Whispers in the Dark

Chapter 4: Decision

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Chapter summary: Hinata tries to hide his pregnancy from his soon-to-be ex boyfriend.

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Hinata arrives back at his apartment after work Sunday evening wanting nothing more than to sleep. He is exhausted after spending nearly two weeks of eleven-hour days on his feet, and he is guessing his pregnancy is only exacerbating his fatigue. He struggles to keep his eyes open and stifles a yawn as he toes off his shoes in the genkan.

Checking the time, he trudges to the kitchen to prepare a proper meal before Sunada comes home. He is slow in his movements but prepares some okakodon and leaves it to simmer on the stove. He puts the rice into the rice cooker, then settles down on the sofa, propping his feet up onto the coffee table and laying his head on the back to get a few minutes of rest before his soon-to-be ex gets home from work.

The past couple of weeks have been a huge strain on him, both mentally and physically. He's been avoiding Sunada, trying to stay as far away physically as possible so that the alpha can't detect the change in his scent. And also because the thought of being near that asshole makes Hinata feel even more nauseated than he does from the morning sickness.

Since Hinata decided to leave his boyfriend, he's been fighting to hide the disgust that he now holds for the alpha. It's been difficult because Sunada is a jerk on his best days. When Hinata came home from work those first few days, he went to his bedroom right after dinner, thankful that Sunada had insisted on separate bedrooms when they moved into this luxury apartment. At the time, Hinata had been upset, his pride stung that his alpha didn't want him next to him each night. But he realized it had turned out for the best since his boyfriend often came home drunk and wreaking of alcohol, snoring like a fucking chainsaw all night.

The first two nights Hinata worked at the bakery, Sunada had accepted his claims of being exhausted and had left him to himself. The third night had been Saturday, Sunada's weekly night out at the gentlemen's club he belonged to, though Hinata didn't think that any of the alphas who frequented it were anything close to gentlemanly. The club was a popular hangout for alphas to play poker, watch omega strippers, and ingest large amounts of alcohol and drugs.

His fourth night of work, last Sunday, Hinata had retreated to his bedroom, feeling vaguely nauseated after eating dinner. He feared it was morning sickness starting to rear its ugly head, and he just wanted to hide under his covers and sleep for the next two days he had off from work.

But he knew he could not be that lucky. Later that evening, Sunada had knocked on Hinata's bedroom door.

"What is it?" Hinata had responded to the knock.

Sunada opened the door, his silhouette backlit from the light in the hallway. "I want to fuck you."

Hinata had balked, of course, realizing this day was going to come. "I'm sorry, Zenji. I really don't feel well. I think... I think I'm getting a migraine," Hinata added, in what he perceived at the time to be a stroke of genius. It was not uncommon for Hinata to have migraines that lasted at least several days. This excuse might buy him more than one night.

Sunada approached the bed and crossed his arms. His scent of sandalwood wafted to Hinata's nose and he felt like gagging. Since he decided to leave, the scent had become revolting to him. Hinata could not see Sunada's face clearly, but his stance was intimidating in and of itself. Sunada was just under six feet tall, with big beefy arms and meaty thighs. He could easily overpower Hinata if he wanted to.

"Did you get your first paycheck today?" Sunada had asked.

Hinata flinched. He had lied to his boyfriend about his job, claiming it was an unpaid apprenticeship. He needed to be able to save up all his money, and he knew if he brought home any kind of paycheck, Sunada would take it from him 'for his own good' because Hinata was 'young and foolish.' He trembled now, praying that his boyfriend hadn't somehow found out about his lie.