Chapter Fifteen

April came breezing in and along with it came the gorgeous shades and hues of Spring. The lands were awash with soft colors that signaled the upcoming summer, the flowers were now beginning to bloom, making everything look lovely and making a sense of hope and new beginnings float along with the gentle breeze. The temperatures were still low, bordering on freezing coldness, to be honest, but the promise of summer lingered in the air. Even when it would still rain at any point in any given day, it was still better than the long, freezing winter months.

Cora basked in the elusive sunshine and breathed in the salty, spring air, letting it fill her lungs and boost her energy. Currently, she was strolling down the shoreline hand in hand with Robert, both of them just taking in their surroundings and the rare days that they actually had the time off.

It was a weekend, a long one at that, as Cora happened to not have any lectures on Monday and Robert had decided to take a well deserved leave so he could take her to Cornwall. It was a thoughtful thing for him to do, and she appreciated the gesture. He knew just how much the impending end of the semester was stressing her out, and she needed the break as much as he. Despite the dropping temperatures, she still liked being at the seaside, and as the wind blew against her skin and Robert's hand tightened its hold on hers, she could not think of any other place she'd rather be in.

She looked up at him, a soft smile gracing her lips, and pushed her body closer to his. His warmth encompassed her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him as any barriers would allow. She liked moments like this on, when it's just the two of them and the comfortable silence that has now settled between them

"What?" he asked, looking down at her with a soft smile, knowing that she had been staring.

"Nothing," she murmured, letting her head fall onto his shoulder. His arm tightened around her and he dropped a ghost of a kiss against her forehead. "I just love you, is all."

She could feel him smile against her hair and then he kissed her again, this time on her lips, tipping her chin up and staring deep down her blue eyes. "I love you too," he murmured, and Cora had never felt more wonderful in all her life.

And while she could attest to have a lot of great moments in her life, she could not quite compare the easy wonder of being in the arms of the man she loved, knowing he wanted nothing more than for her to be there too. She was lost in her thoughts as Robert led her a little further away, and settled on a spot, urging her to do the same and take a seat beside him. She did, and immediately went to curl up in his warm embrace.

"I don't want to go back," she said with a soft sigh. She really didn't, even when she knew that they had to go back the following day so they could acclimatize their bodies, post their mini holiday. With her mind so full all the time, the break was a welcomed distraction and she feared that she might, perhaps, get a little too comfortable and would find it hard to realign herself to her busy schedule. The thought of readjusting to that, in fact, only made her want to stay some more.

She really did not want to get into how busy she would become the next few weeks. Since, it was only a few more weeks into the semester, she had a much heavier load, a lot more projects and papers to work on and less time for everything else, including her boyfriend, and her gig at the Castle. She still went when she could, of course, but it wasn't as frequent as she used to—her band mates understood and so did Elsie and Charles, and it saddened her that she couldn't be there as much, but there was not much to do. It was hard finding time to sleep, at all, lately. Which was one of the bigger reasons Robert had decided to whisk her away too—he was worried about her taxing herself and getting sick again. She's thankful for it now, because she had not realized how much she needed it until she'd had it.

And looking at the view in front of her now, and back at the past two days they had been here, she wished they could just stay here forever.

"I wish we could stay here forever, too," he murmured, and it took her a little while to realize that he was answering her earlier remark, and that he could not, in fact, hear her thoughts—no matter how loud she might think they were.

She nodded and cuddled closer to his shoulder and sighed. "But reality calls," she said with just a tad of sullenness in her voice. She pouted and he looked down at her, smiling

"Yeah, reality calls," he echoed, holding her closer to him and looking at the horizon, watching with a longing sigh as the sun began to set.

…

Robert absolutely hated to break the spell, but they do have a reservation waiting for them and he knew that Cora would appreciate the time to get ready.

