Page 104 of Vengeful King

“I—I was under a lot of stress,” I admit. I’m still partially shocked by his answer.

Not cancer,I think to myself. I want to hear it again just to be sure I’m not going crazy. I grip Lachlan’s hand tighter, hoping there’s no bad news waiting.

But the doctor just smiles and says, “Your blood work did reveal something else, though. I think congratulations are in order. You’re pregnant.”

I can feel my heart stop. The words are foreign to me, almost like they’ve been spoken in another language. It takes a second for me to comprehend what he said, then another to really process the thought.Pregnant.

Joy rises inside me, but a small part of me is also scared of what Lachlan will say or think. Things have moved so fast for us until now.

Our time together has been a whirlwind. What will he think of this?

I know he cares about me, that he chose me over his arranged marriage. But I have no idea if he wants kids at all, much less right now. I don’t know if he wanted to start a family with me. I don’t know if hecando that, since I’m still learning about the mafia and his responsibilities in his family.

When I look at Lachlan, he’s staring down at me with wide eyes. But then he blinks, pulling me into his arms and kissing me with ferocity.

I’m so shocked that I immediately flush, embarrassed, but I don’t stop myself from leaning into it. I never can when it comes to him.

It’s more passionate than is probably appropriate for a doctor’s office, but it tells me all I need to know. He’s not angry, not dismayed, not reluctant. He wants this.

When he breaks away, he rests his forehead against mine. I can see the awe in his eyes, the joy lighting up his face.

“We’re going to have a baby,” he says.

It’s the best thing I’ve heard in my life.

* * *

My mother’s memorial service takes place a week later, and it’s bittersweet.

The good news about the baby has had time to settle. I’ve had time to settle, readjusting to a new place in Lachlan’s life and home.Ourhome, now. But even as I made my place, I was reminded of the one thing I hadn’t had a chance to do.

I have to say goodbye.

The service is small. My mother didn’t have many friends that stuck by her through her illness; it was rough on everyone that was close to her. Some people weren’t even in the state when it happened, and those that were just didn’t care enough to be there.

I’ve been on my own for a long time, so I don’t have many friends who would come. It makes my heart ache, thinking of the both of us and our empty lives.

The memorial could have been grim. It could have been hell, a reminder of all we lost and all we couldn’t have.

But now that I’m with Lachlan, his family is my family. And his family is big and tight. It seems like the entire O’Reilly mafia has turned up for the memorial, and it warms my heart. They didn’t know my mother, didn’t even know me until recently.

But they’re still here, still listening—and that means more to me than anything else.

The memorial passes slowly, and I listen to the words of the few people that came and had something to say about my mother. I listen to them and cling to every story, every kind word. I need them more than anything, more than I realized.

I hold on to Lachlan’s hand through it all. I need him to ground me. This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, and I know he understands. I need his support to make it through.

But I have to let go of him at some point, because I have to step up and face this as my mother’s daughter. As a woman confronting the pain only I will really know.

When I get up to speak, I feel the pain wash over me again, like it just happened a day ago. I realize I never had time to properly mourn her, and now I have the chance to handle it all. I have the chance to finally confront what I’ve been waiting for.

I took care of her for so long, and it ended so suddenly. Now that Yuri is nothing but a faint memory, I can focus on what I really feel, what I really felt back then. I can focus on the good things about my mother’s life, and not just the pain. Not just the slow death.

There’s so much I could tell the gathered people. There’s so much I want to say. I know nothing can really encompass what she was; not really. But I can try.

So, I tell them about her.

I tell them about how she loved gardening, how she had the best flowers in the neighborhood. I explain how my mother had an expansive knowledge of the earth and its fruits, and how she taught me those same things. I talk about wanting to garden again.

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