Page 169 of Dirty Discipline, Vol. 1

“Okay… that was sweet of her.”

“Yes, it was. She said it was supposed to be helpful considering your ‘condition’, and that you had told her not to set up meals to help, so she had to sneak it in. What condition is she talking about, and how come this is the first I’m hearing of it?”

Tori’s face went white, well whiter than it already had been.

“Umm, well, funny you should ask. I was going to chat with you about that… soon.”

He drummed his fingers on his thigh. “I’m waiting…”

“Well, I guess I’m a little anemic, and they want me to take some iron supplements and maybe… do a little less?”

He stared at her, his heart clenching that she was still not being forthcoming. “A little anemic, huh? And, do a little less? Is that what they’re calling it?”

She nodded her head weakly.

“Victoria…”

“Ok, they want me to rest a lot. But I have four boys under six, it’s not like I can just put my feet up and eat bon bons.”

“And they want you to rest because?”

She stared at the blanket on their bed and shrugged.

“Victoria!”

“Geez, David! If you already know then why are you hassling me? Yes! I am pregnant again. Apparently, something went wrong with my diaphragm.”

“How pregnant?”

She bit her lip and squirmed, mumbling something.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t catch that, how pregnant, Victoria?”

“Eighteen weeks. We think. I never got my period after Issac, but Trish said I’m measuring about 18 weeks.”

“Eigh-” He knelt on the floor in front of her and lifted her shirt revealing a not insubstantial baby bump. She never gained a lot of weight in her pregnancies, but by this point, it was always obvious she was expecting. He realized the baggy shirt had probably been to hide the bump from him. He grabbed her chin. “Tori, how long have you known?”

“About three months.”

“Thr… three months? You’ve known you’re carrying another precious child, and you kept it from me for three months?”

She looked at him with tear-brimmed eyes. “I didn’t want to worry you.”

His gaze hardened, and he released his hold on her chin. He glanced around the room, considering for a moment. They had had this conversation many times over the course of their marriage, but he had never made it a disciplinable offense. But, then again, she had never kept something so huge from him. And lying was definitely taboo. He couldn’t think of a time she’d lied to him, but how would he know? Apparently, she was incredibly adept at only sharing things she felt he needed to hear.

“How long were you planning to keep this from me, Victoria Anne?”

She sniffled. “Just until you got back from the special assignment.”

“So, you were going to keep it from me for the whole next month, and then tell me when your pregnancy was more than half over?”

She nodded. “I didn’t want to-”

“Worry me. I know, I got that. And, the bedrest. How were you going to hide that?”

She blushed and looked away.

“You haven’t been resting, have you?”

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