Page 50 of Blissful Devotion

“Spit it out!” I’m off the bed and in front of her in a second, but she doesn’t need to answer, because with a clear head, I hear them.

The proximity alarms.

The house is boring despite how big it is, or maybe it’s because of how big it is. The garden is beautiful, but after two days, I’ve had enough time outside. The library was stocked, but none of the books were anything worth reading; it was as if he had bought it all for show.

I tried to watch some TV, but almost everything was in Spanish, and I didn’t do well sitting still.

The chef still made me food—fancy breakfasts, lunch, and dinner—but on the second day of Enzo being gone, I asked Sofia to request simple meals. An omelet, waffles, grilled cheese, and cookies.

I tried to convince her to let me bake my own, but she insisted Enzo wouldn't like it, and as much as I itched to do something, I didn’t want to upset him.

By the third day, I decided it was best to lie in bed. It’s not as if I was going to do anything anyway, plus I had a terrible headache.

Sofia, being the angel she is, brought me breakfast. I’d never liked having hired help; it made me feel strange having someone with me all the time, paid to do whatever I needed, but right now I found myself so grateful for Sofia.

She was the closest thing I had to a friend.

“Have you seen my other bottle of pills?”

She looks to the nightstand where my prenatal pills are with a frown pulling at her lips, and I know her answer before she says it.

“No, Miss Kat.” She shakes her head, then sets the tray of food on my lap.

I told her yesterday that calling me Miss wasn’t necessary and begged her to simply call me Kat.

I guess she kind of listened.

I eat slowly, worried that without my pills I might be revisiting this meal shortly. Even so, it’s delicious, and I can’t stop myself from nearly licking the syrup off the plate.

I don’t, but man, do I want to.

I nibble on the fruit in the bowl before the urge to pee hits me like a truck. I swear I spend nearly as much time in the bathroom as out of it at this point. Sofia assured me it’s normal, and that makes sense given where my little one is growing, but it doesn't make it any less annoying.

Moving to the bathroom, I do my business and debate taking a shower. I’d taken one last night before bed, but I loved the way the showerhead massaged my back.

Later.

Right now, I don’t really want to do much of anything other than lie back in bed.

Growing a child is hard work.

I stand before the mirror for a second longer as I dry off my hands, my eyes catching on the greenish-yellow bruising on my neck.

With my fair skin, I’ve always bruised easily, so finding random ones here and there isn’t that crazy, but this seems like more than that.

I can’t for the life of me even begin to imagine where it came from; I don’t do anything.

The bright bathroom lights make my head throb, and I give up trying to remember, heading back to my room.

Sofia is still here, thankfully. Usually, when I hang out in my room, she does… well, something else, not here, but with Enzo still gone on his business trip, I’d asked her to stick around.

The house might be beautiful, but it’s kind of creepy when you're alone; it’s almost too big.

“Miss, I found the cards you asked for.” Sofia pulls me out of my thoughts of possibly being in a haunted house as I crawl back into bed. I look up to find she does, in fact, have a deck of cards in her hand.

“Oh come, sit!” I exclaim, much more excited than I should be over playing cards, but oh well, this is a chance at actual entertainment.

Sofia hesitates, looking toward my open bedroom door as if waiting for someone to come waltzing in.