"We should get a move on," Robert suggested softly. Cora's head lolled back from where it had been resting comfortably against his shoulder. She looked at him quizzically, and he simply could not resist dropping a kiss to the tip of her nose. "We have a reservation at seven." He then lifted his arm and checked the time, "And it's already half past five."

Cora nodded and let him help her stand up, reaching back to dust the sand off the seat of her pants. They walked back to the hotel they were staying at and he let her monopolize the bathroom first before claiming it himself, taking a shower while she did her hair and makeup in front of the sink with a large mirror on top of it. She called it his and her sink, and though he would never understand why and for what, he'd happily agreed.

Robert stepped out of the shower, the creaking sound of the knob turning off loud and clear against the acoustics of the spacious bathroom, and toweled himself off before he walked out, sending a wink over at his girlfriend when their eyes met through the mirror. She smiled at him and he flashed her a grin just before he went to their luggage. They'd brought only one luggage to this trip, and it had seemed domestic, had seemed like something long time couples did, which apparently so did they—and instead of making him feel claustrophobic, like any form of commitment made him feel, he'd felt light and happy, felt like he was finally in a point in his life where settling was starting to grow on him. He'd rummaged through their bag with that stupid smile still plastered on his lips, fishing out one of the more formal dress shirts she'd folded and packed away neatly for him upon his request. He pulled on his and donned the shirt, before finding his way to the edge of the bed to put on his shoes, and then running a comb over his blonde hair. He finished off with a spritz of his favorite cologne, and fastening his watch on his wrist.

Cora still had not finished by the time he'd finished getting ready, which was typical of course, and so he'd parked himself on the couch and got comfortable, passing the minutes by reading some of the emails he'd neglected since they'd taken a mini vacation. He had no plan of answering them, of course, not wanting to get too immersed in his work and ruin the weekend getaway he'd worked hard to make happen for his girlfriend, but he'd wanted to sort through it and make sure that nothing needed his immediate attention.

"Cora, my love, we'll be late," he'd reminded her gently, even as his eyes were still glued to the screen of his smart phone. He'd been reading through some articles now, but she'd still not finished.

"Almost done," she yelled from behind the closed door of the ensuite bathroom. It took only a few more minutes before she emerged, looking like a goddess that she took a breath his away when he finally looked up at her.

His heart skipped a beat, and it was in that moment that Robert was so sure of what he felt for her. It was not like he hadn't been sure, he'd been sure long before he'd even told her, he'd been sure that what he felt for her was love, but it was now that it hit him how much he really did. The intensity of his feelings for her made him feel different, shocked him to some extent, but then it was no surprise, after all she was the one who made his life so much better.

He stared at her, jaw dropping a bit to the floor. She was wearing a blue dress with long sleeves that fit her arms like gloves. The front had v-lining down to her belly button but it was covered with some sort of see through fabric that he's sure had a name, but something that he really didn't care about. All he could see were the gentle swelling of her breast, made even more enticing by the simple necklace nestled between them. The skirt fell just a few inches above her knees and it's swishy and floaty, her legs were encased in a pair of black tights, and she wore a pair of black heeled shoes that added a few inches to her already tall physique and made her legs look like they're stretched out for days. She looked too beautiful for words, and he just couldn't find it in him to do anything but to stare at her in awe.

Robert could feel his heart literally hurt in his chest.

"Cat got your tongue, babe?" she asked, smirking from where she stood, body leaning back against the door frame of the bathroom.

Robert chuckled and went to where she was standing, pulling her in his arms and kissing her softly but with so much passion. When they pulled away, he kept holding her close wordlessly and just basked in the feel of her in his arms.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," she replied, and then pulled away just enough to look at him. "And I love being held by you, but if you don't let me go we might never get to our reservation."

Robert scoffed and shook his head. "At this point, seeing you in that, I don't really care anymore. Let's just stay here," he said, half serious.

She laughed and shook her head, swatting his chest lightly. "Let's go, Robert," she told him, pulling away from him and grabbing her purse before letting him usher her out the door.

