Page 67 of It Must Be Fate

He hums, running his fingers through my hair and caressing my head softly. “We’ll see.”

“You’re impossible,” I answer with a smile I try to hide from him.

“What’s impossible is the urge I have to buy you the most outrageously expensive thing I can find. Do you want a new house? A plane? An island?”

“For now, some Pedialyte and crackers will do.”

“I can have those delivered in the next fifteen minutes,” he says, pulling his phone out of his pocket and typing away with one hand while the other still holds me. When he’s done, he turns his face back towards mine and whispers in my ear, “But if you don’t pick from one of the options I gave you, I’ll just have to buy you all three.”

Another violent wave of nausea hits me and I sit up, dry heaving into the bowl. Tristan rubs my back comfortingly the entire time. When I’m done, I lie back down against his chest. He brings the towel up to my forehead once more.

“A house,” I say, my eyes closing once more as I snuggle into him. “A new home for our family, please. And make sure it’s big enough to house all these babies you keep putting inside me.”

“Ten bedrooms, then? You got it.”

“Absolutelynot.”

We stay seated on our bathroom floor for a while. The last thing I hear before I fall asleep is the sound of his laughter floating up to my ears. It brings a smile to my face as I drift off.

***

Eight years after graduation

Chapter Seventeen

Rogue

The doctor walks into the room with a bright smile on her face. I’m talking before she can even say hello.

“Doc, tell us the good news.”

“Rogue,” Bellamy reprimands, putting a calming hand on my arm. “Let her at least sit down before you start pestering her.”

Doctor Miller starts laughing. “You only need to be patient a few minutes longer, Rogue. I can’t tell you the gender of your baby from the doorway.”

“Fine,” I grumble.

“Hi, Rhodes,” she says, waving her fingers at my son.

He’s sitting on my knee, playing with some cotton pads I stole from one of her cabinets and ripping them apart for fun.

“Hi,” he answers shyly, burying his face in the handful of cotton in his hands.

We’re sitting in the new wing of the hospital that we donated after the doctors saved Sixtine’s life. To say they’ve since rolled out the red carpet for us would be the understatement of the century. For the birth of our second son, Riot — who we left at home with Rhys and Thayer — Bellamy was given a room they had built and reserved specifically for heads of states and royal families.

We’re now expecting our third child and I’ve been anxiously waiting to find out the baby’s gender. Bellamy wanted it to be a surprise given I’ve been very vocal about my wish that we have a girl this time. She was afraid I’d be disappointed if it turned out to be a boy.

Now six months into her pregnancy, I’ve finally worn her down and she’s agreed to find out the gender together.

“Tell me it’s a girl, Doc,” I beg, bouncing Rhodes on my knee when he starts to fuss.

“Rogue. Remember we said we wouldn’t be disappointed if it was another boy.”

“I never said such a thing,” I protest.

“Rogue,” she repeats through clenched teeth.

“This is a non-issue anyway because it’s going to be a girl. Right, doc?”

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