|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Nov 18, 2016 2:33:37 GMT -5
News of their child's gender had given Diana a reprieve from her turbulent emotions surrounding their marriage and their bond, but Christian brought it back to the forefront of her mind.
She should have been accustomed to his yelling, but she was feeling - heaven help her - delicate. Their warm glow of happiness was falling away and she was depressed by the harsh return of reality.
"Consummation." she deciphered correctly with a guilty bowing of her head. "And the other?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Nov 18, 2016 2:59:39 GMT -5
He stared at her, her head bowed in shame as if she had single-handedly ruined their chances of escaping this damned Bond. Diana might have still been in the dark, but Christian was well aware that Diana's vow of obedience was the reason for their spending several hours in a linen closet the morning after their wedding. It was Christian's fault that they were stuck with only one option for Diana to escape this curse.
"It's not a f*cking option!"
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Nov 18, 2016 3:10:49 GMT -5
"Well then he'll find something else." Diana said irritated at Christian's irritation.
She didn't say it out loud, she couldn't really even verbalize how she felt, but she was having a difficult time downshifting to Christian's mood. They were having a baby boy, that's all Diana wanted to think about, she didn't want reality.
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Nov 18, 2016 3:32:36 GMT -5
Christian didn't want reality either. He wanted to be back in the sitting room with Diana on his lap and his hand on her stomach making decisions they'd change several times over before the baby actually arrived. He didn't want to deal with this nightmare right now.
But he couldn't shut it off. He needed time to decompress.
"I know we'll find something else!" he growled. They had to find some other way. He leaned over his desk, staring at the grain of the polished wood. "Get out of here, Diana. I need to think." His voice was deep and forbidding as he ordered her to leave. He couldn't think with her here.
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Nov 18, 2016 13:57:39 GMT -5
Diana's eyes welled up with tears, but she had turned away before could see them. She wanted to reach out and touch him, she was angry that he wouldn't let her in. He needed time to deal with all the changes and challenges, and that was fair, but she still felt wretched. She left him then and went up the stairs to get changed.
A few minutes later she left the house. She didn't know where she was going, only that she had to get out of there.
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Nov 18, 2016 21:41:27 GMT -5
Christian was a stupid man. Had he been a bit smarter he would have realized that Diana's presence forced his aggression to recede substantially. His fury was ever present, but his violent behavior decreased once he realized she was in the room. He couldn't risk hurting her or the baby, but he was too foolish to realize his harsh words were hurting her just as much.
Christian fumed in his office, not realizing that Diana had not only left the room, but she had left the house altogether. It was nearly an hour before he emerged from his den, having calmed to the point that he could engage in rational thought once more. He had decided on a course of action to keep Diana as safe as possible until Bennett found a more appropriate way to break their Bond. Christian knew Diana wouldn't like his plan, but he would compel her to follow it regardless.
He looked for Diana in the kitchen, knowing she was probably hungry seeing as how it was about lunch time and, really, she was always hungry lately. But the kitchen was empty, which meant she was napping. Christian went upstairs to their bedroom, but the bed was still neatly made up from that morning. He checked in the room he had deemed to be Alyx's room, but this bed was also untouched. He called for her as he checked the few remaining rooms of the house, however unlikely it would be to find her there. Diana rarely used the hidden room behind the staircase where he kept his illegal goods, and the dining room was only used for larger meetings or on the rare occasion his mother came over for dinner.
Christian wasn't worried about Diana being out alone, she could more than handle herself. But he was annoyed that she had left without telling him where she was going or when he could expect her back. This would not do. Christian left a quickly scribbled note for her on the kitchen table in case she came home before she returned, then disapparated for a shop downtown.
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Nov 18, 2016 22:56:54 GMT -5
Diana didn't know where she was going, but she was tired, and hungry. She wanted to go to Christian's, how quickly had it become home to her. Still her feet refused to take her there. There was something driving her in any direction other than back home, and when she fought that feeling she only ended up walking further away.
She had run errands at first. Things she hadn't done since moving in with Christian. She made a few calls, checked on investments and business dealings. Things that had occupied her time before she was pregnant, before she was once again involved with Christian Ward. But after a while the errands were caught up. She had nothing to do, so she walked.
She must have walked for at least an hour. She was tired enough to drop where she was standing, and her feet hurt something terrible. There was a strange panic inside of her. Why couldn't she go home? What was wrong with her?
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Nov 18, 2016 23:38:09 GMT -5
Christian thanked the clerk and left the shop, pocketing his purchase as he stepped out into the autumn air. The breeze felt cool against his skin and he decided to walk a while instead of apparating straight back to his house. This would turn out to be a fateful decision as he turned the corner and was met with an exhausted Diana.
He gave a shocked look at happening into her on a random street corner. "Where have you been?" he asked with a hint of concern in his tone.
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Nov 18, 2016 23:42:53 GMT -5
Diana had the same look of shock and confusion, but she threw her arms around him and let her body weight drop.
She was so relieved to see him that she didn't speak for a minute.
"Christian," she tilted her head back to look at him, there was panic and fear in her eyes, "I...something's wrong...I can't go home. I want to go home." she said confused.
She wrapped her arms around him tighter, maybe he could take her home.
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Nov 19, 2016 0:15:15 GMT -5
His right foot moved back to steady him as Diana flung herself at him. He had come to expect the emotional outbursts from her recently, but this seemed different. There was a panic in her voice that concerned him. "What do you mean you can't go home? Who's stopping you?"
