My Peace (Beautifully Broken 5)

There is a white plastic stick lying amid the tissue.

What the….

I reach for it, pull it out, and it is a pregnancy test.

There are two pink lines.

5

Chapter Four

Mila

The kitchen is warm as I bustle about. The heat makes me a bit dizzy, but I ignore it. The only side effect I get from pregnancy is sensitivity to heat.

I shove my damp hair back from my brow, and close the oven door with my foot.

“That’s talent,” William says from the doorway, laughing.

I glance up, and Pax’s grandfather enters the room, and he seems so out of place in here in his formal suit. It doesn’t matter how casual the occasion, William Alexander always wears a suit and tie, distinguished and formal.

“Not really,” I tell him, smiling. “It’s a necessity. With Zuzu running around, I’ve got to multi-task.”

William smiles. “She reminds me of Pax when he was small,” he says. “Except for her blonde hair, of course. She gets that from her mother.”

“Yes. And my sister,” I acknowledge. “But her energy… that’s all Pax.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” William asks, and he leans against the granite. His hand is slender, almost skinny, with blue veins that stand out in the light.

“No, thank you,” I answer. “I don’t want you to get dirty.”

He chuckles. “You don’t think I’ve been inside a kitchen before.”

I pause. “Have you?”

He chuckles again.

“A long time ago.” He looks into the distance. “But it’s been years.”

He seems melancholy somehow, a slight sadness perched on his mouth. William is formal, but he’s always even-keeled, and never shows much emotion. He’s a businessman through and through, with an amazing poker-face that has closed a thousand deals. But tonight, there’s something different. Something almost sad.

“Well, you can put the rolls into a basket, if you’d like,” I offer, and he actually seems relieved. He moves quickly, using tongs to pick up the browned bits of dough.

“How’s Pax feeling?” he asks as he counts the rolls and arranges them.

“He’s in pain,” I answer. “But he’s so lucky. I don’t think he realizes that he could’ve died.”

The thought almost paralyzes me. The idea that I would have to continue life without my husband. It makes my hands clammy.

William nods. “That thought crossed my mind when you called. I spent the entire night praying for him.”

“Praying?” I lift an eyebrow. William hasn’t been religious, not since Pax’s mother was murdered. He always said he felt like a kind and

just God wouldn’t have allowed such a thing to happen. He shrugs now.

“I figured it couldn’t hurt. And look… Pax is fine. So something worked.”

“Yes, something did,” I agree. Unconsciously, I finger my necklace. Pax had it custom made for me as a wedding gift. It’s inscribed LOVE NEVER FAILS and there hasn’t been a single day that has passed that I haven’t worn it. It matches my mother’s ring on my finger.