The emotional burden I was feeling inside threatened to explode if I don’t find an outlet to let it all out. Zoey told me to drop by the hospital before her next shift starts the following morning.
There, in the nurse’s lounge---I poured all my heart’s content. “I don’t get it, Z! Why would he deny it? I mean…I would understand if he’d admit it to me…”
“Whoa, you would?”
“Yes, that’s Lili. I can’t compete with her. She’s Lili for God’s sake!” The tears started rolling again and I doubt if they’ll ever stop. Even to my ears, I sounded so defeated. “She’s Lili…you know what she means to him…”
“This is why I told you that you should have asked Malachi to marry you first!” Z’s anger was evident. “Legally, you have no rights to him, Dani. In the wolf culture and tradition, you’re fine. But with society in general…in paper…Malachi is single. What’s keeping you together is that child.”
At the mere mention of my child, I regained composure. There was no way that I am bringing this baby into this world with a problematic set of parents. My child deserves a happy family. And I am giving it to him or her come hell or high water.
“And that witch, surely Lili knows Malachi is with you now. Your relationship is out in the open. She doesn’t live under the rock to not know. Dani, that woman is deliberately doing this.” Z added.
Crying my eyes out was a great help. Zoey is like my personal therapist. My best friend’s words reverberated in my head all day long. She was right. If Malachi won’t admit to it, then maybe, Lili will. If she had the decency, she’d never bother us with her presence again. After all, she’s the reason why our relationship is on the rocks now. It’s only right that she fix it.
I tried to act like everything was okay. Several days have passed by and Malachi kept the late hours at work. The photos kept on coming and I tracked him. I even stalked Lili on her social media and saw that she’d post photos with little thank you notes for that ‘special someone’. I suspect she meant my mate. I let it slide, hoping that he’d have the initiative to cut whatever that was going on between them.
Only to see them playing family in a restaurant inside the mall. I begged Malachi to come with me to pick up some stuff for the nursery but he said he’d be pre-occupied that afternoon and now I know why.