The second the words left his mouth he had the answer. In his rage he had told her to leave, and she obeyed. She was out here wandering the streets, exhausted and probably hungry, because he had carelessly forced her out of the house. "F*ck," he said to himself as he stroked her hair in a soothing manner.
He took a deep breath before lifting her chin and looking into her eyes. "We're going home," he said matter-of-factly, hoping it would be enough to compel her. "I've got a surprise for you," he said in a much gentler voice.
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Nov 19, 2016 0:25:23 GMT -5
She was exhausted and confused, but he made things better when he wasn't busy making things worse. She leaned on him and allowed him to lead the way.
"I don't know what's wrong with me." she told him still a little panicked. She didn't know why she had left in the first place. The day had been full of ups and downs and she was too worn out to think properly.
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Nov 19, 2016 0:35:03 GMT -5
"Nothing's wrong with you, Diana. You're tired, is all. It's been a strange day." And it wasn't over yet. But Christian would try to make the rest of the day less turbulent.
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Nov 19, 2016 0:45:49 GMT -5
She sighed, "You're right." she admitted without concern. She didn't know why she had left the house, or why she hadn't been able to return, but they were returning now and it felt fine to do so. Maybe she was having some sort of pregnancy related insanity. Christian would probably agree with that statement.
"Let's go home."
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Nov 19, 2016 1:02:39 GMT -5
They arrived at the house and Christian stopped her at the foot of the stairs. "Go get comfortable, I'll bring you something to eat." He left her to make a sandwich in the kitchen then brought it and a cup of tea up to the bedroom for her.
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Nov 19, 2016 1:14:20 GMT -5
She was too tired to argue or question his tender care. She barely made it up the stairs before falling on the bed and falling asleep. She didn't even have the energy to take off her other shoe.
She woke up however as Christian entered the room and gave him a lazy smile saying the first thing that popped into her head, "You're so handsome."
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Nov 19, 2016 1:50:17 GMT -5
"Careful," he said with a grin. "If you keep talking like that I might have to put another baby in you." He set the tea on the bedside table and handed Diana her lunch. Christian walked around the bed and sat next to her, his back propped up against the headboard. His shoes fell to the floor with a thud as he kicked them off.
After a few moments of quiet as Diana ate, Christian reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. "Here," he handed the box to Diana as he explained. "We need to be able to communicate if we're separated. I've linked my ring to this, so if you need me just call."
Inside the box was a gold wedding ring with a large emerald. The band was trimmed with small diamonds.
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Nov 19, 2016 14:59:55 GMT -5
"Don't you dare." she said seriously. Diana didn't enjoy pregnancy. She enjoyed the idea of a son, and she loved her daughter. But while some women enjoyed the feeling of life growing within them, Diana was not one of them. She ached, was ill, sleepy all the time, and constantly ate. "We don't have enough food to support another pregnancy, and I'd like to get out of bed sometime in the next year." she smirked then, "Although it certainly is fun when you try."
She busied herself with the food he had prepared, enjoying the silence and the feeling of being back home with him by her side.
She opened the box and was stunned by what was inside, her mouth fell open, thankfully she had already swallowed the tea she had sipped.
"This is a wedding ring Christian." she said admiring the ring but still too stunned to move. They had teased each other about the marriage, and they hadn't talked about dissolving it as well as the life bond, now it looked as though Christian didn't want to. Surprisingly Diana didn't either.
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Nov 19, 2016 17:29:15 GMT -5
"Most married women wear them," he said tauntingly. Christian moved her empty plate to the table at the side of the bed. "Stop acting so surprised, Diana. I've told you how I feel about you, it's bloody infuriating that you won't believe me."
Christian could tell what she was thinking, because he had thought about it earlier. They teased each other by invoking their new titles of 'husband' and 'wife' but the only real conversation they'd had about the marriage was just after it had happened. They had agreed to get it annulled, just as they agreed the Life Bond needed to be removed. But Christian saw the twinkle in Diana's eyes every time he tauntingly referred to her as his wife and he already knew there wasn't a point in living without her. He had told her as much on the night he came home drunk, but he didn't remember and Diana clearly thought it had been the alcohol making him say such things.
"Put the damned thing on already, don't make me f*cking beg." Nothing about their relationship was normal. Although it was confusing and difficult to process at times, when he stopped to think about it Christian was more than just fine with how things were unfolding between them. Christian was happy with Diana. He was excited about having a son, and eager to find his daughter. They would make a strange, happy family together. It was everything outside of their relationship that was the problem.
|
|
|
|
Post by Diana Ward on Nov 19, 2016 18:11:33 GMT -5
For a proposal it suited them. She was still confused, but it was quickly becoming apparent that she was very happy. She made an indistinguishable noise before fishing the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger for a perfect fit.
Diana beamed, and she couldn't take her eyes off of the ring, "It's so pretty!" she said out of character. There were times, more frequent now, when Diana's edge softened and she was all woman even girlish in her happiness.
She sobered and the look she gave him was full of love, she touched his face, "It's perfect."
|
|
|
|
Post by Christian Ward on Nov 19, 2016 18:36:26 GMT -5
"It better bloody be," Christian said with a smile. He had spent a lot of money to get that ring, but Diana was worth it. He wasn't the traditional romantic but Christian would try his best to keep Diana happy. The glow on her face was evidence that he'd succeeded thus far.
"I've also made reservations for dinner, to celebrate our son." He kissed her tenderly before it turned hungry and he pulled her close, kissing her with more force and passion.
|
|
