Chapter 14 – Sebastian
SEBASTIAN
The whispers reach me clear across the ballroom. It doesn’t take long. A few minutes at most and I begin catching on to what has happened. Then the text comes through.
Althea: Bellamy’s pregnancy is out.
Fuck.
“Excuse me, Mr. President,” I say sharply. “My wife needs me.”
His eyes grow round, but he quickly nods and utters something I don’t care enough about to listen to. In a flash, I storm my way across the room, immediately locking on Bellamy, who looks pale and sick.
Whoever did this, whoever intentionally hurt her, will pay.
“Let me take you out of here,” I say the moment I reach her, cupping her face in my hand and turning it toward me so I can see her eyes.
My arms wrap around her, and I draw her into me, holding her close, kissing her hair.
I need to shield her from this. From the prying eyes of the piranhas who seek to eat her alive.
Her gaze climbs up my chest until it locks on mine, and in her eyes, I see strength and resolve.
“We can’t leave now.” Her voice trembles slightly as she looks into my eyes, searching for understanding.
“If we walk out, it will only fuel the rumors that you married me solely because of this pregnancy. If we walk out of here, they win, and I won’t let them win. ”
I can see her fierce determination, and I know she can feel my need to protect her.
Still, I can’t help but be in awe of her.
She refuses to let anyone strike her down.
Frankly, I don’t care about what the pretentious assholes in this room say.
As far as I’m concerned, they can all go fuck themselves.
I know what Bellamy and I have.
But she’s right. She is a woman worthy of the crown of Messalina, but more than that, we cannot show these people that they hurt her.
She’s young and wears her heart on her sleeve, and as a woman and a mother, she deserves their respect.
To leave would only harm her and benefit those who seek to hurt her.
“All right,” I finally relent, my grip on her tightening ever so slightly. “We’ll stay. But know that I am right here with you, and I won’t let anyone hurt you or our children.”
“Neither will I,” she tells me in no uncertain terms, and fuck, this woman.
As we stand here, side by side, facing the sea of disapproving gazes and hushed conversations, I know that our love is a force that can withstand even the harshest of trials, and I know without a doubt that together, we will prove them all wrong.
The music swells, filling the ballroom with a hauntingly beautiful melody as if the orchestra itself is aware of the tension in the air. It brings a smile to my lips, and I take my wife’s hand in mine and bow before her, and before the room of people and their watchful eyes.
“My queen, will you dance with me?” I ask, my voice low and steady.
She curtsies for me, the move is still awkward and a bit of a mess, and it only makes my smile grow.
“I’d be honored, Your Majesty.”
I lead her onto the dance floor, unable to stop the surge of pride and admiration I have for her. Her chin is high, and her eyes are bright, and when I twirl her out and spin her back into my chest, she laughs.
My hand immediately lands on her belly, my thumb dragging over our growing children, before I tuck her against me and lean in again so I can kiss her sweet lips.
The weight of the world seems to lift from her shoulders as I move us gracefully across the floor.
The whispers and stares of the people around us fade into the background, drowned out by the sound of our hearts beating in unison.
“Tomorrow this will hit the news.”
“I know,” she says.
“And there will be speculation because that’s what they do.”
“I know,” she repeats, meeting my gaze as we sway together. “It’ll suck, but we’ll deal. This was going to happen next week anyway. I just wish it hadn’t been at the hands of a nasty woman and I wish it hadn’t been tonight. I wish it had been on our terms, but what’s done is done.”
Her head falls against my chest, and I hold her close, slowing our pace and dancing with her like no one else is watching. We continue to dance, losing ourselves in the rhythm of the music.
Eventually, dinner is served, and we reluctantly leave the sanctuary of the dance floor. But even as we take our seats at the elegantly appointed table, I never once let go of her. My fingers toy with hers, and when I can’t hold her hand, my arm is around the back of her shoulders or chair.
A show of dominance. Of possession.
Bellamy is my wife. And I protect what’s mine.
All through dinner, I engage in conversation with the Swiss president and the king of England, discussing matters of state and art and whatever bullshit they want to chat about.
I can’t stop myself from throwing Bellamy glances as she talks politely with the Swiss president’s wife, whom I know to be gracious and kind like her husband.