…

The date had gone well.

Really well, in fact.

Robert had brought her to a restaurant over viewing the ocean, and she could almost sigh in relief when Robert had the foresight of not letting them sit outside and instead, they were seated inside, with plenty of privacy. As much as she would have loved the ocean view, she doubted that she could have sat there in the freezing cold. The idea of shaking in her boots while eating was not something she was looking forward to—and she wondered how the people who were sat at the patio could have braved it.

The food was also amazing, and so was her date, and their dinner had gone over great with a few stolen looks and side glances, a bit of hand holding and shy smiles. When dinner was over, they walked back to the hotel, taking the same familiar route they had been accustomed to the past few days. It was freezing—bitter cold wind seeped through her skin and blew against her hair but none of that mattered to her as Robert wrapped an arm around her and held her close as they walked.

The silence between them was comforting and she liked that they could share it and it was not awkward at all. She also liked how warm she felt with his arms around her, how beautiful the world seemed to be and how much brighter the stars sparkled when he was around.

She knew it was because she was in love—because she was in love with him, and that gave her life a new meaning, new and more vibrant colors as they filled each other's days with joy.

Back when Cora had been more cynical, when love seemed nothing but a heartbreak after another and did not seem to work out at all in her favor, she'd believed that forever did not really last at all, and maybe that it didn't even exist. She'd told herself not to expect because fairytales were just that—just tales of beings that did not exist. And she'd believed it until she met and fell in love with Robert. And despite herself, she'd fallen for him, had been too ready to fall far and fall deep, and she'd been way too gone before she'd even realized what had become.

And now as she gazed up at him, lips stretched into a smile, heart filled to the brim, she wished forever would be longer, because even forever and day did not really seem enough.

…

Robert had always found Cora a passionate being. She loved with her whole heart, protected those she loves with her whole being and she felt with her whole soul. When she made love to him, with him, it was something sort of an extraordinary experience for him because the love she had and felt seemed to just pour out of her in waves.

That night, as he opened the door to their hotel room, and she all but dragged him inside, pushing him on the bed and almost ripping his clothes off of his body, she took her own dress off, letting it pool down her feet before climbing onto his lap and kissing the daylights out of him. Her mouth was hungry and her tongue showed off its skills as their lips connected and hers opened, beckoning his tongue inside.

No curves or crevice left unexplored, no part of her was left untouched. Robert had made love with a few other women before, and though he generally did not compare because he realized that every woman was different (and really, maybe thinking of that while he made love with his girlfriend was not the best decision or thing to do)—he knew without a doubt that making love with Cora could not be comparable to anything or anyone. There was nothing and no one in this world that could give him pleasure than Cora.

"Love," he whispered when she pulled away from him long enough to gasp for breath.

She shook her head and dove in to kiss him again. "No talking, more kissing," she murmured against his lips as pushed against him so he would fall on the bed. When he fell on his back, she twined their fingers and held his hands over his head, giving him little room for movements.

"My turn," she said, as she slithered down his body. He thought she was going to give him head, and that sounded crude, but was actually true—and was he was surprised when she left the bed and walked out of the room entirely.

"Cora?" he called out, receiving no response. He was about to get out of bed when she reemerged suddenly. She was holding one of his ties in his hand, and he had to smirk at her, because well, clearly, he knew where this was going.

She smirked back at him, before biting down on her lip as she climbed back into bed and crawled on top of his body, straddling his waist and lifting his arms again, whispering, "Naughty boy," into his ear, making shivers run down his spine. He felt the fabric of his tie pulling against his skin as she tied it around his wrist. He looked up, as much as he could, and watched as she tied the remaining fabric around the pole, securing it and making sure he was left unable to move his arms about.

"Cora?" he whispered, though it was no longer a question, but more of fascination, because while he knew that his girlfriend had quite a kinky streak, it still surprised him at times that she would be so kinky like this.

