ᴛᴀɪɴᴛᴇᴅ ʙʏ ʜᴇʀ

ꜰᴏᴜʀᴛʏ ᴛᴡᴏ

"Baby, I'm sorry I missed your graduation. I'll make it up to you somehow," Ciel murmured softly, his breath warm against Akira's neck as he held her in bed, his chin resting on her shoulder. His hands gently caressed her belly, offering comfort. "How about a date tomorrow night? We can go out. I know you haven't been to your tree house in a while. We can go there, grab some food, and just relax."

"Hm?" He asked, waiting for her response.

"Okay," Akira replied, her voice soft. "We have a doctor's appointment to find out the gender. I haven't even started thinking of baby names. Maybe we should start." She paused, thinking for a moment. "How about Dion if it's a boy, and Maia if it's a girl?"

Ciel tightened his arms around her, pulling her closer. "Whatever you want, baby," he whispered. "You hungry?"

"A bit," she muttered. "I'm craving crab legs." As her thoughts drifted, she remembered what his mother had told her. Should I tell him? She hesitated before speaking. "Ciel..."

She felt him stiffen behind her, his hands faltering on her stomach. "I—I—your mother sent me a text about a month ago," she said softly, her voice trembling slightly. "She told me she'd give me money to stay away from you."

Ciel immediately tensed, pulling away slightly. "What?" he muttered, his voice low and dangerous.

Akira held his arm, preventing him from standing. "Wait," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "You left me, and I was angry. I was thinking of raising the baby by myself, so I replied back to her today."

Ciel pinched the bridge of his nose, anger flashing in his eyes. He had warned his mother about meddling in his life, but he never thought she would go this far—bribing Akira? His jaw clenched. "I'll be back," he spat, storming out of the room without waiting for her response.

Akira called after him, but he ignored her, his mind consumed with fury. He left the apartment, got in the car, and drove straight to his parents' house without a second thought. He didn't even bother knocking, using his spare key to let himself in.

As he walked through the door, he heard voices from the sitting room. His mother was talking with four other women, all of them laughing and chatting. Ciel marched straight in, his eyes locking onto his mother.

"Mother," he spat, his voice seething with anger.

"Oh, my sweet baby boy, how are you?" she asked, smiling as she stood to walk over to him.

Ciel let out a humorless laugh. She always put on this perfect front, especially around others, pretending everything was fine when it was the furthest thing from the truth. This time, he wouldn't let it slide. He didn't care if he embarrassed her in front of her little club.

When she reached for his arm, he slapped her hand away. She looked at him, shocked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"I told you already to leave Akira alone," he growled, his voice rising. "Why the fuck are you trying to bribe her to stay away from me? I'M FUCKING DONE WITH YOU! I TOLD YOU THAT!" His words cut through the air, each one filled with rage.

The other women in the room began to look at Ciel, but Marie held onto his hand, trying to pull him into another room. Ciel jerked his hand away. "YOU ALWAYS PRETEND TO BE THIS PERFECT WIFE, THIS PERFECT MOTHER," he spat, voice rising. "THIS FAMILY ISN'T PERFECT! CAYDEN ISN'T YOUR REAL SON, AND I'M FUCKED UP, AND YOU REFUSED TO SEE IT! THE SHIT I HAD TO GO THROUGH, AND YOU WEREN'T THERE TO PROTECT ME! YOU'D RATHER KEEP UP APPEARANCES THAN ACTUALLY PROTECT YOUR KIDS. YOU'RE SELFISH AND CONTROLLING, BUT LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING—you WON'T CONTROL ME ANYMORE! NO WONDER DAD DOESN'T EVEN WANT TO BE AROUND YOU. YOU DRAIN PEOPLE, MOTHER! ALL MY LIFE, I TRIED TO PLEASE YOU, SUPPRESSING MY OWN OPINIONS AND FEELINGS JUST TO BE YOUR GOOD LITTLE SON, BUT THAT ENDS HERE. I'M DONE. I LOVE AKIRA, AND SHE'S GOING TO HAVE MY CHILD, AND GUESS WHAT? WE'RE GETTING MARRIED. AND YOU WILL NEVER SEE ME, NOR WILL YOU EVER SEE MY CHILD."