I didn’t dare picture if the baby were truly born, would she really end up fighting a dog for clothes?
The small hope I still held that Zion might try to be a good father broke apart right then.
When I didn’t speak, Zion walked toward me instead.
He leaned down, his eyes dropping to my belly, his voice soft. “Baby, when the time comes, Daddy will buy you the nicest, the prettiest clothes, alright?”
“Those second-hand clothes from someone else, we don’t need them.”
Zion pinched my cheek again, smiling just as sweetly and charmingly as usual.
“Don’t make that sad look, little crybaby,” he said. “Relax, I’ll make it up to you.”
Staring at the face I knew so well yet felt so distant from, a wave of ridiculousness rushed through me.
There was a time when Zion and I spent night after night in this same office, staying up late, discussing proposals, chasing investors, planning the future.
But now, papers were scattered across the ground, flipped over in a mess, and even a few used condoms lay plainly on the carpet.
Everything here was dirty enough to make me sick.
That heavy sense of collapse hit me hard, and I couldn’t stop it. I covered my mouth violently.
The next moment, I spun around and ran out of the office, nearly tripping as I rushed into the restroom and threw up until I could barely stand.
When I came back, I never mentioned the clothes again.
Instead, I gently packed every single item set aside for the baby, the outfits, the toys, the little books, the mobile for the crib, and quietly had them moved to the house I bought abroad years ago.
Zion didn’t notice any of it. He assumed I had finally learned to be “understanding.”
So he started buying things to make up for me.
Pricey maternity outfits, limited-edition accessories, sets of designer clothes, pile after pile stacked inside the walk-in closet.
I didn’t even look at them.
He sent one round, and I had someone take one round away exactly as they came.
At the same time, Maeve started streaming more often.
Sometimes, during her broadcast, with just a small turn of her head, Zion’s figure would show up.
Sometimes he was passing her water, sometimes lowering his head to talk to her, sometimes only a fuzzy side view.
But even those so-called accidental moments together sent the comment area wild.
More people began pairing the two of them.