"Hush," she murmured as she placed kisses down his skin, leaving no part untouched, until her mouth reached the patch of hair just under his belly button, leading to the where the v of his hips dipped. She looked at him with a wicked glint in her eyes and her tongue peeked out just a little bit, just for a little taste, and he sighed audibly when she felt her flatten it against his warm skin, warming it even further as she trailed down to his member.

He was hard, almost painfully so, and she delighted in this as she licked against the head of his cock, placing soft little kisses against it.

"Oh yeah," he murmured, leaning further and trying to relax as much as he could with his hands tied above his head. It seemed to be the only thing she needed to go further as she took him in her mouth, sucking softly, then quickly and roughly, letting him slide in and out of her mouth until he felt like he might explode if she took him in just a little further, sucked a little harder. "Oh Cora, love, I want to taste you."

Her head shot up and she let go of him with a pop, looking at him with raised eyebrow. "What was that?" she asked with an eyebrow raised and lips curved in a smirk.

He stared at her for a split second, wondering what she was playing at, before he nodded once. "Let me taste you, love, please," he said, trying to appease her, making her smile just as she crawled on top of his body, settling right above his face, her long, beautiful legs encasing his head between them. She lowered herself until she was inches above his mouth, and then he was all over her.

"Ugh," she grunted, hands falling to the headboard and holding on tight as she rocked her cunt against his teeth and tongue. He really wanted to touch her, wanted to slide his fingers deep inside her, but knew that she wouldn't allow it, wouldn't let him free, not just yet, so he made do of the other devices that he had and made sure that she's grunting and writhing on top of him using only his mouth. "Yeah, fuck Robert, just like that," she moaned when he stuck his tongue inside of her, fucking her with it, thrusting in and out just like he would with another, more nether part of him.

It didn't take long before she was gasping, her fists clenching against the wooden board, her legs tightening around his head as she rode the waves of her impending climax. She was near, he could tell, she was almost there, and a few more good long licks, a few good hard sucks and then she was cumming and cumming, right on his tongue, her eyes falling close, her head falling back and her back going rigid as she exploded.

Pulling his mouth away from her delectable lips, he kissed her thighs and whispered, "Ride me," to which she obliged, moving back until she was aligned with him and then sunk lower, sliding him inside her inch by inch. They both groaned once he was fully inside and then she looked at him briefly, before she started riding him, softly at first, gently, adjusting to his size, before she went faster, and faster, harder and rougher until they were both coming together, each other's name falling from the other's lips.

….

The magic of their weekend dissipated when they stepped foot in London. The hustle bustle and the loud noise that accompanied it was a rather quick wakeup call that responsibilities would still be there even if they tried not to remember responsibilities existed for one weekend.

But it was just a few more months before they could breathe again, was what Cora thought. It was almost summer break, and Rosamund would be back from a sabbatical trip with Duke and help out with the company again, and then neither of them would have to be so stressed out as much.

As it was, the stress was getting to her. She'd been sickly, although not as much as she had last been, no bed rest and no mucus either stuffing her nose up or running down from it. She wasn't feeling her best, though, that was for sure, and though she tried to hide it from Robert just to not worry him and stress him out more, she knew that he knew that she'd been sickly.

Most of the time, her lunch wouldn't really stay inside her stomach.

"Maybe you're pregnant?" Phyllis told her while holding her hair back and trying not to puke herself from Cora's retching.

Cora pulled back with wide eyes and tried not to vomit even more to that stupid idea. Of course, she wouldn't be pregnant. She was on the pill for fuck's sake, and though she could not be 100 percent certain they were all the time, she could at least say that she and Robert had been careful most of the time.

"I am not pregnant," she said indignantly, standing up and flushing what remained of her lunch. She turned away and opened the door to the cubicle she had spent the last ten minutes throwing her lunch up. She might as well just forgo lunch all together if this was what was going to happen all the time.

