Page 8 of Falling for Lucifer
Eris loved teasing Lucifer about his love life, or lack thereof, so he knew she was taunting him. He ignored her and simply nodded at everyone at the table before making his way out of the dining room.
“Gimme a hug, Nephew,” Lucifer said to Dante, who was sprawled out on the couch playing his game.
Dante hopped up and hugged Lucifer around the waist. “Love you, Unco.”
“Love you too, kid.”
Lucifer always got the best energy from his nephew’s hugs. He wondered if he would ever have his own kids. His mind drifted to Ellodie and Etta, and a smile graced his face, but he let it fall pretty quickly. They were still strangers, and he needed to keep his cool. Those thoughts didn’t quiet the small voice in the back of his head that told him that Ellodie and Etta would become his family sooner than he thought.
Pure love. Ellodie didn’t think she had ever known it until Etta came into the world.
She stared down at her daughter with complete adoration filling her entire being. She couldn’t understand how some women weren’t fit to be mothers. How did they not take one look at their baby and want to give them the absolute world? It made her sad for the little girl in her, and just that quickly, tears filled her eyes. Postpartum depression was really kicking her ass and had her emotions swinging in a wide arc all day, every day.
Her phone vibrated on the bed next to her. She snatched it up so it wouldn’t bother Etta. Her tears were quickly forgotten when she saw who was calling her. Her cousin Yasmine was her best friend, ride or die, and the only person truly in her corner. It broke her heart that Yasmine wasn’t there to help her journey into motherhood.
Carefully, Ellodie got up from her spot on the bed. Her bare feet touched the soft light pink rug underneath her bed before she placed Etta in the bassinet. Etta stirred and looked like she was about to cry, but Ellodie rubbed her belly for a few seconds, and she calmed down enough for her to grab her phone from the bed and walk out of the room.
Her condo was on the eighteenth floor and overlooked the ocean. She loved her hometown. Ellwood had everything she needed, including the beach, which she loved. She was only a twenty-minute drive to downtown, and the building she lived in had everything she needed, from a cute café to a fully equipped gym to a spa. Luxury wasn’t new to Ellodie, but she had started looking at things differently now that she was a mother.
As a wedding planner, she had a flourishing career without the help of her parents, but her trust fund was what really gave her such a luxurious life. Her trust fund was the reason she was able to take as much time on maternity leave without worrying about a thing, which was a blessing. But the things that were so important to her, even just a week ago, now seemed mundane.
Giving her daughter a good life was all that mattered to her now, and she knew that meant making some hard changes in her life, starting with Wes. She had called and sent him pictures of their daughter with no response. Ellodie had every reason to leave him before, but now, it was a no-brainer. Her daughter deserved better. Ellodie grew up with a crappy mother and a father who she loved but felt light-years away from because her mother was as jealous as they came and didn’t allow her father to love any female more than her. She would not allow Etta to grow up with a problematic parent. If she had to play mommy and daddy, then that would be her destiny, and she welcomed it.
Money couldn’t buy her daughter the kind of life Ellodie wanted to give her. She wanted Etta to grow up knowing love and with good morals instilled in her. She wanted her daughterto thrive and learn the tools to keep herself happy and to never seek it from others.
As she sat down on her light gray sectional, she let out a long sigh before she FaceTimed her cousin back.
Yasmine answered right away with her pretty mahogany face all up in the camera. “Where my baby at?”
Ellodie giggled. “Hello to you too.”
“Come on, Ello,” Yasmine whined. “I already feel bad that I wasn’t there for the birth, and now you’re withholding my god daughter from me. Where is she?”
“Girl, ain’t nobody withholding that chile from you. She’s sleeping, and I would also like to point out that it’s her fault you weren’t at the birth. Didn’t nobody tell her to come six days late.”
Yasmine backed away from the screen and sucked her teeth. “Leave her alone. She’s absolutely perfect and innocent.”
“I can’t disagree with you there, Yas. I can’t wait for you to meet her.”
Yasmine sighed wistfully as she fell back onto the hotel bed. “Only a couple more days. I can’t wait to kiss on those chubby cheeks.”
Ellodie smiled sadly at her cousin because she wished she were there right now. She’d been extremely lonely since she got back from the birthing center two days ago, and the transition hadn’t been easy, but she was so proud of her cousin. She had her dream career and could travel all over the world to do what she loved. Ellodie could never be mad at her for that. She was disappointed, though, because she felt so alone, despite her daughter lighting up her world.
“I can’t wait either, Yas.”
Yasmine looked at her cousin for a moment before her smile faltered. “You okay?”
With a shrug, Ellodie did her best to smile, knowing it only looked like a forced grimace. “Just miss you is all. Hurry up and get back.”
Yasmine gazed at her a moment longer, as if she wanted Ellodie to keep talking and be honest about her feelings. It stayed silent for a minute, and Ellodie was thankful that Yasmine decided to drop it instead of prying. She felt like she would burst into tears at any moment, and the last thing she wanted to do was worry her cousin. Besides, other than being lonely, there really wasn’t anything wrong with her. She knew she was blessed. She had a healthy baby, her dream job, and a beautiful home. Still, she felt a nagging in her heart, like something was missing.
“What are you up to since my baby is asleep?” Yasmine asked, and Ellodie loved her even more for changing the topic altogether.
Ellodie tapped on her screen and noted the time. “My midwife is actually about to come over so she can check on us.”
Her mind immediately drifted because thinking about Harley automatically made her think about Lucifer. It felt like a fever dream having him hold her hand and coach her through labor. She constantly had to remind herself that it had actually happened.
Absentmindedly, she clicked through her phone and went to their text thread. There weren’t many texts there, but the fact that he thought to actually check up on her and Etta meant everything to her.
