Page 42 of Black Mark's Heart

Jeremy looked at Darius. "You two discussed the christening?"

Darius looked at me. "Not yet, but I'll think we'll be fine."

Jeremy smirked, "Ahuh. I'll be back in a few minutes, Mora." Jeremy stood up, grabbing my cello case. "I'll lock this in my office for you."

"Thanks, Jeremy." I gave him a false smile as he walked out.

Jacob started nuzzling my covered breast and making sucking sounds. Darius laughed. "Can't blame you, little one, as I love sucking on them too."

"Dare!" I scolded.

Darius smiled. "The christening…I'm getting a hotel room for the night since it's out of town." Darius paused to consider me a moment. "Spend the night with me."

I closed my eyes. I wanted nothing more than to spend a night with him. I'd wanted to see out my life spending my nights in his arms.

"I'll consider it," I replied.

I wouldn't give a definite yes. I was still breastfeeding, and I'd need to get a babysitter for the night. Jacob started to cry. He could smell his food and didn't know why I wasn't giving it to him.

"Shh, honey. Mama will feed you in a minute." I got up and bounced him while I walked around the rehearsal room, giving him my knuckle to suck on instead, and he quieted for a moment.

"You're going to make a great mother one day." Darius gave me a sad smile.

I stopped and stared at him. Darius read the look.

"Mora, the day you tell me you are going to be a mother, I am going to hate whoever the father is, because it should have been me."

I looked down at Jacob in my arms; he was starting to cry again. Darius wasn't leaving and my child was hungry. With a sigh, I looked at Darius. "He's mine."

Darius frowned, unsure what I meant, but his eyes went wide as I pulled the stretchy top of my dress down, unclipped my maternity bra, and put Jacob to my breast. Jacob latched on and started making his happy noises while he fed.

Darius looked floored and ready to murder someone at the same time. "You're a mother?"

"I found myself pregnant shortly after you left me. It's why I had to stop performing last year."

"Who is the father?" Darius growled.

I swallowed and felt the tears prickle my eyes that he didn't even consider the possibility it was his. Jacob had his hair and eyes for crying out loud. "He's not in the picture."

Darius's face turned red with anger. "He got you pregnant and left?"

I raised a brow that he had the nerve to be angry about this. "You married me and ditched me an hour later with no explanation. You gave up any right to know what happened in my life the moment you did that, Dare. You didn't care what happened to me after. You didn't call to make sure I was okay. You didn't have the balls to tell me why you broke my heart. You threw me aside like a used dishcloth and went on with your life," I scowled. "You don't get to make an uninformed judgment about anything that happened to me in the weeks that followed."

Darius opened his mouth and closed it. His eyes went to Jacob suckling at my breast. "You hid this from me." Darius looked at the closed door. "Does Jeremy know who the father is?"

"Yes," I answered hesitantly. "The people who were there for me when you broke my heart all know, Dare. I don't think I could have gotten through the last twelve months without them."

Darius looked really mad. "Was it the drummer you wrote the songs with?"

"Why do you need to know?" I asked.

"So it is him?" Darius stepped forward, the angriest I've ever seen him.

"No. I was pregnant before I went on tour," I defended. Jacob jumped at me raising my voice. I turned my face away as the tears flowed. "It's why I went away. I didn't want you to know how badly you broke me when you left me, Dare."

Darius stepped back as if someone took a swing at him. "You were missing for three days. This," Darius gestured to Jacob. "It happened then, didn't it? Warren told me when you came back you wouldn't get out of bed except to play the cello. You weren't eating or taking care of yourself, you just lay down to die."

"I..." I took a deep breath, trying to chase the tears back. "This child is the best thing that could have happened to me, Dare. I'd given up. I cared about nothing or no one, and a few weeks later, I found out I was pregnant." I met his eyes. I could see every emotion flowing through them. "Sophie tried to convince me to have an abortion. I went to aerial, unsure what I was going to do, and fell. I knew then that I wanted this child, and he is the reason I got my life back together." I smiled down at my son, "Jacob saved me."

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