"I'm just saying it's a possibility," Phyllis said with a shrug. Bless her soul for being there for Cora despite the disgust she must feel. "It's not like you two are abstaining or whatever."

She was right about that, definitely.

But the thing was Cora and Robert were not not abstaining safely.

"First of all, my sex life—we're not discussing, end of story, and second, we are practicing safety in that activity, meaning I am on the pill—and third we revert back to point number one, and that is, we're done with this conversation," she said with a tiny bit of sass.

Phyllis shrugged again as she watched Cora wash her mouth with the Listerine that Cora had taken into hiding inside her bag for times like this one. "Okay," she said. "I'm just giving you ideas. If you don't think you are, then maybe you really aren't."

To Cora's utter relief, that conversation ended there.

..

When she got home that night, Robert was already home and had dinner ready for them. She smiled and melted into his arms when he wrapped them around her body. She had the most overwhelming urge to just cry, as the relief and comfort of him being there and the exhaustion leaving her body just took over her.

It was days like this that she just could not thank her lucky stars enough that she'd met Robert. It was just the best thing that ever happened to her—to have been at that right place at the right time, and whatever force that brought them together—she thanked them with her whole being.

"What's wrong?" Robert asked, when they pulled back and he must have seen her watery eyes, because he was frowning.

"Nothing," she murmured, going in to embrace him once again. She placed a soft kiss against his lips and then on his neck, sighing softly, because this—this was what home was.

…

Robert was beyond exhausted. Having Rosamund away was always difficult. There were tasks that fell on him because she was gone. Granted, she was not much involved in the business, but her involvement was pivotal, and so it was safe to say that Robert just could not wait for her to come back from her stupid Sabbatical trip with Duke (which he had no doubt in his mind was just her code for a second honeymoon).

But no matter how tired he might be feeling, he knew it would pale in comparison to how exhausted Cora must be feeling. She'd been sickly the past few days, he'd been hearing her throw up in the middle of the night, and though he wanted to get up and comfort her, he knew she would rather be alone. She obviously didn't want him to know how bad she had been feeling, not wanting to worry him, probably, and not knowing he worried anyway.

He thought when he got home, earlier than she did which was most of the time nowadays, he would do something nice for her. So he did, ordering her favorite salmon and chicken dish from her favorite restaurant and a brisket for him and getting it all ready for when she got home. He had the wine chilling already, and he even lit a few candles to be the centerpiece for their table.

The door opened just as he placed the last knife on the table, and in she walked, looking gorgeous even when the fatigue she was feeling was clear as day on her face. He opened his arms and she walked right into them, holding on to him so tight, before pulling back. Her eyes were watery, and he knew that it was exhaustion and stress catching up to her, but there was something else in there, something wrong, and he just had to ask.

"Nothing," she answered him, and though unconvinced, he let her hug him once more, responding to her soft kiss, before leading her to the table and pulling her chair for her.

It wasn't even five seconds after he'd had her settled when she shot up from her chair and made a dead run to the powder room. He heard the sound of her throwing up and then the flush, before she was retching again. Following her to the bathroom, he found her kneeling in front of the toilet, puking her guts out. He knelt next to her and tried to keep her hair out of her face and rubbed her back wordlessly. She pulled back and tried to push him away, but he was having none of it. He knelt next to her and held her as she puked again.

Once she was finished, he helped her up and watched as she rinsed her mouth.

"The smell…" she told him, confusing him just a bit. "I smelt fish, I can't stand it," she said, looking down and avoiding his eyes as she did.

At this, he was confused. She was a pesco pollo vegetarian. She avoided red meat but ate white meat, vegetable and fruits only, and Salmon was her favorite. She had once declared that she would eat that particular chicken and salmon dish forever if she could.

"But that's your favorite," he said a bit dumbly.

She shook her head and led him out of the powder room. "I don't know. Today, it's not," she said.