At one point the woman who exposed Bellamy comes walking our way, her hand touching my shoulder. “Your Majesty,” she purrs.
Bellamy turns and gives the woman a wiggly finger wave, her large engagement ring and diamond wedding band sparkling as she does. The woman scowls, her eyes narrowing before she huffs and struts off. I can’t help my laugh and lean in to kiss Bellamy’s lips.
“I forgot how deliciously tenacious you can be,” I murmur against her.
“Now you remember never to cross me.”
“Never.”
As the evening finally draws to a close, I escort her through the grand ballroom, saying goodnight to everyone who dares to look at us with derision in their eyes.
“Well, we made it through,” Bellamy sighs once we hit the limo. Althea sits silently beside Bellamy, her fingers knotted in her lap.
“Relax, Aunt. We were going to tell the world next week anyway.”
She blusters out a breath. “Sebastian, it simply breaks my heart that you’ve had to face so many trials in your young life and it breaks it all over again that Bellamy has to do the same.”
“Or maybe if we hadn’t undergone all these trials on our own, we never would have been able to come together.”
“Are you ever not looking on the bright side of things?” Althea asks Bellamy, only the question makes the three of us laugh since we already know the answer is a resounding no.
The car brings us to the hotel through a backway and the ride up in the elevator is quiet and heavy. Tonight felt like one of the longest nights of my life and though we knew some of this was coming, I hate that Bellamy had to face it on our first official dinner.
The door clicks shut behind us, and we find ourselves alone at last. I can sense the tension in her shoulders as I turn her to face me. “Are you all right?”
She shrugs. “I am what I am. Tonight sucked. But I didn’t let them win. I just hate that I care what they all think of me. It’s not so much for me as it is for you and the children.”
“You brought sunshine back into our endlessly cloudy days. And while I appreciate the reason that you care, those people are sad and lost to their own self-absorption. They live and breathe to put others down because it makes them feel less miserable. Trust me, I’ve dealt with their kind my entire life. ”
She nods, her eyes burning with a fierce and unshakable passion.
“I know all of that. I do. At least my head knows it. My heart just has to catch up.”
I lean in and kiss her because I don’t know what else to do to reassure her.
“I need you,” she whispers, her voice trembling despite her best efforts to steady it. “I need you so badly.”
“God, Bellamy,” I cup her jaw in my hand, my lips layered with hers.
“I need you too.” I pull her tighter against me until our lips meet once again in a fiery and urgent kiss, our bodies melding together as one.
I dip and slide my arms under her ass and lift her off the floor.
The sensation of our bodies pressed together as I remove one of her high-heeled shoes and then the other makes my heart beat faster.
Stepping a few paces toward the French doors that lead to the balcony, I set her down, her body sliding along the length of mine.
I had this thought earlier and it’s something I can’t resist now.
My fingers loop into the thin straps on her shoulders and I let them fall down her arms one at a time.
My mouth meets the bony structure of her collarbone, placing open-mouthed kisses along her soft, sweet skin.
She tastes like heaven. Like sin. Like lust and desire. Like mine.
The dress falls to her waist where it catches on her hips. I give it a small tug and it cascades to the floor in a silky green pool. My breath catches and I take my time, letting my eyes roam over every inch of her as if I’m memorizing a map of her body for safekeeping.
“So fucking beautiful,” I murmur as I slowly undress myself while continuing to take in every piece of her bare flesh.
My mouth dips down, licking her nipple before sucking it into my mouth.
She moans, arching into me, but she has to know.
Lowering myself to my knees, I stare reverently up at her, my hands cupping the bump growing our children.
“I don’t care what they say. You are mine.
I love you and I love them.” I lean in and press a kiss to the firm bump before I look back up at her.
“If you want me to make a statement, I will. If you want to make a statement, I will stand by your side as you do. I made you my queen, and I know that’s not an easy thing to be.
But baby, I’ll do anything to make you happy. ”
Especially when I can’t help but feel I’ve continually failed her. First with Samil, then with her father’s fall, and now this. It’s been one thing after another since I brought her into my life, and with that, doubt and dread creep in.