MR. MORENO'S SURROGATE ✔️

29 - Leilah

THREE MONTHS LATER
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It's been three months now since Elijah found out about the death wish on us. He's been taking precautions to keep me out of danger, and I can't say it's been bad. He's been more open and honest with me about what goes on in his mafia. He says I'm not supposed to be involved, but he doesn't like to follow rules. Plus we've agreed on not keeping anything from each other to make communication better between us, and it's been good.

On another note, we ended up burying Tyler. Drastic change in conversation, I know. I just can't help but feel guilty about it all. Literally the same day he was killed, I slept with the man who killed him and told him I loved him. I wasn't lying about that, nor did I sleep with him because I was horny and emotional. Things just happened at the wrong time with me and him. I'm not gonna be sorry about loving whoever it is I decide to love, nor am I gonna allow myself to feel guilty about trusting him with my body. Yes, Tyler was my best friend, and I admit that it was my fault he was killed in the first place, and I will forever live with the regret of answering his call that day, but I can't let myself be put through that kind of grief. I'd already dealt with enough from Elijah, I couldn't take that grief on top of everything else.

Aside from that, we found out that I'd be having a baby boy a month and a half ago. I'm almost seven months now and I can't even see my toes over my stomach anymore. My cravings are getting sweeter by the day and my contractions have slowly been getting worse. Not much, but there's definitely a difference.

Sitting at the island, I snack on ice cream while I scroll through my phone, my arm resting on my belly as I eat. Elijah comes downstairs, fresh from a shower as I lift my head from my phone. As soon as I meet his eyes, he gives me a quick kiss and wanders over to the refrigerator as he begins to speak to me.

"How have you been?" he asks, sitting next to me as I put my phone face down on the counter.

"Hungry. You?" I ask, turning my chair to him and listening attentively as I caress my stomach.

"The usual. Another threat was eliminated today, so we're one step closer to living happily ever after without ever having to worry about people hunting us down," he says, sighing and sitting back in his chair.

My eyebrows knit with worry.

"Are you alright?" I ask, looking over his expression.

"This is all just stressful. You're getting closer to having the baby and something new happens every day. I feel like I'm not working efficiently enough," he explains.

"I understand how stressed you might feel. But you're trying and you're getting it done," I say, grabbing his hand and looking into his eyes as I stand to my feet. I step in between his legs and I wrap his arms around me before kissing him softly, looking into his eyes when I pull away. "You are getting it done. Give yourself a little more credit and stop overthinking."

He rubs my hip as he looks at me, giving me a small smile. He grabs both sides of my head and pulls me in to kiss him gently, over and over and over again. I start to giggle as he continues kissing my lips, and he just keeps going until his phone rings. He kisses me twice before answering his phone, putting it to his ear.

"Cayson?" he says, his expression turning serious. He listens and then closes his eyes, groaning. "Tonight?" he asks, beginning to rub his forehead and nod his head. "Alright. Yeah, I need to talk to Leilah." he listens more before speaking again. "Yes, I know." then silence. "Yeah, 'night." Then he hangs up and looks at me with an unsure look.