Page 44 of My Master
* * *
Antonio had gonepale in the face. He remained immobile for a stretch of time, and the longer he stood there without saying anything, the more Esmeralda grew worried, his words ringing in her ears from the time she had asked him what would happen if their baby came out just like him.That won’t happen. It can’t happen…I won’t let it.She wondered if he still felt that way, if he would want nothing to do with her and her baby.
“You’re…pregnant…” he echoed blankly.
She nodded and reached for the bottom of her sweater and pulled it up, revealing the roundness of her stomach. He stared at it in wonder, curiosity and disbelief. She pulled it back down, her nervousness made her palms sweaty. Her disappointment to his reaction brought a lump to her throat.
Esmeralda didn’t know what she had expected. Was she expecting Antonio to jump for joy? To hold her?
He did neither. Instead a smile played on his face and he rushed to her, framing her face in his hands and kissed her long and leisurely, dipping his tongue in that familiar dance that she loved. She grabbed him by the back of the neck, fingering his thick curls.
He broke away for a breath and, seeing her face, chuckled low in his throat. “Not the reaction you expected?”
Weakly she shook her head.
“That explains the way you’ve been eating like a monster.”
“I wasnoteating like a monster.” She guffawed indignantly.
He pressed a hand to her stomach, softly, barely touching her, but it felt light. Esmeralda could feel his happiness radiating into her as if it were her own. “You’re pregnant, Ezzy, you’re seriously pregnant.” He bent and kissed her lips again, and she felt her insides melt to butter as she opened her mouth in his.
“This is all very touching.” Marco Santiago smiled from beside them. “But I do believe Victoria Phillipe is waiting for you, Antonio.”
He broke apart from her with a sigh and pressed his forehead against hers. “Distractions.” He pressed one last kiss to her lips. “I’ll be right back, okay? Stay right here.”
Esmeralda smiled and watched him walk away to talk to Victoria, who was waiting impatiently by the front doors. She smiled after him, enjoying the feeling that swelled in her chest. His reaction hadn’t been what she was expecting; if anything, she had expected him to be angry. She wondered what brought on this sudden change in him. But, it didn’t matter now. All that mattered was that the police were going to go get Isis and Antonio would be safe with her and then everything would be okay. It had to be…
* * *
“Sorry to inconvenience you, Santiago,”Victoria muttered as he approached her.
He shrugged his shoulders, feeling like a bird was flapping around wildly in his chest and in his mind.I am going to be a father…he thought with happiness. “Just had some good news,” he smiled widely.
She nodded in Ezzy’s direction. “Surprised you couldn’t figure it out sooner.”
He snapped his head in attention. “Wait,” he said. “Youknew?”
She clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Of course, everyone knew, except for you, obviously. You’re kind of dense.”
He ignored her rejoinder. “So what do you need?”
“According to the rules I’m not allowed to bring you along on this sort of endeavor, but I’m not one for the rules…”
And he believed it. Tall and curvaceous with model-like looks and long curly blonde hair wildly framing her face, she wore tight leather boots and pants and a thin white shirt, a golden necklace hung around her neck, she looked every bit an assassin—a rule breaker.
“So are you coming with us?”
He looked back at Esmeralda, she was sitting in that same chair, resting her head on his father’s shoulder, her eyes closed. He wondered if she was sleeping, amazed at how fast she could manage it. He was glad she was, though, because if she were awake, she would be horrified at what he was about to do.
Antonio hadn’t promised he would stay, hadn’t even agreed upon it. And he knew that now he had more than one life to protect, both Ezzy’s and his unborn child’s, but he felt the need to go and save Isis. It wasn’t just the need to be a hero, in fact, it wasn’t that at all. If anyone knew that the word “Destiny” came to his mind as he described this feeling they’d probably make fun of him.
But he had finally accepted that he had been to the Otherworld, he had met his mother, he had had visits from Damien, Ignacio and Katheryn; he knew that the Otherworld existed and that the Elders that controlled the world’s fate had something in store for him. This is what he needed to do; it’s where he needed to be.
He turned back to Victoria, a smile tugged on his face. He would help, he would get Isis out, and he would come back home safe. He knew, he felt it deep in his bones.“Claro,”he said. “I’m coming with you.”
20
The mall was packed, not surprisingly. Isis stared at the busyness going on around her. Parents were bustling their children along, teenagers huddled around in packs, the elderly walked around browsing stores. There was a giant fountain, squirting water into the air; people were eagerly throwing pennies into it, making pointless wishes that probably wouldn’t come true.
