Page 42 of Bullied Pregnant Mate

I blushed. The other day, I had been out, and they were having a sale on plants. And I couldn't resist.

"I have a bit of a plant obsession," I admitted.

He looked at me. "How much did you spend?"

"Only…" I was about to admit the total when I paused. "That's not important."

He looked back at the plants. "Is that for the entire house?"

I snorted, shaking my head. "God, no, that's for the living room and dining room."

His eyes widened. "You want to have that many plants in two rooms?"

"It brings life into a space, unlike your cold, empty apartment."

He scowled at me. "There is nothing wrong with my apartment."

I smirked. "You're honestly telling me that when people come over, they tell you it's inviting."

He smirked. "I don't have people over, and I like it that way. I like my solitude."

And yet, he had invited me into his home. He had willingly let me live there and hadn't complained when I disrupted his routine.

I couldn't even say he must have enjoyed me being gone because he had now stayed here with me. Every night, he stayed here. When he worked overnight, he called to check on me or asked Cayden to stop by and hang out for a while.

I didn't mind it, Cayden was nice, and while we didn't talk a lot, he was clearly someone I could trust. We could sit in silence, and it was fine.

"Well, this," I waved at my plants. "Makes me happy and gives an inviting aura."

"You have friends over?" he asked with a smirk, and a cold chill fell over me. And I knew he knew it, too, because he paused. I could see he instantly regretted his words.

I swallowed. "I want to. Once the house is together, I would like to."

If I were being honest, I couldn't say I had many, if any, friends. But I wanted some. I wanted people to come over and find me and my home a place they could trust, and plants made me feel that way.

"You will," he said. You could always ask Wendy and Ashley to come hang out. I know Laura would love to as well."

I knew of them, but I hardly knew them. I’d spoken with Ashley a handful of times. I’d seen Laura and Wendy from a glance, but I couldn’t say I knew what they really looked like. I wouldn’t go as far as to say they were my friends. They were people that Lucas had introduced me to and that I knew of.

I had people online that I spoke to, but I still wouldn’t count them as friends. They were just people I’d worked for, people who didn’t really know who I was, and I liked it that way.

I shrugged, suddenly tired of the conversation and thinking about how pathetic my life must seem to him. "What did you bring?" I asked instead, turning towards the bags.

He opened the bags and pulled out small containers. "Chinese, you pretty much devoured everything last time we had this. So, I figured we could have it again."

I smiled as he unboxed everything, and the smell filled the space. But suddenly, my stomach cramped up, and I felt bile build at the base of my throat.

I choked, pulling a hand up and covering my mouth, taking a step back. But the bile moved, and I turned, runningfor it. I hurried into the kitchen and towards the small half-bathroom. I threw the door open, barely making it to the toilet before I felt my entire stomach converse, forcing up my small banana and water from twenty minutes ago.

My entire body shook, and I clamped hard onto the toilet. I rested my forehead against the seat and took a deep breath in.

"Gina?" Lucas called from the dining room, and I could hear him coming into the kitchen. I slid my foot back, softly kicking the door shut. I closed my eyes. "Just a second…I…"

I thought of what I'd eaten and what I'd done the past few days, suddenly questioning if I caught a bug. But everything was normal. I'd done some work here and spent time with Lucas. Even the guys that came to work on the house were fine. So, it's unlikely I caught anything.

I didn’t feel hot. I placed a hand on my forehead to be sure, but it felt normal. I looked at my skin, thinking I didn’t look flushed.

I went over my meals, suddenly questioning if I had eaten something that had been sitting out too long, but I knew I hadn't. I'd finished every meal that came into this house because I was only eating two full meals a day and snacking. Even the snacks were basic things: crackers, granola, and fruit—nothing that could make me sick.

---