Although he was very much confused by this, he said nothing and walked towards the table, taking her plate and taking the fish from it, leaving only the chicken and broccoli rice before heading out and placing it right in front of her on the table.

"Better?" he asked.

She gave him a wobbly smile as she topped her glass with wine, and then took a seat in front of her. She took his hand in hers and looked him straight in the eye.

"The best," he said.

And just like that, everything was so much better. His exhaustion was gone, his worry fading some and his smile back on his lips.

He wanted something just like this, everyday for the rest of his life.

…

She wanted something like this for the rest of her life.

With Robert sitting in front of her, his smile light, she felt like she was floating. She really should listen to whatever it is that he was saying but she found it frightfully difficult to concentrate when he looked so gorgeous bathed in the candle light.

For now, she didn't know what was wrong with her (though Phyllis's words rung in her ear), but she did know what was right with her…and that was Robert.

"You aren't touching your wine," Robert said, as he lifted his glass and took a long sip. "It's really good."

Yes, she'd told Phyllis that they were careful, that she could not possibly be pregnant, but what if she was? Wouldn't the alcohol be bad for the baby?

But she was not pregnant…

But what if she was…

"Cora?" he repeated, looking at her oddly when she looked up.

She cleared her throat and shook her head. "I'm just not sure if I should," she said, sighing. "With my stomach being upset…I don't know if it could handle the alcohol." It was not a lie, not by any means. It was a half truth, which was always better than a straight up lie.

"True," he said. "Let me get you some water." He was up before she could protest and Cora sighed, leaning back on her chair and fetching her phone. She types a quick text to Phyllis and places it face down the table next to her. She sat back straight as Robert approached the table, handing her the glass of water. "Thank you," she said with a smile.

Dinner was over quickly after that, and though she was exhausted, she insisted to be the one to clean up and told Robert to go have a quick shower. Robert hesitated but agreed in the end when he realized that he was not going to win.

Anxiously, Cora waited for Phyllis, who came to her house a few minutes after Robert started his shower. Cora expected her to gloat, but Phyllis only smiled and told her to call later. It was never really Phyllis's style, after all.

Once she'd left, Cora stashed the parcel inside her closet, away from prying eyes, and chewed on her lip nervously. She should study, she really, really should but she was not sure she could concentrate.

She tried to rack her brains of all the signs she'd ignored—the lateness of her period, her vomiting everything she put in her mouth (the last bit of her dinner being flushed down the toilet a testament to that), the fatigue—all of which she'd put down to stress.

But what if it was not just stress?

Everything seemed to be pointing to this, but she had been ignoring it, all because she'd trusted that she was in control.

Her mind worked overtime, even as she laid down in bed next to Robert after her own shower. She was tired but all her nerve endings were alive with worry and her mouth was dry with anxiety.

She tried to hold on and pretend to sleep until she heard the sound of Robert's loud snores and the deadweight of his arms on her waist.

The house was silent and dark, but she could hear the loud beating of her heart in her head, the blood was rushing to her head and she was so sure she would have a panic attack right then and there if she didn't stop working herself this way. And that could not be, she could not possibly wake her boyfriend up, because she was not ready.

They were not ready.

Oh god.

Her hands were trembling and her heart was pounding as she took the package from the bag, and did what was instructed.

The next three minutes were the longest in her life and she was almost giving in to the anxiety when they distant and soft ringing of her phone shook her out of it.

It was now or never.

Maybe now could wait, and never could extend a little bit more…she thought.

But no.

She had to do it.

With trembling hands, they were still trembling and she was not sure if they would ever stop, she picked up the little white stick.

She knew her life would change forever after this, but she needed to know, she should know.

When she saw the result, she felt…well she didn't know how to feel. How? She picked up the other one (she'd had Phyllis buy 2, just to be sure), and still the same.

She wanted to faint, her throat felt thick and it felt like her lungs would collapse at any given moment.

It could not be. But it was. Two lines, positive: She was pregnant.