Epilogue
Zoya – (Six Months Later)~
No matter how many pillows I placed on the chaise lounge in the library, I still couldn’t get fully comfortable.
I was five months pregnant, and I was already beginning to show, and now getting situated anywhere was becoming quite the challenge.
Even as comfortable as our bed was, there wasn’t enough support in the world for a pregnant woman.
Now, while I was finally at peace with my life and this pregnancy, Kasimir was still struggling a bit.
When we’d found out that my first missed period really had been due to stress, he taken that personally, feeling as if he hadn’t taken care of me enough.
However, in my opinion, that hadn’t been the case at all.
Kasimir had taken great care of me while I’d been going through...
through all that I’d been experiencing, and I did my best to remind him of that whenever I could.
“Do you need help, lepestok?”
I looked over at Kasimir, trying not to grimace. “Can you have this baby for me?”
His lips twitched at that. “Thankfully, no.”
“Well, then I guess there’s nothing that you can help me with,” I retorted, making him grin.
“If it’s any consolation, you look breathtaking carrying my child,” he teased.
“It’s not,” I shot back grumpily. “And I do not look breathtaking. I look tired, sallow, and I’m starting to waddle.”
He finally walked over to the chaise, then sat down, pulling my legs over his lap. “You are not waddling,” he lied, and I shot him a look to let him know that I knew that he was lying.
“You’re lying,” I snorted, but then I let out a low moan as he began massaging my feet. “Oh, that feels good...”
We sat in silence as I laid back against the mountain of useless pillows, my eyes closed, enjoying the sweet tenderness that he was showering me with. Even though work was going to have to wait for a while now that I was pregnant, I still tried to help out around the house, so this felt incredible.
“You know, I haven’t heard you sing in a long time,” I remarked as the thought popped up.
Now, granted, since becoming pregnant so quickly, Kasimir was still very vigilant about what I was exposed to when it came to Korolev Bratva business, but I couldn’t remember the last time that I’d heard him hum or sing The Wheels on The Bus, and it had me wondering if fatherhood was bringing him some peace that hadn’t been available before.
“I still sing,” he informed me. “You’re just lucky enough not to be around to hear it.”
I opened my eyes to look at him. “It makes me sad for the little boy that you were, but I’m glad that you have a coping mechanism that works for you.”
“As I’ve explained before, it’s not a coping mechanism,” he replied, his fingers working my feet wonderfully. “It’s a mood indicator.”
“Well, whatever it is, I hope it helps when it’s supposed to,” I said, wanting him to be happy.
“I have you, lepestok,” he stated surely. “That is all that I’ll ever need as a coping mechanism in this life...and the next, truth be told.”
“I hope you still think that once this house is a mess of chaos and rambunctious kids,” I snorted, lightening the mood.
“I welcome it,” he replied seriously, his hands moving to my calf. “I have no problem with a bunch of little Korolevs driving me insane.”
“You say that now...” I sing-songed, but I was probably underestimating the man.
Honestly, as I stared at my husband, all I could think about was giving him a hoard of little Korolevs, filling this house with the exact kind of chaos that I had complained about.
With everything that I’d gone through, I didn’t want an only child, someone who would grow up alone.
I wanted lots of kids, and I wanted to be able to call for my husband whenever I needed saving from the wild brood.
I wanted a house full of disorder until it was time for our children to follow in their father’s footsteps.
I wanted a house filled with enough love to offset the darkness that we surrounded ourselves with.
“Your hand is moving awfully high, Mr. Korolev,” I warned, but that wasn’t an objection in the least.
“Why, yes...yes, it is, Mrs. Korolev,” he quipped, his right hand already on my inner thigh.
“Is the door shut?” I asked, giving him all the permission that he needed.
The End.