Page 44 of Black Mark's Heart

Chapter Eight

"What's going on?" Zander came in, frowning. "Why is Jacob screaming the place down?"

"He's hungry," I snapped, crying as I warmed his bottle. I'd been expressing after most feeds, so I had a stash for when Dad or Zander babysat.

"So feed him. Why are you wasting time making a bottle?" Zander asked, picking Jacob up from his play mat on the floor.

"I can't," I yelled, crying harder. "My milk stopped."

Zander frowned. "What?"

I grabbed the bottle from the warmer and checked the temperature before handing it to Zander. Zander took the bottle, offering it to Jacob before taking a seat. I sat opposite him.

"I've noticed my flow reducing for the last few days, my milk changing. This morning it was just gone," I explained.

"That's not right. Women can breastfeed for years. Supply and demand. How has your milk just stopped?" Zander asked worried.

I put my face in my hands and started crying fully.

"Shit!" Zander set Jacob down in his play cot with the bottle. He could hold it himself now and wasn't far off crawling. Zander sat beside me and put his arm around me. "We should go see the nurse..."

"I did. Today," I sobbed. "She asked me a few questions, determined the cause. I did a test. She was right."

"Okay. So why did your milk stop?" Zander asked gently.

"I'm pregnant," I whispered.

Zander paused a moment. "I'm sorry. I missed that between sobs. Why?"

"I'm pregnant!" I yelled. I stood up and walked to the window.

I saw Zander frown in the reflection of the window. "I thought you weren't seeing anyone?" Zander stood up moving towards me. "The only person you've slept with since having Jacob is Dare, right?"

I turned, moving to Jacob to check he was okay. He was happy now that he had his bottle.

"Mora?" Zander took my arm, moving me away from Jacob. "Is this his baby too?"

I looked away, tears flowing faster. "Two weeks ago, he came to the studio on business. He was angry about a stuff-up. He used me to vent that anger," I confessed.

"The same day he found out about Jacob?" Zander asked. Warren had told him. Darius had been a nightmare to deal with the last two weeks.

I nodded my head. "What am I going to do, Zander?" I pleaded for him to have the answer. "I can handle Jacob by myself when you move out, but I'm going to have two under two."

Zander sighed and hugged me tight for several minutes. "We're going to call Jeremy and tell him that you are pregnant by your husband again."

Zander and Warren knew now. It was registered with the government, so when Darius's accountant started preparing to do Darius's tax and that of the company's, Warren had found out and had to bury it. He'd let it go through because Jacob actually provided a tax break for Darius, but he'd been on my doorstep asking me how I was still married within the hour.

I shook my head, "We can't, Zander. Jeremy is part of the brotherhood. He's bound to report Dare is married to a black mark. They would destroy him, and then we would have been through all of this for nothing."

"You can't do this by yourself, Mora." Zander pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit dial. "Jeremy, have you left work yet? Can you come to Mora's? She's pregnant again."

I heard Jeremy's response loud and clear. Zander actually winced as Jeremy cursed black and blue. Zander waited until the cursing stopped and put the phone back to his ear. "The baby is Dare's."

This time there was absolute silence. I heard a murmur after a minute and then Zander hung up.

"Jeremy is on his way over,” Zander informed me. He stepped back from me. "I'm meant to be meeting Sally in half an hour for dinner."

"Go. This is my problem. You've stood by me when you didn't have to. I can't ask anything more of you." I stepped away from him, collected the empty bottle from Jacob, and picked him up for a cuddle.

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