it none of these fit.”
No shit.
I don’t respond, not wanting to waste my breath.
“Then it’s a good thing I had my assistant pick this up for you.” He says revealing a dress bag from behind his back.
I slowly rise from the bed and take the dress from him. I unzip the bag and find a plain black dress. I smile at him, “I’ll zip you up once you’re done.” he says.
I nod and he exits the room. I pull the dress out and take off the one that doesn’t fit. The fabric is soft against my skin and fits like a glove around my body. How the fuck does he know my size, when I don’t even know it at this point.
…
The restaurant is a quaint little italian place hidden on the second floor of a quiet plaza. They seat us in the balcony with a nice view of the city streets below. Only a few people surround us and they're too engrossed in their own world to notice us.
I’m surprised that Ricky’s tattoos and both of us dressed in all black doesn’t garner more attention. Though I guess when you pay as much as I’m sure Ricky has privacy and respect come along with it. It’s a nice change of pace.
Ever the gentleman, Ricky pulls out my chair for me and I sit down. He sits across from me and thanks the waiter for the menus, “would you like any wine this evening?”
“No thank you.” Ricky says.
The waiter lists off the specials then leaves us to decide our food. I stare blankly at the menu unsure of what to order. Ricky stares at me in amusement, smiling to himself, “I recommend the Ribollita, it's safe to eat with the baby, and it’s very popular this time of year in Italy.”
“What is it?” I ask.
“It’s a stew of vegetables that they thicken with bread. It’ll put fucking Campbells to shame.” He jokes.
I press my hand to my heart, “Awwh don’t attack my Campbell’s tomato soup. It’s fucking fabulous with grilled cheese.” I playfully defend.
“Don’t worry, Princess, I’ll make sure you never have to eat that shit again.” He replies.
“I happen to worship said shit and the baby loves it. I could live off it.”
“Not after this you won’t.” He hands the waiter our menus and orders for both of us.
“Thank you.” I say.
“For what?” His gentle eyes gaze back at me.
“For dinner,” I say, “I haven’t had someone take me out to dinner in like two years, at least not something this nice. Hell, not even Chris and his infinite wealth took me out on a date.”
It's a hard pill to swallow knowing that we never went out on a real date, despite all the time we spent together that we spent most of it fucking or buried in work. But on the other hand physical love is just as valid as other forms of love, and I still covet what we had. But should we have been doing more together? Had we built things stronger between us would we still be together?
Or is the crack in the foundation far deeper than I thought?
“That’s because he’d rather spend your time together tying you up and fucking you.” Ricky says brashly.
“Is there a problem with that?” I snap, for some reason so desperate to defend my former relationship.
“Not necessarily when you consider the context of your relationship but it makes me question things.” He says.
“Like what exactly?” I retort.
“Like the fact that he says he wants you back and that he still acts like you’re under contract but that he has a new sub.”
I choke on my drink, coughing loudly and disrupting the quiet of the restaurant. A few eyes wander towards us as I continue to cough, my face red from embarrassment. “Mina, breathe.”
I cough again, finally getting some air in, “how do you know he has a new sub?!” I whisper harshly.
“She used to be one of mine, but she still tells me everything. Like the fact that he calls her Mina while they fuck and that he has her living in his loft at the moment,” he explains.
I can’t find the words, they’re stuck in my throat. It's like a dagger being driven through my heart to know that he’s moved on, but why am I upset? I told him to find someone new, that he should move on.
I take a slow drink. “What’s her name?”
“Lily.” He says, her name rolling off his tongue like dew from a leaf.
It’s good that he’s moved on. Hopefully that will keep his attention off of me and the baby. Maybe I can make it through this pregnancy without worrying that he’s lurking around every corner and harassing me at every turn. I just need to be free.
It’s better without him in my life anyways. I can move on and finally breathe. My child won’t have an obsessive control freak in their life and can just be a kid.
But would he really be that bad of a father? I know Sarah said that he might want one someday, but is today that day? Could he handle that kind of stress and pressure without cracking like he did on me?
I fear that I’m making the wrong choice by keeping him out of our baby’s life, but I’d rather not take that risk and be wrong. It may not be fair to him but it’s not about him anymore.
“Mina?”
I look away from the window, wide eyed. “What?”
“The food is here.” He says.
I smile at the waiter and thank her before taking a look at the delicious soup before me. It smells amazing as the steam rises and enters my nose.
“He hasn’t moved on from you. Anybody that calls their submissive by their exes name hasn’t moved on. He’s seriously fucked up, Mina. When I talked to him earlier he could barely acknowledge that what he did to you was wrong, he just kept dancing around it like it never happened. He’s so paranoid that he’ll lose you to someone else and he’s terrified of having other men around you. It’s not normal.” I can hear the way he stresses everything, in turn freaking me out.
“I don’t know what to do about it, Ricky, I can barely handle being stalked all hours of the day. If he’s distracted by some other woman then who am I to deny him that? If it keeps me and my baby out of his line of fire then so be it, I know I sound selfish but-” I ramble on.
“You don’t, I can’t comprehend what you’re going through but self-preservation is a perfectly legitimate reaction.”
“Maybe that’s what he needs to process through everything.” I say.
The look he gives me tells me exactly how delusional I sound.
“He’s not working through anything, he’s latched onto even harder in a desperate attempt to control and destroy what he knows he can’t, aka you.” Ricky retorts, “You’re the second woman in his life to disobey him so severely, in his eyes you so much as being friends with Jasper is the ultimate disrespect. It’s like Sabrina all over again, except he still loves you. He has this unhealthy love/hate thing going on but he misconstrues it all as love. You have to be careful or this will all end badly.”
“I can’t think like that Ricky.”
“You have to consider it though, you don’t have the resources to outrun him and one day he will find out about his kid, that day, when it comes, will not be pretty.” His eyes are hard, staring straight through me.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” I slowly begin to eat, trying to forget the empty, haunting feeling our conversation leaves behind.
“Then what do you want to talk about?” He questions.
“I have no idea, my whole world is either work, the insanity of Chris, or the baby.” I explain.
“How far along are you?”
“About seventeen weeks if my last ultrasound was anything to go by. It was amazing getting to see the baby and everything, I know it’s tiny right now but it was still so cool. Jasper went with me and we had the doctor put the gender reveal in an envelope. I think we’re going to do a joint gender reveal with Raven since she’s only a week or two ahead of me.” The excitement fills me as my thoughts wander to whether it’s a boy or a girl.
“If I may be frank with you, what is a woman as beautiful as you doing with the likes of Jasper, you could do leagues better than him.”
I blush at his compliment, “we went to high school together and I always had a crush on him, I guess it just kind of worked out. He accepts me and this pregnancy despite the fact that it’s not his.”
“That means utterly nothing. I wish you could see how breathtaking you are tonight and realize that you are still higher than he will ever be, even pregnant. He’s no better than Chris in his actions. He’s just as possessive and can’t respect you so much as being around other men, you saw how he was this afternoon. Do you want your baby around that?”
“I guess I didn’t consider him not being in my life, he’s been there for me through all of this-”
“And yet you feel the need to defend him. If you really, truly believed that he was good for you, you wouldn’t explain yourself to me.”
Why is he so right?