Whispers of the South Wind

Chapter 53

You clenched your jaw tightly as you tried your hardest to keep your breathing steady, praying to everything that the cramping and pain in your pelvis and back would finally just stop.

You'd been feeling it since last night, but it really wasn't anything new. You'd been having Braxton Hicks contractions for the last few weeks, your doctor telling you they'd likely been brought on by all the stress you'd been dealing with over the last few months. It was just one more thing to add to the ever-growing list of things your stalker had ruined for you this pregnancy. You'd even had to cancel your baby shower, too afraid to risk them making some type of move at an event that revolved around the baby.

You really couldn't think of why someone would be out to get you and Keigo, but the thought was terrifying. Whoever it was seemed particularly interested in the baby, especially after destroying your entire nursery, not once but twice. The police hadn't been able to prove it was the same person, but you weren't stupid. You'd spent hours in the nursery before you'd left for Japan, sitting in the old rocking chair and reading books to your growing stomach. You'd used that new lamp a hundred times and it had never once given the impression that something was wrong with it.

No, you didn't believe it at all. The fire department and Anthony could say whatever they wanted, but you knew the fucking truth. Some sick asshole had gone into your house and started a fire in the baby's nursery on purpose. You'd lost everything in that fucking fire. You'd lost your horse, your house, your wedding pictures, the dried flowers from Luke's casket, and his military badges and uniform.

It was like a punch to the fucking gut, your last few memories and keepsakes from Luke, gone like absolutely nothing.

You kept your eyes firmly on the road ahead of you as you tried your hardest to breathe through another one, biting your tongue to stop yourself from groaning. You waited a few seconds, the cramps ebbing slightly before finally risking a glance over at Keigo to see if he had noticed your struggles, relieved when you saw that his eyes were still focused on the road in front of you.

It wasn't that you didn't want him to know about them, but in these last few weeks of pregnancy, you could tell he'd been on edge more than normal. You were both paranoid, though with everything that had happened lately you had every right to be. But as you got closer to your due date, his behavior had become almost overbearing.

He already had everything packed for the hospital, practicing the drive there at least once a week to make sure he knew the shortest route. He followed you like a shadow, making sure he was with you for every appointment or outing from the house.

You knew he was worried, especially with the stupid-ass target that seemed to be painted on your backs, but you were so over it all. You wanted nothing more than to just feel okay again, to just be able to enjoy these last two or three weeks before the baby finally made his way into the world. You wanted to giggle at night as the baby kicked against your hands, you wanted to decorate a nursery and go baby clothes shopping without having to look over your shoulder every few seconds. For fuck's sake, you hadn't even had the drive to talk about baby names with Keigo, too lost in your own paranoia to care that your son would enter the world nameless.

You just wanted to feel safe again. Was that really so much to fucking ask for?

You had to admit, you were beyond thrilled that your new house was finally finished. They had managed to complete it ahead of schedule, though you suspected Keigo had generously padded their pockets to expedite the construction. Since the break-in, you'd been uneasy in the old house, and despite your newly found nesting instincts urging you to prepare a nursery, you just couldn't bring yourself to do it, not in that house.

Instead, you channeled as much of your energy as you could muster into a full-blown cleaning spree, scouring his house from top to bottom—even including the damn baseboards—as you prepared it for sale. You were so ready to move out of that damn place, it wasn't even funny. You felt bad, especially because you knew Keigo used to love his home, but how the hell could you stay there knowing someone had stepped foot into your son's nursery? That they'd destroyed his things like it was nothing.